etymology of a word....

"The word Christmas originated as a compound meaning "Christ's Mass". It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038. "Cristes" is from Greek Christos and "mæsse" is from Latin missa (the holy mass). In Greek, the letter Χ is the first letter of Christ, and it, or the similar Roman letter X, has been used as an abbreviation for Christ since the mid-16th century. Hence, Xmas is sometimes used as an abbreviation for Christmas." wikipedia

the  word  is  deeply  rooted  in  christianity,  regardless of  the  influence of pagan  and pre-christian  beliefs  held and  rituals  once  practiced - these were  violently  'stamped out', important seasonal ceremonial dates usurped and corrupted  by the christian invaders, and then incorporated into the christian calendar - no matter your reasoning, you can't get away from the  fact that  xmas, by it's mere name, is a christian celebration.

ironic then that Section 116 of the 1900 Act to constitute the Commonwealth of Australia - the Australian Constitution - provides that:

The Commonwealth of Australia shall not make any law establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance**, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.

** isn’t it then an imposition on those that don't observe christianity that most of the country closes down on december 25?? according to the above, and in the words of elizabeth evatt,  "we are not by constitution a christian country", so why do we have a public holiday on this religious occasion  and not any other days of significance celebrated by other religions?

a paper by the Bertelsmann Foundation titled "Australia: High level of religious identity paired with low level of belief" makes interesting reading if you're into statistics - 30% of australians claim no religion, with that group being one of the most rapidly rising populations...

 

the assumption that everyone is christian and therefore must celebrate xmas is anathema to me - we're supposed to be a secular society - by calling it xmas and celebrating it as xmas the status quo is maintained - the christian stranglehold remains - i cringe - my beliefs and conscience don't allow me to prop up or support any christian 'celebration'  - its' persecution of womyn over the centuries has been barbaric and brutal  - misogyny one of its cornerstones ... just call me a heathen and heretic please, but never a christian...

as we all live by the months of the year defined by our civil calendar regardless of religious belief in australia, doesn’t it make more sense for the community as a whole to celebrate the end of the old, and the start of the new year with all its possibilities for change – shouldn't everybody, no matter what their religious or political beliefs, feel included and welcomed - shouldn't everybody be part of the celebration - shouldn't it be a celebration of community, not religion?

however, the most widely used civil calendar is the gregorian calendar – another imposition of the christians – this time pope gregory xiii - "the gregorian calendar reform contained two parts, a reform of the julian calendar ... together with a reform of the lunar cycle used by the church along with the julian calendar for calculating dates of easter."

what's wrong with using  the lunar or solar cycles to mark the passage of the days, months and years - humans seem to have this inane need to ‘control’ the change from one season into the next by having set dates for these transitions to occur between - the environment doesn't work to a timetable - it complements and is affected by the cycles of night and day... moon and sun...

homo sapiens - the one species that refuses to adapt to its environment – always striving to harness, change and control the natural elements… when will we get over this  need  to conquer and subdue, when will we realise there is no basis for this ridiculous superiority complex – it’s humans that have fucked up the world – hardly superior!!!!

i am so over this time of the year - so sick of  hearing 'discussions' on what animals will be eaten, how they'll be cooked, the 'merry xmas-ing', the xmas carols, the crush of the supermarkets and shops, the aggression and frustration engendered in people that are up to their necks in debt because the presents have to be more and more expensive each year - the millions (billions?) spent on so many useless items while filling the coffers of the multinational corporations and making the profiteers very happy...

it's such an indictment on humankind that there are so many desperately needy causes trying to stay afloat while they provide assistance and sustenance to so many while so much is wasted in this selfish, throw-away society... isn't the christian mantra 'peace and goodwill'?? haven't seen much of it... and then there's the number of drunken idiots around - seen lots of them...  and of course there's the fact that family conflict and violence escalates at this time of year... ah xmas - such a joyous, cheery time... it can bring out the worst in people...

hibernation is looking good for the week leading up to xmas next year!!!!