Just before Christmas when I was twelve, I found a T-shirt at a Christian bookstore that had a picture of a manger scene on it and a statement on the back of the shirt read, “Put Christ back into Xmas.” I had never thought about the word “Xmas” as being insulting before, but when I saw that T-shirt I immediately got offended at the idea of people mentioning a day that is supposed to celebrate the birth of Christ without actually mentioning Him.  I bought a shirt for myself and a few more for three of my friends.  We proudly wore them to our school Christmas party and I felt like we were waging the war against secularism.

Years later someone mentioned to me that “Xmas” was not an offensive word because X is the Greek symbol for Christ.  When I heard that, I was done being offended.  That made sense to me and I was proud to know a deeper detail about the issue than most other Christians.  From that point on I proudly corrected others who made comments about taking offense to the term “Xmas.”

But one Christmas I realized…

“Wait a minute… do I even know what I’m talking about?  I have been telling people for years that “X” is the Greek symbol for Christ, but I don’t actually even know if that is true.”

It wasn’t until I did some study and investigation that I could speak more truly informed on the matter. I still am no expert of the Greek language, but here is what I have learned.

The term “Christmas” predates the twelfth century and comes from the Old English Cristes Masse, literally, Christ’s mass. There are documented variations of the word “Xmas” having been used as a non-offensive abbreviation for the word “Christmas” that date back as far as 1021 A.D., long before it became a word used merely to save space in electronics ads. In the distant past, “X” was also commonly used as an abbreviation for “Christ” in the word Christian, then written as “Xian.”

One early and common symbol used in the Christian Church, referencing Christ and his followers, is known as the “Chi Rho”.  The New Testament of the Bible which is the portion containing the history and documentation of the life of Christ and his church was originally written in the languages of Greek and Aramaic. In the Greek alphabet, X is the letter “Chi” and is used for the “Ch” in the beginning of Christ’s name.  In Greek, P is the letter “Rho” and is used for the “r” in Christ.

The X and P of Chi Rho were superimposed over one another and placed on jewelry, coffins, coins, armor, shields and other wares as early as the third century. The above photo is of a reproduction of a Roman Fresco found in the Villa at Lullingstone, containing the Chi Rho flanked by the Greek letters Alpha and Omega which God calls Himself in the book of Revelation.

Modern critics of the abbreviation”Xmas” typically feel that the X is replacing Christ, who is the reason for the holiday.  It is felt by many that “Xmas” further secularizes what is supposed to be a sacred celebration.

It is possible that the use of “Xmas” has become offensive to Americans in recent years, partly due a massive decline in knowledge amongst English speaking westerners of the Greek language and alphabet. For this reason, even once Christians understand the origins of “Xmas”, they may still prefer the use of the full word “Christmas” because an X no longer represents the name of Christ, in our modern American culture.

When so many Christmas traditions are being attacked and erased from the public square, and big business is trying to use alternate labels such as “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings” Christians are doing everything to try and keep the name of Christ on people’s lips and in their hearts.  “Xmas” may have it’s origins in being a holy and acceptable representation of Christ, but today it has lost that meaning and in most cases is used only to aid advertisers in saving letter space in ads which focus on commercialism, materialism, and selfish desires.

What’s your opinion?

Are you still offended?  Were you ever?  How do you feel about it now?

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