Christmas: Why do some people say Xmas instead?
Yes, there are people who will be offended by any truth you communicate about Jesus Christ. This is especially true with “religious” people. They are almost always the main troublemakers when people are trying to present the correct teachings of our Bible.
Matthew 15:12
12 Then came his disciples [MATHETES = student, in this case those who were students of Christ’s teaching], and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees [the “religious” leaders of the day] were offended [SKANDALIZO = signifies to put a stumbling block in the way], after they heard this saying? [Emphasis added]
These “religious” people are always a hindrance to those who stand for and present spiritual truths. They always work to give the appearance of being good and even godly people. Our Lord in His earthly ministry was always warning His disciples about them.
Matthew 23:27-28
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. [Emphasis added]
I’m sure you’ve met such people. Every generation has many of them. They lived back then, and they live now. You always need to be able to recognize them. Many people deny Christ’s deity and His identity as man’s only Savior. But worst of all, by the things they teach, they deny the authority of Scripture over all else. They will twist things there in their attempts to make Scripture say things that are not there. From the time I was in college faced with liberal Bible teachers till now, the opposition from “religious” people has been nonstop.
Every Christmas season we’ll see the use of “Merry Xmas” instead of “Merry Christmas.” Is this something we should all do? I’ve heard several reasons why people do this.
Reason 1 – They claim it doesn’t make any difference. The “X” is the letter CHi in the Greek alphabet. The letter resembles our English letter “X.” So, when people use “Xmas,” they are actually referring to Christ even though this is not obvious to most English-speaking people because they are not familiar with the Greek language. This was the case in the use of the word ICHTHUS which is the Greek word for fish. This word and the fish itself became a sacred symbol sometimes seen in Christian burial grounds. Each letter stood for a word—I is for Jesus [IESUS], having been transliterated to a J, X is for the C in CHRISTOS which has been transliterated to Christ, the TH is for THEOS which is Greek for God, the U is for HUIOS [the H being a breath mark rather than a letter] which means son, and the SIGMA being the S for SOTER meaning Savior. So, you have ICHTHUS standing for Jesus Christ God Son Savior.
Reason 2 – “Xmas” is much shorter than “Christmas.” The X as a Greek letter represents the CH in Christ. This abbreviation can be written quicker, and it is easier to fit into limited spaces.
Reason 3 – It is used so as not to offend non-Christians. This is why so many substitute Merry Christmas with Happy Holidays, failing to realize that Holiday is a substitute for “holy day.”
Number three is consistent with why so many Christians are so mute in talking about much of anything of a spiritual nature. If everyone followed this practice, no one would ever get saved. So, guess who sponsors this? Yes, this is the approach Satan would have us follow. He wants us all to be silent about our good news “gospel” message and everything else in the Bible. This is why I have never used the “Merry Xmas” terminology. We should want everyone to know the true meaning of this annual holiday called Christmas. I hope you’ll do the same every Christmas season. Please note this example that has been left for us to follow. I’ve taken this verse out of its context, but the principle of boldness that it exemplifies remains in place today for us all.
Acts 4:31
31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. [Emphasis added]
