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Christmas

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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WOTD – 25 December 2023

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Theproper noun is derived fromMiddle EnglishCristemasse,Criste-mas(“Christmas Day; season of Christmas; Christmas festivities”) [and other forms],[1] fromOld EnglishCristes mæsse(“Christmas”, literally“Christ’s mass”), fromCrist(“Christ”) +-es(possessive marker) +mæsse(“a mass (celebration of the Eucharist)”). The English word is analysable asChrist +‎-mas(suffix denoting a holiday or sacred day).[2] Cognate withSaterland FrisianKristmisse(“Christmas”),West FrisianKrystmis(“Christmas”),DutchKerstmis(“Christmas”),German Low GermanKarstmis(“Christmas”).

Thenoun,adjective, andverb[3] are derived from the proper noun.

Adjectivesense 1 (“red and green in color”) refers to these colors being traditionally associated with Christmas.

Proper noun

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Christmas (countable anduncountable,pluralChristmasesorChristmasses)(also attributive)

  2. (originally Christianity) Afestival orholidaycommemorating thebirth ofJesus Christ andincorporating variousChristian,pre-Christian,pagan, andsecularcustoms, which inWestern Christianity iscelebrated onDecember 25 (Christmas Day) in mostplaces.
    Synonyms:(Britain, slang, humorous)Chrimble,(Britain, slang, humorous)Chrimbo,(Australia, slang)Chrissy,(Britain, slang, humorous)Crimble,(Britain, slang, humorous)Crimbo,Noel,Yule
    Hyponyms:Chrismahanukwanzakah,Chrismukkah
    Do you celebrateChristmas?
    ThisChristmas we’ll open presents, then go to grandma’s for dinner.
    • [[15th century] (date written), “A Caroll Bringyng in the Bores Heed”, in[Christmasse Carolles], London: […] Wynkyn de Worde, published1521,→OCLC; republished inJoseph Ames,Typographical Antiquities: Being a Historical Account of Printing in England: […], London: […] W[illiam] Faden, and sold by J. Robinson, […],1749,→OCLC,page96, column 2:
      Be gladde, lordes, bothe more and lasse, / For this hath ordeyned our stewarde / To chere you all thischristmasse / The bores heed with mustarde.]
    • 1569,Richard Grafton, “Henry the Eyght”, inA Chronicle at Large and Meere History of the Affayres of Englande […], volume II, London: […] Henry Denham, […], forRicharde Tottle andHumffrey Toye,→OCLC,pages1140–1141:
      In this Winter was great death in London, wherefore the Terme was adiorned, and the king for to eſchue the plague, kept hisChriſtmaſſe at Eltham with a ſmall number, for no man might come thether, but ſuch as were appoynted by name: this Chriſtmas in the kings houſe, was called the ſtillChriſtmaſſe.
    • 1599 (first performance; published1600),Thomas Dekker, “The Shomakers Holiday. Or The Gentle Craft. […]. To All Good Fellowes, Professors of the Gentle Craft; of what Degree Soeuer.”, inThe Dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker […], volume I, London: John Pearson […], published1873,→OCLC,page 3:
      Kinde Gentlemen, and honeſt Companions, I preſent you here with a merrie conceited Comedie, calledthe Shoomakers Holyday, acted by my Lorde Admiralls Players this preſentChriſtmaſſe, before the Queenes moſt excellent Maieſtie.
    • 1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e.Francis Bacon],The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret,→OCLC,page191:
      Hereupon aPeace vvas concluded, vvhich vvas publiſhed a little beforeChriſtmaſſe, in the Fourteenth yeare of the KingsRaigne, to continue for both the Kings liues, and the ouer-liuer of them, and a yeare after.
    • 1623, M. N. [pseudonym;William Camden], “Certaine Prouerbes, Poemes or Poesies, Epigrammes, Rhythmes, and Epitaphs of the English Nation in Former Times, and Some of This Present Age”, inRemaines, Concerning Britaine: […], 3rd edition, London: […] Nicholas Okes, for Simon Waterson, […],→OCLC,page267:
      Chriſtmaſſe commeth but once a yeere.
    • 1697,William Dampier, chapter III, inA New Voyage Round the World. […], London: […] James Knapton, […],→OCLC,page56:
      [T]heſe Ships[…] meet vvith Privateers, vvho reſort hither in the aforeſaid months [May to August], purpoſely to keep aChriſtmas as they call it; being ſure to meet vvith Liquor enough to be merry vvith, and are very liberal to thoſe that treat them.
      Used to refer to a period of festivity during a different time of the year.
    • 1712 August 17 (Gregorian calendar), [Richard Steele], “WEDNESDAY, August 6, 1712”, inThe Spectator, number450; republished inAlexander Chalmers, editor,The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.:D[aniel] Appleton & Company,1853,→OCLC,page220:
      […] I was always grateful for the sum of my week's profit, and atChristmas for that of the whole year.
      The spelling has been modernized.
    • 1798 July, “Account of Lincoln’s Inn: With a Perspective View of the Hall and Chapel”, inThe Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure; […], volume CIII, London: […] W[illiam] Bent, […],→OCLC,page42, column 2:
      The lord chancellor holds his fittings in this hall, and in former days, like the Temple, it had its revels and greatChriſtmaſſes.[…] The account of the great feaſt in the hall of the Inner Temple, by the ſerjeants, in 1555, is extremely worth conſulting: and alſo of the hoſpitableChriſtmaſſes of old times.
    • 1820 January 1, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym;Washington Irving], “Christmas Eve”, inThe Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number V, New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […],→OCLC,page379:
      [A] great deal of revelry was permitted, and even encouraged, by the squire, throughout the twelve days ofChristmas, provided every thing was done comformably to ancient usage.[…] [T]he Yule clog, andChristmas candle, were regularly burnt, and the mistletoe, with its white berries, hung up, to the imminent peril of all the pretty housemaids.
    • 1840 January, Sylvanus Swanquill [pseudonym;John Hewitt], “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year”, inThe New Sporting Magazine, volume XVIII, number105, London: Walter Spiers, […],→OCLC,page53:
