Put the 'X' back in Christmas!

For years, it has been the crusade of certain Christians to revolt against the shortened form of holiday from 'Christ'mas to 'X'mas. Opponents of abbreviations, these few faithful have devoted much energy to restore the “reason for the season” from its commercialization. Indeed, Christmas in American culture has become more about Santa than Savior, and this truncation only testifies to the way in which Jesus' birth has been disconnected from the biggest holiday on our calendar.

Well, today I turn the tables on these crusaders. I think it is time to fight to get the 'X' back on signs and storefronts, and even in greeting cards, salutations, well wishes, and t-shirts. (I will disregard the fact that people don't use the word “Christmas” publicly anymore. That little fact messes up my story.)

What, you say? I thought you were a Christian, you might respond. Well, before you cast me into the pits (or worse, stop reading my blog), let me explain.

You see, the ancient Greek abbreviation for 'Christ' was the letter X. This letter in the Greek alphabet is known as Chi (pronounced Kī) symbolizing the hard CH sound, as in 'charisma.' It also served as the first letter of the word Christ in its Greek form. Now in ancient manuscripts, proper nouns were often abbreviated to their first letter when the context made it obvious. So in the earliest New Testament manuscripts, the word Christ often appears simply as the letter X (with appropriate noun endings, but that is another story). Often in my classes, I abbreviate Christ as X when writing on the board, to save my students from my poor handwriting as well as to provoke them. Yes, I know, I am that kind of person...

You probably see where I am going with this. When people abbreviate Christmas as X-mas, they are unknowingly reverting to an ancient form of Christian expression. This makes me laugh (the way an academic theologian laughs, which is to say not at all – but would if 10 years of grad school hadn't hardened me). So I say, let them abbreviate, if they so wish. It just gives us all a reason to smile, and be reminded of what Christmas is really about.