This 1922 Ladies' Home Journal advertisement uses "Xmas".

"Xmas" and "X-mas" are common abbreviations of the word "Christmas". They are sometimes pronounced "eksmas", but they, and variants such as "Xtemass", originated as handwriting abbreviations for the pronunciation "Christmas". The "-mas" part came from the Anglo-Saxon for "festival", "religious event": Crīstesmæsse or Crīstemæsse. This abbreviation is widely used but not universally accepted; some view it as demeaning to Christ, whilst others find it a helpful abbreviation. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (720x896, 208 KB) Advertisement from December 1922 issue of the Ladies Home Journal, showing use of abbreviation Xmas. Artwork by Coles Phillips. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (720x896, 208 KB) Advertisement from December 1922 issue of the Ladies Home Journal, showing use of abbreviation Xmas. Artwork by Coles Phillips. ... A cover of Ladies Home Journal from 1906 Ladies Home Journal was first published February 16, 1883 as a womens supplement to the Tribune and Farmer. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... Christ is the English translation of the Greek word (Christós), which literally means The Anointed One. ...

The word "Christ" and its compounds, including "Christmas", have been abbreviated for at least the past 1,000 years, long before the modern "Xmas" was commonly used. "Christ" was often written as "XP" or "Xt"; there are references in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as far back as 1021 AD. This X and P arose as the uppercase forms of the Greek letters χ and ρ), used in ancient abbreviations for Χριστος (Greek for "Christ"), and are still widely seen in many Eastern Orthodox icons depicting Jesus Christ. The labarum, an amalgamation of the two Greek letters rendered as ☧, is a symbol often used to represent Christ in Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christian Churches.^[1] Christ is the English translation of the Greek word (Christós), which literally means The Anointed One. ... The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals narrating the history of the Anglo-Saxons and their settlement in Great Britain. ... Majuscules or capital letters (in the Roman alphabet: A, B, C, ...) are one type of case in a writing system. ... Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... Chi (upper case Χ, lower case χ) is the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet. ... 1. ... Eastern Orthodoxy (also called Greek Orthodoxy and Russian Orthodoxy) is a Christian tradition which represents the majority of Eastern Christianity. ... The Savior Not Made By Hands (1410s, by Andrei Rublev) An icon (from Greek εικων, eikon, image) is an artistic visual representation or symbol of anything considered holy and divine, such as God, saints or deities. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... The Labarum An image of the labarum, with the Greek letters Alpha and Omega inscribed. ... The Labarum An image of the labarum, with the Greek letters Alpha and Omega inscribed. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The Eastern Orthodox Church is a Christian body that views itself as the historical continuation of the original Christian community established by Jesus and the Twelve Apostles, preserving the traditions of the early church unchanged, accepting the canonicity of the first seven ecumenical councils held between the 4th and the...

Some people believe that the term is part of an effort to "take Christ out of Christmas" or to literally "cross out Christ";^[2] it is also seen as evidence of the secularization of Christmas, as a symptom of the commercialization of the holiday (as the abbreviation has long been used by retailers). It may also be used as a vehicle to be more inclusive, see political correctness. Official Target logo with an affixed Merry Christmas greeting, after 2005 public pressure to include Christmas. The secularization of Christmas and the War on Christmas refer to the notion that the Christmas holiday is under attack from a general secular trend or from persons and/or organizations with a deliberate... Political correctness is the alteration of language to redress real or alleged injustices and discrimination or to avoid offense. ...

The labarum, often called the Chi-Rho, is a Christian symbol representing Christ.

The occasionally felt belief that the "X" represents the cross Christ was crucified on has no basis in fact; regardless, St Andrew's Cross is X-shaped, but Christ's cross was probably shaped like a T or a †. Indeed, X-as-chi was associated with Christ long before X-as-cross could be, since the cross as a Christian symbol developed later. (The Greek letter Chi Χ stood for "Christ" in the ancient Greek acrostic ΙΧΘΥΣ ichthys.) While some see the spelling of Christmas as Xmas a threat, others see it as a way to honor the martyrs. The use of X as an abbreviation for "cross" in modern abbreviated writing (e.g. "Kings X" for "Kings Cross") may have reinforced this assumption. Image File history File links Simple_Labarum. ... Image File history File links Simple_Labarum. ... The Labarum An image of the labarum, with the Greek letters Alpha and Omega inscribed. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Christianity. ... Christ is the English translation of the Greek word (Christós), which literally means The Anointed One. ... A Greek cross (all arms of equal length) above a saltire, a cross rotated by 45 degrees A famous khachkar at Goshavank (Notice the cross). ... The Saltire (or St Andrews Cross) is the national flag of Scotland. ... The ichthys or fish symbol represents Christianity Ichthys (Greek: ; also transliterated and latinized as ichthys, icthus, ichthus or ikhthus; ichthus, spelled: Iota Chi Theta Upsilon Sigma), is the Ancient and Classical Greek word for fish. ... This article is about the band. ... Kings Cross is an place in the London Borough of Camden. ...