      “Lawk!” says our old granddam, who has taken the liberty of looking over our manuscript while we were gone to mix a glass of water and something. “Lawk!” says she, “how can you write such stuff?Christmas, indeed! you’ve noChristmas now. Do you call thisChristmas? It’s more like a vapour bath. Such weather! Lawk, how timesare changed! theChristmassesI remember! the good, old-fashionedChristmasses, when there was snow on the ground six feet deep, and poor people were starved to death by dozens, and you couldn’t go out without having your fingers frost-bitten, and coals were at six shillings a hundred, and canals froze up so that you couldn’t get your goods, and the roads all impassable, and daren’t ask a few friends to merrymake for fear of losing three or four of ’em going home in snow-drifts, and—oh, thosewereChristmasses! we shall never see such times again!”
    • 1843 December 19,Charles Dickens, “Stave Five. The End of It.”, inA Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London:Chapman & Hall, […],→OCLC,page166:
      [I]t was always said of him [Ebenezer Scrooge], that he knew how to keepChristmas well, if any man alive possessed this knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, asTiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!
    • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXVIII”, inIn Memoriam, London:Edward Moxon, […],→OCLC,page45:
      The time draws near the birth of Christ: / ⁠The moon is hid; the night is still; / TheChristmas bells from hill to hill / Answer each other in the mist.
    • 1859,[Florence] Marryatt, chapter XXIX, inTemper. A Novel., New York, N.Y.:Dick & Fitzgerald, […],→OCLC,page205:
      Reader have yourChristmasses hitherto been marked with happiness? Thank God for it.[…] Then mamma died—and later in your college days, dear Herbert, when you were both as tall as men, but as fond of play as ever—and we used to spend such happyChristmasses, till our dear father died, / “That was our first sad winter, the one which followed his death, for you remember how sadly we all missed him, and we were still in mourning—but the next one was a happy day, for Lawry was so full of spirits—and that was our last happyChristmas. Herbert darling, Lawrence has left the last impression of happiness on my memory—he, who has since broken up our domestic peace, and for a long time spoilt ourChristmasses—Heaven bless him! […]”
    • 1885,Christina G[eorgina] Rossetti, “December 29 [Love Came Down at Christmas]”, inTime Flies: A Reading Diary […], London:Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge […],→OCLC,page251:
      Love came down atChristmas, / Love all lovely, Love Divine, / Love was born atChristmas, / Star and Angels gave the sign.
    • 1942 July 30,Irving Berlin, “White Christmas”, performed byBing Crosby, New York, N.Y.:Decca Records,→OCLC:
      I'm dreaming of a whiteChristmas / With everyChristmas card I write / May your days be merry and bright / And may all yourChristmases be white
    • 1943 (date written), “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, inRalph Blane (lyrics),Hugh Martin (music),Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas: From the M.G.M. PictureMeet Me in St. Louis, performed byJudy Garland, New York, N.Y.:Leo Feist, published1944,→OCLC:
      Have yourself a merry littleChristmas / Let your heart be light / Next year all our troubles will be out of sight
    • 1994,Cherry Drummond,The Remarkable Life of Victoria Drummond, Marine Engineer, London:The Institute of Marine Engineers,→ISBN,page354:
      The last time I saw her was a week beforeChristmas, 1980. We took down a fat branch of berried Megginch holly, which we stuck in a pot for aChristmas tree, hung with silver balls and glitters. Aunt Victoria looked at it, smiled and unexpectedly said, “Christmas.” Surely she was sitting there dreaming ofChristmasses long past:Christmas in the South China Sea, theChristmas lights of Hong Kong, hotChristmasses so long ago in theAnchises under the Southern Cross stars, or even longer ago ofChristmasses at Megginch, singing carols round the lightedChristmas tree in the hall, while Queen Victoria’s goddaughter in her starched white dress and bronze shoes had worn the sparkling pendant given her by the great Queen.
    • 1994 October 29,Mariah Carey,Walter Afanasieff, “All I Want for Christmas Is You”, inMerry Christmas, performed by Mariah Carey, New York, N.Y.:Columbia Records,→OCLC:
      I don't want a lot forChristmas / There is just one thing I need / I don't care about the presents / Underneath theChristmas tree / I just want you for my own / More than you could ever know / Make my wish come true / All I want forChristmas is you
    • 2018 December 19, Tiffany May, “Chinese City Bans Christmas Displays Amid Religious Crackdown”, inThe Washington Post‎[1],→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe original on19 December 2018, Asia Pacific‎[2]:
      This is not the first time a city in China has clamped down onChristmas merriment. Last December, Hengyang, a city in Hunan province, issued a stern notice asking Communist Party officials and their relatives to “resist the rampant Western festival.” The China Communist Youth League in Anhui wrote on social media last year that “Christmas is China’s day of shame” and represents a latter-day invasion by the West.
  3. (often marketing)Ellipsis ofChristmas season(“theperiod of time before and after Christmas Day, during which people prepare for and celebrate Christmas”);Christmastime.
    The last threeChristmases have been good for retailers.
    Christmas shoppers spent less this December than last year, but our store will probably see just as many returned items during the twelve days of Christmas.
  4. A number of places in theUnited States:
    1. Anuninhabitedminingcommunity inGila County,Arizona.
    2. Acensus-designated place inOrange County,Florida.
    3. Anunincorporated community inAu Train Township,Alger County,Michigan.
    4. Anunincorporated community inBolivar County,Mississippi.
  5. Asurname.
Alternative forms
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Derived terms
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Descendants
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Translations
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festival or holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ which in Western Christianity is celebrated on December 25 in most places
ellipsis of Christmas season—seeChristmas season,‎Christmastime
See also
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(associated entries):

