Christmas card

“[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes like
 Here's rattling good luck and roaring good cheer, / With lashings of food and great hogsheads of beer. […]”

1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

A greeting card that is decorated in a manner that celebrates Christmas.


Christmas ham

en-noun

Christmas ham (countable and uncountable, plural Christmas hams)

Ham prepared in various other ways in various regions at Christmas, such as stuffed ham in parts of the United States, or ham soaked in fruit juices in the Philippines.


Christmas cake

Christmas cake (countable and uncountable, plural Christmas cakes)

They enjoyed music from a live saxophonist during the journey before visiting Braintree Town Hall for refreshments and Christmas cake.

2021 December 29, “Network News: Music train for dementia sufferers”, in RAIL, number 947, page 19:

A rich fruit cake covered with marzipan and icing, traditionally eaten at Christmas.


Crimble

Crimbles (plural)
Chrimble (alternative)


panettone

panettone (countable and uncountable, plural panettones or panettoni)

Borrowed from Italian panettone, from Lombard panaton, an augmentative of pan (“bread”).

I have long admired panettone, the ultimate raisin bread, the ideal toast and French toast, a great base for poached fruit, and a substitute for bread in bread pudding which redefines the dish. Panettone looks like the back of an Italian Renaissance cathedral […]

1989, The Atlantic, volume 263, page 52:

In this tasty holiday recipe, traditional panettone is stuffed with a creamy filling. This is a traditional Christmas bread recipe from Milano which can now not only be found across Italy, but worldwide.

2005, Anthony Parkinson, Italian Desserts, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 39:

A soft Italian sourdough brioche from Milan, with candied fruit, usually prepared for Christmas as a dessert.


pandoro

pandoros (plural)
pandori (plural)
pan d'oro (alternative)

/panˈdɔːɹəʊ/

Borrowed from Italian pandoro (literally “golden bread”).

bor

A sweet bread loaf of Veronese origin, in the shape of a star, traditionally eaten at Christmas.

意大利黃金麵包 /意大利黄金面包

Christmas sweet bread loaf in the shape of a star


X-mas

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A stunning example of ‘a phenomenon being too large to be perceived’ impressed the author during a performance of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ at the Ford Theater in 1983, in Washington, D.C. The phenomenon in question was the Ghost of X-masses to come who appeared on the dimly lit stage as a huge, shadowy figure, obviously on stilts, enveloped in a flowing, enormous black cape.

2009, Othmar W. Winkler, “Developments in Socio-Economic Statistics”, in Interpreting Economic and Social Data: A Foundation of Descriptive Statistics, Berlin: Springer, →ISBN, note 29, page 15:


Kriss Kringle

The practice of hanging up stockings in the chimney corner for Kriss Kringle to fill with toys, pretty books, bon-bons, &c., for good children, is being superseded by that of placing a Christmas Tree on the table to await the annual visit of the worthy Santa Klaus.

1847, “Advertisement”, in Kriss Kringle’s Christmas Tree. A Holiday Present for Boys and Girls, Philadelphia, Pa.: Published by Grigg & Elliot, →OCLC:

What if that other room, also, had its Christmas tree? What if in every room these evidences of Kriss Kringle’s more enterprising handiwork had already been obtruded?

1878, Leonard Kip, “St. Nicholas and the Gnome”, in Hannibal’s Man and Other Tales. The Argus Christmas Stories, Albany, N.Y.: The Argus Company, printers, →OCLC, chapter III, page 331:

The Dutch of New Netherlands called the good giver of gifts, Kriss Kringle, the Christ Child, and the name came into our family vocabulary through our Dutch ancestor, Great-grandfather Wible.

1937, Emma Hackett Knox, “Holidays”, in The Story of the Old Homestead: (The Smith-Hackett Homestead), [Rahway, N.J.]: Privately printed [by Quinn & Boden Co.], →OCLC, part II (The Owners and the Families that have Lived on the Old Homestead), pages 205–206:


Winterval

(UK) A period of holidays in midwinter, including both secular and religious holidays (i.e. not just the specifically Christian and Western festivals of Christmas and New Year's Day).


