4Kidz: Why do we call it Christmas (Part 1)

The word “Christmas” comes from the traditional Christ’s Mass, a special church service that celebrated Jesus’ birth. It became our word Christmas! Jesus has lots of names that we hear at
Christmastime – Jesus, the Messiah, Christ, Emmanuel. Can you think of any others? “Jesus” was a common name at the time of Jesus’ birth. It came from the Hebrew name “Yeshua,” which means “Yahweh saves.” (Yahweh is a name for God.) So the angel Gabriel told Joseph that they should name Mary’s baby Jesus, because he would save his people. The word “Christ” is a Greek word that means anointed. So Jesus Christ was the anointed one who would save his people from their sin! Our word Christmas reminds us that this is a holiday all about the birth of Christ.

Let’s pray and ask God to help keep our hearts focused on Him during this season.