Merry Xmas!

          I have noticed a lot of Facebook friends posting negative comments about using the abbreviation “Xmas” to refer to Christmas.  I have written a few words explaining the abbreviation, and I hope it will be enlightening to some:

Are some people belittling the birth of Jesus by using the abbreviation “Xmas” to refer to Christmas?

Actually, the word Christmas is a compounding of the two words “Christ” and “Mass”.  Historically, Christians would shorten the Greek word for Christ-- Χριστός” (pronounced “Christos)-- to its first letter “X”—or “Chi”-- in the Greek.  Xmas literally means “Christ-mas” and that is how it should be pronounced, never as “ex-mass”.

            Shorthand like “Xmas” has been popular throughout history. For example, the phrase ΙΧΘΥΣ is transliterated "ichthus "; a phrase in which each letter (ΙΧΘΥΣ) represents the first letter of each of the following words: Jesus, Christ, God, Son, Savior. The “X” in the phrase represents the word for Christ.

The bottom line is whether or not you use the word “Christmas” or the abbreviation “Xmas”, both mean the same thing. Both refer to the celebration of the Incarnation of Christ Jesus! Thank you Lord for your plan of Salvation. Merry Xmas and Soli Deo Gloria!