When I was young, I remember first hearing about the use of the abbreviation “Xmas” for “Christmas.” “They’re taking Christ out of Christmas! How can you have Christmas without Christ? He’s the whole reason for Christmas!”
Of course, on one level, they’re right; you can’t take Christ out of Christmas. Without the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Christ, “Christmas” is just a generic winter holiday. And unfortunately, for many people, that’s exactly what it is. Jewish people celebrate Hanukah; African-Americans observe Kwanzaa; and then there’s Festivus, “a holiday for the rest of us.” Festivus originated from an episode of Seinfeld. However, it has taken on a life of its own, as an alternative December holiday. It’s easy to see why Christians might object to abbreviating “Christmas” as “Xmas.”
Historical Use of “X” for “Christ”
But there are historical and Biblical justifications for using “X” as a substitute for “Christ.” In Greek, the first letter of “Christ” is “Chi.” It is pronounced as a hard “ch” – like the letter “k.” But the letter itself in Greek looks like an English “X.”
In the early days of the Church, Christians used the first letters of Christ’s name in at least two ways, neither of which lessened Christ in any way. By Constantine’s day, the first two letters of “Christ” – “Chi” and “Rho” in Greek – were combined into a symbol that looks somewhat like a combination of an English “X” and “P” (as in the picture above). Constantine used a form of this symbol as his battle standard.
Another way that the letter “X” was used was in the association of Christ with a fish. The Greek word for “fish” is “ichthus.” That word was also an acronym for the phrase “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior” (those words in Greek began with the letters of the word “ichthus”). Even today, people use the symbol of a fish to denote Christianity (as on the back of countless cars across America).
Historical Use of “Xmas” for “Christmas”
While the use of the single letter “X” to represent Christ was not prevalent during the earliest days of the Church, it is also not a modern phenomenon. As far back as the 1400s Christian printers used the letter “X” to represent Christ in order to cut down on the expense of printing. It has been in regular use since that time – not with the idea of eliminating Christ from anything, but simply as a shorthand way to refer to “Christ.” “Xmas” was not the only such use; “Xtian” and “Xtianity” were also fairly common over the past 400 years.
“Xmas” Doesn’t “Take Christ out of Christmas”
Now, it is clear that not everyone who uses “Xmas” instead of “Christmas” acknowledges that “X” is simply a shorthand way to refer to Jesus. Many unbelievers may use “Xmas” thinking that they are “taking Christ out of Christmas.” But that’s a separate question. So instead of getting up in arms when we see “Xmas,” why not see it instead as an opportunity to bring Christ back into the discussion? Use it as a teaching opportunity to let people know that “Xmas” doesn’t eliminate Christ from our celebration of Christmas.
Instead of getting into arguments, trying to “prove our faithfulness,” we can remind people that since the early days of the Church, “X” has been used to represent Christ, not to eliminate Him. As Paul challenged Timothy in 2 Timothy 2: Solemnly exhort them in the presence of God not to dispute about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the listeners… But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness… The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to all, skillful in teaching, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition… (2 Timothy 2:14-25).
The truth is that people can’t “take Christ out of Christmas,” even if they wanted to! So instead of getting caught up in “disputes about words,” let’s keep the focus on Jesus!
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