Xmas or Christmas?

I used to kind of get offended when someone wrote the word "XMAS" on their Christmas decorations (and I suppose I could still talk about it enough that I get myself are-angrified...), but ever since I took a year-and-a-half of Ancient Greek, I've understood where that practice began.

You see, I used to say, "People [you!] are just blatantly taking Christ OUT of Christmas." The only decent and Christian part about the holiday, I would have argued, has just been "X"-ed out. I understood the "X" in Xmas to be a "wild card" letter or a question mark or a common and everyday variable (much like in math. Where x = 5 in x + 20 = 25).

After I gained a little more knowledge and incite about language, I learned that the "X" was an early christian symbol for Christ. In fact, both the fish (like all of the "Jesus Fish" stickers and symbols on cars) as well as the letter "X" (in Ancient Greek, a word meaning "messiah", which is what Jesus Christ is was written: Χριστός...).

So, in essence, Xmas means, literally: Christ Mas or the celebration of Christ or now that we've englishicized it: Christmas.

I suppose you could still get offended at it because we no longer speak greek or are familiar with the everyday language that Christ spoke (Greek... That is Ancient Greek...) and so be offended because we are not taking the symbol in the context in which it originated (or maybe because the people now using Xmas don't really understand what they're saying, but then again, if we want to push things that far, I'm going to come to your house and be offended at your lifestyle and the way that you are being irreverant and neigh unto blasphemous!).

Just give the X in Xmas a break, or better yet, read a little and find out that it actually is simply a shorthand way of writing Christ-mas. It's up to you...

JPS