Why is Christmas often shortened to Xmas?

Answer 1

LOL LuLu about American Attention span.. not nice on Christmas eve.
But first time I did it, my mum explained X mas took Christ out. I never did it again.
Did others read that Father Christmas has made all deliveries in OZ, Tasmania, and New Zealand, and is heading due north?
He's on his Way!
Love, peace, and all the joy on earth, with a Happy Christmas wish to all...
Charles "That Cheeky Father Christmas Tracker"

Answer 2

I think some people are looking into this too deeply. The whole Christ and cross business seems a bit OTT. As far as I'm concerned, it's just a quicker way of writing Christmas.

This is what Wikipedia has to say on the subject:

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.

In ancient Christian art χ and χρ are abbreviations for Christ's name.[citation needed] 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'.

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"[citation needed] (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").

Answer 3

Not as simple as you think X is a way of saying Christ in Ancient Greek, so it is a valid abbreviation.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") (see Labarum), and are still widely seen in many Eastern Orthodox icons depicting Jesus Christ.

Some people believe that the term is part of an effort to "take Christ out of Christmas" or to literally "cross out Christ";[citation needed] 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.

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.

Answer 4

"X" is the Greek letter "Chi", which is the first letter of Christ.

It's been used as a symbol for Christ for over 1000 years--most commonly in Xmas.

It's not a disrespectful thing, and despite what people will tell you it has nothing to do with trying to "take the Christ out of Christmas" or insult Jesus. Many people use it as an abbreviation, some use it because in their faith writing the word "Christ" is sacriligous.

Some people get disproportionately upset about it, but that annoyance is based entirely on ignorance.

Answer 5

Actually it is a common misconception that Xmas is taking Christ out of Christmas. The X actually represents a cross which is a christian symbol for Christ hence Xmas=Christmas

Answer 6

Well non-Christians basically just try to annoy us Christians by taking the Christ out of Christmas but that's stupid cuz the 'X' still symbolises the cross that Jesus Christ died on so woot woot we win either way :) Merry Christmas xxx

Answer 7

this is the correct answer the letter 'X' is an abbreviation of the greek word for christ and hence Xmas

Answer 8

I do it if I don't have enough space such as on a office card where you have lots of people signing it to give to the boss.

Otherwise I write it out.

Answer 9

As we have to write so many cards its easier to write merry xmas rather than merry christmas...

Answer 10

because X is like cross. From that they get criss. So It's Xmas!