xmas

Word family

• Christmas
  nounA1
• Christmassy
  adjectiveB1
• Christmastime
  nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three refer to the December 25 holiday, but they differ sharply in register and context. 'Christmas' is the standard, neutral form appropriate for speech, formal writing, and any audience. 'Xmas' is an informal written abbreviation that works well on signs, cards, and messages but should be avoided in formal documents, academic writing, and spoken conversation — it can strike some readers as disrespectful or overly commercial. 'Noël' is a far less common borrowing from French, found almost exclusively on decorative greeting cards or in carol lyrics; it carries a quaint, traditional tone and is rarely used in everyday writing or speech. In short: use 'Christmas' for everything, 'Xmas' for casual written notes, and 'Noël' only if you want an old-fashioned or French-inflected feel on a card.

Common collocations

Etymology

The 'X' in Xmas comes from the Greek letter Chi (Χ), the first letter of Χριστός (Christos, meaning 'Christ'). Christian scribes have used Chi as an abbreviation for Christ since at least the 1500s. The form 'Xmas' first appeared in English print in the mid-1700s and became widely used in advertising and commerce during the 20th century. Despite the popular belief that 'X' replaces Christ to remove religion from the holiday, the abbreviation has a long religious history and was originally a reverent shorthand used in Christian church documents.