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V6 Dakotas
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Dodge Dakota
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12/23/2004
11:35:21
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 Subject: Merry Xmas
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Hope All have a Merry Xmas and a Happier New Year..
And , Not too many problems with our trucks........
Laurence ,, Ontario , Canada..
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bump
Dodge Dakota
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12/24/2004
07:59:17
| RE: Merry Xmas
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bump
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J and J Auto
GenII
 
12/24/2004
12:36:39
| RE: Merry Xmas
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Having a great time
First O/D sol went in trans
got that fixed new sol pack
Both rear shaft U-Joints went
got that fixed
MSD 8207 coil died 29,000 miles
got that fixed
Now front Cv or wheel brg out
Just to many 4 wheel burn outs when I had the
stroked motor in the truck I guess
All this in the last 2 weeks
24 below zero up here
to cold for this old man
next week tues will be in the 30's
will tear it apart then
You see I have my share of probs but it always
seams everything happens at the same time to me
its never just 1 thing at a time but a pile of
problems all at once this is how it always
happens to me LOL LOL
Any way
God Bless
Merry Christmass and a happy new year to all
good will and prosparity to all
Larry
J&J Auto
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Gears
Dodge Dakota
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12/24/2004
19:44:44
|  RE: Merry Xmas
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MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone thanks for all of the great help and suggestions this year. Hope everyone has many worry free miles in the New Year.
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jesus christ
Dodge Dakota
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12/27/2004
12:03:04
| RE: Merry Xmas
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what the heck is
Xmas Huh big fella? it surely has nothing to do with CHRISTmas not honaca (whatever, a am a publick sckool graduate) or kwanza, so what the heck is it genius????
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Dan M
Dodge Dakota
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12/27/2004
15:36:49
| RE: Merry Xmas
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Sorry about your cold weather blues. It's going to be in the upper 40s here today. 50s tuesday and wed and then 60s through Jan 5th. This is nice weather for me to do some minor work, then again. I just moved into a house with a garage.
I'm in the atlanta georgia area. It's better than the 20" of snow my parents got last thursday in indiana.
- Dan M
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Ryan Updike
Dodge Dakota
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12/27/2004
17:24:36
| RE: Merry Xmas
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Were do your parnets live?I live in /indiana and we got 34" of snow?
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.
Dodge Dakota
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12/27/2004
19:33:48
| RE: Merry Xmas
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Unfounded Fear of the Word “Xmas” ...
The word Xmas is sometimes used instead of Christmas. This tradition began in the early Christian church, and has been used throughout Europe since the 1500's. In Greek, “X” is the first letter of Christ's name, Xristos, and the symbol “X” was frequently used as a holy symbol by the Church.
... so STFU !
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Dodge Dakota
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12/27/2004
19:36:27
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The History of Modern Day Christmas
The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years. Many of our Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ child was born.
The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the Yule log, the giving of gifts, carnivals (parades) with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians. Many of these traditions began with the Mesopotamian celebration of New Years. The Mesopotamians believed in many gods, and as their chief god - Marduk. Each year as winter arrived it was believed that Marduk would do battle with the monsters of chaos. To assist Marduk in his struggle the Mesopotamians held a festival for the New Year. This was Zagmuk, the New Year's festival that lasted for 12 days, hence the 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS. The Mesopotamian king would return to the temple of Marduk and swear his faithfulness to the god. The traditions called for the king to die at the end of the year and to return with Marduk to battle at his side. To spare their king, the Mesopotamians used the idea of a "mock" king. A criminal was chosen and dressed in royal clothes. He was given all the respect and privileges of a real king. At the end of the celebration the "mock" king was stripped of the royal clothes and slain, sparing the life of the real king.
The Persians and the Babylonians celebrated a similar festival called the Sacaea. Part of that celebration included the exchanging of places, the slaves would become the masters and the masters were to obey.
Early Europeans believed in evil spirits, witches, ghosts and trolls. As the Winter Solstice approached, with its long cold nights and short days, many people feared the sun would not return. Special rituals and celebrations were held to welcome back the sun known as Winter Solstice Celebrations.
In Scandinavia during the winter months the sun would disappear for many days. After thirty-five days scouts would be sent to the mountaintops to look for the return of the sun. When the first light was seen the scouts would return with the good news. A great festival would be held, called the Yuletide, and a special feast would be served around a fire burning with the Yule log. Great bonfires would also be lit to celebrate the return of the sun. In some areas people would decorate trees by tying apples to branches of trees to remind themselves that spring and summer would return.
The ancient Greeks held a festival similar to that of the Zagmuk/Sacaea festivals to assist their god Kronos who would battle the god Zeus and his Titans.
