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| Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
We often see the word Christmas shortened to Xmas. In fact according to my Random House Dictionary, the abbreviation for Christian in Xn. Really? Where'd this come from?
There are several explanations that I have found for this replacement, but overall it makes me wonder. Why do we need to x out the name of Jesus? A reasonable explanation is that the term for Christ in Greek is Χριστός. So the X is an abbreviation. Or in many cases it is a cover up.
In some countries an "X" rating denotes something vulgar, obscene, or offensive. But come to think of it, Jesus Christ is becoming offensive to many--He always has been. We can't have Jesus in the schools or in public places where others might be offended. If we replace Christ with a X then maybe we don't have to think about him.
No, thank you--no x for me. Give me Jesus Christ, not x as in the unknown factor. The equation has been solved. The x is Jesus Christ. Let His Name be praised!
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eXcellent post, Arlee! I totally agree!
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Pam at 2 Encourage
I agree with you Lee, but the letter X turn it into a different position shows a cross.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
When my 'heathen' friends have used the term 'Xmas' I've had the opportunity to talk to them about the cross and Christ - it's one way of showing them that they can still honour Christ in Christmas.
ReplyDeleteVery nice idea for an 'X' post. I'll doing mine a little later today using an X-word for kindness :)
ReplyDeleteCheers from Brandy at http://brandysbustlings.blogspot.ca/
I have never been able to bring myself to abbreviate "Christmas" with an "x". Perhaps some people consider it "ok" to do so (and I cannot imagine Christ condemning them if their heart is in the right place when they do this) but personally I want to honor Him by using His full name.
ReplyDeleteI think it's also used because of the first two letters in the Greek word "Christ"-- "chi" (which looks like an X) and "ro" (which looks like a P). The two superimposed on each other are a symbol for the word "Christ." Take out the P--the second symbol--and the first letter is just "X."
ReplyDeleteNot that I like it--I quite dislike "X-mas" myself--but I believe that's the roots of the usage.
Here's the Wikipedia page I used to verify what I was pretty sure I knew: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi_Rho
ReplyDelete:)
Amen! Why would anyone want to replace Jesus with X?? He's too special to be hidden away.
ReplyDelete