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Re: the X in X-mas
actually, what a lot of opponents of the use of "X-mas" don't realize that the phrase was used in europe in the 1500s as an abbreviation of Christmas because X was a common abbreviation for Christ...
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Yes, many might find this usage a gloss of the word 'Christ' or even slightly irreligious, but the root is the 'chi rho' in Greek characters. Many Catholics have seen the 'P' (rho) with the 'X' crossing it's stem, and don't know it's origin. This 'chi rho' is a simple icon for the name of Christ. The simplest form is just the 'X.' This indicates the 'CH' of the name/word 'Christ' and can frankly be considered a good abbrieviation.
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