Why Should Xtians Be Annoyed?

On the wake of our recent holiday season I would like to start the new year by really stirring the pot. I’m sure I’ll receive a lot of flak over this one…but I’m gonna speak my piece anyway.

There are many people that see shortening the word Christmas to Xmas is nothing short of blasphemy and, at the very least, dishonoring to God. I respect those views and I will always stay sensitive to those that might be offended and use this spelling very selectively. That said, I don’t see it as “taking Christ out of Christmas” as many people state. The reality is that the symbol X, the Greek letter pronounced ‘kie’, is the first letter in the word Christ and has been used extensively as a representation of “Christ” for over a thousand years.

I’ve heard many claim this simply represents the direction our current society is leading us: to take all religion out of the mainstream. The truth is you can find the word Xmas found in greeting cards and magazines as early as 1910 in this country. The Oxford English Dictionary cites the usage of X to represent the word “Christ” as early as 1485. Ancient Christian art and even currency has utilized the X and XP (the first two letters in the Greek word “Christ”) to represent Christ dating back to 350AD. All this to say…this is nothing new.

So although it may seem disrespectful to abbreviate the name of God in any fashion, I have to stay true to my opinion on this one. The reality is that it is the meaning behind using the word that matters. Remember, God has given language to mankind for our benefit…not His. He certainly doesn’t need to see what we’re writing and try to interpret the correct context; He sees straight to the heart. If you are honoring God by what you are writing, doing or saying…He acknowledges that and accepts it at face value.

Blessings!

Greg Morton
© January 2011

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