Xmas food

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Solve today’s spelling word game by finding as many words as you can with using just 7 letters. Can you make 12 words with 7 letters? Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. Spelling isn’t all black and white. Learn a new word every day. Here’s a holiday surprise that only the dictionary can provide.

Do you find the word Xmas, as an abbreviation for Christmas, offensive? Many people do, but the origin of this controversial term might change your mind! You won’t find Xmas in church songbooks or even on many greeting cards. Some people associate Xmas with the holiday as a commercial, secular occasion instead of as a particular cultural and religious ritual.

But, the history of the word Xmas is actually more respectable—and fascinating—than you might suspect. It was first used in the mid-1500s. Other abbreviations for Christ include Xt and Xp, the P here representing the Greek letter rho, source of our letter R. In the same vein, the dignified terms Xpian and Xtian have been used in place of the word Christian.

Xmas comes from the Old English word for mass, as in a church service, especially one in the Roman Catholic Church including a celebration of the Eucharist. As lovers of the alphabet, we are transfixed by the flexibility of X. Does the 24th letter of the alphabet exhilarate you? Find out what else hides behind the X, here.