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Christmas Vs. Xmas

Started by Jassman, August 05, 2006, 05:27:41 AM

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Jassman

Quote from: "onlyme"Also, from a Christian point of view, this practice of saying Xtian instead of Christian, or Xmas instead of Christmas, I find personally offensive, as I'm sure a lot of Christians do, since they are 'crossing Christ out of Christmas', etc.   Please desist, if you will, as it's just laziness on your part.

onlyme, this is actually quite a common misconception with "Xmas".

Here is some interesting stuff from Wikipedia in their 'Xmas' article:

QuoteThe 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 letters χ and ρ), used in ancient abbreviations for Χριστος (Greek for "Christ") (see Labarum), and are still widely seen in many Eastern Orthodox icons depicting Jesus Christ.

As origins of the word go largely unnoticed by the larger public, many people believe that the term is part of an effort to "take Christ out of Christmas" or to literally "cross out Christ"; it is also seen as evidence of the secularization of Christmas or a vehicle for pushing political correctness, or as a symptom of the commercialization of the holiday (as the abbreviation has long been used by retailers). This notion is greatly disputed.

QuoteThe Oxford English Dictionary documents the use of this abbreviation back to 1551, 50 years before the first English colonists came to 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".

Wikipedia Article: Xmas

So onlyme, from a real Xtian point-of-view rooted in historical fact, there is actually nothing offensive about these abbreviations. Now you can go back to taking issue with real world problems.
[size=75]"You ever notice how people who believe in creationism look really unevolved?" -Bill Hicks[/size]

[size=75]I'm drowning in the fear of gods. The more I see the less I want. I was not raised

Asmodean Prime

#1
Ok, thanks to everybody who posted replies.  I didn't realise the practice went back so far.  I thought it was a modern trend.  I should have looked it up first before posting my objections.

Big Mac

#2
I think it's all kind of rubbish. I call it Christmas and I don't care as long as I get my beer and get to watch every show rip off A Christmas Carol.
Quote from: "PoopShoot"And what if pigs shit candy?