A Comprehensive List of -Mases...

Naturally when I was a child I wasn't too impressed by the word "Christmas". It was an acceptable word, if not too creative. Then when I got into high school we read a Sherlock Holmes story, The Hound of the Baskervilles IIRC. And they mentioned the holiday Michaelmas (pronounced "mik'l-mus" [short "i"]), Sep. 29, for the Archangel St. Michael. This peaked my interest a little, because after all, I thought Christmas was the only "-mas". I now knew there were more. I didn't even make any conscious effort to uncover them. But they did come up here and there, in books, with random searches in dictionaries, etc.

So far this is the comprehensive list of all the "-mas's" I have uncovered (I hope I don't forget any, because I am saying from memory):

Candlemas (Feb. 2, the Presentation of our Lord),

Lammas (Aug. 1, a harvest festival in England esp.),

Michaelmas (Sept. 29),

Hallowmas (an old name for All Saints' Day, Nov. 1),

Martinmas (Nov. 11, the patron saint of reformed drunks interestingly),

Christmas (obviously), and finally

Childermas (Holy Innocents' Day, Dec. 28--an "old-fashioned" name, cf. Matthew 2:1-18).

I also once read in a book by an British author "Roodmas". No further explanation was given. Now the "rood" was another name for the cross of Jesus. But I have no idea when this date is or what exactly it is for--does anyone else know?

Side note: I also posted this on another board, quite some time ago. And someone added Marymas, used for the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (15 August)

My reasons for posting this, BTW, are partly my fascination with the subject (I love variations on a theme), and partly to inform. Now that this is on a message board, if anyone else is interested, when they do a Google search, this will pop up. Neat, no?

I look forward to your comments as well .

 

The word Christmas originates from the Roman catholic church, A mass to celebrate the birth of Christ.
It can be extended to the saints, but not to god, since he was not born. Mary mass is controversial, since Mary's origins are steeped in mystery. The church also see her as a virgin mother, somehow sent to earth from heaven. (clearly not an area that the church want to explore too deeply at a mass)

 

Massholes

 

Hey I resemble that remark

 

Born and raised in what you call Cow Hampshire

 

mass spectromiter
mass accelerator
reaction mass

oh deer what can the matter be, when its converted to energy, jonny's too long at the con.

 

cant forget the one hipforums is famous for


mas.....turbation

 

and mass-hysteria

 

mass effect (some kind of skiffy war game i think)
mass marketing (welcome to hamburgers that taste like oatmeal)
mass production (well it does produce mass)
mass consumption (doesn't most consumption produce, well actually transfer, mass)
mass conversion (if its instantaneous, it kind of goes boom)

 

Black Mass

 

mass halucination

 

LMGTFY

 

rood also meant tree or forest, as in holy rood.
so roodmass sounds like some kind of druid thing.

 

mastectomy