Hanukkah

Originated 1890–95. From Hebrew חנוכה / חֲנֻכָּה (khanuká, “dedication, consecration”) from חָנַךְ (khanákh, “to dedicate, to consecrate”).

חנוכה / חֲנֻכָּה

(Judaism) An eight-day Jewish festival, starting on the 25th day of Kislev, which commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after the victory of the Maccabees over the Greek Syrians.


Saint Andrew's Day

The feast day of Saint Andrew, celebrated on November 30.


April Fools' Day

en-noun

April Fools' Day (plural April Fools' Days)

April Fools' Days (plural)
April Fool's Day (alternative)

(Scottish)

The first day in April, when tricks and practical jokes are traditionally played


Easter Day

Easter Sunday, the Christian holiday commemorating the Resurrection.


Lady Day

Lady Days (plural)
Lady-day (alternative)
Ladyday (alternative)


Ascension Day

The fortieth day of Easter, that is the Thursday 39 days after Easter.


yuletide

yuletide (countable and uncountable, plural yuletides)

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From Yule (“Germanic Winter Festival”) + -tide (“period around a festival, season”); compare Swedish juletid.

suf

Alternative letter-case form of Yuletide (“Christmas or the Christmas season”).


Christmastide

en-noun

Christmastide (countable and uncountable, plural Christmastides)

Christmastides (plural)
Christmas-tide (alternative)

From Christmas + -tide (“period around a festival”).


Martinmas

en-noun

Martinmas (countable and uncountable, plural Martinmases)

Martinmases (plural)
Martlemas (alternative)

St Martin's Day, 11th November. A Scottish quarter day.


Childermas

Childermases (plural)
Childermas-Day (alternative)

From Childermas-Day, from Middle English Childermasse day, from childer (“children”) + masse (“mass, religious service”).

compound

Western Christianity
Western Christianity

Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity

(Christianity) A religious service and holiday commemorating the supposed Massacre of the Innocents in Judea around the time of the birth of Christ, typically observed on 28 December in Western Christianity and 29 December in Eastern Christianity; in Spanish and Latin American contexts, the day is frequently filled with light-hearted pranks similar to April Fools' Day.

Onnozele Kinderen

day commemorating the Massacre of the Innocents


Judica Sunday

From Latin Judica (“Judge!”), from the first word of the introit of the day's mass, traditionally a Latin translation of Psalm 43.

Thus in 1647, I in all humility accepted this removal, and preached my trial sermon on Judica Sunday, in the presence of the parishioners and commissaries.

1862, Mrs. Malcolm (translator), Gustav Freytag (author), Martin Bötzinger (primary source), Pictures of German Life In the XVᵗʰ, XVIᵗʰ and XVIIᵗʰ Centuries, volume 2, page 115, Chapman and Hall (London)

The diet at Nuremberg was to be held on Invocavit Sunday, 2nd March, and that at the Emperor’s Court on Judica''' Sunday, 3Oth March.

1906, Ludwig Pastor, The History of the Popes: From the Close of the Middle Ages, page 96:

The fifth Sunday is “Judicia.” (Judge. Psalm 43:I.) Judicia Sunday is sometimes also called Black Sunday in contrast with the Sunday before it, and the nearness of the dark sorrows of Passion Week and Good Friday.

1950, “Luther League Review”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), Lutheran Church in America:

(Roman Catholicism) Synonym of Passion Sunday: the fifth Sunday in Lent.


menorah

en-noun

menorah (plural menoroth or menorot or menorahs)

menoroth (plural)
menorot (plural)
menorahs (plural)
menora (alternative)

From Hebrew מְנוֹרָה (m'norá). From the same Proto-Semitic root *nūr- (“fire”) as minaret.

My father brings home a big brass antique menorah, shaped like an archway, heavy, on a pedestal, on a round base.