Noun

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Christmas (uncountable)

  2. (informal or British, regional)Sprigs ofholly and otherevergreenplantsused asChristmasdecorations; also(generally), any Christmas decorations.
    Synonym:Christmasing
    • 1766, [John Cleland], “Essay on the Musical Waits at Christmas”, inThe Way to Things by Words, and to Words by Things; […], London: […] L[ockyer John] Davis and C[harles] Reymers, […],→OCLC,page96:
      [T]he antient Britons employed for the decoration of their houſes, or, more properly ſpeaking, of their bovvers, branches of ever-green, in invitation to the ſpirits: a cuſtom, vvhich, hovvever the motive may be aboliſhed, is retained to this inſtant. That kind of verdure vvhich is uſed to deck the vvindovvs, and old halls, vve novv, by metonymy, callChriſtmas.
    • 1836 March –1837 October,Charles Dickens, “A Good-humoured Christmas Chapter, […]”, inThe Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London:Chapman and Hall, […], published1837,→OCLC,page290:
      "Vere does the mince-pies go, young opium eater?" said Mr. Weller to the fat boy, as he assisted in laying out such articles of consumption as had not been duly arranged on the previous night. The fat boy pointed to the destination of the pies. "Wery good," said Sam, "stick a bit o'Christmas in 'em. […]"
    • 1893 September,Percy Manning, “[Folk-lore Miscellanea.] May-Day at Watford, Herts.”, inFolk-lore: A Quarterly Review of Myth, Tradition, Institution, & Custom, volume IV, number III, London:David Nutt, […] forThe Folk-lore Society,→OCLC,page403:
      Two of the girls carry between them on a stick what they call "the garland",[…] The "garland" in shape reminds me of the "Christmas" which used to form the centre of the Christmas decorations in Yorkshire some few years ago, except that the latter had a bunch of mistletoe inside the hoops.
Translations
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sprigs of holly and other evergreen plants used as Christmas decorations
any Christmas decorations

Adjective

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Christmas (notcomparable)(US)

