Xmas

From "Don't Cross Out Christ!" on the Per Christum Catholic blog:

Along with “happy holidays” (which I actually use with my Christian friends because, I prefer covering Advent/Christmas/Epiphany in one fell swoop), “Xmas” is often the target of culture warriors, wanting to prevent Christ from getting the “x,” of all times, during the season of his birth!

However, Wikipedia (believe it or not!) points us to the truth that those who know Greek already are aware of: X is the Greek letter chi, and was often paired with rho, and used as a very ancient symbol for Jesus. In fact the chi-rho symbol was more common, and ancient, than the symbol of the cross.

In our society, in which classical education is lacking, it probably seems like a slight to our Lord to use “X” for his name, but hey, every great person needs a rocking nickname, and what could be cooler than “X?” Personally, I wouldn’t mind being called “X,” since it is sufficiently tough and yet has an air of mystery (a kind of “he’s cool, but don’t mess with him” type of name). But, in all seriousness, using “Xmas” is not an attack on Jesus, just an abbreviation with an ancient history. So, once December 25th gets here, have a very Merry Xmas, or if you have more time, a very merry Glorious Nativity of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ (let’s see the heathens abbreviate that!).


(see this website for a well-intentioned but mistaken plea not to "cross out life's best name." m)