1992, Merrill Joan Gerber, The Kingdom of Brooklyn, Syracuse University Press, published 2000, →ISBN, pages 76–77:

In America every December my mother had decorated our home with metal Stars of David she hung on strings in the doorways and lit the menorah as we gathered at the table.

1996, Ann Kimmage, An Un-American Childhood, University of Georgia Press, published 1996, →ISBN, pages 49–50:

However, traditional Sefardi families follow the halacha that each household uses only one menorah lit by the head of the household, to represent everyone in unison.

2000, Noam Zion, Barbara Spectre, A Different Light: The Hanukkah Book of Celebration, Devora Publishing, →ISBN, page 237:

A far-right Polish MP has extinguished candles on a menorah lit for Hanukah in Poland’s parliament, disrupting proceedings before a planned vote of confidence in the new government.

2023 December 12, Shaun Walker, “Far-right Polish MP uses fire extinguisher to put out Hanukah candles”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

A candelabrum with nine branches, used in Jewish worship on Hanukkah.


Valentine's Day

en-proper noun

Valentine's Day (plural Valentine's Days)

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On the long time line of the so-human search for a profound and lasting happiness, many of us will still have our romances. Of the senses and the mind. We will have our spring dances, our candlelight dinners, our Valentine’s Days, our ear when we need to talk, our moonlit hand-holdings, our horizon gazings. our car rides in sensual silence.

1994, Wynton Marsalis, Frank Stewart, Sweet Swing Blues on the Road, New York, N.Y.: W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 90:

Valentine’s Day is a time for love and affection. I do not know anyone who wants to spend Valentine’s Day alone. I love to spend my Valentine’s Days with the person I am dating or my family. I love buying and giving gifts during this holiday but the most important thing is being with the people I care about and love. [F, Diary]

2006, Cornelia Pechmann, Linda L. Price, editors, ACR in San Antonio 2005 (Advances in Consumer Research; XXXIII), Association for Consumer Research, →ISBN, page 361, column 1:

The idea of matching outfits suddenly seems like a great way to show our compatibility, so we eat breakfast in heart-covered pajamas, but this willingness to embarrass ourselves for amour is what makes our Valentine’s Days truly romantic.

2013, Mike Bender, Doug Chernack, “Valentine’s Day”, in Awkward Family Holiday Photos, New York, N.Y.: Three Rivers Press, →ISBN, page 13:

Saint Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day


Yuletide

en-noun

Yuletide (countable and uncountable, plural Yuletides)

Though attested late (c. 1475), probably dates back to Old English *ġēoltīd (literally “Christmas season”). See there for more; equivalent to Yule + -tide.

inh

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, / Fa la la la la la la la la! / 'Tis the season to be jolly, / Fa la la la la la la la la! / Don we now our gay apparel, / Fa la la la la la la la la! / Troll the ancient yuletide carol, / Fa la la la la la la la la!

1862, modified from Thomas Oliphant's original, “Deck the Halls”, in Jerry Snyder’s Easy Chord Christmas Guitar Book, Miami Beach, Fla.: Hansen House, published [19—?], →OCLC, page 17:

What did the first locked drawer contain? […] a Yuletide card, bearing on it a pictorial representation of a parasitic plant, the legend Mizpah, the date Xmas 1892, the name of the senders: from Mr and Mrs M. Comerford, the versicle: May this Yuletide bring to thee, Joy and peace and welcome glee: […]

1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 17: Ithaca]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part III [Nostos], page 673:

It's Christmas at ground zero / Just seconds left to go / I'll duck and cover / With my Yuletide lover / Underneath the mistletoe

1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic (lyrics and music), “Christmas at Ground Zero”, in Polka Party!:

(dated) The period around Christmas; the Christmas season, Christmastime; specifically, Christmas itself.


Yule log

Yule logs (plural)
yule log (alternative)

A large log traditionally burned on Christmas Eve.


