The true meaning of the word Xmas
Some think that using the word Xmas is a way to remove Christ from Christmas, and many people become angry if you use it. But once you understand some Greek, Hebrew, and a touch of Latin, you will learn the true meaning of the word Xmas.
Xmas comes from Christmas The X stands for “Chi” which is the first letter of Χριστός (Greek), Χριστός means “The Anointed One.” In Hebrew “The Anointed One” is מָשִׁיחַ (Mašíaḥ). The translation of the Hebrew word מָשִׁיחַ (Mašíaḥ) as Χριστός (Khristós) is where the name Christ comes from. The Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament renders all thirty-nine instances of the Hebrew word for “anointed” (Mašíaḥ) as Χριστός.
In plain English? The X in Xmas is shorthand for Χριστός/מָשִׁיחַ aka the Messiah/Jesus Christ.
The “mas” in Xmas is short for Mass, Mass is the old English for the Latin word missa (Dismissal, like the dismissal of sin). “Mass” is also one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is commonly called in the Catholic Church. Most Christain Churches practice breaking bread, and passing wine/water, many call it the sacrament. Jesus Christ, Himself told us to do this to remember Him.
“And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.”
Luke 22:19 King James Version (KJV)
So the meaning of “Mas” references the dismissal of sin and remembrance of Christ.
When you know the roots, not only is Xmas powerful, but Xmas is a way of saying remember Christ. Remember He is our Savior, remember His atoning sacrifice and that He gave us the gift of forgiveness and life everlasting. This Christmas time let us remember The Father who gave us the gift of His Son. And His Son gave us a gift, a sacrifice of His very life.
Simply put the purpose of Christ’s sacrifice is to allow us to come home. Through His grace, we can be reconciled to God. This is why we celebrate Christmas!
If you liked this article you might also enjoy some of these Christmas Posts from my older sister Julia’s Family lifestyle blog TheQuietGrove.com :
Family Christmas Traditions: Service Elves/Angels W Free Activity Printables
Free Chalkboard Christmas Art Prints
Steps for Making a Gingerbread House From Scratch Without Getting Stressed or Overwhelmed.
Susan
Friday 18th of December 2015
When I became a Latter-day Saint, I was informed that the use of abbreviations for deity were not considered appropriate - something I had been used to doing when keeping scriptural notes in my previous church studies. I am aware of the classical language meaning of "X" but as whenever I see it it is being used as an abbreviation, I do not feel comfortable with it.
James Jensen
Thursday 10th of December 2015
Although I like the idea of "-mas" being related to the dismissal of our sins, I'm pretty sure that's not the meaning it had when people started calling it "Christmas." In Latin, a "missum" is something that is "sent" to, or "put" on the table--in other words, a meal or a feast. That's where we get the military "mess"; it's why the Eucharist is called "mass"; and English feasts used the same meaning of "-mas" to indicate a feast day (Michaelmas, for instance).
It's easy to want to see deeper meanings in etymology than what's really there. And if we want to adopt a different meaning when we think of it personally, there may be some value in that. Maybe you want to think of Christ-mas as the "sending of Christ" into the world. Maybe you can borrow from Spanish and think of Christ-mas as a time to have "more Christ" in your life. But we should be honest with ourselves and not pretend that any of these were the original meaning of the word.