The literal meaning of Christmas.
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Sumerian is perhaps the earliest language of civilisation and the earliest written language where symbols pressed into clay tablets are called cuneiform. The symbol of the cross is an important one, not only in Sumerian cuneiform but throughout history in many cultures in much of the world. In Sumerian the cross symbol has an interesting name, the sound of this character when spoken. MAŠ. Or sometimes simplified as MASS or MASH. Is it coincidence that the cross is important in many different cultures over most of human history, and that it is so important to Christianity? Is it coincidence that MAŠ is part of so many words associated with Christianity? Messiah, Mass, Christmas to mention a few. While the linguistic and cultural contexts of Sumerian "MAŠ" and the Hebrew/Arabic "Messiah" are distinct, there is a symbolic resonance between them, especially when considering the cross as a symbol of reconciliation and mediation. The use of "MAŠ" in its cross-like form might thus be seen as foreshadowing or conceptually aligning with the themes of mediation, sacrifice, and union that are central to the Messiah figure and the Christian understanding of the cross. ‘Christ’ is the Greek form of ‘Messiah’. So Christmas is like a tautology, saying the same thing twice, unknowingly, in two different ways. Christ and Mass might mean the same thing by their historical etymological roots, although it is possibly hidden in the midsts of time. Tradition has given us a narrative that the word ‘Christ’ is associated with anointing, while ‘Mass’ is associated with ‘going forth’ (… into the world). The anointed Christ did indeed go forth into the world. Yet the cross symbol is probably the real origin of Christ/Messiah and Mass. The word denoted by the cross symbol of ancient times seems to have had in early periods various meanings and connotations. One is sacrifice. A goat was often what was sacrificed and so it seems the word gained associations with goats in much of its history. (Note that this history was from three thousand BC until at least 100 BC, the time when Sumerian cuneiform was used, in later times as a religious script language and form of writing.) Another connotation is the reconciliation between divine and human brought about through sacrifice. Another is defeating of evils, including medicinal healings and exorcisms. The latter survives in our understanding of the cross symbol. So maybe Christmas is truly about the message that the death of the Christ on a cross was for our reconciliation with God and the healing and defeating of evils that comes with this sacrifice.
