This year's Xmas controversies have been Xasperating to the Xtreme, and I for one, have overXtended my time reading and thinking about them. Then I discover that like many other Xians,I did not realize that "X" was used as an early symbol for "Christ."

The Greek word for Christ is Xristos, at least according to a little book named "Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas" by Ace Collins. Early Greek Christians used an "X" (pronounced Chi) as a symbol of their faith way back when they were persecuted to the point of being thrown to the lions in the Roman Colosseum or otherwise executed.

When Christians were martyred, other Christians often placed an X on the spot where they died. X also was used to mark places of worship. Then, during the Dark Ages when so many people were illiterate, X was the symbol used to identify with Christ.

And guess what? It wasn't the "greedy" shopkeepers who first used Xmas as the shortened version of Christmas. It was Catholic clerics and monks. Apparently, the X could be written in an ornate fashion to "stand out," and shortening words saved precious paper and ink. But, most importantly, Xmas was considered a word of honor. Christmas was not only a time to remember God's gift of Christ to mankind but also to remember those who had died for their faith.

Merry Xmas to you and yours!

What are you afraid of?

I’m afraid of heights, pain, the potential for Avian flu, tornadoes, sharks at the beach, deer running through my yard, outlaws hunting deer in my neighborhood, math, poisonous snakes, terrorists, public speaking, Satan, interstate highways…and the list could go on.

I didn’t know there were so many things to be afraid of until I decided to research phobias, and there was a list for hundreds of them. But it was reassuring to discover that a person really isn’t phobic unless the fear is irrational or causes panic attacks or other disabling symptoms. In fact, psychiatrically speaking, a true phobia is considered a mental disorder.

Most phobias, such as those I named, are fears that many people have and “deal with” by avoiding them. Most are due to some trauma (like the three times in 20 years that tornadoes hit our subdivision). Trouble is, a person can only avoid so much, and tornadoes are particularly unavoidable. About the only thing a body can do is hunker down in the hall and pray.

Now, in recent years, phobias have gotten a lot of attention. There are all sorts of self-help programs and therapies to cure them. Some have even gained politically-incorrect connotations, and even some religious beliefs and personal opinions have been labeled “phobic.” I guess that makes all of us mental cases.

So, where to begin?

The late, great columnist Lewis Grizzard suffered from a very bad case of dentophobia (fear of dentists). The fear caused him to delay treatment of a diseased tooth which caused damage to his heart valve. Grizzard was also aerophobic (fear of airplanes) as well as sockophobic? (fear of socks).

I have known friends, relatives and acquaintances who had truly irrational fears. One woman -- an itinerant professional -- was so afraid of cats that she could not stay in my house if a cat was inside – not even shut in another room. When I put the cat out, the woman “froze” when the cat looked at her through the sliding glass door. She declared that my cat had “evil eyes,” So I closed the curtain and suggested that she get herself a kitten to overcome her phobia. She didn’t. Another time, when I refused to put the cat outdoors, she picked up a kitchen stool to “protect” herself from my sweet and unassuming feline. I said she should try cat sensitization therapy. The next time, she honked her horn out in the driveway as my “cue” to get rid of my cat. I let her honk and kept the cat. Eventually, she was able to pet the cat when I held it.

Another visitor was terribly afraid of snakes. Well, I am too, IF they are poisonous. We had never even seen a snake in our yard until the afternoon of our eldest son’s birthday party. So wouldn’t you know it, but during the outdoor festivities, a garden snake dropped out of the big oak tree under which we were partying and landed in a chair right next to this woman! My husband, who thank goodness knows good snakes from bad snakes, nonchalantly picked up the drop-in, carried it over to the woods and let it go. Then, wouldn’t you know it, but later in the party, the woman spotted another snake in the grass. It was a black racer. So, my snake-handler husband once again grabbed it like the Crocodile Hunter and also tossed it into the woods. The woman immediately left and has never been back to our house.

I had a college friend who was afraid of lightning and thunder – even inside the dorm. It seems she once saw a house struck by lightning. A neighbor’s dog was so afraid of thunder that she would not let vehicles out of the neighborhood. If the dog was outdoors and heard thunder 20 miles away, the dog would get under your car and refuse to budge. If you managed to back out and get on the street, she followed until your car stopped at the main road and got under the car again.

Now, I read that Elton John is getting married to his longtime partner, and he hopes his efforts will help alleviate homophobia. That, of course, is a fear of homosexuality or homosexuals. Trouble is, even folks who believe homosexuality is morally incorrect are often considered “homophobic.” So, I guess that makes people who label others as “homophobes” homilophobes (fear of sermons). They could also be called allodoxaphobes (fear of opinions).

Any more phobias out there? Try pupaphobia (fear of puppets), pteronophobia (fear of being tickled by feathers), plotophobia (fear of wealth), panophobia (fear of everything), melophobia (fear of music), globophobia (fear of balloons), alektorophobia (fear of chickens), and my favorite of all fears, the fictional antidaeophobia (fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching you!)

'Twas the week before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a MOUSE.

Still not stirring up stuff on my blog...busy getting paid to write and getting ready to celebrate the birthday of the Christ child.

That's how it goes. As soon as I post a blog about an ad on my site, the ad disappears. In reference to Chrismukkah, it is a real website at www.chrismukkah.com.

‘Twas the Ninth of December, and in this madhouse,
I checked on my blog with a move of my mouse.
A new ad was hanging at the top of the page
In hopes of attracting the next big rage?
I clicked on the picture, all folksy and bright
Read a few lines and laughed with delight!
Someone had globalized the holiday flak!
And created gifts to fill the sack
Of anyone anywhere who’d rather not choose
Christmas or Hanukkah or the pagan Zeus.
Away to Windows I surfed with a flash,
And discovered their secret: Mish-Mash!
I had found one place to have it all!
It’s certain to settle December’s brawl.
There’s a Chrismukkah cookbook with tasty treats,
Latke, fruitcake and plenty of sweets.
A deer is antlered with Menorah lights
And a Matzoh House is among the sights.
“War is over!” the website exclaims,
And it lists the holidays, calls them by names:
Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice too.
Kwanzaa, Shabe Yalda – to cite a few.
There are greeting cards, T-shirts and mugs on sale,
All non-judgmental – so it cannot fail.
Chrismukkah, I see, is the mind for the season
Where we celebrate together with calm and reason.
It’s perfect for families who share different beliefs.
Just keep the season with combined motifs!
But as I looked from my screen to the wreath on the door,
My thoughts returned to the One I adore.
He was born in a manger long, long ago.
Angels brought tidings so that we might know
The glory of God, peace and goodwill.
He was the gift from Heaven sent to fulfill
The plan of salvation and kingdom to come,
The Christ who someday will welcome me Home.

In the words of Clement Clark Moore, “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”