Santiago Noel
Dimapur
Quite many of us in the society blindly follow something and treat it as truth without even knowing that somebody has used it wrongly. Very often we become gullible people because of our quick jump into conclusions without ascertaining the facts or the history behind it.
For once we used the word ‘Xmas’ and did not care about the language as long as we used it with all good intentions. The festive market brought such decorations and the social advertisement- the SMS lingo in particular was also responsible for the unpopular spread of the the word ‘Xmas’. For quite some time, We tolerated the word ‘Xmas’ as it was the more convenient word to type and it also consumed less space on our sweet cream cake. But now that we have realised the error and discouraged its use, the market ‘Xmas’ has also decreased to a great lot. ‘Christ’ remains the Saviour who came to liberate us and we cannot dare to give him a nickname as ‘Mr.X or Mr.Y’.
Similarly, we have picked up ‘Advent Christmas’ unknowingly as somebody wrongly influenced everybody. Does this mean the usage is right? Well, never in the Church History have our forefathers (in faith) used it nor can the two words be used together for one is referring to ‘preparation’ and the other to ‘celebration’. Advent comes from the Latin word ‘Adventus’ which means ‘coming’, ‘ arrival’ or ‘something that is about to come’. From Church history we find that Advent is a season of preparation and waiting for the Lord and not the celebration itself. There are four Sundays of advent (of Hope, Faith, Joy and Peace) prior to Christmas each signifying the great preparation to receiving the grace of Christ on his Birthday. Not only do the Catholics observe the Advent season; the Orthodox, the Anglicans, the Lutherans and many other protestant churches observe the season by fasting, almsgiving and prayer. The Advent season and the Lent season are two great seasons in the Church Liturgical Calendar that prepares the faithful to celebrate the birth of Christ and the Resurrection of our Lord respectively.
As the year closes and the Nativity of our Lord draws near, we might want to celebrate the birthday of Christ in advance with our office staffs or with our hostel mates as we cannot afford to meet on Christmas to celebrate together. All of us would say that this idea is undoubtedly great and awesome. And The Church surely does understands the advanced celebration. But what goes wrong in the middle is regrettable and ought to be corrected. Few of us celebrate the occasion with the tag- ‘Advent Christmas’. A careful reflection will help us to know that Advent is a season of preparation for the coming of Christ into our world. Advent is a time of reflection upon self, retreat from all bad habits and to do as many good deeds as possible especially to those who cannot repay us back. The Advent season is an excellent way to prepare the mind and the heart to celebrate Christ’s birthday in the most fitting manner.
Henceforth, let us correct our mistakes and use the words ‘Christmas’ instead of ‘Xmas’ and ‘Pre Christmas’ or ‘Advance Christmas’ instead of ‘Advent Christmas’ lest we make a mockery of our own faith.
Thanking You.
Dimapur
Quite many of us in the society blindly follow something and treat it as truth without even knowing that somebody has used it wrongly. Very often we become gullible people because of our quick jump into conclusions without ascertaining the facts or the history behind it.
For once we used the word ‘Xmas’ and did not care about the language as long as we used it with all good intentions. The festive market brought such decorations and the social advertisement- the SMS lingo in particular was also responsible for the unpopular spread of the the word ‘Xmas’. For quite some time, We tolerated the word ‘Xmas’ as it was the more convenient word to type and it also consumed less space on our sweet cream cake. But now that we have realised the error and discouraged its use, the market ‘Xmas’ has also decreased to a great lot. ‘Christ’ remains the Saviour who came to liberate us and we cannot dare to give him a nickname as ‘Mr.X or Mr.Y’.
Similarly, we have picked up ‘Advent Christmas’ unknowingly as somebody wrongly influenced everybody. Does this mean the usage is right? Well, never in the Church History have our forefathers (in faith) used it nor can the two words be used together for one is referring to ‘preparation’ and the other to ‘celebration’. Advent comes from the Latin word ‘Adventus’ which means ‘coming’, ‘ arrival’ or ‘something that is about to come’. From Church history we find that Advent is a season of preparation and waiting for the Lord and not the celebration itself. There are four Sundays of advent (of Hope, Faith, Joy and Peace) prior to Christmas each signifying the great preparation to receiving the grace of Christ on his Birthday. Not only do the Catholics observe the Advent season; the Orthodox, the Anglicans, the Lutherans and many other protestant churches observe the season by fasting, almsgiving and prayer. The Advent season and the Lent season are two great seasons in the Church Liturgical Calendar that prepares the faithful to celebrate the birth of Christ and the Resurrection of our Lord respectively.
As the year closes and the Nativity of our Lord draws near, we might want to celebrate the birthday of Christ in advance with our office staffs or with our hostel mates as we cannot afford to meet on Christmas to celebrate together. All of us would say that this idea is undoubtedly great and awesome. And The Church surely does understands the advanced celebration. But what goes wrong in the middle is regrettable and ought to be corrected. Few of us celebrate the occasion with the tag- ‘Advent Christmas’. A careful reflection will help us to know that Advent is a season of preparation for the coming of Christ into our world. Advent is a time of reflection upon self, retreat from all bad habits and to do as many good deeds as possible especially to those who cannot repay us back. The Advent season is an excellent way to prepare the mind and the heart to celebrate Christ’s birthday in the most fitting manner.
Henceforth, let us correct our mistakes and use the words ‘Christmas’ instead of ‘Xmas’ and ‘Pre Christmas’ or ‘Advance Christmas’ instead of ‘Advent Christmas’ lest we make a mockery of our own faith.
Thanking You.
