MiniMeanderings

(Source: yeoldenews)

artprize:

Conceptual art joke!!!

thestuartkings:

Excerpt from Josiah King’s ‘The Examination and Tryal of Father Christmas’ (1686)

‘Father Christmas’

The specific depiction of Christmas as a merry old man begins in the early 17th century, in the context of resistance to Puritan criticism of observation of the Christmas feast. He is “old” because of the antiquity of the feast itself, which its defenders saw as an old custom that should be kept. Allegory was popular at the time, and so “old Christmas” was given a voice to protest his exclusion, along with the form of a rambunctious, jolly old man. The earliest such was that in Ben Jonson’s creation in Christmas his Masque  dating from December 1616, in which Christmas appears “attir’d in round Hose, long Stockings, a close Doublet, a high crownd Hat with a Broach, a long thin beard, a Truncheon, little Ruffes, white shoes, his Scarffes, and Garters tyed crosse”, and announces “Why Gentlemen, doe you know what you doe? ha! would you ha’kept me out? Christmas, old Christmas?” Later, in a masque by Thomas Nabbes, The Springs Glorie produced in 1638, “Christmas” appears as “an old reverend gentleman in furred gown and cap”. The character continued to appear over the next 250 years, appearing as Sir Christmas, Lord Christmas, or Father Christmas, the last becoming the most common A book dating from the time of the Commonwealth, The Vindication of CHRISTMAS or, His Twelve Yeares’ Observations upon the Times (London, 1652), involved “Old Christmas” advocating a merry, alcoholic Christmas and casting aspersions on the charitable motives of the ruling Puritans. Father Christmas dates back at least as far as the 17th century in Britain, and pictures of him survive from that era, portraying him as a well-nourished bearded man dressed in a long green fur-lined robe.

thestuartkings:

Father Christmas was banned by the Puritans under Cromwell in the mid-17th century. He went ‘underground’ along with Minced Pies, Christmas games and the like. Occasionally secret publishers would print Broadsheets (a sort of newspaper) with a verse about ‘Old Christmas’. He became the personification of everything the British people held dear about Christmas.

I’ve heard a number of people arguing that to write Xmas rather than Christmas is to strip the ‘Christ’ out of it in an effort to appeal to non-Christians.  Like so many assumptions, this is incorrect.  And for those who do use Xmas as a way to secularise Christmas, they’re doing it wrong.  I could argue that they’re specifically putting the Christ in Christmas.  Irony.

Xmas is not a new term.  Xmas is one of those words that goes in and out of favour and has for over 500 years.  No, really.  And that’s just in writing.  Think of it as an abbreviation, rather than a secularisation.  In fact, Xmas isn’t remotely secular in its origins.  For that matter, neither is Xtianity. It’s a Greek thing.  Just like the name Jesus Christ.  “Jesus” was derived via Latin from the Greek for the Hebrew name Joshua, which approximately means Yahweh delivers.  “Christ” is directly derived from Christos, which is Greek for “the anointed one” or another term you might be familiar with (another Hebrew word), Messiah.  Anyway, back to that pesky X. 

According to the Christian Writer’s Manual of Style by Robert Hudson, “…the abbreviation has a long and established history in English, dating back to Old English form used in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of the twelfth century. The X is actually the Greek letter Chi and has been used as a symbol for the name of Christ (Christos) since the first century.”  

While the majority of cards spell out Christmas, there are plenty of Victorian and early 20th century Xmas cards floating around, too.   If you’re up on your history, you know Church-going was still pretty darn popular back then.  In fact the world’s first Christmas postage stamp (from Canada, no less) actually uses the abbreviation.  Considering the proliferation of churches in late 19^th century Canada, it’s probably a safe bet that the stamp wasn’t designed to upset the citizens. 

To sum up, the X in Xmas (and Xtianity) is an abbreviation of Christ, or symbolic of “Christos”, not a bastardisation.  It is most certainly not “taking the Christ out of Christmas.”  Now you can take this knowledge and impress your friends or colleagues at your next Xmas party.   

Santa Cthulhu by *Mambolica

I made last year’s ‘alternative’ xmas card available to purchase through my deviantArt page.  If you dig it and have friends as demented as me (or you), consider buying a set and spreading the fear this holiday season.

Edit, December 26th, 2011: Hey you guys !  127 likes and reblogs?  I am blown away.  It’s a Christmas miracle.