Christmas
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: enpr: krĭsʹməs
ipa: /ˈkɹɪsməs/
rhymes: -ɪsməs
Forms: form: Christmases
form: Christmasses
form: Christmass
form: Christmasse
form: Xmas
form: X-mas
form: Xtmas
Etymology: The proper noun is derived from Middle English Cristemasse, Criste-mas (“Christmas Day; season of Christmas; Christmas festivities”) [and other forms], from Old English Cristes mæsse (“Christmas”, literally “Christ’s mass”), from Crist (“Christ”) + -es (possessive marker) + mæsse (“a mass (celebration of the Eucharist)”). The English word is analysable as Christ + -mas (suffix denoting a holiday or sacred day). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Kristmisse (“Christmas”), West Frisian Krystmis (“Christmas”), Dutch Kerstmis (“Christmas”), German Low German Karstmis (“Christmas”).
The noun, adjective, and verb are derived from the proper noun.
Adjective sense 1 (“red and green in color”) refers to these colors being traditionally associated with Christmas.
Senses: examples: text: Do you celebrate Christmas?
text: This Christmas we’ll open presents, then go to grandma’s for dinner.
text: Be gladde, lordes, bothe more and lasse, / For this hath ordeyned our stewarde / To chere you all this christmasse / The bores heed with mustarde.
ref: [[15th century] (date written), “A Caroll Bringyng in the Bores Heed”, in [Christmasse Carolles], London: […] Wynkyn de Worde, published 1521, →OCLC; republished in Joseph Ames, Typographical Antiquities: Being a Historical Account of Printing in England: […], London: […] W[illiam] Faden, and sold by J. Robinson, […], 1749, →OCLC, page 96, column 2:
text: In this Winter was great death in London, wherefore the Terme was adiorned, and the king for to eſchue the plague, kept his Chriſtmaſſe 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 ſtill Chriſtmaſſe.
ref: 1569, Richard Grafton, “Henry the Eyght”, in A Chronicle at Large and Meere History of the Affayres of Englande […], volume II, London: […] Henry Denham, […], for Richarde Tottle and Humffrey Toye, →OCLC, pages 1140–1141:
text: Kinde Gentlemen, and honeſt Companions, I preſent you here with a merrie conceited Comedie, called the Shoomakers Holyday, acted by my Lorde Admiralls Players this preſent Chriſtmaſſe, before the Queenes moſt excellent Maieſtie.
ref: 1599 (first performance; published 1600), Thomas Dekker, “The Shomakers Holiday. Or The Gentle Craft. […]. To All Good Fellowes, Professors of the Gentle Craft; of what Degree Soeuer.”, in The Dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker […], volume I, London: John Pearson […], published 1873, →OCLC, page 3:
text: Hereupon a Peace vvas concluded, vvhich vvas publiſhed a little before Chriſtmaſſe, in the Fourteenth yeare of the Kings Raigne, to continue for both the Kings liues, and the ouer-liuer of them, and a yeare after.
ref: 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, page 191:
text: Chriſtmaſſe commeth but once a yeere.
ref: 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”, in Remaines, Concerning Britaine: […], 3rd edition, London: […] Nicholas Okes, for Simon Waterson, […], →OCLC, page 267:
text: [T]heſe Ships […] meet vvith Privateers, vvho reſort hither in the aforeſaid months [May to August], purpoſely to keep a Chriſtmas as they call it; being ſure to meet vvith Liquor enough to be merry vvith, and are very liberal to thoſe that treat them.
ref: 1697, William Dampier, chapter III, in A New Voyage Round the World. […], London: […] James Knapton, […], →OCLC, page 56:
text: […] I was always grateful for the sum of my week's profit, and at Christmas for that of the whole year.
ref: 1712 August 17 (Gregorian calendar), [Richard Steele], “WEDNESDAY, August 6, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 450; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 220:
text: The lord chancellor holds his fittings in this hall, and in former days, like the Temple, it had its revels and great Chriſtmaſſes. […] 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 hoſpitable Chriſtmaſſes of old times.
ref: 1798 July, “Account of Lincoln’s Inn: With a Perspective View of the Hall and Chapel”, in The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure; […], volume CIII, London: […] W[illiam] Bent, […], →OCLC, page 42, column 2:
text: [A] great deal of revelry was permitted, and even encouraged, by the squire, throughout the twelve days of Christmas, provided every thing was done comformably to ancient usage. […] [T]he Yule clog, and Christmas candle, were regularly burnt, and the mistletoe, with its white berries, hung up, to the imminent peril of all the pretty housemaids.
