…rural noel #59

...while there're reindeers everywhere else, the little country town of cobargo brings out cows instead... xmas poddy… 

the post office cobargo ©011213

…The New Testament is written in Koine Greek, and the Greek word for Christ is… get ready… Χριστος. See where I’m heading with this yet? In Greek, the first letter for the name of Christ is X. Instead of always writing the full name Χριστος, we see in early Christian history a trend to abbreviate Χριστος as simply Χ. … [W]riting Christmas as Xmas is hardly anything new or born out of a secular culture — this tradition dates back to the 12th Century. (Benjamin Corey)

ん

…I'm not prone to talking or posting about religion because I think it is a very personal matter… maggie smith, the british actor (downton abbey), neatly sums things up: 'my dear, religion is like a penis… it's a perfectly fine thing for one to have and take pride in, but when one takes it out and waves it in my face we have a problem'… however, I admire others who celebrate their faiths and beliefs in positive ways and encompassing others in the community to come and enjoy points in their calendar with them in festive fashion…

…thus I, not being a christian, eastern or western, myself, come to learn (from today's edition of sydney morning herald) with much interest that there are still people yet to celebrate xmas almost a fortnight after most have done with it and are pulling down their christmas trees… the orthodox christians are just ending their 43-day fast and beginning their celebration, culminating with their own xmas day on tuesday tomorrow… some eastern churches follow the julian calendar (1 january in the julian calendar is 14 january in the gregorian or the western calendar), which puts xmas on january 7, 13 days after it is observed in western churches… tonight is another xmas eve so I wonder whether santa has to come out and do another run... so, to some of you, merry xmas yet again…

Ҩ