  2. Red andgreen incolor.
  3. (chiefly New Mexico, cooking) Of adish:having asaucemade with red (ripe) and green (unripe)chili peppers.
Translations
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red and green in color
of a dish: having a sauce made with red and green chili peppers

Verb

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Christmas (third-person singular simple presentChristmasesorChristmasses,present participleChristmasingorChristmassing,simple past and past participleChristmasedorChristmassed)

  1. (transitive, informal) Todecorate (aplace) withChristmas(“sprigs ofholly and otherevergreenplantsused asChristmasdecorations, or any Christmas decorations”).
    • 1851,Henry Mayhew, “Of the Sellers of Trees, Shrubs, Flowers (Cut and in Pots), Roots, Seeds, and Branches”, inLondon Labour and the London Poor; […], volume I (The London Street-folk. Book the First.), London: [George Woodfall],→OCLC,page141, column 1:
      "Then look," said a gardener to me, "what's spent on aChristmasing the churches! Why, now, properly toChristmas St. Paul's, I sayproperly, mind, would take 50l. worth at least; aye, more, when I think of it, nearer 100l. I hope there'll be no 'No Popery' nonsense againstChristmasing this year. I'm always sorry when anything of that kind's afloat, because it's frequently a hindrance to business."
    • 1966,James Goldman,The Lion in Winter: A Comedy in Two Acts, New York, N.Y.; Hollywood, Los Angeles, Calif.:Samuel French,→OCLC, Act I, scene ii,page17:
      (Moving to the holly boughs.) Come on; let's finishChristmassing the place.
    • 2012, Robin S. Shapiro, “It’s Never too Late to Play the Violin”, inTouchstones: Essays on Spirituality and Healing,[Bloomington, Ind.]:Xlibris,→ISBN,page27:
      Haddonfield was completelyChristmased deep in December. It was lovely to see the beautifully decorated shops. Huge bows adorned the streetlamps, aerosol snow framed the windows, and people bundled up were moving in and out of the shops as the aroma of spice and clove from holiday candles scented the air.
  2. (transitive, obsolete, rare) Tobring (someone) Christmascheer.
    • 1594, George Chapman, “The Shadow of Night. Hymnus in Noctem.”, inRichard Herne Shepherd, editor,The Works of George Chapman: Poems and Minor Translations. […], London:Chatto and Windus, […], published1875,→OCLC,page 7:
      Her labours feast imperial Night with sports, / Where loves areChristmass'd, with all pleasure's sorts;[…]
      In the 1st edition, the word was spelledChristmast
  3. (intransitive) Tocelebrate Christmas.
    • 2016 November 3, Ricki Green, “David Jones Asks ‘How do Australians Christmas?’ in New Campaign via TBWA Sydney”, inCampaign Brief‎[3], archived fromthe original on24 December 2023:
      The 2016 campaign via TBWA Sydney asks the question, ‘How do AustraliansChristmas?’ with a film to be launched today featuring global superstar and style icon,Cate Blanchett.
  4. (intransitive) Tospend Christmas or theChristmas season in some place.
    • 1878, “Ironbark” [pseudonym;George Herbert Gibson], “Christmas in Australia”, inSoutherly Busters, Sydney, N.S.W.: John Sands, […],→OCLC,page73:
      I'veChristmased since those palmy days / In many a varied spot, / And suffered many a weary phase / Of Christmas cold and hot.
    • 1878 December, Horace L. Nicholson, “Baulked by a Berry”, in W. J. Morgan, editor,The St. James’s Magazine and United Empire Review, volume XXXIV, London: Charing Cross Publishing Company, […], published1879,→OCLC,page1107:
      I have spent Christmas on the Severn, at Sharpness Point; in Paris, under siege, and among scenes of heartrending distress; among the Scotch hills, with Presbyterian severity, and I haveChristmased in Normandy, where every tree seems green with mistletoe.
    • 1889 July 6, “Facts and Fancies”, inSt. Stephen’s Review, number330, London: The Publishing Company,→OCLC,page 9, column 1:
      Prince Albert Victor on arrival in India will land at Bombay, and travel through Southern India, proceeding from Madras by sea to Calcutta. He willChristmas at Calcutta, and then make a tour through Bengal, and pay a visit to the frontier.
    • 1894,M[ary] E[lizabeth] Braddon, “Prologue”, inThe Christmas Hirelings […], London:Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co. […],→OCLC,page20:
      Mr. Danby never omitted his annual visits to Penlyon Place. HeChristmassed there, and he Eastered there, and he knew the owner of the fine old Tudor house inside and out, his vices and his virtues, his weaknesses, and his prejudices.
    • 1938 January,Program: A Magazine for Program and Entertainment Committees, volume 4, number 4, New York, N.Y.: Program Company,→OCLC, page 7:
