X in Xmas
What Is the X in Xmas?
.
Here’s a
holiday surprise that only the dictionary can provide.
Do you find
the word “Xmas,” as an abbreviation for Christmas, offensive? Many people do.
You won’t
find “Xmas” in church songbooks or even on many greeting cards.
“Xmas” is
popularly associated with a trend towards materialism, and sometimes the
target of people who decry the emergence of general “holiday” observance
instead of particular cultural and religious ritual.
But the
history of the word “Xmas” is actually more respectable — and fascinating
— than you might suspect.
First of
all, the abbreviation predates by centuries its use in gaudy advertisements.
It was first
used in the mid 1500’s.
X is the Greek letter “chi,” the initial letter in the word Χριστός (“Cristos.”)
And here’s
the kicker: Χριστός means
“Christ.”
X has been an acceptable representation of the
word “Christ” for hundreds of years.
This device is known as a christogram.
The “mas” in “Xmas” is the Old English word for “mass.” (The
thought-provoking etymology of “mass” can be found here.) In the
same vein, the dignified terms Xpian and Xtian have been used in place
of the word “Christian.”
As lovers of
the alphabet, we are transfixed by the flexibility of “X.”
The same
letter can represent the sacred, the profane (“rated X”), and the unknown (“X-ray
“).
What does the “X: in Xbox stand for?
RELATED POSTS:
Is 'Xmas' an acceptable abbreviation for 'Christmas'?
.
.
The True Meaning Of Christ-Mass
.
.
.
.
.
.
Did Christmas originate from
the pagan festival known as Saturnalia?
http://puricarefiles.blogspot.com/2016/12/christmas-and-pagan-festival-saturnalia.html
p-chron p-files
No comments:
Post a Comment