X-mas
The spelling Xmas or Xmas is in the English language often used as an abbreviation for the word Christmas " Christmas " is used.
Since early Christian times, the Greek letter Chi ( Χ ) as the first letter of the word dient ( Christos ) served as an abbreviation and symbol for Jesus Christ. Together with the second letter Rho ( Ρ ), this forms the Christ monogram ( ☧ ) , one on top of the other .
The X for the syllable Christ can already be found in the old English abbreviations Xen or Xn for christen (baptize), Xian for christian and Xianity for christianity . X'temmas ( christmas ) has been recorded in the English language since 1551.
Evidence for the use of the abbreviation Xp (Greek Χρ ) for Christ can also be found in German-speaking cultures, for example in a richly illustrated encyclopedia written in Latin by Herrad von Landsberg , Abbess of Hohenburg Abbey on Mount Odile in Alsace . Her Hortus deliciarum , written around 1175, is the first documented encyclopedia of the Middle Ages written by a woman.
In one of the 344 miniatures in the book, which the abbess herself shows among the nuns of the Hohenburg monastery with names and sometimes places of origin, one of the nuns - the fourth from the left in the fifth (penultimate) line between Hedewic and Agnes - is called Xp wirdina , d. H. Christina. The circumflex as a contraction symbol above the "p" also clearly indicates that Xp͂ is a contraction of "Christ". The miniature can now also be seen as a large mural, a modern copy from 1935, in one of the corridors of Hohenburg Abbey .
However, the assumption that the X stands as a cross for Crossmas cannot be substantiated. Nor can it be proven that the spelling is based on a trend towards the secularization and commercialization of Christmas, since related forms can be traced back to the 12th century in Alsace and in the 16th century in England.
The German Language Association (VDS) chose X-mas as “the most unnecessary and annoying word of 2008 in Germany”. In Germany it stands in contrast to everything that is associated with Christmas: "Cosiness, German Christmas traditions, romance, Christianity".
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ "Xmas" in: Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2011.
- ↑ a b Hortus Deliciarum , Bibliothèque Alsatique du Crédit Mutuel
- ↑ Image in higher resolution
- ↑ http://www.crivoice.org/symbols/xmasorigin.html
- ↑ That is the most unnecessary word of 2008. In: welt.de , December 18, 2008