ref: 1820 January 1, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Christmas Eve”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number V, New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, page 379:
text: “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 no Christmas now. Do you call this Christmas? It’s more like a vapour bath. Such weather! Lawk, how times are changed! the Christmasses I remember! the good, old-fashioned Christmasses, 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, those were Christmasses! we shall never see such times again!”
ref: 1840 January, Sylvanus Swanquill [pseudonym; John Hewitt], “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year”, in The New Sporting Magazine, volume XVIII, number 105, London: Walter Spiers, […], →OCLC, page 53:
text: [I]t was always said of him [Ebenezer Scrooge], that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed this knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!
ref: 1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Five. The End of It.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 166:
text: The time draws near the birth of Christ: / ⁠The moon is hid; the night is still; / The Christmas bells from hill to hill / Answer each other in the mist.
ref: 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXVIII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 45:
text: Reader have your Christmasses 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 happy Christmasses, 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 happy Christmas. 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 our Christmasses—Heaven bless him![…]”
ref: 1859, [Florence] Marryatt, chapter XXIX, in Temper. A Novel., New York, N.Y.: Dick & Fitzgerald, […], →OCLC, page 205:
text: Love came down at Christmas, / Love all lovely, Love Divine, / Love was born at Christmas, / Star and Angels gave the sign.
ref: 1885, Christina G[eorgina] Rossetti, “December 29 [Love Came Down at Christmas]”, in Time Flies: A Reading Diary […], London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge […], →OCLC, page 251:
text: I'm dreaming of a white Christmas / With every Christmas card I write / May your days be merry and bright / And may all your Christmases be white
ref: 1942 July 30, Irving Berlin, “White Christmas”, performed by Bing Crosby, New York, N.Y.: Decca Records, →OCLC:
text: Have yourself a merry little Christmas / Let your heart be light / Next year all our troubles will be out of sight
ref: 1943 (date written), “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, in Ralph Blane (lyrics), Hugh Martin (music), Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas: From the M.G.M. Picture Meet Me in St. Louis, performed by Judy Garland, New York, N.Y.: Leo Feist, published 1944, →OCLC:
text: The last time I saw her was a week before Christmas, 1980. We took down a fat branch of berried Megginch holly, which we stuck in a pot for a Christmas tree, hung with silver balls and glitters. Aunt Victoria looked at it, smiled and unexpectedly said, “Christmas.” Surely she was sitting there dreaming of Christmasses long past: Christmas in the South China Sea, the Christmas lights of Hong Kong, hot Christmasses so long ago in the Anchises under the Southern Cross stars, or even longer ago of Christmasses at Megginch, singing carols round the lighted Christmas 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.
ref: 1994, Cherry Drummond, The Remarkable Life of Victoria Drummond, Marine Engineer, London: The Institute of Marine Engineers, →ISBN, page 354:
text: I don't want a lot for Christmas / There is just one thing I need / I don't care about the presents / Underneath the Christmas tree / I just want you for my own / More than you could ever know / Make my wish come true / All I want for Christmas is you
ref: 1994 October 29, Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff, “All I Want for Christmas Is You”, in Merry Christmas, performed by Mariah Carey, New York, N.Y.: Columbia Records, →OCLC:
text: This is not the first time a city in China has clamped down on Christmas 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.
ref: 2018 December 19, Tiffany May, “Chinese City Bans Christmas Displays Amid Religious Crackdown”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 Dec 2018, Asia Pacific:
synonyms: Chrimble
Chrimbo
Chrissy
Crimble
Crimbo
Noel
Yule
glosses: A festival or holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ and incorporating various Christian, pre-Christian, pagan, and secular customs, which in Western Christianity is celebrated on December 25 (Christmas Day) in most places.
examples: text: The last three Christmases have been good for retailers.
text: 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.
text: There'll be parties for hosting / Marshmallows for toasting / And caroling out in the snow / There'll be scary ghost stories / And tales of the glories / Of Christmases long, long ago
ref: 1963 October 14, Eddie [i.e., Edward] Pola; George Wyle, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, performed by Andy Williams, New York, N.Y.: Columbia Records, →OCLC:
text: Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year / Christmas, it's the season of good cheer / […] / Christmas is love, Christmas is love / The love of God, oh that's the marvelous thing
ref: 1981, John W[illard] Peterson, “Christmas is Love”, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Singspiration, →OCLC:
topics: business
marketing
glosses: Ellipsis of Christmas season (“the period of time before and after Christmas Day, during which people prepare for and celebrate Christmas”); Christmastime.
glosses: A number of places in the United States:
An uninhabited mining community in Gila County, Arizona.
glosses: A number of places in the United States:
A census-designated place in Orange County, Florida.
glosses: A number of places in the United States:
An unincorporated community in Au Train Township, Alger County, Michigan.
glosses: A number of places in the United States:
An unincorporated community in Bolivar County, Mississippi.
glosses: A surname.
