Xmas?

Every Christmas we encounter people who are offended by the term "Xmas", who object to "X-ing Christ out of Christmas." X can mean an unknown quantity, or a place, as in "X marks the spot." In the case of "Xmas" what we're dealing with is actually an abbreviation and transliteration. The name of Christ in Greek is xristos, sometimes spelled in English as Christos. In some churches you'll see the first two Greek letters superimposed, another abbreviation. There's no intended disrespect here, though in other ways we might well "put Christ back into Christmas" by focusing on His incarnation and by making holy this special time of the year.