How Did Christmas Become Xmas and Other Strange Things

Why is Christmas sometimes called Xmas? When did Santa get his reindeer? Why don't we box on Boxing Day? If these questions have been perplexing your holiday spirit, pull up a chair and grab yourself an eggnog because everything you wanted to know about Christmas is about to be explained.

How did Christmas become Xmas? The "X" in Xmas stand for the Greek letter "Chi," the first letter in the Greek word for Christ. So, over the years, the X became a quick way to say or indicate Christ. Then the mass media giants of the twentieth century got hold of this shortened version and ran wild with it in all their headlines. It was in magazines and on billboards everywhere. Eventually Xmas made it to tv and the rest is history. So, simply put, Xmas got it's worldwide fame simply because it fit better in a headline.

When did Santa start hobnobbing with reindeer? Most people think Clement C. Moore's poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas" got this idea rolling, but the concept of reindeer as Santa's helpers started in Russian folklore years prior (although it was only one reindeer). Nonetheless, it was Moore's 1823 poem that highly popularized eight of the nine reindeer as we know them today. The ninth, Rudolph, didn't come about until over a hundred years later in a story written by Robert L. May in 1939. Of course, what sealed the deal on Rudolph's reindeership was the Gene Autry holiday classic "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" released in 1949. So, if you're counting, Dancer's about 180 years old and Ruldolh's a spry fifty-five years old.

Why do we kiss under the mistletoe? This one goes back to Roman times when the plant (which grows on oak and other nonevergreen trees) was considered a charm against evil. Those who entered a house safely where mistletoe had been hung in the doorway were greeted with a welcome kiss. Somehow this custom of a welcoming kiss worked it's way into England and the United States and transformed itself into doing the kissing directly under the mistletoe.

Why don't we box on Boxing Day? Well, first off, this tradition has nothing to do with prizefighting. The custom comes from England where it was customary for churches to open their alms boxes to the poor on thr first workday after Christmas in an attempt to give some cheer to thosue hwo cold not aford a very merry Christmas. Out of this custom grew Boxing Day as it is celebrated today which is a day during which service people and other workers collect money or treats from their employers. Okay, it's not quite the same, but sometimes this is what happens to traditions.

Why is Christmas the only time there is Midnight Mass? This tradition began with the Roman Catholics way back in the year 400 AD. Mass was held at midnight to honor the fact that Christ, as legend has it, was born at midnight. In some Spanish and Latin countries, the midnight Mass is referred to as the mass of the Rooster. Legend has it that the only time a rooster ever crowed at midnight was at the moment of Christ's birth. Similarly, the Polish Midnight Mass is called Mass Pasterka or Mass of the Shepherds to honor the shepherds present at the first Christmas.

Where did the idea of Christmas Cards come from? This tradition dates back to Victorian England and a man named John Calcott Horsley. Horsley, as legend has it, printed a postcard-looking greeting with three panels depicting a family enjoying the holiday and the Victorian Christmas spirit. The card's inscription read "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You." The card idea was in essence a cheap means to send holiday greetings to fellow Victorians who were too far away to contact in person.

And where the Christmas Bonus come from? You can thank department store owner F. W. Woolworth for that one. In 1899 he gave a bonus of five dollars to each of his employees for every year they had worked for him. But Woolworth wasn't totally smitten with the Christmas spirit. The ulterior motive behind the bonus was to keep his employees happy and working hard during the frenzied Christmas buying season. Now believe it or not, the custom of giving employees the day of Christmas was apparently not observed in the United States until about 1875! Up until that time, nearly all workers were expected to report as usual unless the holiday fell on Sunday. Store employees of the time were paid by the day and not by the hour. Thus, they worked thousands of unpaid overtime hours (as we know it) during the holiday shopping period. Thus, the Xmas Bonus really was the culmination of years of harried retail store clerks complaining about the lack of overtime compensation.

So now you have some answers to many of the Christmas Questions that pop up each holiday season. Time to enjoy the special day, sip on some eggnog, and find out who's been naughty and who's been nice.

 

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