Derived terms: word: black Christmas
word: by Christmas
word: cancel someone's Christmas
word: Charlie Brown Christmas tree
word: Charlie Brown's Christmas tree
word: Chrismahanukwanzakah
word: Chrismukkah
word: Christmas Adam
word: Christmas and Easter Christian
word: Christmas beetle
word: Christmas bells
word: Christmas berry
word: Christmasberry
word: Christmas block
word: Christmas box
word: Christmas break
word: Christmas bush
taxonomic: Schlumbergera spp.
word: Christmas cactus
word: Christmas cake
word: Christmas Capital of the Philippines
word: Christmas card
word: Christmas carol
word: Christmas caterpillar
word: Christmas cheer
word: Christmas City
word: Christmas club
word: Christmas come early
word: Christmas comes but once a year
word: Christmas Common
word: Christmas cookie
word: Christmas cracker
word: Christmas creep
word: Christmas Day
word: Christmas dinner
word: Christmas disease
word: Christmas elf
word: Christmas Eve
word: Christmas Eve box
word: Christmas factor
word: Christmas fern
word: Christmas flower
word: Christmas graduate
word: Christmas grass
word: Christmas green
word: Christmas ham
taxonomic: Ilex aquifolium
word: Christmas holly
word: Christmas in July
word: Christmas is coming
word: Christmasish
word: Christmas Island
word: Christmas Islander
word: Christmas Island red crab
word: Christmas Island swiftlet
word: Christmas Island whiptail skink
word: Christmasization
word: Christmasize
word: Christmasless
word: Christmaslessness
word: Christmas light
word: Christmas-like
word: Christmaslike
word: Christmas lily
word: Christmas list
word: Christmas log
word: Christmasly
word: Christmas market
word: Christmas melon
taxonomic: Vesicularia montagnei
word: Christmas moss
taxonomic: Angraecum sesquipedale
word: Christmas orchid
word: Christmas pickle
word: Christmas pie
word: Christmas Pie
word: Christmaspie
word: Christmas present
word: Christmas pride
word: Christmas pudding
word: Christmas rose
word: Christmas seal
word: Christmas season
word: Christmassed up
word: Christmassiness
word: Christmasiness
word: Christmas star
word: Christmas stocking
word: Christmas Sunday
word: Christmassy
word: Christmasy
word: Christmastide
word: Christmas-tide
word: Christmastime
word: Christmas time
word: Christmas-time
word: Christmas tree
word: Christmas tree bill
word: Christmas tree effect
word: Christmas tree packet
word: Christmas tree worm
word: Cold Christmas
word: Coolie Christmas
word: dressed up like a Christmas tree
word: Father Christmas
word: Friendsmas
word: Ghost of Christmas Future
word: Ghost of Christmas Past
word: Ghost of Christmas Present
word: Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
word: Giftmas
word: Gothmas
word: Green Christmas
word: green Christmas
word: Happy Christmas
word: if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas
word: light up like a Christmas tree
word: like a kid at Christmas
word: like a kid on Christmas morning
word: like turkeys voting for Christmas
word: like turkeys voting for an early Christmas
word: Little Christmas
word: lit up like a Christmas tree
word: merry Christmas
word: Mithrasmas
word: Mother Christmas
word: Old Christmas
word: pickaninny Christmas
word: Shitmas
word: slow as Christmas
word: Thanksmas
word: think all one's Christmases have come at once
word: Twelve Days of Christmas
word: Twixmas
word: un-Christmassy
word: Vlogmas
word: War on Christmas
word: white Christmas
word: white Christmas slice
word: Women's Christmas
word: X-mas
word: Xmas
Related terms: Advent
Black Friday
Boxing Day
Christmas Eve
quarter day
St. Stephen's Day
Yule
Yuletide