The word "Christmas" occurs nowhere in the Bible. It is an old English word that means "Christ's Mass" which refers to the celebration of the Lord's Supper, i.e. the Mass. The earliest occurrence of the word on record is 1038 A.D. Christians at this time considered the Mass (Lord's Supper) to be the most important part of the celebration of Christ's birth, hence it came to be called Christmas.
See Francis X. Weiser, The Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs (New York: Harcourt, Brace, and Company, 1958) and Clement A. Miles, Christmas (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1912).
No comments:
Post a Comment