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VIII · Words

Why is it written “Xmas”, and is it disrespectful?

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The X in Xmas is not the English letter X. It is the Greek letter chi, which looks like an X and is the first letter of Christos, the Greek word for Christ. So Xmas still says Christ, in shorthand, and people have been writing Christ’s name with an X for more than 900 years.

At a glance

  • The X: the Greek letter chi, the first letter of Christos, Christ
  • Christ written X or XP: in English manuscripts more than 900 years ago
  • “Xmas” spelled that way: in use by the early 1700s
  • How to read it aloud: “Christmas” is the traditional way

The letter chi

In Greek, Christ is Χριστός, Christos, and it begins with the letter chi, Χ. Early Christians had a popular sign for Christ made of its first two letters, chi and rho, written one over the other. You can still see it on old objects, like a clay relief from Spain made between about 400 and 600. The letters were used as a lucky sign even before Christians took them up.

The emperor Constantine put the sign on his army’s standard.

As church tradition tells it · Christian tradition

The story goes that he saw it before a great battle in the year 312, as a promise of victory.

X for Christ in old books

Writing Christ’s name with an X is very old. Scribes copying books by hand wrote it as X or XP, the first two Greek letters of Christos. In an entry for the year 1101, one copy of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle writes Christmas as xpes mæssan. By the 1300s, X alone could stand for Christ in English writing.

Shortened spellings of Christmas with an X turn up by the 1500s, and “Xmas” spelled exactly that way was in use by the early 1700s. One early example comes from a letter an English landowner wrote to his son, away at school:

I hope you will eat at Xmas some roast beef out of the old kitchen

John Buxton, letter to his son (Letters to his son, 1719–1729), as quoted from the Oxford English Dictionary by Grammarphobia

Is it disrespectful?

Xmas was never meant to cross Christ out. Christian scribes wrote Christ’s name with an X for centuries.

Today, dictionaries call Xmas informal, a word often written on signs and cards. Many people dislike it, though, perhaps partly because it is linked with advertising, and it is not used in formal writing. So people feel differently about it.

If you read it aloud, “Christmas” is the traditional way to say it. Some people say “eks-mas”, which the American Heritage Dictionary calls informal.

Quick answers

What does the X in Xmas stand for?

Christ. The X is the Greek letter chi, the first letter of Christos, the Greek word for Christ.

Is it disrespectful to write Xmas?

It was never meant to be: Christian scribes wrote Christ’s name with an X for centuries. Today many people dislike it, perhaps partly because it is linked with advertising, and it is not used in formal writing.

How old is the word Xmas?

Christ was written with an X more than 900 years ago, and “Xmas” spelled that way was in use by the early 1700s.

How do you say Xmas?

“Christmas” is the traditional way. “Eks-mas” is heard too, but the American Heritage Dictionary calls it informal.

More: what the word Christmas means and how to say Merry Christmas in other languages.

Where our facts come from

  1. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed., "Xmas", Etymology ("From X, the Greek letter chi, first letter of Greek Khrīstos, Christ"); Usage Note (the pronunciation "eks-mas" "is the result of a misinterpretation of the abbreviation Xmas, where the X actually represents a Greek chi … This pronunciation is informal")
  2. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, "Xmas", The entry ("(informal) … used as a short form of 'Christmas', usually in writing"); Word Origin ("X representing the initial chi of Greek Khristos 'Christ'")
  3. Dictionary.com, "Xmas", The American entry ("Often Offensive"); the Sensitive Note ("The X is the Greek letter chi, the initial letter in the word Χριστός (Chrīstos) 'Christ'"; "In spite of a long and respectable history, today Xmas is offensive to many, perhaps because of its associations with advertising. It is not used in formal writing.")
  4. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, "Xmas"; Cambridge Dictionary, "Xmas", Longman: "Xmas X‧mas /ˈkrɪsməs, ˈeksməs/ … informal … a word that means Christmas, often written on signs or cards"; Cambridge: "abbreviation for Christmas: Merry Xmas to all our customers"
  5. Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Online, "Crist" (search results for "cristes mæsse"), The entry "Crist", quoting "…νος Χριστός Mt. Bos. 1, 16"
  6. Victoria and Albert Museum, "Relief", Spain, 400–600, museum no. A.62-1930; Cleveland Museum of Art, "Monogram of Christ (Chrismon)", 500s, accession 1965.551, V&A, Materials and techniques ("Oblong baked clay relief, Spain ca 400-600"); On display (Medieval & Renaissance, Room 8), Summary and Historical context ("The monogram is formed by the Greek letters chi and rho (X and P), the first two letters of the Greek name of Christ"; "The symbol itself predates Christian usage. It was used as an abbreviation of chrestos meaning auspicious and was a symbol of good omen. The Emperor Constantine the Great used the emblem on his standard"); Cleveland, Description ("The superimposed Greek letters chi and rho, the first two letters of Christ's name, was a popular early Christian symbol"; "it appeared to Emperor Constantine the Great before his battle against Maxentius in ad 312, promising victory in the name of Christ")
  7. David Wilton, "Christmas / Xmas", Wordorigins.org, December 18, 2023, the first sentence of the paragraph beginning "The abbreviation Xmas is not an attempt to remove the Christ" ("The abbreviation Xmas is not an attempt to remove the Christ from Christmas."); The paragraph beginning "The abbreviation Xmas is not an attempt to remove the Christ" ("It was common practice in medieval manuscripts to abbreviate Christ's name with an X or XP"; the Peterborough Chronicle entry for 1101, "to xpes mæssan" ("copied c. 1121–31"); the OED's 1551 X'tenmas, 1660 Xtmasse and 1721 Xmas)
  8. Patricia T. O'Conner and Stewart Kellerman, "Who put the 'X' in 'Xmas'?", Grammarphobia, December 26, 2006, Paragraphs 3–5 ("Xpes mæsse (Christ's mass)"; the Χ and ρ of Christos; "In a Middle English citation dated around 1380, 'X' alone stands for Christ" (Wycliffe); the OED's earliest "Xmas", "an early 18th-century letter by an English landowner to a son who was away at school: 'I hope you will eat at Xmas some roast beef out of the old kitchen' (from John Buxton … Letters to his son 1719-1729)"); paragraph 5 ("So for ten centuries, books and diaries and manuscripts and letters routinely used 'X' or 'Xp' for 'Christ'")