Xmas

Xmas -- is it an abbreviation for Christmas or part of a conspiracy to take Christ out of Christmas?

Some people see the X in Xmas as a way of crossing out Christ. Some see it as one more tool of those who wish to secularize Christmas. The use of Xmas as an abbreviation by retailers is cited as evidence of the commercialization of Christmas. And still others point out that X is often used as a symbol for something unknown, as in "the X-factor" or the unknown quantity in a mathematical equation.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word Christmas comes from the eleventh-century Old English Christes msse and the Middle English Christemasse. Cristes comes from the Greek Christos and msse comes from the Latin missa, the word for the Roman Catholic service of the Mass. The X in Xmas is the Greek letter X, or chi, and it is the first letter of Χριστός, the Greek spelling of Christ. X has been used as an abbreviation for Christ since the fifteenth century, and Xmas has been used as an abbreviation for Christ Mass or Christmas ever since.

More recently, in the eighteenth and nineteenh centuries, Xmas has been used for Christmas in the writings of Lord Byron, Samuel Coleridge, Lewis Carroll, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. And even more recently, of course, it has been used in advertising, by greeting card designers, in merchants' store fronts, on Christmas tree lots, and most recently, on Facebook, Twitter, and in text messaging that limits the number of characters available to users. A personal note: I frequently use X and Xmas, mostly in e-mail, notes for myself, marginal notes in a book, and outlines. I use X for Christ, Xian, Xianity, and certainly Xmas.

The New York Times, BBC, and other style guides prohibit the use of Xmas, despite its honorable origins and past use. It is still perceived by some Christians, opportunistic politicians, and media personalities as part of a "war on Christmas." It is not used in the church press, religious educational material, or worship resources, and never in hymns and songs.

"I heard the bells on Xmas Day . . ."
"Love came down at Xmas. . ."
"Sing we now of Xmas. . ."
"We hear the Xmas angels, the great glad tidings tell. . ."
"I saw three ships come sailing in on Xmas Day. . ."
". . .and God sent us salvation that blessed Xmas morn."
and
"I'm dreaming of a white Xmas. . ."
"Then one foggy Xmas Day. . ."
"On the first day of Xmas my true love gave to me. . ."
"We wish you a Merry Xmas. . ."
"Have yourself a merry little Xmas. . ."
"It's beginning to look a lot like Xmas. . ."

Xmas will not replace Christmas in the near future, nor is anyone calling for it to do so. Even for those who understand its past origin and use and who may use it in texting and on Twitter, use of Christmas will continue. But perhaps it is time for those shouting about the use of Xmas in our culture to lower their voices.