The Roman's celebrated their god Saturn. Their festival was called Saturnalia, which began the middle of December and ended January 1st. With cries of "Jo Saturnalia!" the celebration would include masquerades in the streets, big festive meals, visiting friends, and the exchange of good-luck gifts called Strenae (lucky fruits). The Romans decked their halls with garlands of laurel and green trees lit with candles. Again the masters and slaves would exchange places. "Jo Saturnalia!" was a fun and festive time for the Romans, but the Christians thought it an abomination to honor the pagan god.
The early Christians wanted to keep the birthday of their Christ child a solemn and religious holiday, not one of cheer and merriment as was the pagan Saturnalia. But as Christianity spread they were alarmed by the continuing celebration of pagan customs and Saturnalia among their converts. At first the Church forbid this kind of celebration. But it was to no avail. Eventually it was decided that the celebration would be tamed and made into a celebration fit for the Christian Son of God, Cristes maesse.
Some legends claim that Cristes maesse, the Christian "Christmas" celebration, was invented to compete against the pagan celebrations of December. The 25th of December was not only sacred to the Romans but also the Persians whose religion Mithraism was one of Christianity's main rivals at that time. What was the Church to do to gain control?
The Church eventually was successful in taking the merriment, lights, and gifts from the Saturanilia festival and bringing them to the celebration of Christmas, to be held coincidentally on December 25th, since the exact day of the Christ child's birth was, and has never been, pinpointed.
Traditions say that the birth celebration began in the year 98 AD, among a small group of Christian cultists. In 137 AD the Bishop of Rome ordered the birthday of the Christ Child celebrated as a solemn feast, without merriment, etc. In 350 AD, another Bishop of Rome, Julius I, choose December 25th as the official observance of Mass of Christ, to help the Church compete with other religions.
Christmas
Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. No one knows the exact date of Christ's birth, but most Christians officially observe Christmas on December 25, a date chosen by church elders. The word Christmas comes from “Cristes maesse”, an early English phrase that means Mass of Christ. On this day, many go to church, where they take part in special religious services. During the Christmas season, they also exchange gifts and decorate their homes with holly, mistletoe, and Christmas trees, all formerly Pagan traditions assimilated into a Christian Celebration.
The First Mention of Christmas
The Biblical story of Christmas comes chiefly from the Gospels of Saint Luke and Saint Matthew in the New Testament. According to Luke, an angel appeared to shepherds outside the town of Bethlehem and told them of Jesus' birth. Matthew tells how the wise men, called Magi, followed a bright star that led them to Jesus.
The first mention of December 25th as the birth date of Jesus occurred in AD 336 in an early Roman calendar, made official by the Church in AD 350. The celebration of this day as Jesus' birth date was probably influenced by pagan (unchristian) festivals held on that date. As stated, the ancient Romans held year-end celebrations to honor Saturn, their harvest god; and Mithras, the god of light. Various peoples in Northern Europe held festivals in mid-December to celebrate the end of the harvest season. As part of all these celebrations, the people prepared special foods, decorated their homes with greenery, and joined in singing and gift giving. These customs gradually became part of the Christmas celebration.
In the late 300's, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, due to a deathbed conversion of Emperor Constantine. By 1100, Christmas had become the most important religious festival in Europe, and Saint Nicholas was a symbol of gift giving in many European countries. During the 1400's and 1500's, many artists painted scenes of the Nativity, the birth of Jesus.
The popularity of Christmas grew until the Reformation, a religious movement of the 1500's. This movement gave birth to Protestantism. During the Reformation, many Christians began to consider Christmas a pagan celebration because it included nonreligious customs. During the 1600's, because of these feelings, Christmas was outlawed in England and in parts of the English colonies in America. The old customs of feasting and decorating, however, soon reappeared and blended with the more Christian aspects of the celebration.
Gift Giving
The custom of giving gifts to relatives and friends on a special day in winter probably began in ancient Rome and northern Europe. In these regions, people gave each other small presents as part of their year-end celebrations.
Other Customs
In the 1800's, two more Christmas customs became popular--decorating Christmas trees and sending Christmas cards to relatives and friends. Many well-known Christmas carols, including “Silent Night” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” were composed during this period. In the United States and other countries, Santa Claus replaced the European Saint Nicholas as the symbol of gift giving.
The celebration of Christmas became increasingly important to many kinds of businesses during the 1900's. Today, companies manufacture Christmas ornaments, lights, and other decorations throughout the year. Other firms grow Christmas trees, holly, and mistletoe. Many stores and other businesses hire extra workers during the Christmas season to handle the increase in sales. If not for capitalism and the commercialization of Christmas, it may very well be celebrated today as a more solemn religious holiday.
