Why Does XOXO means Hugs and Kisses?

Why Does XOXO means Hugs and Kisses?

I always thought it was a really cute gesture when past girlfriends would write letters to me and at the end of the letter signed it with an x and an o to symbolize kisses and hugs. I never really understood how the letters X and O came to depict hugs and kisses, though, but I always had some sort of theory behind my guesses and such. I am not even sure if kids still sign letters that way anymore, but it was always really sweet to receive one or see it done in movies and things like that.

One theory that is probably the most popular one regarding the hugs and kisses lettering is that the X, which stands for kisses, looks like two mouths intersecting and coming together as a kiss. I guess I can see how that came to be, but the O would probably have been smarter since it is open like a mouth would be prior to a kiss. I guess that is not the same kind of kiss that people had in mind when they came up with this analogy, though.

The O, which stands for hugs, resembles how one would hold out their arms in anticipation of a hug. I can definitely see how that makes sense, though I can also see how the letter X would make a lot of sense as it could be two people coming together in a hugging embrace. Either way, though, I think it is pretty clever how someone came up with the idea to use something as simple as one or two letters to describe an action. Especially such sweet actions. I would hope that people still use these analogies because sweet things like this should never go out of style. They should remain and root out the things that desperately need to be out of style already.