Hugs and kisses

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. There is controversy as to which letter ('O' or 'X') represents which action ('hug' or 'kiss').

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. (Incidentally, the pronunciation of the letter "X" in Spanish, though generally transliterated as equis, does sound like a native Spanish speaker saying "a kiss" in English.)

Sheepy

Coordinates: 52°36′36″N 1°31′16″W / 52.610°N 1.521°W / 52.610; -1.521

Sheepy is a civil parish in the Borough of Hinckley and Bosworth in Leicestershire, England. It contains the villages of Sheepy Magna, Sheepy Parva, Sibson, Wellsborough, Upton, Pinwall and Cross Hands—a total of 449 homes. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,192.

The parish was created in 1935 from the merger of the four civil parishes of Sheepy Magna, Sheepy Parva, Sibson and Upton.

During the English Civil War Sheepy provided free quarter and horses to troops from the parliamentary garrisons from north Warwickshire. In June 1646, Gregory Kent, the parish clerk, submitted a claim for losses to the Warwickshire County Committee, including claims for free quarter for about a hundred horses and men under the command of Captain Flower and Captain Ottway of the Coventry garrison. Mr Burbidge, and Captain Turton were charged with taking a mare worth £6.13.4. The offender was probably Richard Burbidge, garrison quartermaster at Edgbaston Hall under Colonel Tinker Fox. At the siege of Tamworth, soldiers under the command of Captain Castleton apparently made off with valuable horses belonging to Thomas Owen, John Thurman, John Vincent, John Toon and Mr Kent, the town clerk.