I was always lead to believe it was a disrespectful term but appears as though there is an explanation for the X vs Christ in Christmas. I found the following on line: Myth: âXmasâ is a non-religious name / spelling for âChristmasâ. It turns out, âXmasâ is not a non-religious version of âChristmasâ. The âXâ is actually indicating the Greek letter âChiâ, which is short for the Greek , meaning âChristâ. So âXmasâ and âChristmasâ are equivalent in every way except their lettering. In fact, although writing guides such as those issued by the New York Times; the BBC; The Christian Writerâs Manual of Style; and Oxford Press discourage the use of Xmas in formal writing, at one time, it was a very popular practice, particularly with religious scribes, who are thought to have started the whole âXmasâ thing in the first place. Indeed, the practice of using the symbol âXâ in place of Christâs name has been going on amongst religious scholars for at least 1000 years. Eventually, this shorthand trick spread to non-religious writings where nearly everywhere âChristâ appeared in a word, the Greek Chi would replace that part of the word. For example, in the 17th and 18th centuries, there are numerous non-religious documents containing instances of âXineâ, which was a common spelling for someone whose name was Christine. Peg On 12/25/13, Jerry Kelly<jerrykelly@irishtribes.com> wrote: My understanding is that the X was introduced centuries ago as a sign of respect, in the same way that conservative Jews don't spell the name of Yahweh as a sign of respect. Anyone know more about this tradition? Nollaig Shona Daoibh / Merry Christmas to All, Gearóid / Jerry ________________________________ From: "[1]pegassi@verizon.net" <[2]pegassi@verizon.net> To: [3]mcjm52@bigpond.com; [4]irl-kerry@rootsweb.com Sent: Tuesday, December 24, 2013 7:13 PM Subject: Re: [IRL-KERRY] HAPPY XMAS X is the unknown. It's a pity to wish it to anyone. On 12/24/13, Mary Mizzi<[5]mcjm52@bigpond.com> wrote: TO RAY MARSHALL AND ALL ON THE KERRY LIST .... WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY XMAS AND MAY THE NEW YEAR BRING SUCCESS IN FINDING ALL THOSE LOST RELLIES. KIND REGARDS, MARY in North Queensland Australia where it is starting to get very warm aand the air conditioner will be working overtime today! _______________ --------------- Policies of the IRL-Kerry List: [1][6]http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlker/mailing.html To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [2][7]IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message. To subscribe to the Digest version of the list, please send an email to [3][8]IRL-KERRY-D-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'subscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message. To visit the County Kerry Research and Resources Page go to: [4][9]http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlker/ Share your stuff! If you transcribed research data, share it with the Irish genealogy community. Contribute it to the Kerry website to reach a wide audience. Contact Ann Hammer, data maintenance. Her contact info is at [5][10]http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlker/ contrib.html ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [6][11]IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message References 1. [12]http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ 2. [13]mailto:IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com 3. [14]mailto:IRL-KERRY-D-request@rootsweb.com 4. [15]http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ 5. [16]http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ 6. [17]mailto:IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com _______________ --------------- Policies of the IRL-Kerry List: [18]http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlker/mailing.html To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [19]IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message. To subscribe to the Digest version of the list, please send an email to [20]IRL-KERRY-D-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'subscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message. To visit the County Kerry Research and Resources Page go to: [21]http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlker/ Share your stuff! If you transcribed research data, share it with the Irish genealogy community. Contribute it to the Kerry website to reach a wide audience. Contact Ann Hammer, data maintenance. Her contact info is at [22]http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlker/ contrib.html ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [23]IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message _______________ --------------- Policies of the IRL-Kerry List: [24]http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlker/mailing.html To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [25]IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message. To subscribe to the Digest version of the list, please send an email to [26]IRL-KERRY-D-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'subscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message. To visit the County Kerry Research and Resources Page go to: [27]http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlker/ Share your stuff! If you transcribed research data, share it with the Irish genealogy community. Contribute it to the Kerry website to reach a wide audience. Contact Ann Hammer, data maintenance. Her contact info is at [28]http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlker/ contrib.html ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [29]IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message References 1. mailto:pegassi@verizon.net 2. mailto:pegassi@verizon.net 3. mailto:mcjm52@bigpond.com 4. mailto:irl-kerry@rootsweb.com 5. mailto:mcjm52@bigpond.com 6. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ 7. mailto:IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com 8. mailto:IRL-KERRY-D-request@rootsweb.com 9. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ 10. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ 11. mailto:IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com 12. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ 13. mailto:IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com 14. mailto:IRL-KERRY-D-request@rootsweb.com 15. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ 16. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ 17. mailto:IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com 18. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ 19. mailto:IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com 20. mailto:IRL-KERRY-D-request@rootsweb.com 21. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ 22. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ 23. mailto:IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com 24. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ 25. mailto:IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com 26. mailto:IRL-KERRY-D-request@rootsweb.com 27. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ 28. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ 29. mailto:IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com