Mary did you know?

How many of you do not like this?

In our life group class at church we were talking about Christmas and we all discovered something we have been thinking and criticizing was in fact wrong. Most people say they hate Xmas because it takes Christ out of Christmas but we are learned the opposite. So here you go:

Myth:

“Xmas” is a non-religious name / spelling for “Christmas”.

It turns out, “Xmas” is not a non-religious version of “Christmas”. The “X” is actually indicating the Greek letter “Chi”, which is short for the Greek, meaning “Christ”. So “Xmas” and “Christmas” are equivalent in every way except their lettering.
In fact, although writing guides such as those issued by the New York Times; the BBC; The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style; and Oxford Press discourage the use of Xmas in formal writing, at one time, it was a very popular practice, particularly with religious scribes, who are thought to have started the whole “Xmas” thing in the first place. Indeed, the practice of using the symbol “X” in place of Christ’s name has been going on amongst religious scholars for at least 1000 years.

The “-mas” part on the end of Christmas and Xmas comes from the Old English word for “mass”.

Wow I didn't know this is and now I have a new attitude towards it. Although some admitted they understood and now know the meaning but they still didn't feel right spelling it. I understand both sides but thought this was so neat and why haven't I ever took the time to look it up or research it before I just explained to my kids that Xmas was taking Christ out.