Italian 
English 
Chinese 
Dutch 
Arabic 
Spanish 
Portuguese 
Russian 
French 
German 
Japanese 
Continue reading with a subscription
Get unlimited access to all our premium content and exclusive features.
Enjoy unlimited access, cancel anytime.
Sommario
- The X in Xmas is the Greek letter chi, the first letter of Christos, the Greek word for Christ, so Xmas means exactly what Christmas means.
- In English writing, X and XP have been used for Christ’s name for about a thousand years; the Oxford English Dictionary dates X’temmas to 1551 and Xmas to 1755.
- The claim that Xmas was written in 1021 has no record behind it: the Oxford English Dictionary finds no X for Christmas before 1551, and the full word, Cristes Maesse, is first found in 1038.
- Constantine put the chi-rho, the first two Greek letters of Christ, on his soldiers’ shields, and Lactantius calls it “the cipher of Christ”; before him the sign was rare.
- In a 2014 Lifeway Research survey 47 percent of American Christians called “X-mas” offensive, and the American Heritage Dictionary says it is not used in formal writing.
- Either spelling can be written in faith, but where the X would hurt or confuse someone, writing the name in full costs only a few more letters.
Bibliografia (Clicca per mostrare)
- The Holy Bible, King James Version (public domain), via BibleGateway: John 1:41; Acts 11:26; Colossians 3:17; Revelation 22:13, 16.
- Hugh Rawson, “Merry Xmas”, About Words, Cambridge Dictionary blog (19 December 2011), reporting the Oxford English Dictionary and quoting the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2011/12/19/merry-xmas/
- “Monogram of Christ”, Enciclopedia Cattolica vol. 10 (1911), New Advent: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10488a.htm
- Lattanzio, Del modo in cui morirono i persecutori 44, translated by William Fletcher, Ante-Nicene Fathers vol. 7 (1886), New Advent: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0705.htm
- Cyril Charlie Martindale, “Natale”, Enciclopedia Cattolica vol. 3 (1908), New Advent (for Cristes Maesse, 1038): https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03724b.htm
- Strong’s Greek 5547, Christos, Bible Hub: https://biblehub.com/greek/5547.htm
- Bob Smietana, “Christmas Goes Better With a Trip to Church”, Lifeway Research (9 December 2014): https://research.lifeway.com/2014/12/09/christmas-goes-better-with-a-trip-to-church/
- Aaron Earls, “Survey Finds Americans Want More Christ This Christmas”, Lifeway Research (11 December 2018): https://research.lifeway.com/2018/12/11/survey-finds-americans-want-more-christ-this-christmas/
- Dictionary.com, “Why Is “Christmas” Abbreviated As “Xmas”?” (16 December 2018): https://www.dictionary.com/e/xmas-christogram/
Lascia un commento