To paraphrase the late great comedian Mitch Hedberg, the letter X, because it's so infrequently used, must have been offered certain things as consolation prizes, like a co-starring role in Tick-Tac-toe, and a close association with hugs and kisses.

It marks the spot, and it makes Christmas easier to write.

Of course, X is also shorthand for an unknown quantity, as in there are X number of myths about the use of X in the spelling of Christmas.

This time of year, you'll see countless examples of Christmas abbreviated as Xmas, with or without a hyphen after the X.

In advertisements, banners, store displays,

greeting cards, various products, and graphics floating around social media. But why? What does

X have to do with Christmas? Why is it a suitable abbreviation, and why does Christmas need

abbreviating in the first place? The story of X-Mus has its roots in the earliest days of Christianity.

It's a story about the creation of a symbol whose meaning became largely forgotten and confused.

I'm Brian Earle. This is Christmas Past.

Christmas is an etymologist's delight.

Those of us who love word origins have a lot to discover in this most festive of seasons,

like why we call them sugar plums when they don't really contain plums,

or why Santa Claus also goes by St. Nicholas or Chris Kringle.

It's also probably the one time of year when we are most frequently and heavily exposed to antiquated

language, from all those old stories and songs from Christmas past. When else do you hear

humbug, for example? Nowadays, it's almost exclusively associated with Christmas and Ebenezer

Scrooge. But it's a phrase that originated in the 18th century, and the modern equivalent of it

would be something like BS.

Today, however, humbug is mostly thought of as a general utterance of contempt or dismay.

We just know that grouchy old Scrooge said it in reaction to Christmas, and that's basically

our only frame of reference.

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