In ancient Christian art χ and χρ are abbreviations for Christ's name.^[3] In many manuscripts of the New Testament and icons, X is an abbreviation for Christos, as is XC (the first and last letters in Greek, using the lunate sigma); compare IC for Jesus in Greek. The Oxford English Dictionary documents the use of this abbreviation back to 1551, 50 years before the first English colonists arrived in North America and 60 years before the King James Version of the Bible was completed. At the same time, Xian and Xianity were in frequent use as abbreviations of "Christian" and "Christianity"; and nowadays still are sometimes so used, but much less than "Xmas". The proper names containing the name "Christ" other than aforementioned are rarely abbreviated in this way (e.g. Hayden Xensen for the actor name "Hayden Christensen"). Pop artist Christina Aguilera is known to spell her first name as 'Xtina'. Christ the Redeemer (1410s, by Andrei Rublev) An icon (from Greek , eikon, image) is an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it, or by analogy, as in semiotics; in computers an icon is a symbol on the... Sigma (upper case Σ, lower case σ, alternative ς) is the 18th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... The Oxford English Dictionary print set The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP), and is generally regarded as the most comprehensive and scholarly dictionary of the English language. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library of Congress. ... Hayden Christensen (born April 19, 1981) is a Golden Globe-nominated Canadian actor. ... Christina Maria Aguilera (born December 18, 1980) is an American Grammy Award winning pop singer and songwriter. ...

This apparent usage of "X" to spell the syllable "kris" (rather than the sounds "ks") has extended to "xtal" for "crystal", and on florists' signs "xant" for "chrysanthemum"^[4] (though these words are not etymologically related to "Christ"; "crystal" comes from a Greek word meaning "ice", and "chrysanthemum" from Greek words meaning "golden flower", while "Christ" comes from a Greek word meaning "anointed"). Quartz crystal Copper(II) sulfate and iodine crystal Synthetic bismuth crystal Insulin crystals Gallium, a metal that easily forms large single crystals A huge monocrystal of potassium dihydrogen phosphate grown from solution by Saint-Gobain for the megajoule laser of CEA. In chemistry and mineralogy, a crystal is a solid... Floristry is most often understood as referring to the cultivation of flowers as well as their arrangement, rather than to the business of selling them. ... Species Chrysanthemum aphrodite Chrysanthemum arcticum Chrysanthemum argyrophyllum Chrysanthemum arisanense Chrysanthemum boreale Chrysanthemum chalchingolicum Chrysanthemum chanetii Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium Chrysanthemum coronarium Chrysanthemum crassum Chrysanthemum glabriusculum Chrysanthemum hypargyrum Chrysanthemum indicum Chrysanthemum japonense Chrysanthemum japonicum Chrysanthemum lavandulifolium Chrysanthemum mawii Chrysanthemum maximowiczii Chrysanthemum mongolicum Chrysanthemum morifolium Chrysanthemum morii Chrysanthemum okiense Chrysanthemum oreastrum Chrysanthemum ornatum Chrysanthemum...

In the animated television show Futurama, which is set in the 31st century, Xmas is the official name for the day formerly known as Christmas (which has become an "archaic pronunciation"). Futurama is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons) and David X. Cohen for the Fox Network. ... The 31st century (Gregorian Calendar) comprises the years 3001–3100. ...

In Japanese media and goods, Xmas/X-mas is commonly misspelled as "X'mas" in what amounts to an instance of wasei-eigo, or English made in Japan. Wasei-eigo (和製英語 wasei eigo, lit. ...

References

1. ^ Christian Symbols: Chi-Rho
2. ^ CRI/Voice: The Origin of "Xmas"
3. ^ New Advent: Monogram of Christ
4. ^ Everything 2: X

See also

Look up Xmas in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Christogram
• Names and titles of Jesus
• Christmas controversy
• Robert Christgau, Christo, and Christina Aguilera for other uses of an X prefix abbreviation.

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... A Christogram is a monogram or combination of letters which forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, and is traditionally used as a Christian symbol. ... A large variety of names and titles have been used to describe Jesus, many of which reflect various theological understandings or different beliefs about him. ... Christmas controversy refers to publicized controversy surrounding the public acknowledgement or celebration of the Christmas holiday in media, advertising, government, and various secular environments. ... Robert Christgau (sometimes abbreviated in print to Xgau), born April 18, 1942, is an American essayist, music journalist, and rock critic. ... Christo Yavasheff (born June 13, 1935) is an artist popularly known as Christo. ... Christina Maria Aguilera (born December 18, 1980) is an American Grammy Award winning pop singer and songwriter. ...

External links

• Meaning of X-mas - Shorthand for "Christ"
• An icon of Christ featuring the abbreviations IC and XC in the upper corners
• "Why get cross about Xmas?" (BBC, December 22nd 2004)
• Xmas and Christmas: A Lost Chapter from Herodotus (C.S. Lewis satire, which uses "Exmas" as a name for non-religious aspects of Christmas observance).