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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

A Xmas door mat or An Xmas doormat?

32 replies

D20 · 31/10/2023 13:47

A Mumsnet advert uses a but I’d say an?

YABU it should be a because x isn’t a vowel
YANBU everyone says an Xmas cake/tree etc

OP posts:
Poontangle · 31/10/2023 13:49

Depends how you pronounce 'Xmas'.

I see Xmas but I say 'Christmas', thus I'd say 'a Xmas doormat'.

If I were the type to say 'Ecksmas' I'd take a big rock and kill myself.

BitOutOfPractice · 31/10/2023 13:51

What @Poontangle said. 100%

id avoid a company that used Xmas. Or crimbo or any other such nonsense.

Chemenger · 31/10/2023 13:52

It hadn’t occurred to me that people say exmas rather than Christmas when they see Xmas. If they do then an is correct. Like the PP it will be a cold day in hell before I say exmas.

Original poster
D20 · 31/10/2023 13:52

I would say ecksmas if reading it so I suppose that does start with a vowel sound. I would always write Christmas if I wanted it to be read as Christmas and rarely write Xmas (other than in this thread).

OP posts:
Singsonggsu · 31/10/2023 13:54

I hate the whole Xmas thing! Taking Christ out of Christmas is 😡
It should not be written down in the first place!

saveforthat · 31/10/2023 13:56

Xmas is never said aloud as exmas. It's just a shorter way of writing Christmas. I've never heard anyone say exmas in real life, if I did, I would snigger to myself. It's a bit like saying I heart New York (although I know this is said ironically)

ComtesseDeSpair · 31/10/2023 13:56

I’ve never heard anyone actually say Ecksmus. The 'X' in Xmas comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Christós. Xmas as an abbreviation has been in usage since about the twelfth century, but always still pronounced as Christmas.

ApolloandDaphne · 31/10/2023 13:56

I read Xmas as Christmas.

MirandaWest · 31/10/2023 13:57

It’s Christmas. So it’s a Xmas doormat

SerenChocolateMuncher · 31/10/2023 13:59

It should be "a Xmas" if you must and for some reason can't write "a Christmas" properly and in full. You would presumably say "a Christmas", not "a Exmas" if you were speaking. I have never heard anyone say "Exmas" out loud.

VeronicaBeccabunga · 31/10/2023 14:00

I came to this pondering the difference between a door mat and a doormat.

I'd tend to assume that a Christmas doormat is some poor, long-suffering mum who is hosting the dinner for 27 ungrateful friends and relations, but welcomes them with a festive door mat 😂Or maybe with a door-mat?

Mothership4two · 31/10/2023 14:01

As the X was a symbol, not a letter of the alphabet, I always have pronouced it Christmas but Google are saying eksmus - I don't agree with them though!

Original poster
D20 · 31/10/2023 14:01

Singsonggsu · 31/10/2023 13:54

I hate the whole Xmas thing! Taking Christ out of Christmas is 😡
It should not be written down in the first place!

My Primary school head teacher used to say this every year. I think that’s where I must have got the pronunciation from as it has always been like that for me. Crikey perhaps this is another class indicator 😂 don’t worry folks DH earns six figures.

OP posts:
SerenChocolateMuncher · 31/10/2023 14:01

Poontangle · 31/10/2023 13:49

Depends how you pronounce 'Xmas'.

I see Xmas but I say 'Christmas', thus I'd say 'a Xmas doormat'.

If I were the type to say 'Ecksmas' I'd take a big rock and kill myself.

I don't know why this is funny, but it is! 😂

VeronicaBeccabunga · 31/10/2023 14:03

"Christmas is also sometimes known as Xmas. Some people don't think it's correct to call Christmas 'Xmas' as that takes the 'Christ' (Jesus) out of Christmas. (As Christmas comes from Christ-Mass, the Church service that celebrated the birth of Jesus.)
But that is not quite right! In the Greek language and alphabet, the letter that looks like an X is the Greek letter chi / Χ (pronounced 'khee' rhymes with 'key' or 'kye' rhymes with 'eye') which is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ, Christos.
The early church used the first two letters of Christos in the Greek alphabet 'chi' and 'rho' to create a monogram (symbol) to represent the name of Jesus. This looks like an X with a small p on the top: ☧"

Mothership4two · 31/10/2023 14:24

My RE teacher (who went to theological college) told me the X symbol had morphed from a fish symbol because the first letters of the phrase 'Jesus Christ God’s Son is Savior' in Greek make the Greek word for fish plus Jesus was known as the fisher of men.

Nanny0gg · 31/10/2023 14:37

D20 · 31/10/2023 13:47

A Mumsnet advert uses a but I’d say an?

YABU it should be a because x isn’t a vowel
YANBU everyone says an Xmas cake/tree etc

Christmas.

HTH

Iliedwheniwas17 · 31/10/2023 14:37

In my head I read it as Ex mass. If I were to read it aloud I’d say Christmas. So I suppose a Xmas is correct

SnoozeToMe · 31/10/2023 14:44

I read and say it as ecksmas. Also heard many people say it that way too. I thought it was a different word to christmas.

momtoboys · 31/10/2023 14:46

Poontangle · 31/10/2023 13:49

Depends how you pronounce 'Xmas'.

I see Xmas but I say 'Christmas', thus I'd say 'a Xmas doormat'.

If I were the type to say 'Ecksmas' I'd take a big rock and kill myself.

This made me laugh out loud! 😂

Hungrycaterpillarsmummy · 31/10/2023 14:47

Poontangle · 31/10/2023 13:49

Depends how you pronounce 'Xmas'.

I see Xmas but I say 'Christmas', thus I'd say 'a Xmas doormat'.

If I were the type to say 'Ecksmas' I'd take a big rock and kill myself.

That made me laugh out loud!

Hungrycaterpillarsmummy · 31/10/2023 14:47

Snap! Hehe

Redglitter · 31/10/2023 14:49

I've never in my life heard anyone pronounce Xmas as anything other than Christmas

DappledThings · 31/10/2023 14:51

Singsonggsu · 31/10/2023 13:54

I hate the whole Xmas thing! Taking Christ out of Christmas is 😡
It should not be written down in the first place!

Xmas isn't taking Christ out of Christmas in the least. X stands for Christ in Greek.

I write Xmas often, in my inside my head reading voice that's pronounced as Xmas so definitely an Xmas anything. In conversation I would only say Christmas.

BellaTheDarkOverlord · 31/10/2023 14:52

I sometimes say ecksmus.

-hides- 👀