The Cousins’ Christmas Party in Windsor, ON was awesome this year, but the conversation started long before the event took
place.
My cousin Sue, for whom I
have the deepest respect, used “Xmas” in the invitation on FB instead of “Christmas.” In an attempt to elicit a discussion/debate, I went into a brief dissertation about
leaving Christ out of Christmas. I wrote an article about replacing “Christ” with an “X” in The Fredericton
Gleaner newspaper in 1969. I suggested using a ‘Chi-Rho” the Greek letters for
the first three letters of Christ instead of an “X.” I further suggested that
if advertisers wanted to save space and cut their costs (since they were
charged per word and column space), they could use the Chi-Rho symbol ☧ instead
of just an X. It is a symbol using an X with a P through it. X in Greek is ch
and P in Greek is r.
By
researching “Xmas” I learned that the use of the "X" predates advertisers and was
used in the 15th century (see http://blog.dictionary.com/xmas-christogram/).Thus,
I learned something new this Christmas. "Xmas" is properly pronouced "Christmas."
The
party hosted by Sue was attended by 17 cousins. As one cousin put it: "We’d have
to rent St. Peter’s Basilica to host all of the cousins." The pot luck food was provided by the cousins
and it was delicious. The highlight of the party was the opening of the gifts.
Everyone had to bring a gift and not spend more than $20. The gifts were as varied
as they were delightful.
A
good time was had by all.
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| Jan (Sue's sister) and Stan watching the cousins open their gifts. |
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| The cousins huddle together as their names are drawn to get a gift. |
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| The cousins feasting on the delectibles |
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| Two cousins swapping stories while cousin Sam looks on |
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| Just checking messages ladies. I'm so busy. |
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| My gift was this lovely lady's shoe designed to hold a bottle of wine. |
Thank
you Sue for hosting the party. I had a blast.
