Keep Christ in Christmas: Essay by Danna Masri, 11th grade, Mount Carmel Academy

By Danna Masri
11TH GRADE, MOUNT CARMEL ACADEMY, NEW ORLEANS

X-mas is actually a Greek sign of respect

During the Christmas season, one is often told to “Keep Christ in Christmas.” What does this even mean? The entire holiday revolves around the birth of Christ, so why is he not being celebrated?

Here’s the issue: Many abbreviate Christmas as “X-mas,” and Christians interpret this phrase as Christ’s removal from Christmas. Instead of a holiday meant to celebrate the arrival of our Savior, Christians use “X-mas” as evidence that Christmas has become perverted by materialism, greed and jealousy.

However, the letter “X” might not be as bad as society believes. The Greek word for Christos (Χριστός) uses the Greek letter “X” to communicate the “chi” sound. Early Christians, such as Emperor Constantine, abbreviated  “Χριστός” into “Χρ,” directly translating to “chi rho.”

After asking God for aid in winning a battle against Emperor Milvian, Constantine received a vision of a cross. He then painted the Greek abbreviation “Χρ” onto his soldiers’ shields, winning the war. Constantine’s abbreviation eventually became widespread as a shortening of “Jesus Christ.”

Back to the question “What does this even mean?” When my Latin teacher first told my class of X-mas’ actual translation, my mind was blown. After years of being told “X-mas” disrespected Jesus’ name, the idea that Christians thousands of years before me used this phrase to pay homage to Jesus was shocking. I took this as confirmation of God’s presence in our lives, no matter the time. All while society has progressed over the last thousand years, ranging anywhere from Emperor Constantine to 21st-century America, Christ has been there. Even though society has “removed” Christ from Christmas and transformed it into “X-mas,” he is still in its roots, both literally and figuratively. No matter what we do or how we change, Christ will always be with us.