Hallowmas

Short for All-hallows' mass (“All-saints' mass”), ultimately continuing Old English ealra hālgena mæsse (literally “All Saints' mass”), equivalent to hallow (“saint”) + -mas.

halimasse (alternative)
Hallowmass (alternative)

Pompey: And, I beseech you look into Master Froth here, / sir; a man of fourscore pound a year, whose father died / at Hallowmas. Was't not at Hallowmas, Master Froth?

c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, act 2, scene 1:


dreidel

dreidels (plural)
draydel (alternative)
dreydel (alternative)
draydl (alternative)
dreidl (alternative)
dreydl (alternative)
dreidle (alternative)
dreydle (alternative)

Borrowed from Yiddish דריידל (dreydl, “dreidel; spinning top”), probably a blend of דרייען (dreyen, “to spin; to turn; to twist”) + טרענדל (trendl, “(dated) dreidel; spinning top”). דרייען (dreyen) is derived from Middle High German dræn, from Old High German drāen (“to turn; to twist”), from Proto-West Germanic *þrāan, from Proto-Germanic *þrēaną (“to turn; to twist”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to turn; to rub; to drill, pierce”); and טרענדל (trendl) is derived from Middle High German trendel (“spinning top”), from Proto-Germanic *trandijaną (“to revolve, spin”).

der

I have a little dreidel. I made it out of clay. / And when it's dry and ready, then dreidel I shall play. / Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay. / Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, then dreidel I shall play.

1927, “I Have a Little Dreidel”, Samuel S. Grossman (lyrics), Samuel Eliezer Goldfarb or Mikhl Gelbart (music):

The dreidel is a spinning toy, painstakingly fashioned out of plastic polymer by Jewish craftsmen in Vietnam. Used for tabletop gambling games during Hanukkah, the dreidel often ends up on the floor and sometimes in the dog's small intestine.

2005 December 23, Jonathan Safran Foer, “A Beginner's Guide to Hanukkah”, in The New York Times:

Students from the Yeshiva Beth Yehudah School danced in dreidel costumes at a menorah lighting in Detroit on Thursday.

2023 December 7, Jacey Fortin, “For Some, the Symbols of Hanukkah Bring Extra Concern This Year”, in The New York Times, image caption:

A four-sided spinning top, inscribed with the four Hebrew letters נ (nun), ג (gimel), ה (hey), and ש (shin) (or פ (pey)) on each side, often used to play a traditional game during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.


Sukkot

he-m

סוכות / סֻכּוֹת (sukót)

Sukkos (alternative)
Sukkoth (alternative)
Succot (alternative)
Succoth (alternative)

(Judaism) An ancient biblical / Israelite / Jewish festival lasting seven days, celebrating the autumn harvest and commemorating the passage through the wilderness: observed from the 15th day to the 21st day of the month of Tishrei (Tishri).


happy holidays

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In the United States people say Happy Holidays to include all people on the earth: the Jewish people Celebrating Hanukah, Africans celebrating Kwanza, Middle Eastern people celebrating Eid, Christians celebrating Christmas, […]

2009, Ruben Santos Claveria, Holiday Songs and Kisses: Christmas Songs And other Poems:

Madeleine Mayfair, What Should I Write? 101 Holiday Wishes for Greeting Cards
Season's greetings and happy holidays!

(Canada, US, Philippines) A greeting used during the Christmas and winter holiday season to recognize the celebration of many holidays, sometimes starting with Thanksgiving and including Hanukkah, the winter solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year's Day.


Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

en-proper noun

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (plural Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers)

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers (plural)
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer (alternative)

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In the yards of the houses, the pink flamingos were eclipsed by huge plastic Santa Clauses and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers, their red noses tinting the shadows on the snow rose red, and on the roof ridges of every other house, Santa Claus and his sleigh had landed weeks earlier.

1989, Susan Fromberg Schaeffer, Buffalo Afternoon, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, page 513:

The only buildings on the street across from the Yellow Panda were an abandoned warehouse and a lonely souvenir stand, also closed until tourist season, its carved Smokey the Bears and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers looking like lost Christmas decorations in the rain.

