Xmas

Xmas is a common abbreviation of the word Christmas. It is sometimes pronounced, but it, and variants such as Xtemass, originated as handwriting abbreviations for the typical pronunciation. The "-mas" part is from the Latin-derived Old English word for Mass, while the "X" comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word, translated as "Christ". There is a common misconception that the word Xmas stems from a secular attempt to remove the religious tradition from Christmas by taking the "Christ" out of "Christmas", but its use dates back to the 16th century.