The Origin of Xmas - Christmas or Xmas?
We all know that Xmas is an abbreviation of Christmas but do you know why. Many people have an idea but, quite often, their interpretation is incorrect.
History
Contrary to many people's understanding the use of the letter X in place of Christ is not an attempt to remove the religious connotation nor is it just a form of shorthand.
The Letter X
The letter X represents the Greek letter Chi (which is actually written 'X') - the first letter of the Greek word for Christ and it's use can be traced back to the early 16th Century.
Although no one knows for sure why this abbreviation was used, in the early days of printing the cost of typesetting could be prohibitive and abbreviations were common.
The Church often used the letter 'C' place of 'Christ' and possibly this practice was common in Europe too - where the letter 'X' would be more appropriate.