Search
Xmas - origin
Posted by R. Berg on December 04, 2001
In Reply to: Xmas - origin posted by James Briggs on December 04, 2001
: : : Why do religious Jews say "Xmas" instead of "Christmas" and why X and not Y or Z?
: : Here in NY and I think in most of the US, Xmas is just an abbreviation for "Christmas".
: : "X" is a symbol for Christ, from the Greek letter chi (X). Christ + mas = X + mas = Xmas
: : Maybe in other regions of the globe "xmas" has taken on some other nuance besides being just an abbreviation.
: It's just an abbreviation in Britain.
Not only Jews write "Xmas"; it appears often in advertising. The Xmas question came up last month; use link below for a more thorough answer (URL is www.phrases.org.uk bulletin_board 11 messages 939.html).
