Xmas
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/58.68.70.130|58.68.70.130]] to last version by VoABot II (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]])
{{two other uses|the spelling "Xmas", used as an abbreviation for "Christmas"|information about the annual Christian holiday|Christmas|the Italian frogman unit abbreviated "Xª MAS"|Decima Flottiglia MAS}}
[[Image:Xmas-LHJ-Dec-1922-Coles Phillips.jpg|thumb|right|This 1922 ''[[Ladies' Home Journal]]'' advertisement uses "Xmas".]]
"'''Xmas'''" and "'''X-mas'''" are common abbreviations of the word "[[Christmas]]". They are sometimes pronounced "eksmas", but they, and variants such as "Xtemass", originated as handwriting abbreviations for the pronunciation "Christmas". The "-mas" part came from the Latin-derived [[Old English]] word for "mass". <ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09790b.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Liturgy of the Mass] retrieved [[2007-12-20]]</ref>
This abbreviation is widely used but not universally accepted. Many do not know about its antiquity and believe it to be of commercial origin and thus demeaning to [[Christ]], whilst others find it a helpful abbreviation.
==Usage of X for Christ==
The word "[[Christ]]" and its compounds, including "Christmas", have been abbreviated for at least the past 1,000 years, long before the modern "Xmas" was commonly used. "Christ" was often written as "XP" or "Xt"; there are references in the [[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]] as far back as 1021 AD. This X and P arose as the [[uppercase]] forms of the [[Greek alphabet|Greek letters]] [[Chi (letter)|χ]] and [[rho|ρ]]), used in ancient abbreviations for Χριστος (Greek for "Christ"), and are still widely seen in many [[Eastern Orthodox]] [[icons]] depicting [[Jesus Christ]]. The [[labarum]], an amalgamation of the two Greek letters rendered as [[labarum|☧]], is a symbol often used to represent Christ in [[Catholic]], [[Protestant]], and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] Christian Churches.<ref>[http://christiansymbols.net/chi_rho_page1.htm Christian Symbols: Chi-Rho]</ref>
Nevertheless, some believe that the term is part of an effort to "take Christ out of Christmas" or to literally "cross out Christ";<ref>[http://www.crivoice.org/symbols/xmasorigin.html CRI/Voice: The Origin of "Xmas"]</ref> it is seen as evidence of the [[secularization of Christmas]], as a symptom of the commercialization of the holiday (as the abbreviation has long been used by retailers). It may also be seen as a vehicle to be more inclusive. (See [[political correctness]].)
[[Image:Simple Labarum2.svg|thumb|150px|
The [[labarum]], often called the Chi-Rho, is a [[Christian]] symbol representing [[Christ]].]]
The occasionally held belief that the "X" represents the [[cross]] on which Christ was crucified also has no basis in fact. [[St Andrew's Cross]] is X-shaped, but Christ's cross was probably shaped like a T or a †. Indeed, X-as-chi was associated with Christ long before X-as-cross could be, since the cross as a Christian symbol developed later. (The Greek letter Chi Χ stood for "Christ" in the ancient Greek acrostic ΙΧΘΥΣ [[ichthys]].) While some see the spelling of Christmas as Xmas a threat, others see it as a way to honor the martyrs.
The use of ''X'' as an abbreviation for "cross" in modern abbreviated writing (e.g. "[[King's X]]" for "[[King's Cross, London|King's Cross]]") may have reinforced this assumption.
In ancient Christian art, χ and χρ are abbreviations for Christ's name.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10488a.htm New Advent: Monogram of Christ]</ref> In many manuscripts of the New Testament and [[icon]]s, X is an abbreviation for Christos, as is XC (the first and last letters in Greek, using the lunate [[sigma (letter)|sigma]]); compare IC for [[Jesus]] in Greek. The [[Oxford English Dictionary]] documents the use of this abbreviation back to 1551, 50 years before the first English colonists arrived in [[North America]] and 60 years before the [[King James Version]] of the [[Bible]] was completed. At the same time, ''Xian'' and ''Xianity'' were in frequent use as abbreviations of "Christian" and "Christianity"; and nowadays still are sometimes so used, but much less than "Xmas". The proper names containing the name "Christ" other than aforementioned are rarely abbreviated in this way (e.g. ''Hayden Xensen'' for the actor name "[[Hayden Christensen]]").
This apparent usage of "X" to spell the syllable "kris" (rather than the sounds "ks") has extended to "xtal" for "[[crystal]]", and on [[florist]]s' signs "xant" for "[[chrysanthemum]]"<ref>[http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=13693&lastnode_id=0 Everything 2: X]</ref> (though these words are not etymologically related to "Christ"; "crystal" comes from a Greek word meaning "ice"; "chrysanthemum" comes from Greek words meaning "golden flower"; "Christ" comes from a Greek word meaning "anointed").
In the 17th and 18th Centuries, "Xene" and "Exene" were common spellings of the given name Christene.
==In popular culture==
*In the animated television show ''[[Futurama]]'', which is set in the [[31st century]], Xmas, pronounced "eks-mas", is the official name for the day formerly known as Christmas (which has become an "archaic pronunciation").
*In [[Japan]]ese media and goods, Xmas/X-mas is commonly misspelled as "X'mas" in what amounts to an instance of [[wasei-eigo]], or English made in Japan.
*Popular Japanese rock band, [[L'Arc~en~Ciel]] has a song titled "''[[Hurry Xmas]]''", however it is pronounced {{nihongo|''Hurry Christmas''|ハリー クリスマス||Hari Kurisumasu}}.
==See also==
{{wiktionarypar|Xmas}}
* [[Christogram]]
* [[Names and titles of Jesus]]
* [[Christmas controversy]]
* [[Robert Christgau]], [[Christo]], and [[Christina Aguilera]] for other uses of an X prefix abbreviation.
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.starstuffs.com/xmas/xmas.html Meaning of X-mas - Shorthand for "Christ"]
* [http://www.goarch.org/en/multimedia/audio/images/christ.jpg An icon of Christ featuring the abbreviations IC and XC in the upper corners]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4097755.stm "Why get cross about Xmas?"] (BBC, December 22, 2004)
* [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dunlapg/Xmas_and_Christmas.html Xmas and Christmas: A Lost Chapter from Herodotus] (C.S. Lewis satire, which uses "Exmas" as a name for non-religious aspects of Christmas observance).
* [http://www.christiansymbols.net/holidays_2.php Symbols of Christmas]
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