If you are like me (one of the seemingly fewer who remain to never use the letter "X" to abbreviate the word "Christmas"), you may not care toÊconsider Wikipedia's explanation. But, if spelling "Christmas" as "xmas" is your preference, you might appreciate knowing how the "X" in "xmas" began.
According to Wikipedia, the word "Christmas" is a contraction meaning "Christ's mass". It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038.
In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter X (chi), is the first letter of Christ in greek. Since the mid-sixteenth century, X or the similar Roman letter X, was used as an abbreviation for Christ and is still used in shorthand, today.
If you would like to know more, follow the links onÊWikipedia's Christmas page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas
For me, to use the abbreviated version of "Christmas" is like abbreviating the person, Christ. But for those who perceive it otherwise, let each be persuaded inÊtheir own mind.