Hugs and kisses - Wikipedia Hugs and kisses Look up xoxo in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. `` xoxo '' redirects here. For other uses, see XOXO ( disambiguation ). Not to be confused with Kisses and Hugs. Hugs and kisses or xoxo is a term used for expressing sincerity, faith, love, or good friendship at the end of a written letter, email or SMS text message. Origins The common custom of placing `` X '' on envelopes, notes and at the bottom of letters to mean kisses dates back to the Middle Ages, when a Christian cross was drawn on documents or letters to mean sincerity, faith, and honesty. A kiss was then placed upon the cross, by the signer as a display of their sworn oath. It was also used in early Christian history as much of a display of the same. Since most of the common people could not read or write, the ' X ' was placed on documents, and a kiss was placed over it as a show of their sincerity. The Chi Rho, often represented with the letter ' X ', was also used as a holy symbol throughout Christian history as it represented the Greek word for Christ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ; this gave rise to the practice of using the letter ' X ', which was then kissed in this tradition of displaying a sacred oath. There is speculation on the Internet from at least one original source that the ' O ' is of North American descent : when arriving in the United States, Jewish immigrants, most of whose first language was Yiddish, would use an ' O ' to sign documents, thus not using the sign of the cross, and shop keepers would often use an ' O ' when signing documents, in place of an ' X '. See also Signature P.S. References ^ Jump up to : `` XOXO where did x and o come from ? ''. Hugkiss.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. 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. Jump up ^ `` Why Does X Stand for a Kiss ? ''. Trivia-Library.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. This tertiary source reuses information from other sources but does not name them. Jump up ^ Epstein, Nadine. `` A whole lot of history behind ' x ' and ' o, ' kiss and hug ''. Washington Post. Retrieved 19 March 2015. Jump up ^ `` XOXO where did x and o come from ? ''. Hugkiss.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. 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 '' ? Jump up ^ Why Does `` XOXO '' Mean `` Kisses and Hugs '' ? at MentalFloss.com This vocabulary - related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hugs_and_kisses&oldid=830555205 '' Categories : Intimate relationships Interpersonal relationships Emoticons Vocabulary and usage stubs Talk About Wikipedia Dansk Español Esperanto فارسی Italiano کوردی Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Türkçe 3 more Edit links This page was last edited on 15 March 2018, at 15 : 21. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what is the symbol for hugs and kisses
Answer: xoxo