A retail “X”er is one who overuses the “xmas” instead of spelling out the entire word of Christmas. These industries include restaurants who don’t want to spend the extra $120 to order another set of letters just to have enough “c”’s to spell it out on the marquee for two weeks out of the year, or the jewelry stores who try to incorporate the “X” as some sort of criss cross to represent lovers, or the retailer who, not wanting to betray his own but still realizing the business aspect of marketing to those with different beliefs, incorporates the “X” as a compromise to advertising during the holiday season.

An “X”er will put up a sign such as “On sale today: xmas market special!” This attracts the type of shopper who is in a hurry, who realizes that “time is money” and who is simply shopping and participating as a result of their sense of obligation.

The shoppers who help classify the Christmas market are those who want to celebrate the season with family and friends, gifts and food and those who thoroughly enjoy everything about the holiday season.

In terms of religion, the xmas market shoppers miss the entire point of Christmas all together. Xmas market retailers concentrate on only the commercialization of the season and offer deep discounts and work long, hard hours to make sure the money comes rolling in. During this time, the xmas market is flooded with Santa Claus and his elves instead of Mary, Joseph and the Christ child. There are no nativity scenes, but those of reindeer, sleighs and toys. The movies also rarely support the Christian side of Christmas, although t his past year, the movie “The Nativity Scene” was a very refreshing change. Anyone who has children should really get this on DVD when it comes out and make it a “new” holiday tradition to introduce your children to the real meaning of Christmas.

The meaning of Christmas is all but lost on the children of today. Concerned more with how much they get in the way of gifts, some children don’t even know, or are, why we celebrate Christmas, aren’t concerned with any religious aspects of the holiday and just want to know how long it will be before Santa comes. This is sad for many reasons, but most of all, they miss out on the joy that comes with the season. The hope and the love that God’s gift of his only son meant to the world of man is something that no one will ever do again and no gift will ever be more needed and less appreciated. It’s also a sad state of affairs when we know that our society is not sharing with its children the foundational principals that this country was founded on. No, I don’t mean the Christmas Holiday season, I mean the Christian-Judeo beliefs that are our center and helped to sustain our country through its worst times.

People who consider the placement of an “X” in front of the letters m-a-s to “spell” Christmas as something petty probably wouldn’t want their greatest gift to be hashed through-right? When Christ came to earth as a child, he gave all he had, would it be asking too much for us to give a little more effort than just an “X”?