Christianity.ca - In Defence of "Xmas"

In Defence of "Xmas"
We Christians are generally bothered by the word "Xmas," but instead, perhaps we should harness the word to communicate answers to humanity's deepest needs and desires.
by David Guretzki | posted 12/20/06

I don't know about you, but I've usually been bothered whenever I see "Xmas" used as an abbreviation for "Christmas." It has usually represented something sinister and pernicious to me—a societal conspiracy to remove Christ from Christmas! Thus, many of us have probably seen and even reveled in the clever billboards or ads around this time of year calling the shopping-wearied public to put "Christ back into Xmas."

… all too often, the Christ of Christmas, even for Christians, can be as quickly forgotten as He was briefly remembered.

But more recently, I've begun to think that the word "Xmas" may serve an important function in our (post?)modern society. Thus I will argue in an admittedly counter-intuitive way, that Christians should cautiously welcome the word Xmas more freely than we might have been used to doing as Christians. Why? Because the word Xmas describes quite accurately and acutely, both at a sociological and theological level, what this season has come to represent, while simultaneously highlighting the need to point to something—or rather Someone—much more important.

As I've thought about what the word "Xmas" might connote, I've come up with two distinct senses of the word. First, the word Xmas tells us a bit of how we Canadians view the task of celebrating, mainly, that celebration is best accomplished in a generic or general way. In this sense of the word, Xmas might be thought of as the metaphorical "Brand X" of all celebrations. Whether "Xmas" or the "Holiday Season," or some equally generic term, Xmas has undoubtedly become the most important non-referential holiday etched deep within our national psyche. It is a time in which overspending, overeating and general overindulgence are the hallmark characteristics (with no offence to the greeting card corporation that undoubtedly makes a killing at this time of year) of the celebration.

The generic nature of Xmas is revealed in the way it is now largely celebrated. In fact, in order to enjoy Xmas, it is not necessary to celebrate anything in particular. Rather, Xmas is a generic, all-round time of good cheer in which we take extraordinary care to enjoy ourselves in such a way that, well, nothing or no-one in particular at all is in fact celebrated, lest one or another special religious or non-religious group alike be offended by anything at all too particular. Thus Xmas stands for general cheeriness, happiness, good-will, civility, and politeness; it is about generally letting children be heard as well as seen and about generally getting along with those family members and friends whom we generally avoid the rest of the year. In short, Xmas is that nationally recognized season when we celebrate, generally speaking, all the very best things that living in our country can provide. In this regard, Xmas has its close analogy to Thanksgiving, another non-descript generic celebration in which we are encouraged to be generally thankful for generally everything we have to no one in particular, all at the expense of the lives of a few million turkeys. (The turkey thing might be another link between Xmas and Thanksgiving, but that's another essay … )

If the first meaning of the word, Xmas represents celebrating the generic non-referential goodness which our society has come to expect at this time of year, it is the second connotation of the word that may be a be a bit more painful. In this sense of the word, "Xmas" represents the unknown—just how in modern parlance "X" has come to function as the "unknown" factor—the "X" in an algebraic formula. Thus, the word Xmas is actually an ironic term which constantly and painfully reminds us, in the midst of our festivities, that there is something we have—forgotten. If ever at all we once knew the true meaning of "Christmas," the word "Xmas" indicts us about the depth of our national and corporate amnesia concerning the historic event when God became a baby in the manger and dwelt among us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

Oh, and I do not want to deny that during the Xmas season religious and non-religious alike remember, even for a brief moment, the generally forgotten X's in our midst—the orphans, the sick, the homeless, the poor, the alien. Unfortunately, it is also all too easy to return these same persons to their "X-ness" once our celebratory mood has been exhausted, particularly after enduring a long Boxing Day line-up to return unwanted gifts in exchange for even better ones. Thus, the ads may help us to remember to put the giving spirit of Christ back into Christmas for a brief moment in deference to tradition, religious sensibility, or even a guilty conscience. But all too often, the Christ of Christmas, even for Christians, can be as quickly forgotten as He was briefly remembered.

So, in its defence, I say we should retain the term Xmas. But I insist that in retaining it, we take up the challenge of refusing to leave it stand alone, uninterpreted and unchallenged. Thus, Xmas should serve as a necessary reminder, even to Christians, that the Lord Jesus Christ did not come some 2000 years ago to the generally good, but to those who were in need of God's good favour. In this respect, we need to resist—yes resist!—inviting Jesus back into Xmas, the time when we display and act our best. How quickly we forget that Christ did not come to a world at its best behaviour, but that God sent His Son while we were still sinners (see Romans 5:8), in the fullness of God's time (see Galatians 4:4), and not ours.

Thus, let Xmas serve as a reminder to us all that Christ does not come to all that is generally best in our world, but He comes to those who, like Jesus' mother Mary, are contrite and humble in heart. And let Xmas serve as a reminder that Christ did not come to the wise, nor to the rich, nor to the king, but to simple shepherds who praised the gloriously rich God who sent the Prince of Peace, the King who reigns now over those who trust in Him, and will reign forever more over all Creation.

But beyond this important reminder, next time we hear or see the word "Xmas," we may need to be better prepared to do as the Apostle Paul did when, seeing the inscription to the "unknown God" in Athens, he boldly announced, "Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you" (Acts 17:23 NIV). Indeed, Xmas may in fact be the best evidence we have of when individual and collective desire reaches out for something more than the glitter and glitz can ultimately deliver. Indeed, it is in the midst of this desire for the good and the beautiful that people, prompted by the Holy Spirit who conceived Jesus, might be more receptive to the simple but amazing Good News of the Lord Jesus come in human flesh in a back alley in a far-off ancient city. And certainly, let us begin preparing now so that once Xmas is over and many begin to wonder once again whether it was really worth it and what it was really all about, that we may have opportunity to point to Jesus Christ who shows up in unexpected times and places and shines His revealing light on us. And so we cry, "Marantha—come Lord Jesus!"

David Guretzki, PhD, is the assistant professor of theology at Briercrest Seminary in Caronport, Saskatchewan. He can be reached at dguretzki@briercrest.ca.