What does the X in Xmas mean?

Answer 1

Originally the X was not an X as we use it in the English alphabet; it was the Greek letter chi which looks very similar to an X.

The Greek letter X (chi) is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ, Xristos ( Χριστός) so Xmas therefore means "Christ's Mass" which is what the word Christmas actually means.

For more information, please refer to the related question below.

Answer 2

The letter "x" resembles the Greek letter khi. Khiis the first letter in the Greek word for Christ. It is an abbreviation of Christmas.

In ancient Christian art χ and χρ were abbreviations for Christ's name. In many manuscripts of the New Testament and icons, X is an abbreviation for Christos, as is XC (the first and last letters in Greek, using the lunate sigma).

Answer 3

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 Χριστός, translated as "Christ"