Whether you end a letter or e-mail with it—or you
recognize it from the end of each Gossip Girl epis
ode—“Xoxo” is commonly known to refer to the phras
e “Kisses and hugs.” But how did these two inconsp
icuous letters come to represent that well-known p
hrase? 不管您是写信或邮件时结尾，还是在 《绯闻女孩》每一集结束时看到，您 都知道“XOXO
”是表示“亲吻和拥抱”的 短语。但为什么这两个不起眼的字母 会表示亲吻和拥抱呢？ One poss
ible explanation is that an “X” is a stylized repr
esentation of two mouths kissing, while the “O” re
presents two pairs of arms coming together to comp
lete a hug. This emoticon-inspired account makes s
ense, but the true explanations are more likely ro
oted in religious history. 一种解释是，“X”表示正在亲吻的双 嘴，而“
O”则代表拥抱在一起的两对手 臂。这种表情符号式的解释说得通， 但真正的原因更可能是来自宗教历 史。
Because many people in the Middle Ages could not
read or write, they would sign important document
s with an “X, ” which was both a simple mark to ma
ke and a reference to the Christian cross. The sig
nee would then kiss the “X” to demonstrate his sin
cerity and that what was written in the document w
as true—in much the same way that Christians kisse
d the Bible to display their belief in Christ. Bes
ides referencing the actual cross itself, the “X”
alluded to the early Christian symbol called the C
hi-rho—named after combining the first two letters
of the Greek word for Christ, ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ. 中世纪时，很多人不
会读不会写，所 以他们在签署重要文件时会使用“X”， 这里的 X 既简单易写又表示基督教十 字架。然
后签署人会亲吻“X”，表明他 的真心诚意以及文件内容的真实性。 这跟基督教徒亲吻《圣经》以表达他 们
对基督的信仰几乎是一样的。除了 表示实际的十字架，“X”在早期基督教 符号中被称为 Chi-rho，
其得名是合 并希腊语中表示基督的单词ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ 的前两个字母。 Tracing the ori
gin of how the “O” came to represent a hug is more
difficult. One possible explanation is that Jewis
h immigrants, upon arriving in the U.S., used the
symbol in place of a signature, similar to the way
the “X” was used by Christians. Instead of using
an “X, ” which invoked Christ—a figure that did no
t align with Jewish beliefs—illiterate Jewish peop
le arriving in the U.S. would sign documents with
an “O.” 追溯为何“O”表示拥抱更困难。一种 解释是，与基督教徒使用“X”类似，犹 太移民来
到美国后使用该符号签名。 不会读写的犹太人不用“X”，是因为 X 会让人想到基督，而基督与犹太人的
信仰不一致。所以他们签署文件时 用“O”。 Combined with the familiar
Christian use of an “X” signifying the oath sealed
with a kiss, the “O” was likely then adapted to m
ean hugs as an equal representation in the sinceri
ty of the sentiment on notes, letters, or even e-m
ails. 就像基督教徒用“X”加亲吻起誓，“O”随 后也被用来表示拥抱，其在记录、信件、 甚至电
子邮件上代表相同的真心诚意。