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The term 'XMAS' doesn't actually take the Christ out of Christmas, experts say

Christmas is also known on paper as XMAS. But some people just don't agree with the spelling of the holiday.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Christmas is also known on paper as XMAS. But some people just don't agree with the spelling of the holiday.

They believe it takes the Christ out of Christmas, saying it's a modern and disrespectful abbreviation that focuses on the commercialization of this Christian holiday.

But is that really true? 

While some people may still take offense, it's actually not true.

And we can verify it's usage is nearly as old as Christianity itself.

The origins lie in the Greek language and alphabet. The letter that looks like an X is the Greek letter Chi which is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ.  

Most scholars agree the abbreviation was used as early as the year 1021.

We can also verify that the actual word "Christmas" is already shorthand for "Christ's mass," which is the church service that celebrated the birth of Jesus.

None of this means people aren't justified in feeling upset or offended when they see the shortened XMAS, but we can verify the abbreviation wasn't created specifically to be lazy or to demean the holiday.

If you have something you'd like to verify, email verify@thv11.com or reach out on social media.

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