Just what is CHRISTMAS?

Just what is CHRISTMAS? What is its origin? And what is its meaning for today?

If these questions seem trivial, consider them in connection with the results of a word-suggestion test which a college professor gave to twenty members of a psychology class. Among the words used in the test was “Christmas”; as this word was pronounced, each one was asked to write down the first thought that came to mind on hearing it. When the professor collected the slips of paper, he found that “Christmas” had prompted instantly such words as “tree,” “presents,” “holly,” “shopping,” “plum pudding,” and others of the like kind. Not a single person out of twenty had written “birthday of Jesus,” or any other word of strictly Christian significance. A number of the class submitted afterward that this connection would have come to them on second thought but, as only one word was permitted in the test, the reaction was exactly as stated.

Evidently Christ’s Advent is not the first and outstanding thought in the minds of most persons when Christmas is mentioned.