Here’s a holiday surprise that only the dictionary can provide. Do you find the word Xmas, as an abbreviation for Christmas, offensive? Many people do, but the xmas menu of this controversial term might change your mind! You won’t find Xmas in church songbooks or even on many greeting cards.

Some people associate Xmas with the holiday as a commercial, secular occasion instead of as a particular cultural and religious ritual. But, the history of the word Xmas is actually more respectable—and fascinating—than you might suspect. It was first used in the mid-1500s. Other abbreviations for Christ include Xt and Xp, the P here representing the Greek letter rho, source of our letter R. In the same vein, the dignified terms Xpian and Xtian have been used in place of the word Christian.

Xmas comes from the Old English word for mass, as in a church service, especially one in the Roman Catholic Church including a celebration of the Eucharist. As lovers of the alphabet, we are transfixed by the flexibility of X. Does the 24th letter of the alphabet exhilarate you? Find out what else hides behind the X, here. What Is The Medical Term For Fainting? This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. This iframe contains the logic required to handle Ajax powered Gravity Forms.

Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love? He knows when you are sleeping. He knows when you’re on the can. He’ll hunt you down and blast your ass, from here to Pakistan. You’re better off dead, I’m telling you, dude.

Santa Claus is gunning you down! A Xmas Carol Xmas is a holiday celebrated on Earth on December 25th of each year. The holiday has been in existence for centuries, although the specifics of the celebration have changed throughout the years. Although Xmas’ origin is unclear, it seems to have been started by a religious sect known as the Christians, who would go on to dominate much of the planet economically, politically and religiously, as they expanded to other regions and incorporated local pagan traditions. But Christmas, as it was known in those days, came into its own with the economic system of consumerism. With images of last year’s gingerbread massacre freshly baked into our memories, I remind you to bolt your doors, say goodbye to your pets, and lock your children in the closet. Walter Cronkite’s head Over the 3rd millennium, much of the religious ceremony that had defined Christmas for much of its history appears to have discarded, though many of the other traditions survived albeit in slightly different forms.