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Christmas

Christmas

∞ 1.0
A Christian holiday on December 25 celebrating the birth of Jesus
  • proper noun
  • /ˈkrɪs·məs/
: Navidad
  • My Aunt Shelley gave it to me for Christmas.
  • Christmas Day
  • Merry Christmas
  • Christmas tree

Thank you so much for watching. Bye guys. Merry Christmas. Bye.

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Examples

  • I'm thankful that we get to spend Christmas together.

  • Happy Christmas.

  • We hope you guys have had a Merry Christmas so far.

  • Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

  • Let's wait till Christmas.

  • Frank Chapman of the then Audubon Society began the project on Christmas Day 1900.

    Academic text (2013)
  • During the nineteenth century, Americans embraced Christmas with an enthusiasm few could have predicted in 1800.

    Academic text (1990)
  • We wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

  • All I want for Christmas is you.

  • It hasn't been a white Christmas in the UK in forever.

Synonyms

Christmas Day
vsChristmas
88 1.0

A day when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25

focuses on the religious celebration rather than legal or financial uses
Xmas
vsChristmas
  • Informal
14 2.1

A short form of Christmas, the December 25 holiday when people often give gifts

is the full traditional name rather than a shortened written form
Dec 25
vsChristmas
1 1.0

A Christian holiday on December 25 when people celebrate the birth of Jesus

refers to the religious festival itself rather than just the calendar date

Idioms

5 8.1

To ruin the joy and plans of Christmas for people

2 7.3

A very welcome surprise like getting gifts before Christmas

Very excited and happy like a child who gets presents

Look suddenly very happy and excited

Become covered in many bright lights for decoration

A decision that harms the people who make it, such as agreeing to lower pay

To support a decision that will hurt you or your group

Compounds

189 1.0

The day before Christmas when people celebrate with family

155 1.0

An evergreen tree decorated with lights and ornaments for Christmas

A gift given to someone at Christmas

88 1.0

A day when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25

A card sent at Christmas with a greeting and a picture

Something you give someone on or near Christmas to show you care

35 1.8

A warm, generous feeling people have at Christmas time

A joyful song sung at Christmas about the birth of Jesus

9 2.0

An imaginary man who brings presents to children at Christmas

A large sock that children hang by the fireplace for Santa to fill with small gifts at Christmas

A rich cake with dried fruit and sweet icing that people eat at Christmas

war on Christmas
  • Literature
3 8.4

A claim that some people are trying to stop public Christmas celebrations

A rich sweet cooked with dried fruit and spices and served at Christmas in Britain

1 3.3

A plant with bright red leaves often used as a Christmas decoration

Christmas box
  • Archaic
1 2.4

A gift you give at Christmas to people who do a job for you, like a milkman or postman

A low, soft green plant with creeping stems often used to make Christmas wreaths

A shade of green used in Christmas decorations and clothing

1 2.7

An evergreen plant with spiny leaves and red berries used to decorate homes at Christmas

A houseplant from Brazil with flat stem sections and pink or purple flowers that bloom in winter

1 9.9

A North American fern that stays green in winter and has long divided leaves

Christmas bush
  • Australian
1 8.2

An Australian small tree or bush with bright red flowers used as a Christmas decoration

A plant with white or pale purple rose-like flowers that bloom in winter often near Christmas

Christmas bells
  • Australian
1 7.8

A plant with bell-shaped orange or red flowers that bloom around Christmas

Christmas tree
  • Australian
1 8.0

An Australian tree with bright yellow-orange flowers seen in December

The day before Christmas Eve when people do light, fun things to get ready

A plant with many large pink flowers that blooms in winter and people keep indoors

Christmas disease
  • Specialized
8.2

A rare bleeding disorder that people have from birth because their blood lacks a clotting protein called factor IX

Christmas factor
  • Specialized
6.5

A protein in the blood that helps blood form clots and stop bleeding

A plant with red leaves like a poinsettia that people use to decorate at Christmas

A student who finishes their degree and leaves university in December

An evergreen shrub with bright red berries grown for decoration

Surface Forms

Christmas main

Morphology

Christmas = Christ + mass (semi-transparent) = Christ + mass

The word historically comes from 'Christ's mass'; the components are recognizable, but the modern holiday meaning is a lexicalized extension rather than a fully productive compound.

Etymology

Christmas comes from the old phrase Cristes mæsse, which means 'Christ's mass' or a church service for Christ. So Christmas is the special day when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus.