Vocabulary about Christmas
November 25, 2016
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25/11/16 Vocabulary about Christmas
We didn’t make it in time to provide you with vocabulary about Thanksgiving (It was yesterday). So, well in advance, here’s some vocabulary about Christmas!
Part I
The names of days and times around Christmas
These names and expressions are used to talk about different times in the Christmas period.
- Christmas Day: in the UK, December 25th, the day when presents are exchanged and feasts are had by all
- Christmas Eve: the day before Christmas
- Boxing Day: the day after Christmas Day
- Advent: the 24 days leading up to Christmas (Dec 1st to 24th); advent is used more generally in English to mean the arrival of something important
- Christmas time: loosely describes the time around Christmas – usually the weeks surrounding the day, sometimes used to mean all of December, or sometimes a few days around (also, even more loosely, the festive period)
Vocabulary using the word Christmas
Many words in English form popularly understood collocations with Christmas: Christmas crackers, Christmas carols, Christmas cards, Christmas trees and many more. At this time of year, even without the word Christmas before them, these words will be understood in a festive context – but all the following words could be seen with Christmas in front of them:
- crackers: colourful card or paper tubes that people pull apart with a loud snap or bang. Usually containing a joke, a gift and a paper crown.
- carols: traditional songs about Christmas, often religious, such as Silent Night. A Christmas Carol is also the name of a popular Charles Dicken story set at Christmas.
- cards: Christmas cards are greetings like birthday cards sent to family and friends to offer seasons greetings.
- presents: the gifts given on Christmas Day (or around the holiday)
- decorations: the various bright and cheerful objects put up around a home at Christmas
- tree: evergreen trees, or artificial ones, are put up in houses around Christmas, often with fancy decorations
- ornaments: decorations put around the house or hung on the Christmas tree
- wreath: a circle of flowers or leaves hung on doors as part of the decorations
The following expressions should be used with the word Christmas, otherwise the meaning will be unclear:
- Christmas pudding: the Christmas pudding, specifically, is a special fruit and alcohol pudding that is only really eaten at Christmas
- Christmas cake: normally a heavy fruit cake covered in white icing
- Christmas spirit: the idea of being kind and generous in joining with the general mood of the time of celebration
- white Christmas: the idea that there will be snow on Christmas Day
- Christmas lights: public light displays that are put up over the period, for instance in town centres
- Merry Christmas: a traditional greeting used to celebrate the day
- Christmas song: songs related to Christmas (or at least popular around the time) – often a large part of Christmas, with music continually played and pop artists releasing themed tunes
Christmas Number One: the song that is top of the charts on Christmas day; the seasonal songs all race for this title!
