attentionspanhistory/content/xmas.md

Title: Xmas 
Date: 2021-12-09
Tags: Christmas, Pompeii, Sator, Ichthys, Chi Rho, Anchored Cross, Symbolism
Category: Art

Where does the word **Xmas** come from?

Early Christians used many symbols such as the Chi Rho, the
Ichthys, the Anchored Cross, and the Sator Square.

### Chi Rho
The
[Chi Rho](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi_Rho){target="_blank"},
<span style="font-weight:bold">&#x2627;</span>
as explained in this
[YouTube Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUZdV7xL_Ds&t=594s){target="_blank"},
is a symbol composed by overlaying Chi and Rho, the first two Greek
Letters in the word *Christ*. And well, it kind of looks like an
**X** doesn't it? This is where the word *Xmas* comes from.

### Anchored Cross
Early Christians also drew the
[Anchored Cross](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchored_cross){target="_blank"},
<span style="font-weight:bold">&#x2693;</span>
as explained in this
[YouTube Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUZdV7xL_Ds&t=628s){target="_blank"},
because it contains a cross.

### Ichthys

The
[Ichthys <span style="font-weight:bold">&#x221D;</span>](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthys){target="_blank"},
otherwise known as *The Christian Fish Symbol*, as explained in this
[YouTube Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUZdV7xL_Ds&t=544s){target="_blank"},
which early Christians used as a secret sign with which to identify
each other, because Christ told several of his Disciples that
he would make them *Fishers of Men*.

### Sator Square

The [Sator Square](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sator_Square){target="_blank"},
as explained in this
[YouTube Video](https://www.youtube/watch?v=qUZdV7xL_Ds&t=203s){target="_blank"},
is a mysterious square of 5 Latin words which mirror each other forwards and backward,
both vertically and horizontally.

A translation, derived from the nominal translations of the individual words
in the context of the _rotatability_ of their arrangement, would
presumable be something like _AS YE SOW, SO SHALL YE IN TURN REAP_.

<div style="font-family:monospace;font-size:2em;text-align:center">
R&nbsp;&nbsp;O&nbsp;&nbsp;T&nbsp;&nbsp;A&nbsp;&nbsp;S</br>
O&nbsp;&nbsp;P&nbsp;&nbsp;E&nbsp;&nbsp;R&nbsp;&nbsp;A</br> 
T&nbsp;&nbsp;E&nbsp;&nbsp;N&nbsp;&nbsp;E&nbsp;&nbsp;T</br>
A&nbsp;&nbsp;R&nbsp;&nbsp;E&nbsp;&nbsp;P&nbsp;&nbsp;O</br>
S&nbsp;&nbsp;A&nbsp;&nbsp;T&nbsp;&nbsp;O&nbsp;&nbsp;R</br></br>
</div>

You can rearrange the letters into a cross contructed from the word
_PATERNOSTER_, which translates to _Our Father_, decorated with the
symbolic first and last letters of the Greek alphabet,
_Alpha_ and _Omega_, a title ascribed to God
in Revelations, meaning _The Beginning And The End_.

<div style="font-family:monospace;font-size:2em;text-align:center">
P</br>
A</br>
T</br>
A&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;E&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;O</br>
R</br>
P&nbsp;A&nbsp;T&nbsp;E&nbsp;R&nbsp;N&nbsp;O&nbsp;S&nbsp;T&nbsp;E&nbsp;R</br>
O</br>
O&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;S&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A</br>
T</br>
E</br>
R</br>
</div>

### Recommended
I recommend watching the entire video because it is fantastic.

<div style="text-align:center">
  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUZdV7xL_Ds" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">
    <img style="max-width:90vw;height:auto" src="https://img.youtube.com/vi/qUZdV7xL_Ds/0.jpg" alt="Christianity As An Artistic Force (Waldemar Januszczak Documentary) | Perspective"/>
  </a>
</div>

In fact I recommend watching the entire playlist for the same reason.

(You'll have to sign into to watch the video about Paul Rubens).

<div style="text-align:center">
  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WByxidQTk9E&list=PL5JqSuIvtmAOZzE7Eq6Q4uyXgma2zEGj2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">
    <img style="max-width:90vw;height:auto" src="https://img.youtube.com/vi/WByxidQTk9E/0.jpg" alt="Waldemar Januszczak Documentary | Perspective"/>
  </a>
</div>