What is the real reason for calling Christmas X-Mas? Know the surprising secret of this centuries old mystery

New Delhi:Every year on 25 December, Christmas Day is celebrated with great enthusiasm and pomp all over the world. This is a major festival of the Christian community, which is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Jesus Christ. On this day, there are special decorations in houses, prayers and tradition of lighting candles are performed in churches, while children eagerly wait for Santa Claus.

But a question related to Christmas often comes to people’s mind that why do we write X-Mas instead of Christmas in messages and cards? Generally it is considered a short form, whereas behind it lies a deep and interesting story related to history, language and religion.

What is the real meaning of X-Mas?

First of all it is important to understand that X is not a common English letter. It symbolizes an important letter of the Greek language ‘Chi’ (pronounced: ‘Ki’), which is written like X in English.

In the Greek language, the first letter of the word Christ is ‘Chi’. For this reason, X has been considered the symbol of Jesus Christ for centuries.

How did the tradition of writing X-Mas begin?

Unlike today, earlier there were no computers, printers or digital resources. In the medieval period, everything was written by hand, be it scriptures, documents or letters. In such a situation, a need was felt to write long words short. People writing religious scriptures started using the first letter ‘Chi’ (X) instead of writing a long word like Christ again and again. Gradually this method became common.

By the 11th century, the tradition of writing Christmas as ‘Xmas’ had started. Later, when the printing press came, this short form continued, because space was expensive in printing and space was saved by writing short words.

religious significance of christmas

Christmas Day is celebrated as the birthday of Jesus Christ. It is believed that on December 25, Mother Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem.

According to history, the tradition of celebrating Christmas on a large scale began during the time of Emperor Constantine around 336 AD. Since then this day is considered a symbol of love, compassion and brotherhood. Now whenever you see X-Mas written, know that it is not a modern shortcut, but a word associated with centuries-old tradition and deep meaning, in which the story of history, language and faith is hidden.