Christmas [kris-muh s] ExamplesWord Origin noun
- the annual festival of the Christian church commemorating the birth of Jesus: celebrated on December 25 and now generally observed as a legal holiday and an occasion for exchanging gifts.
- Christmastime.
- Christmastide.
Origin of Christmas before 1150; Middle English cristmasse; Old English Cristes mǣsse Mass of Christ Related formsChrist·mas·sy, Christ·mas·y, adjectivepost-Christ·mas, adjectivepre-Christ·mas, adjective Related Words for christmas Yule, Yuletide, Xmas, Noel, Christmastide Examples from the Web for christmas Contemporary Examples of christmas
In the wee hours of Christmas morning, a flight deal was shared in an exclusive Facebook group for urban travelers.
‘We Out Here’: Inside the New Black Travel Movement
Charlise Ferguson
January 4, 2015
Plenty of Jewish kids today grow up with a Christmas tree next to their menorah.
Harry Potter and the Torah of Terror
Candida Moss, Joel Baden
January 4, 2015
So this is Christmas, as the song goes, and what have we done?
James Poulos
January 1, 2015
This is the first Christmas I can remember when the news was all about cops and race.
James Poulos
January 1, 2015
And that was well before this Christmas, when he appeared to joke about Obama being a Muslim.
How James Woods Became Obama’s Biggest Twitter Troll
Asawin Suebsaeng
December 31, 2014
Historical Examples of christmas
Christmas was a merry day to all but the major, who did not like the engagement any better than before.
George MacDonald
Even at Christmas, 1597, Shakespeare’s passion has reached the height of a sex-duel.
Frank Harris
The Christmas morning had brought Sidney half a dozen gifts.
Mary Roberts Rinehart
As much as was possible, the hospital rested on that Christmas Day.
Mary Roberts Rinehart
The Christmas excitement had not died out in the ward when Carlotta went back to it.
Mary Roberts Rinehart
British Dictionary definitions for christmas Christmas noun
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- the annual commemoration by Christians of the birth of Jesus Christ on Dec 25
- Also called: Christmas DayDec 25, observed as a day of secular celebrations when gifts and greetings are exchanged
- (as modifier)Christmas celebrations
- Also called: Christmas Day (in England, Wales and Ireland) Dec 25, one of the four quarter daysCompare Lady Day, Midsummer’s Day, Michaelmas
- Also called: Christmastide the season of Christmas extending from Dec 24 (Christmas Eve) to Jan 6 (the festival of the Epiphany or Twelfth Night)
Word Origin for Christmas Old English Crīstes mæsse Mass of Christ Word Origin and History for christmas Christmas n.
late Old English Cristes mæsse, from Christ (and retaining the original vowel sound) + mass (n.2).
Written as one word from mid-14c. As a verb from 1590s. Father Christmas first attested in a carol attributed to Richard Smart, Rector of Plymtree (Devon) from 1435-77. Christmas tree in modern sense first attested 1835 in American English, from German Weihnachtsbaum. Christmas cards first designed 1843, popular by 1860s. Christmas Eve is Middle English Cristenmesse Even (c.1300).
christmas in Culture Christmas
A festival commemorating the birth of Jesus, traditionally celebrated on December 25 by most Western Christian churches. Although dating to probably as early as a.d. 200, the feast of Christmas did not become widespread until the Middle Ages. Today, Christmas is largely secularized and dominated by gifts, decorated trees, and a jolly Santa Claus.