Does Xmas Offend You?

This time of year there is always controversy over the various aspects of Christmas. Discussions over many things such as the materialism and commercialization of the holiday, and the fact that some governments and municipalities would like the religious expressions of Christmas censored. One topic that invariably comes up among various Christian groups and people is the abbreviation of Christmas into Xmas. Many people believe that it is a literal crossing or deleting out of Christ from the holiday. Personally, this never really offended me or struck me as disrespectful to Jesus Christ, even when I was a child, or later a young adult who was questioning, doubting and at times mocking of religious things. For me, the most basic symbol of Christ and Christianity is the cross. I carried the notion that since an X is a tilted cross, it is easy to see how it came to represent Christ. I recalled that there was a time when many people weren't able to read or write very much if at all. If the occasion arose for them to sign an important document, and to express consent that they acknowledged and understood what the document meant, they would make an X. For me it was an official symbol, and therefore an important mark. It was not always the symbol of crossing out or mistakes, which of course, it does also stand for. Only when I became a born again Christian and heard other Christians voice concerns about it did I wonder if it was meant to insult or remove the Christ aspects of Christmas. It seems that my suspicions were correct and there is a Christian symbolic history in writing Xmas. Here are a few interesting and informative articles on the subject:
The Origin of "Xmas"
Merry Xmas blog entry

Chi Rho
The first two letters, Chi (Χ) and Rho (Ρ), of the Greek word for Christ (Χριστύς).