Why do we say XMAS as short for CHRISTMAS...Is it because Xmas is a Pagan Holiday since 1000s of years..?

Question

Ok trekky you have the benefit of the doubt...so far...But...Why would the Church allow X...yes ot could be a cross symbol bit also an ancient Pagan one too..

Please Explain...if you have Time..Thanks

Ok trekky you have the benefit of the doubt...so far...But...Why would the Church allow X... it could be a cross symbol but also an ancient Pagan one too..

Please Explain...if you have Time..Thanks

OK...I'll leave this open for a bit...But you have a point..

Merry Christmas...

And then what is this Merry at Xmas bit?

Ist connected with Bachanelen Orgies

Answer 1

Actually the 'X' in Xmas stands for the Greek letter 'Ch' and is shorthand for Christ. You might want to think about the ancient 'ChiRo' symbol which stands for the two syllables of the word 'Christ.'

Remember the early Christians were largely Greco-Roman (from around the 3rd CE onwards.)

Answer 2

No. The reason is because there is an ancient Christian symbol representing Christ.

Picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Simple_Labarum2.svg/150px-Simple_Labarum2.svg.png

In fact, long before the term X-mas arose, there were abbreviations for Christ used as far back as 1021 AD. The abbreviations for Christ were "Xt" and "XP". These abbreviations stem from the Greek word for Christ: "Χριστος".

There is no Pagan symbolism or "taking out Christ from Christmas", it's just the ancient symbol used by many Churches for Christ.

Answer 3

"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 Latin-derived Old English word for "mass". [1]

This abbreviation is widely used but not universally accepted. Many do not know about its antiquity and believe it to be of commercial origin and thus demeaning to Christ, whilst others find it a helpful abbreviation.

Answer 4

Yes

Answer 5

Im a religious person but the only reason ive ever used Xmas is becuase i have to shorten it for some reason (ex. not enough room on a card or gift tag) no specific hidden reason though!

Answer 6

I find xmas to be very vulgar.

I always thought the x to symbolize the cross.

Answer 7

No it is because X seems to mean either CRISS or CROSS, or anything pronounced like those.

Train Xing

Answer 8

no people say X-mas, because they're not wanting to associate the hoildays wiith CHRIST-mas. Most non-catholic people say this, during the holidays. Or they say "Happy Holidays."

Answer 9

most people believe it is people X'ing out Christ name in the holiday. I honestly thing people are just too lazy to spell it out.

Answer 10

Trekky is right.