Xian

When I was younger, I was volunteering to help sell Christmas trees. They asked me to make some signs, so I did my best, but all I could fit was "Xmas Trees" (Christmas is a long word!). While I was selling trees, a woman came up to me and asked "Did you make these signs?" I told her that I had, and she proceeded to chew me out for disrespecting her religion, being inconsiderate, and taking Christ out of Christmas. Unfortunately, I was too shocked to respond and she just walked away, probably feeling really proud of herself.

Just about every Christian I have asked, believes that writing Xian or Xmas is insulting and rude to their faith. So I decided to check on this...


Urban Legends Reference Page

The abbreviation Xmas for Christmas is neither modern or disrespectful. This usage is nearly as old as Christianity itself, and its origins lie in the fact that the first letter in the Greek word for Christ is "chi", and the Greek letter "chi" is represented by a symbol similar to the letter x.So the abbreviation was not created specifically for the purpose of demeaning Christ, Christmas, or Christians

I received this lovely response, after I shared this information with someone on Yahoo! Answers:

I don't know where that link obtained their study,but in America...almost every Christian Denomation objected to their "christ" being taken out of their Faith. I am Jewish and I would be insulted as most Jewish people would be if I was refered to as a Ew rather than a Jew or called Ewish,It is very insultive,..So anyway you are certainly allowed to feel anyway or think anything you want,but I stand by what I posted,but if someone insults my Faith & says Ewish or Ew I'd report them~Shalom"

Why am I surprised that I was unable to change her mind with evidence?

That's strange, since most Christians don't mind being called "ewes" (haha I made a joke!).

So I think what she's saying is that I am only entitled to freedom of speech as long as it doesn't hurt anyone's feelings? Hmmm...that doesn't sound right.