X~is for Xmas

I bet you're thinking...er....'Xmas'? Isn't it spelled 'Christmas'? Why did I leave out *Christ*?

Well, as a Christian, I assure you that I would never dream of leaving Christ out of Christmas. And I didn't. (My Nativity set)
Let me explain.....
I grew up under the assumption that spelling Christmas as 'Xmas' was a way of keeping the holiday separate from its religious beginnings. And I was made to believe that people were so averse to religion that they were x-ing out Christ's name.

But I must admit I was just ignorant and wrong. Not long ago, I discovered that the 'X' in 'Xmas' is actually the greek letter 'Chi', which was a common abbreviation of 'Kristos', Christ's name. The word 'Xmas' is rooted in the heritage of the Church. It is simply another way to say Christmas, drawing on the long history of symbolic abbreviations used in the church.
As with other abbreviations used in common speech or writing (such as Mr. or etc.), the abbreviation 'Xmas' should be pronounced 'Christmas' just as if the word were written out in full, rather than saying "exmas".
(Our Angel Tree-topper made by my dear Aunt)
But I also have no doubt that some folks spell 'Xmas' because they are too busy or lazy to write out the whole word. And it's most likely that some secular people, see 'Xmas' as a way to avoid writing out 'Christ'. And certainly secular and commercial motives use 'Xmas' in ads and signs because it can be larger and more attention-getting in the same amount of space. But those factors do not take away the thoroughly Christian origin of the word 'Xmas'.
(Our living room decorated for Christmas)
Now, with all that said, personally, I prefer to spell Jesus' birthday, 'Christmas'. But I needed an 'X' word for this Alphabet Challenge and I chose 'Xmas'.
So, there. (lol!)

And how do you spell Christmas?

I thought I'd share a few of my favorite ornaments and Christmas decorations with the hope that y'all will share some photos of yours, too.
I collect Western and Southwestern themed decorations. Here are a few.

Santa has a thang for chile peppers. The hotter the better!
I prefer having pricklies remain outside, but this little sombrero-wearing cacti is just so cute!
Real cowboys (and cowgirls) love their chili! Yummy!
Cowboy? No......Cowbear. Awww!
I also have a thing for tall things, like this tall-faced Santa. And I like folk art, too. So this ornament just makes me smile.
Another tall Santa.
And a tall Nutcracker.
I know this isn't a Christmas decoration, but this just goes to show how much I like my stuff, tall. I guess it comes from being a tall gal myself. Though in real life, I sort of wish my horse wasn't so tall, 'cause it's just so hard to haul my hiney up onto my horse without getting a boost from a mounting block, fence or a large rock. Of course, if I had a shorter horse, the poor horse would look like it had 6 legs.

Do you have any holiday collections or themes?

Happy Holidays!