1997, Roger L[ichtenberg] Simon, The Lost Coast, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 194:

Window cling-ons are the same kind you see at Christmas time, with cute Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers and Frosty the Snow Mans on them.

2003, Tiffany Lambert, Restaurant Promotion and Publicity: For Just a Few Dollars a Day, Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc., →ISBN, page 98:

Light posts, storefronts and other businesses were lined with garlands of silver, gold, green and red; as well as the occasional Santa Claus and more than a few Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers.

2008, William Pepper, In the St. Nick of Time, Carnival of Glee Creations, →ISBN, page 10:

These days, you see more of those giant inflatable Frosty the Snowmen and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers.

2014, Greg Laurie, Red: The Color of Christmas, 15 Favorite Christmas Messages, Allen David Books, →ISBN, page 307:

Good job you don’t have kids, mate. You’d go mad this time of year with all the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers going on.

2019, Alison Roberts, Single Dad in Her Stocking, Harlequin, →ISBN:

A legendary reindeer with a nose that glows red, the subject of a comic Christmas song; often added among Santa Claus's reindeer as the leading one.

ルドルフ赤鼻のトナカイ

ルドルフあかはなのトナカイ


Mrs. Claus

Mrs. Clauses (plural)
Mistress Santa Claus (alternative)
Mrs Claus (alternative)
Mrs Santa Claus (alternative)
Mrs. Santa Claus (alternative)

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A relatively new gala, the Celebrate Santa Convention boasts a sea of Santas, Mrs. Clauses, elves, and reindeers, […]

2011, Kristin Luna, Tennessee Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff, Guilford, Conn.: Globe Pequot Press, →ISBN, page 167:

In normal years, he runs a roving school for Santas and Mmes. Claus and supplies a workforce of bearded men to malls and corporate events around the country. […] He led a neighborhood tree-lighting in a blue surgical mask with a Mrs. Claus friend near his apartment in Upper Manhattan, and a few buddies volunteered for a socially distanced Christmas parade.

2020 December 25, Emma Green, “The Christmas Crisis”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 2020-12-25:

“Why do I get the feeling that ‘we’ includes me?” I said warily. “Of course it includes you. You’re Mrs. Claus.” She reconsidered. “One of the Mrs. Clauses, at any rate. I signed you up for two shifts and some cookies. Surely that’s not too much to ask?”

2021, Liz Ireland, Mrs. Claus and the Halloween Homicide, Kensington Books, →ISBN:

In 1937, a Michigan school was established in Midland, and it has been training Santas and Mrs. Clauses for eighty-five years.

2022, Bill Loomis, Christmas in Detroit, Charleston, S.C.: The History Press, →ISBN, page 67:


Cinco de Mayo

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Borrowed from Spanish cinco de mayo (“fifth of May”).

A national celebration in Mexico, commemorating the victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza over the French expeditionary forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, also celebrated widely by immigrants living in the United States.


Bastille Day

The French national holiday celebrated on 14 July each year. It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789; the Fête de la Fédération was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern French "nation".


Yom Kippur

/ˌjɒm kɪˈpʊə/

/ˌjəʊm kɪˈpʊə/

/ˌjəʊm ˈkɪpə/

/ˌjɔm kɪˈpʊɹ/

/ˌjɑm kɪˈpʊɹ/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Yom Kippur.wav

From Hebrew יוֹם כִּיפּוּר (yom kipúr, literally “Day of Atonement”).

bor

יוֹם כִּיפּוּר

(Judaism) A particular Jewish holiday, the day of atonement, falling on the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei.


Diwali

Diwalis (plural)
Dewali (alternative)
Divali (alternative)

Borrowed from Hindi दिवाली (divālī), from Sanskrit दीपावलि (dīpāvali, literally “row of lights”), from दीप (dīpa, “light”) + आवलि (āvali, “series, line, row”). Doublet of Deepavali.

der

(Hinduism) An annual festival of light, observed during several days in October and November.

