Hold it right there! Before you fire off your righteous Facebook post correcting someone’s spelling, there’s something you absolutely need to know.
A lot of people in Lubbock get downright hostile about others using “Xmas” instead of “Christmas.” For some, it feels like a slight or a statement. But for most of us? It’s not that deep. I’m not out here making political proclamations or trying to remove anyone’s savior from the season. I do it out of efficiency and, let’s be honest, occasional laziness. I even make a point to type out “Christmas” every now and then just so the comment-section police can relax.
Why “Xmas” Is More Christian Than You Think
But here’s the truly wild part: spelling Christmas as “Xmas” is not only historically accurate — it’s ancient. This isn’t some slick marketing trick from the 50s unless, of course, you mean the 1550s. The “X” in Xmas comes from the Greek letter Chi, the first letter in Christos, which literally means Christ. Early Christian scribes used the Chi symbol as a sacred shorthand. In other words, putting the “X” in Christmas is actually putting the Christ in Christmas.
That’s right, friends — the whole thing started with the church, not an ad agency trying to save space on a billboard or a TikTok kid too lazy to type. For centuries, Christian writers used “Χ” as a reverent abbreviation for Christ. So the next time a modern-day Gladys Kravitz tries to shame you online for typing “Xmas,” you can take them to school with confidence. It’s accurate, it’s accepted, and it’s absolutely church-approved…