      André Maurois will be one of the spearheads of theHarold R[eginald] Peat list for the coming season, a result of Mr. Peat’s holiday visit to England, where heChristmassed withH[erbert] G[eorge] Wells.
    • 1993,Robert D[avid] Kaplan, “End of the Rainbow”, inThe Arabists: The Romance of an American Elite, New York, N.Y.:The Free Press,→ISBN, part I (Dream),page80:
      Christmasing in Khartoum, writing in his Cairo study about the Al Azhar University, overseeing the publication of learned articles about Moslem medievalism, attending conferences and tea parties hosted by his former AUB students, feted constantly in many an Arab capital, and filling up his diary with descriptions of the bazaars of Lucknow and the exotic birds of Asia,[Bayard] Dodge was reaping the bounty of a life devoted to the Arabs and Moslem culture.
    • 2012 October 26, Lorrene Desbien, “December 22”, inLosing Sarah: A Mother’s Journey to Peace, Bloomington, Ind.:AuthorHouse,→ISBN,page64:
      In particular, please keep my brother in your prayers as heChristmases in Afghanistan.
  5. (colloquial) To subject to Christmas celebrations.
    • 2001, Susan Kiernan-Lewis, chapter 17, inToujours Dead: A Mystery in Provence, Atlanta: Abdale Books,→ISBN,page342:
      “[…] But there’s only so much joyful, greedy delight you can see in a young child’s eyes before you want to go screaming out for the nearest bar.” He tossed his handstitched, kidskin gloves onto the table top. “I’m aboutChristmassed-out, if you want to know.”
    • 2008, Tina-Sue Ducross,No Shadows Left Behind, Galion, Oh.: Harris Innovations,→ISBN,page204:
      "The kids claim they are allChristmassed-out and have disappeared in protest."
    • 2012,Michael Parker, “Of Loos and Ships and Ceiling Lights, And Cabbages and Kings”, inIt’s All Going Terribly Wrong: Organised Chaos at Royal, National and Military Celebrations over 45 years, London: Bene Factum Publishing,→ISBN,page121:
      I had done Christmas in so many ways that I was somewhat ‘Christmassed-out.
    • 2005 February, Nora Laurie Percival, Herman Gund, “A Taste of Paradise”, inSilver Pages on the Lawn: A True Story of Student Love during the 1930s, Vilas, N.C.: Kent Hollow Press, published November 2009,→ISBN, part III (Fall 1934—Love Learns),page141:
      That evening, after the family,Christmased out, went early to bed, Herman brought out his unmailed letters.
    • 2009, Julia Williams, “Prologue”, inLast Christmas, London:Avon,→ISBN,page14:
      Christmas muzak was pumping out, presumably to get her into the spirit of the thing. Not much chance of that, when she had felt allChristmassed out for months. Bugger off, she felt like shouting as a particularly cheesy version of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ blared out. Look at all these people. Do any of them look bloody merry?
    • 2012,Jon Ronson, “Santa’s Little Conspirators”, inLost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries, New York, N.Y.:Riverhead Books,→ISBN, part three (Everyday Difficulty),page157:
      I notice that this is one of the very few buildings in town that hasn’t any Christmas decorations whatsoever. / “We’re a respite from Christmas, I guess,” Suze explains. “Our kids are allChristmassed out.”
Alternative forms
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  • Xmas(abbreviation, informal)
Translations
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to decorate (a place) with Christmas decorations
to celebrate Christmas
to spend Christmas or the Christmas season in some place

Etymology 2

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Short forJiminy Christmas,[2] probably a variant ofJiminy Cricket orJiminy Crickets, aeuphemism forJesus Christ.

Interjection

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Christmas

  1. (euphemistic)Anexpression ofannoyance orsurprise:Christ,Jesus Christ,Jiminy Cricket,Jiminy Crickets.
    Synonyms:Jesus Christmas,jiminy Christmas,Jimmy Christmas
Translations
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expression of annoyance or surprise—seeChrist,‎Jesus Christ

References

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  1. ^“Criste-mas(se,n.”, inMED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.:University of Michigan,2007.
  2. ↑2.02.1Compare“Christmas,n.1 andint.”, inOED OnlinePaid subscription required⁠, Oxford:Oxford University Press, December 2023;“Christmas,n.”, inLexico,Dictionary.com;Oxford University Press,2019–2022..
  3. ^“Christmas,v.”, inOED OnlinePaid subscription required⁠, Oxford:Oxford University Press,July 2023.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Scots

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Noun

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Christmas

  1. Christmas present
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