Put the X back in Xmas

From time to time over the years, I've drawn criticism for my occasional use of 'Xmas' rather than 'Christmas', at times being told that it is some new marketing shorthand.

In fact, the term 'Xmas' is centuries old. The 'X' stands for 'Christ' (which is why many Neopagans use the expression 'Xians' for Christians'). The ancient Greek letter 'Chi', the first letter in the Greek word 'Christ' ('Anointed one'), was represented by an 'X' -- hence the 'Ichthus' bumper stickers displayed by some Christians, which is an acronym for the Greek words for Iesous Christos Theou Huios Sotir ('Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour'). That famous fish symbol, by the way, was supposedly scratched on walls by early Christians to point the way to their illegal meetings, and it was revived by hippie Jesus Freaks in the early 1970s, then gradually adopted by conservative Christians.

Another use of the 'X' in Christian tradition is explained at November 25 in the Book of Days -- how it pertains to St Andrew and the 'XXX' we put at the end of letters to represent kisses.

Merry Xmas!

Tagged: christmas, christian, jesus+christ, folklore, customs, religion, english, language, words