# Why is Christmas abbreviated Xmas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [December 13, 2018, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042 "2018-12-13T04:34:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nilopcms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@nilopcms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nilopcms)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/1 "2018-12-13T04:34:56Z")
The symbol for Christ was fortuitously cross shaped? Why is nature intelligently designed, but religion fortunate accidents? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/2 "2018-12-13T05:09:17Z")
The “X” is actually the Greek letter “chi” which is the first letter of Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ (Christos), i.e. Christ. [Cite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi_Rho). For this reason, “chi” or “X” is often used to abbreviate the name Christ, which leads directly to Xmas. Regarding your second question, there are numerous examples of how nature is NOT intelligently designed. See [here](http://nautil.us/issue/24/error/top-10-design-flaws-in-the-human-body) for some examples specific to the human body. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/3 "2018-12-13T14:02:21Z")
I use “xmas” as a way of taking christ out of christmas. I celebrate the secular holiday, not the religious one. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/4 "2018-12-13T14:08:23Z")
Link to the Staff Report: [Why is Christmas abbreviated Xmas?](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1627/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/5 "2018-12-13T14:10:14Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I use “xmas” as a way of taking christ out of christmas. I celebrate the secular holiday, not the religious one. Since X stands for Christ, that’s not what you’re doing—at least, that’s not what other people are doing when they abbreviate it as “Xmas,” but then they get accused of doing so by people who don’t know any better. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/6 "2018-12-13T14:15:43Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I use “xmas” as a way of taking christ out of christmas. I celebrate the secular holiday, not the religious one. Too bad that “X” has 1000 years of tradition as being an abbreviation for Christ then. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/7 "2018-12-13T14:17:40Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Too bad that “X” has 1000 years of tradition as being an abbreviation for Christ then. Tell that to the people producing christ-christ-christ movies!😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/8 "2018-12-13T15:05:06Z")
My son’s name is Christopher. When he was a kid I told him that since Christ had to be put back into Christmas, that he had been chosen to donate the first part of his name, and that he would henceforth be known as “Xtopher”. He wasn’t quite sure how to take that. It’s been a running joke for nearly 40 years now. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/9 "2018-12-13T15:31:50Z")
It’s been a running joke for 40 years and you haven’t noticed that to make sense it would be Xopher not Xtopher? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/10 "2018-12-13T17:29:20Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > It’s been a running joke for 40 years and you haven’t noticed that to make sense it would be Xopher not Xtopher? Buzzkill. Do you say krist-mas or kris-mas? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/11 "2018-12-13T19:21:02Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Tell that to the people producing christ-christ-christ movies!😃 There have to be a lot of jokes about Christ has risen, and the Second Coming, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/12 "2018-12-13T19:26:53Z")
Mildly related to X-walk and XING, which are pronounced cross-walk and crossing. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/13 "2018-12-13T19:33:34Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Buzzkill. Do you say krist-mas or kris-mas? “ex-muss” ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/14 "2018-12-13T21:17:19Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Mildly related to X-walk and XING, which are pronounced cross-walk and crossing. Merry Crossmas! ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/15 "2018-12-14T01:19:57Z")
C. S. Lewis frequently writes “Xtian”, at least in his letters. People who were taught to write with dip pens abbreviated a lot. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/16 "2018-12-14T17:14:06Z")
> [@John\_W.Kennedy](#): > > C. S. Lewis frequently writes “Xtian”, at least in his letters. People who were taught to write with dip pens abbreviated a lot. The article I read said that the original “X” for Christ derived from scribes using the Chi-Rho(looks kind of like an X over an elongated P) as an abbreviation for Christ, and one dark ages one dropping the rho part, and just leaving the chi in an effort to abbreviate further and save writing. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/17 "2018-12-14T17:22:10Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I use “xmas” as a way of taking christ out of christmas. I celebrate the secular holiday, not the religious one. Funny how Christ as a way of showing up even when one does not want him. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/18 "2018-12-14T17:29:09Z")
I’ll just add that the formulation “Xmas” itself has been found in documents as early as the mid-16th century. No cites immediately to hand beyond [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xmas) but I’ve read it elsewhere as well. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/19 "2018-12-14T17:29:38Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Funny how Christ as a way of showing up even when one does not want him. Christ as creepy stalker-how disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![EscAlaMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/escalamike/32/4177_2.png) [@EscAlaMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EscAlaMike)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042/20 "2018-12-14T17:30:02Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I use “xmas” as a way of taking christ out of christmas. I celebrate the secular holiday, not the religious one. Joke’s on you. Xmas is a thoroughly Christian abbreviation, and you haven’t gotten rid of the mass. Actually, I think the Protestant cry to “keep Christ in Christmas” is hilariously ironic, since they themselves took the “mass” out of it 500 years ago. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-christmas-abbreviated-xmas/826042.md?page=2)