why is christmas xmas

Christmas and Xmas are two different ways of spelling the word Christmas. The word "Christmas" originated in Old English and was first recorded in the 11th century. It comes from the Old English words "Cristes" meaning "Christ" and "messe" meaning "mass". The word "Xmas" is a shortened version of the word "Christmas" that has been in use since the 16th century. It uses the Greek letter "chi" (χ) as a substitute for the letter "C" in "Christ". The word "Xmas" is considered by some to be disrespectful to the