Blueangel
12-25-2004, 10:54 AM
Strange though it may seem, this often contentious shortening of Christmas has an impeccable pedigree.
"But of course it also saved space and in a gospel manuscript the word Christ would appear lots of times. Parchment was expensive so anything that would save space would be welcome.
"And it's no coincidence that X resembles a cross - there's quite an old symbol, an X and a P, called Chi-Ro, and it could be that an X looked like a symbol for Christ."
Whatever its origins, it was good enough for the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who wrote in a letter in 1801: "On Xmas Day I breakfasted with Davy".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4097755.stm
"But of course it also saved space and in a gospel manuscript the word Christ would appear lots of times. Parchment was expensive so anything that would save space would be welcome.
"And it's no coincidence that X resembles a cross - there's quite an old symbol, an X and a P, called Chi-Ro, and it could be that an X looked like a symbol for Christ."
Whatever its origins, it was good enough for the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who wrote in a letter in 1801: "On Xmas Day I breakfasted with Davy".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4097755.stm