Kids and people, it's time once more for a little chat about the word "Xmas." Grab a mug of glad tidings and buckle up! 1/x
There are folks who hate "Xmas" because they believe it is a secularization of the word "Christmas"--that it literally removes "Christ" from "Christmas." Except the use of "X" for "Christ" goes back to the early Christian church. 2/x
Early Christians used the Chi-Rho (XP) as shorthand for "Khristos," or "Christ." English speakers adopted the chi (X) part of that and used it from about 1000AD onward to mean "Christ." Those English speakers were monks. They were _all about_ Jesus. 3/x
That shorthand was handy, btw! It became one of a bunch of standard space-saving measures used in manuscripts. It gave us "Xpen"/"Xian" ("Christian," 15th & 16th c.) and "Xmas" ("Christmas," 16th c.) 4/x
The idea that "Xmas" was a secularization of "Christmas" didn't show up until 1921 thanks to Rev. Thomas C. Richards from Medford, MA. books.google.com/books?id=4G00A… 5/x
BTW, the phrase "war on Christmas" to refer to the secularization of the holiday didn't appear until 1985, and that was in...an article about how much the Puritans haaaaaaaaated Christmas. historytoday.com/chris-durston/… 6/x
SO: if you are legit worried about the secularization of your fave holiday, maybe channel that fear and anger into acts of devotion, charity, and joy instead of yelling at the Safeway checkout lady about how offensive the "Merry Xmas" cards are. xoxo and FIN
