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Difference Between Xmas and Christmas

Xmas vs Christmas

Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ every December 25th, also known as Christmas Day. Although the exact date of His birth is not known, it was placed between 7 and 2 BC based on the two canonical gospels of the New Testament. The date was chosen to coincide with the Roman winter solstice and nine months since the conception of Jesus. It is a Christian holiday marked by festivities and family get-togethers where people give gifts to each other especially to children.

People prepare for Christmas a few weeks before its celebration. Homes are decorated with Christmas trees, lights, mistletoe, and nativity scenes. Christmas carols can be heard starting as early as October. Businesses experience heightened activity during this time as people purchase new clothes and accessories for their children, food to prepare at Christmas Eve, and gifts to give to those they love.

All these are done to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, the time when God sent His Son to save the world from sin. Even though there is much debate as to the exact date of His birth, Christians generally accept December 25th as the day of Jesus’ birth. The word “Christmas” comes from the Old English word “Cristes maesse” or “Christ’s mass” which was written to form one word starting in the 14th century. It was derived from the Greek word “Christos” (Christ) and the Latin word “missa” (mass).

The word “Xmas,” on the other hand, is used as an abbreviation of the word “Christmas.” The letter “X” comes from the Greek letter “chi,” the first letter in the Greek word for “Christ,” and “maesse” from the Old English word for “mass.” The word is considered as an informal form of the word “Christmas” and, as such, should not be used in formal writing. It has been in use since the year 1100 written as “Xpes maesse.” It evolved into the word “Xmas” during the middle of the 18th century.

Although the words “Christ” and “Christmas” have been abbreviated in the English language for the past 1,000 years, a lot of Christians decry the use of Xmas instead of Christmas because it takes out “Christ” from the word which is meant to commemorate His birth. It is more associated with the commercialization of the holiday, with advertisements extensively using it because it is more compact, brief, and concise. However it is spelled, though, does not really matter as long as people know what Christmas represents.

Summary:

1.Christmas or Christmas Day is the holiday which is celebrated by Christians as the birth of Jesus Christ while Xmas is the abbreviation of the word.
2.The word “Christmas” came from the Greek word “Christos” and the Latin word “missa” while the word “Xmas” came from the first letter of the Greek word for “Christ” and the word “mass.”
3.The word “Christmas” is the spelling most preferred by most Christians while businesses and advertisements prefer to use the word “Xmas” because it is more concise.

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8 Comments

  1. Businesses and Advertising agencies should use the word Christmas as it is and stop the excuses of short form if they are not hiding anything.

  2. Yes is ture

  3. Would believe it is deliberate to hide Christ from the picture when He is the reason for the day.
    The enemy know how play his cards be on the alert.

  4. The debate about date of Jesus birthday is baseless.Was He born of a virgin? Yes! When? God only knows. Joseph and Mary did not tell. When they ran to Egypt, their neighbours didn’t tell the world.If King Herod knew he would not has ordered his army to kill Jesus and all his age mates – from day old to two(2) years. Jeremiah 31:15 would not have been fulfilled. Rachel would not have wept for her children without any comfort. So, the argument is unnecessary. We are celebrating the birth of our Saviour, not the day of his birth.Period!

  5. Christmas should always be respected as the name of the festive . Xmas is crossing the word Christ from the original using an X which we all know what x ing something means .
    Out of respect to our Christian faith and maintaining the spiritual value and reference the name should always be written Christmas. And the season is that of giving gifts as God has
    given us a gift who is his son Jesus Christ.
    The commercialization of the name is belittling the importance of the event and guiding children to miss on the word Christ . Slowly moving them away from the truth and the essence of the festive .

    • I strongly angry wit u on this.
      The word Christmas should be respected and value…… Let not allow the advancement of technology over shadow our moral of spirituality

    • I strongly agree wit u on this.
      The word Christmas should be respected and value…… Let not allow the advancement of technology over shadow our high moral of spirituality

  6. We who profess to be Christ followers should at all times spell the word “Christmas” instead of following businessmen abbreviation”Xmass.

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