December 23, 1998

Xmas

What's the origin of the abbreviation "Xmas" for "Christmas"? Isn't it disrespectful and used only by advertisers?

Well, those are two different questions, but people do seem unusually interested in this issue.

The written shortening Xmas for "Christmas" is quite old, and is part of a large group of abbreviations based on Greek letters.

If we recall, the letter H in the profane oath Jesus H. Christ is derived from the Greek letter eta (which looks like the Roman letter "H"), as the second letter of the word Jesus when written in Greek.

Similarly, the name Christ has for a thousand years been abbreviated as X, which is not the Roman letter "eks," but the Greek letter "chi," standing for the first letter of Christ when written in Greek as "Christos" (as transcribed into Roman letters). Some of the words using this abbreviation are X, Xp (Greek chi-rho, or "Chr"), and Xt for "Christ," Xren for "christen," and Xtian for "Christian."

The use of Xmas for "Christmas" is first found in the sixteenth century, in the slightly expanded spelling X'temmas; the Xmas form was in use by the eighteenth century. The X has always been used in religious contexts, and was often lavishly decorated in manuscripts, for example the glorious Chi-Rho page of the Book of Kells, the ninth-century illuminated gospels. The assumption that the abbreviation is somehow "weak" or "irreligious" since it "removes" the Christ from "Christmas" is a thoroughly modern idea.

It should come as no surprise that throughout its history, Xmas has been found more often in letters or other informal works where space is valued. We should note that Xmas and other X abbreviations were usually found in the writings of educated people who knew their Greek.

We should also note, though, that in modern use Xmas is most commonly found in advertisements and the like. For this and other reasons, the abbreviation is viewed with prejudice, and so it would be wise for its use to be confined to informal contexts, its long history notwithstanding.

I wish you all a very happy holiday season.