Deepawali

more often used in Malaysia and Singapore

Kali Puja

more often used in Bangladesh, Bengal, and Odisha


Holy Saturday

The Saturday immediately after Good Friday and before Easter.

Stille Zaterdag

the Saturday immediately after Good Friday


pace egg

pace eggs (plural)
pace-egg (alternative)
paste-egg (alternative)
paste egg (alternative)

A hard-boiled coloured egg traditionally made at Easter, often given to relatives and friends as a token of goodwill. It was traditional to jarp with the eggs before eating them.

County Durham website dedicated to preservation of dialect terms


pysanka

pysankas (plural)
pysanky (plural)
pisanka (alternative)

Borrowed from Ukrainian пи́санка (pýsanka), from писа́ти (pysáty, “to write”), referring to writing on an egg with a stylus in a wax-resist dyeing process, from Proto-Slavic *pьsati, related to *pьstrъ (“feathered”), + feminine ending -ка (-ka).

A hand-decorated Ukrainian Easter egg with intricate designs.

пі́санка

Easter egg decorated with intricate designs


Shavuot

Borrowed from Hebrew שָׁבוּעוֹת (shavu'ót).

Shabuos (alternative)
Shabuot (alternative)
Shabuoth (alternative)
Shavuos (alternative)
Shavuoth (alternative)
Shevuoth (alternative)

Major Jewish holidays such as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Simchat Torah, Succoth, Chanukah, Passover and Shavuot have been celebrated with Hebrew prayers and songs.

1971, United States Congress: Senate: Foreign Relations, Public Financing of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty

On the first day of Shavuot the Ten Commandments were explained to the people homiletically in the vernacular.

1975, Israel Zinberg, Old Yiddish Literature from Its Origins to the Haskalah Period:

(Judaism) A Jewish holiday that occurs in the spring, a harvest festival, also commemorating the anniversary of the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai.


Father's Day

Father's Days (plural)
Fathers Day (alternative)
Fathers' Day (alternative)

A holiday in celebration of fatherhood, or to honor fathers, celebrated on the third Sunday of June in most of the world's countries. See Wikipedia:Father's Day:Dates.


Christmassy

en-adj

Christmassy (comparative Christmassier, superlative Christmassiest)

Christmassier (comparative)
Christmassiest (superlative)
Christmasy (alternative)

It is important to guard against any hint of a generalisation here that 'less Christmassy music' always accompanies a 'less Christmassy sentiment', and indeed Greg Lake's 'I Believe In Father Christmas' (1974) is proof that the converse is not […]

2008, Sheila Whiteley, Christmas, Ideology and Popular Culture, Edinburgh University Press, →ISBN, page 122:

Mark: That looks like a lovely turkey. I'm sorry I flew off the handle a bit.
Jeremy: That wasn't very Christmassy.
Mark: No, it wasn't. I apologise.

2010, Jesse Armstrong & Sam Bain, "Seasonal Beatings", Peep Show Series 7, Episode 5, Channel 4

They [Asian pears] are unquestionably Christmassy and festive, with their golden speckled skin.

2015 September 5, Mark Diacono, “In praise of the Asian pear”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening), archived from the original on 2015-09-12, page 1:

Resembling or having feelings of Christmas; festive.

nadalenc

resembling or having feelings of Christmas


Pioneer Day

(US) A Utah state holiday celebrating the arrival of Mormon pioneers in what became Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1847.

день пионеров

Utah state holiday celebrating the arrival of Mormon pioneers in what would become Salt Lake City


pastiera

Borrowed from Italian, from pasta (“pasta, dough”).

A Neapolitan tart made from wheat, eggs, and ricotta, traditionally eaten at Easter.


Fourth of July

Fourth of Julys (plural)
4th of July (alternative)

/ˌfɔːθ‿əv d͡ʒʊˈlaɪ/

/ˌfɔɹθ‿əv d͡ʒəˈlaɪ/

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The proper noun is probably derived from the phrase “the fourth day of July”. The common noun is derived from the proper noun.

