Merry XMas!

"Don't take Christ out of CHRISTMAS!"

We've all said it, or at least thought it.

Our family was having a discussion on this topic because of something my son learned at school. So, I did a little searching and came up with some new-to-me information.

The abbreviation of "Xmas" for Christmas is not nearly as blasphemous as I had been taught to believe. Rather than a sacrilegious removal of "Christ" from Christmas and replacing him with an unknown, the "Xmas" abbreviation has a long history in the church. In Greek, the language in which the New Testament was first written, "chi" (c or C), which is almost identical to the Roman alphabet "X," is the first letter of the word "Christ" (cristoV, or as it would be written in older manuscripts, CRISTOS).

In the early days of printing when typesetting was done by hand abbreviations were common. The church began to use the abbreviation "X" for the word "Christ" in religious publications. From there, the abbreviation moved into general use in newspapers and other publications, and "Xmas" became an accepted way of printing "Christmas."

Isn't it interesting that we, the church, have often complained when we have seen this shortened version, when in fact, it originated in the church.

I must say, I'm sure that I will still only write Christmas.