I just heard Chip Davis of Mannheim Steamroller do a radio spot giving an excellent history of the term "Xmas."
Wonderful, accurate, historical, excellent!!!
"Xmas," as a legitimate abbreviation of Christmas, is good, orthodox, historical, and a lot older than most modern Christmas traditions. I go on a crusade every year against the supposed traditionalists who think that Xmas is X-ing out Christ. Little do they know that the original Greek spelling of Christ (and the reason it starts with a ch- and not a k-) starts with a Greek chi, which looks like an English X.
Check that: some folks receive my explanation and just don't care. They still don't like it and they were happier before I told them.
Personally, I often use X, Xmas, Xn, Xnty, etc. when I teach (on papers and whiteboards and such).
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