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A collection of snippets of the books I write and, occasionally, my life and the things that inspire my writing...

Friday, April 27, 2012

A to Z "X" is for Xmas: and other X things

The letter X, in  spite of not being used often in our language, is a rather important letter/symbol.

 X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X

The "X" in Christmas controversy?   Taken from Wikipedia: "Christ" was often written as "XP" or "Xt"; there are references in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as far back as AD 1021. This X and P arose as the uppercase forms of the Greek letters χ and ρ used in ancient abbreviations for Χριστος (Greek for "Christ"),[2] and are still widely seen in many Eastern Orthodox icons depicting Jesus Christ."

There is not controversy.   Still...the vestiges of one, persist.

                               
X...does much more.

In math, it is used to represent an unknown variable, and as a multiplication symbol.  And, it is used as a Roman numeral.

It is used as a signature by the illiterate.

It is often used to mark a box (to select) on various forms.

It is used to indicate a crossing-- "Pedestrain X-ing"  Railroad X-ing" and actually used in place of the word "cross" as shorthand-- "X-walk".

                                                  
Um...it describes the mutants living among humans-- the "X-Men" ;-)

                                                    
And *drum roll* it is used to mark the coveted  location on treasure maps. :-)

I am all out of X ideas now. :-)

I am off to see what others have written about the letter "x".

28 comments:

  1. X was a tricky one- Pirate map is my favourite here, reminding me of all the tea soaked home made versions hanging up to dry in the kitchen while me and Boy watched Muppet's Treasure Island till the video tape snapped!

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  2. Awe, the tea-soaked versions. You are a great mom. I never thought to soak my boys' maps in tea ;-) Thanks for visiting. :-)

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  3. Some incredible ingenious ways to utilize the letter "X"

    I'd say this is the most unique post I've seen thus far depicting the letter "X"

    There are some incredibly talented A-Z Challengers out there!


    Nice blog, Teresa! I'll have to come back and do a more thorough trek after the challenge is over! I'm already intrigued!

    Have a super weekend!




    http://bettyalark.blogspot.com

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    1. Betty, thank you for visiting. So many talented people, indeed! There are so many great blogs I have discovered through the A to Z--your among them. I will be back to check it in May :-) !

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  4. My mother told me that when I end a letter to someone I loved to place "x"'s (which meant kisses) and "o"'s (which mean hugs) at the end of the letter. Does anyone else do this?Feather

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    1. Hi Feather. Yes, I grew up writing Xs and Os... My husband and I still occasionally do it when we write notes to each other. But....with the digital age, THAT has become so infrequent :-) Nice to see you again!

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  5. Quite a useful letter isn't it? I really like you post. Great to meet you too! :)

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    1. Very useful, Tracy! :-) Thanks for visiting and your kind words. I will be back to visit you n May...when this A to Z busyness subsides. :-)

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  6. I was going to do the Greek x Christ thing. You beat me to it. :D

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    1. Hi Ruth! lol...I have been perusing "X" posts, and have seen a few that used words I thought about ;-) Thanks for visiting :-)

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  7. You did an eXtraordinary job with "X's! Thanks for stopping by, and I'm sorry that I haven't been here in awhile. Julie

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    1. Hi Julie, oh my goodness, it has been a busy month--and we had so many digital miles to cover. :-) I am glad we got to visit each others' blogs a couple of times! :-) Thanks for visiting! :-)

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  8. That's really interesting about the controversial X in Christmas, I'll be sure to remember that. I'm also surprised about the road signs using it as a shortcut for 'cross'.

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    1. Hi Daydreamer. I agree that it is interesting. Still, people continue to raise a ruckus about it. :-) I think X can be used for Christ, cross and even trans. When I do culture transfers at work, I write them in my lab notebook as Xfers. :-)

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  9. Nice post!!

    I found the letter X really tricky for the a-z challenge, hardest one yet! but I like you ideas :)

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    1. Thanks, Rana! I liked your "X" post, as well! :-)

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  10. I love seeing the ways people have handled this difficult letter. And you've reminded us why is it nonetheless so important. Where would we be without Hot X Buns at Easter?

    I'm all too familiar with the mathematical variable. x, y, and z were my constant companions through university, plus all the Greek alphabet, and we went on and invented our own letters just for fun :)

    Also, x (and its abbreviated companions) are often used as temporary variable names in computer programming, where you don't feel the need to give it something more meaningful (and longer to type).

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    1. Ha! I forgot all about hot X buns. "One ha' penny, two ha' penny, Hot cross buns! If you have no daughters, Give them to your sons." I haven't baked any in years. :-)

      Inventing letters? How cool is that! And computer programming--that too is Greek to me ;-)

      It was fun checking how other people posted this one. :-)

      Thanks for visiting :-)

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  11. What a great way you found many ways how we incoporate this letter in everyday life.

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    1. It is incorporated into so many things. Thanks, Geeky Daddy, for visiting! :-)

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  12. I have thought about the X = Christ factor a number of times, and realized that the whole "controversy" is really nothing. It's an effort to do something that is not accomplished by the change. So whatever...I know, and the irony pleases me immensely!

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    1. Hi Thespotts! It is huge...the controversy--fueled by the utmost passion of devout believers. I would never fault them for devout belief...just wish that they would understand it. But, in all fairness, perhaps there are those who promote the controversy for the sakes of their own (non-believing) agenda. :-) I reckon there are uninformed on both sides of the aisle. I have no idea :-) Thank you for visiting. :-)

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  13. Great listing of all the uses for X! Thanks for visiting Gull Haven. Stop by my A to Z site at http://mainelywrite.blogspot.com if you get a chance!

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    1. Thank you for visiting, Donna! I will check out your other blog :-)

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  14. Interesting post about the 'X', some of them I didn't know... I could think of just one at the moment, an abbreviation for chatting or something else it can be used for to express a kiss... what else ;)

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    1. Ha! Sign those letters with Xs and Os :-) Hi Jan! Thank you for visiting :-)

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  15. You made eXcellent use of the letter X! :)
    Question: How did the whole X-Mas thing even happen? Chris-Cross, I don't get it?
    These days, I noticed some people in Germany having big yellow X's in front of their house, as an expression of disapproval on nuclear energy. Is this a universal X or just us? XOXO, kissihugs! :)

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    1. I think it had to do with Greek, and the symbol for Christ, Dana.

      I had not heard of the yellow "X' pertaining to nuclear energy. Hmmm...but that is not to say that I haven't just missed something that is going on. Living in a rural area, sometimes the media doesn't focus on things that don't pertain to us. But now that I know about it, I must google it and see if it does mean the same thing in the states. :-) Xs and Os right back at you!

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