Unfounded Fear of the Word “Xmas”
The word Xmas is sometimes used instead of Christmas. This tradition began in the early Christian church, and has been used throughout Europe since the 1500's. In Greek, “X” is the first letter of Christ's name, Xristos, and the symbol “X” was frequently used as a holy symbol by the Church.
The Date of Christmas
The idea to celebrate Christmas on December 25 originated in the 4th Century. The Catholic Church wanted to eclipse the festivities of a rival Pagan religion that threatened Christianity's existence. The Romans celebrated the birthday of their sun god, Mithras during this time of year. Although it was not popular, or even proper, to celebrate people's birthdays in those times, church leaders decided that in order to compete with the Pagan celebration they would themselves order a festival in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Although the actual season of Jesus' birth is thought to be in the spring, the date of December 25 was chosen as the official birthday celebration as Christ's Mass so that it would compete head on with the rival Pagan celebration. Christmas was slow to catch on in America. The early colonists considered it a Pagan ritual. The celebration of Christmas was even banned by law in Massachusetts in colonial days.
Mistletoe and Holly
Two hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Druids used mistletoe to celebrate the coming of winter. They would gather this evergreen plant that is parasitic upon other trees and used it to decorate their homes. They believed the plant had special healing powers for everything from female infertility to poison ingestion. Scandinavians also thought of mistletoe as a plant of peace and harmony. They associated mistletoe with their goddess of love, Frigga. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe probably derived from this belief. The early church banned the use of mistletoe in Christmas celebrations because of its pagan origins. Instead, church fathers suggested the use of holly as an appropriate substitute for Christmas greenery.
Poinsettias
Poinsettias are native to Mexico. They were named after America's first Ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett. He brought the plants to America in 1828. The Mexicans in the eighteenth century thought the plants were symbolic of the Star of Bethlehem. Thus the Poinsettia became associated with the Christmas season. The actual flower of the poinsettia is small and yellow. But surrounding the flower are large, bright red leaves, often mistaken for petals.
The Christmas Tree
The Christmas Tree originated in Germany in the 16th century. It was common for the Germanic people to decorate fir trees, both inside and out, with roses, apples, and colored paper. It is believed that Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, was the first to light a Christmas tree with candles. While coming home one dark winter's night near Christmas, he was struck with the beauty of the starlight shining through the branches of a small fir tree outside his home. He duplicated the starlight by using candles attached to the branches of his indoor Christmas tree. The Christmas tree was not widely used in Britain until the 19th century. It was brought to America by the Pennsylvania Germans in the 1820's.
Xmas
This abbreviation for Christmas is of Greek origin. The word for Christ in Greek is Xristos. During the 16th century, Europeans began using the first initial of Christ's name, "X" in place of the word Christ in Christmas as a shorthand form of the word. Although he early Christians understood that X stood for Christ's name, later Christians who did not understand the Greek language mistook "Xmas" as a sign of disrespect.
The Candy Cane
In the late 1800's a candy maker in Indiana wanted to express the meaning of Christmas through a symbol made of candy. He came up with the idea of bending one of his white candy sticks into the shape of a Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols of Christ's love and sacrifice through the Candy Cane. First, he used a plain white peppermint stick. The color white symbolizes the purity and sinless nature of Jesus. Next, he added three small stripes to symbolize the pain inflicted upon Jesus before His death on the cross. There are three of them to represent the Holy Trinity. He added a bold stripe to represent the blood Jesus shed for mankind. When looked at with the crook on top, it looks like a shepherd's staff because Jesus is the shepherd of man. If you turn it upside down, it becomes the letter J symbolizing the first letter in Jesus' name. The candy maker made these candy canes for Christmas, so everyone would remember what Christmas is all about.
Santa Claus
The original Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, was born in Turkey in the 4th century. He was very pious from an early age, devoting his life to Christianity. He became widely known for his generosity for the poor. But the Romans held him in contempt. He was imprisoned and tortured. But when Constantine became emperor of Rome, he allowed Nicholas to go free. Constantine became a Christian and convened the Council of Nicaea in 325. Nicholas was a delegate to the council. He is especially noted for his love of children and for his generosity. He is the patron saint of sailors, Sicily, Greece, and Russia. He is also, of course, the patron saint of children. The Dutch kept the legend of St. Nicholas alive. In 16th century Holland, Dutch children would place their wooden shoes by the hearth in hopes that they would be filled with a treat. The Dutch spelled St. Nicholas as Sint Nikolaas, which became corrupted to Sinterklaas, and finally, in Anglican, to Santa Claus. In 1822, Clement C. Moore composed his famous poem, "A Visit from St. Nick," which was later published as "The Night Before Christmas." Moore is credited with creating the modern image of Santa Claus as a jolly fat man in a red suit.
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