CHRIST-MAS OR X-MAS?

CHRIST-MAS OR X-MAS?

(This is a "classic" devotional from about a year ago.)

Luke 2:7

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

           Christmas or X-mas? Is it as big an issue as some think? We all want to revise history and give the Holy Family a better birthing situation. Certainly the King of Kings requires the best of the best and not a smelly stable and a cradle hastily arranged with, hopefully, clean straw. We all want to depose King Herod and enthrone Jesus but Jesus was clear that His kingdom was “not of this world.” (John 18:36)

           Many feel that to abbreviate Christmas with an “X” is the worst kind of effrontery against Christ. It is, after all, his birthday and not the birthday of “X”. The big X makes it look as if his name has been struck from the entire affair. They are angry and vocal about it. “Keep Christ in Christmas!” they shout along with “He is the reason for the season!”

           However, “Xmas” is a common abbreviation for the word “Christmas”. In the United Kingdom and among the English, use of “Xmas” is found in a letter from George Woodward in 1753. Lord Byron used the term in 1811, as did Samuel Coleridge in 1801 and Lewis Carroll in 1864. In the United States, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. used the term in a letter dated 1923. (Source: Wikipedia)

           The “X” actually comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter in the word Xristos which is translated Christ. Long before the word “Xmas” was used, Christ was often written as “XP” which uses the Greek Chi and Rho. Perhaps you have seen the “labarum” which is a combination of chi with the letter rho through it forming a symbol that is used by Catholics, and Orthodox Churches. It is a symbol of Christ.

So, should we get cross about Xmas? I think it better to get close to Christ.

Gal 6:14

14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Dear Lord, help me to know that you defend me and not the other way around. Thank you for your faithful guidance. AMEN