xoxo

Where did the custom of putting Xs and Os at the bottom of a letter come from?

The first mention in literature of XXX for kisses at the bottom of a letter was in 1901, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The X itself is very old.

The custom goes back to the early Christian era, when a cross mark or "X" was the same as a sworn oath. The cross referred to the cross of Calvary and the first letter of the Greek word for Christ, Xristos.

Even as little as a hundred and fifty years ago, not many people could read or write. The "X" at the bottom of a document took the place of a signature. They would kiss the "X" as a crucifix or bible was kissed to emphasize the importance of the mark. It was this practice that lead to the "X" representing a kiss.

There isn't much known about the beginnings of the "O". It is a North American custom. The "O" represents the arms in a circle around another person. Arms crossed in front of you do not mean the "X" as a hug! The "O" is the hug.

In "The Joys of Yiddish" by Leo Rosten, it is noted that illiterate immigrants (or those who did not know Roman-English letters) would generally sign entry forms with an "X" but Jews preferred an "O" to avoid making something that looked like a cross. Also, shopkeepers and salesmen would similarly sign receipts with a circle. Could this be the origin of the "O"?

Or could it have developed from the game of tic tac toe, where one player uses the "X" and another the "O", leading people to think that the "O" was the hug, as the "X" is the kiss.

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How did "XOXO" come to mean hugs and kisses?

Brianna New York, New York

Dear Brianna:

You're not just referring to a poorly played game of tic-tac-toe, are you? No matter. The Oxford English Dictionary, as credited by Hugkiss.com, states the first "X-as-kiss" in literature occurred in 1901. (Where it appeared isn't mentioned.) The site, as well as Wikipedia, describes the X symbol as originally referring to the Christian cross (and the first letter of the Greek word for Christ, Xristos). This dates back to a mostly pre-literate era when the marking of a cross, or "X," on a document functioned like a signature. The X became associated with the kiss because signatories used to pucker up and plant one on their X mark, as one would do to a crucifix or bible. Trivia-Library.com cites a hypothesis from The People's Almanac, which theorizes that the X may have also functioned as a sort of early emoticon, representing a "stylized picture of two mouths touching each other." As for that hug-of-an-O, it's something of a mystery. Hugkiss.com says it's a "North American custom" and cites Leo Rosten's "The Joys of Yiddish" as saying that Jews who were illiterate preferred using an "O" when signing documents to avoid making the cross mark. Others speculate the O represents two arms held in a circle around another person. All well and good, but just know if you wander in somewhere flashing three neon Xs on a marquee, you're probably going to see a whole lot more than hugs or kisses. *********** Hugs and Kisses also known as Love and Kisses is a term for a sequence of the letters X and O, e.g. XOXO, typically used to express affection or good friendship at the end of a written letter or email. It is debatable which letter represents which act. One interpretation assumes that X represents the four lips of a kiss and O the four arms of a hug. For example, the Oxford English Dictionary states that X is "used to represent a kiss, esp. in the subscription to a letter." Another interpretation assumes X as the crossed arms of a hug and O as the puckered lips of a kiss, as the order is normally spoken "Hugs and Kisses" which would correspond to the order that the x's and o's are written. Also, it could be said that the X's are the arms crossing during a hug, and the O's are the circular shape that two people make when kissing. Additionally, there is another interpretation, based on the pronunciation of the letters X (sounds like 'kiss') and O (sounds like 'hold', as in 'I hold you'). [Note: The following paragraph seems to draw upon customs in a certain part of the (ancient) world for its interpretation of XOXO. It does not, however, state this explicitly.] The use of XOXO goes back to the use of an X or cross, which was considered as good as a sworn oath in times before most people could write and therefore used the X in the same way a signature is used today — a mark of one's word. An X at the end of a letter or document was often kissed as a seal of honesty, in much the same way one would kiss a Bible or kiss the fingers after making the sign of the Christian cross. Thus the X came to represent a kiss in modern times. The origins of the O as a hug are not generally known, although it is speculated that it may represent the arms wrapped around someone being hugged. In popular culture Elliott Smith utilized XO on his album XO Australian Designer modernizes Love & Kisses as XOXO in a symbol of unity with XOXO designed as two figures interlocking from an overhead perspective. At the end of teen group Aly and AJ's music video for "Potential Breakup Song", the screens reads "XOXO, Aly & AJ". In The Deposition, an episode from the US version of The Office Michael's diary is read, and he signs XOXO In Trisha Yearwood's 1995 single "Xxx's and Ooo's (An American Girl)" she sang about a young young woman who used to "sign her letters with X's and O's." The Swedish rapist Hagamannen used "XOXO" as his personal signature. In Christina Aguilera's single from 2007, Candyman, Aguilera signs off at the end of the video "Xoxo, Candy" at the end of the video. In the video to pop-singer Gavin DeGraw's single from 2008, In Love with a Girl, DeGraw holds up a cellphone which shows the text "I'm here! XOXO". Fall Out Boy titled a song, the last song from the album From Under the Cork Tree, "XO." When asked why the title had nothing to do with the song, Pete Wentz replied sarcastically, "Oh yeah, because that song has nothing to do with hugs and kisses" In Gossip Girl, the gossip girl ends her monologue at the beginning of an episode with XOXO. Eben