Christmas according to Webster It is the 12th month, and the 24th day, in the year 2043. We are gathered around the Big Book, reading by candlelight. As the faint light flickers over the book cover, we read the faded words: “Webster’s Dictionary, 1994 Edition”. Bibles have not seen for twenty years, and Christmas has not been observed since 2020. We Christians have been passing down the story of Christ’s birth to our children, from memory. The older children have taken up the custom of searching the dictionary for words that help define “Christmas”. I send you a copy, along with warmest wishes for a Blessed Christmas, and New Year! Joe Christmas: The yearly celebration, December 25, of the birth of Jesus Christ. Nativity: The birth of Jesus. Christmas Day. Angel: A messenger of God. Census: Any official count of population and recording of age, sex, etc. Wife: A married woman. Virgin: A person, esp. a woman, who has not had sexual intercourse. Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mother: A female parent, an origin or source. Husband: A married man. Father: A male parent, God. Carpenter: One who builds and repairs wooden articles, buildings, etc Donkey: A small domestic animal like the horse, but with longer ears. Inn: A small hotel. Stable: A building in which horses or cattle are sheltered and fed. Cattle: Farm animals; livestock. Cows, bulls, steers or oxen. Manger: A box or trough to hold hay, etc. for horses or cattle to eat. Birth: A being born. Baby: A very young child, infant. Shepherd: One who herds sheep. Sheep: A cud-chewing mammal related to goats, with heavy wool and edible flesh. Star: Any heavenly body seen as a small, fixed point of light, esp. one that is a distant sun. Magi: The priestly caste in ancient Persia. In the Bible, the wise men who came bearing gifts to the infant Jesus. Gold: A heavy, yellow, metallic chemical element: it is a precious metal, and is used in coins, jewelry, etc. Frankincense: A gum resin, burned as incense. Myrrh: A fragrant gum resin exuded from a shrub of Arabia and East Africa. Camel: A large, domesticated animal with a humped back, and long neck; because it can store water, it is used in Asian and African deserts.
I can only see two definitions that should be changed in my opinion. Wife: A woman married to a man Husband: A man married to a woman
When I wrote this in 1994, I had received a new dictionary for Christmas. The words are Websters, not mine. Today's definition is "a female partner in a marriage, and a male partner in a marriage". I don't see it as Webster trying to push an agenda, as much as updating the usage. That is just my opinion.
I guess Websters could no more imagine that men would be marrying me and women marrying women...then we could.
Yes, they can. In some of these gay marriages one man is considered the wife just as in woman to woman marriages one is considered to be the husband often.