And the Ohio State Journal reports that “it was the hottest, quietest, and safest Fourth of July that Columbus ever had. The firecracker, the gun, and the cannon did not appear, and so there was not an injured or mangled boy or dead body anywhere yesterday as a result of powder patriotism. What a happy condition for the city to be in! What a marked difference from other days, after the Fourth. It seems that these ear splitting and soul stabbing Fourth of Julys are ended; and it is well; it is very well.”

1911 July 16, “A Saner Fourth”, in The Chicago Sunday Tribune, volume LXX, number 29, Chicago, Ill.: The Tribune Company, Metropolitan Section, page 4, column 3:

MARY went in to the frail little mother and told her the news through the cotton wool in both ears. Mrs. Davis had no difficulty hearing, so beautifully penetrating is good news. The relief in her pale little face “choked” Mary. / “My dear! You are an angel, there in that white robe! All you haven’t got is wings! If you knew—if anybody but me could know the tortures Fourth of Julys are to me.[…]”

1921 July 2, Annie Hamilton Donnell, “Do-As-You-Please Day: A Fourth of July Story”, in The Christian Herald […], volume 44, number 27, New York, N.Y.: Graham Patterson, page 469, column 1:

Our Fourth of Julys are sounding different, too. Come to one of our barbeques and you might hear “Praise the Lord and Pass the Metamucil” or that ol’ patriotic favorite “Let Eardrums Ring.”

2005, Martha Bolton, “Season’s Greetings”, in Growing Your Own Turtleneck… and Other Benefits of Aging, Bloomington, Minn.: Bethany House Publishers, →ISBN, page 98:

The national holiday of Independence Day in the United States, celebrated on the fourth day in July to mark the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776.


qualtagh

qualtaghs (plural)
quaaltagh (alternative)

PIE word
 *ḱóm
Borrowed from Manx qualtagh, quaaltagh (“first person one meets after leaving the house; first person one meets on New Year’s Day”, literally “one who meets or is met”), from quaail (“act of meeting; a meeting”) (ultimately from Old Irish comdál, from com- (prefix meaning ‘with’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, by; near; with”)) + dál (“part, share; land in which a tribe lives”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂- (“to divide; to share”))) + -agh (suffix forming adjectives and nouns expressing belonging, a connection to, having, or an involvement with). The interfix -t- may be modelled after an unattested form of Old Irish comaltae (“foster-brother; companion”).

cog

A company of young lads or men, generally went in old times on what they termed the Qualtagh, at Christmas or New Year's Day to the house of their more wealthy neighbours; some one of the company repeating in an audible voice the following rhyme:– […] they were then invited in to partake of the best that the house could afford.

[1835, Archibald Cregeen, “Quaal′tagh or Qual′tagh”, in A Dictionary of the Manks Language, with the Corresponding Words or Explanations in English; […], Douglas, Isle of Man: […] J. Quiggin, […]; Whittaker, Treacher, and Arnot, […]; Evans, Chegwin, and Hall, […], →OCLC, page 132, column 2:

On these occasions a person of dark complexion always enters first, as a light haired male or female is deemed unlucky to be a first-foot or quaaltagh on New Year's morning. The actors of the quaaltagh do not assume fantastic habiliments like the Mummers of England or the Guisards of Scotland, nor do they, like these rude performers of the ancient mysteries, appear ever to have been attended by minstrels playing on different kinds of musical instruments.

1845, Joseph Train, “Manners and Customs”, in An Historical and Statistical Account of the Isle of Man, from the Earliest Times to the Present Date; […], volume II, Douglas, Isle of Man: […] Mary A. Quiggin, […]; London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 115:

The Manx attach great importance to the qualtagh, or first person met with on the occurrence of any particularly important event, as in going to the fishery, the first day of the new year, a birth-day or a christening. On these occasions, in order to insure good luck or to avert an evil eye, they make a present of food or drink to the person met. The present Bishop of Bath and Wells, when Bishop of Sodor and Man, upon one occasion was the qualtagh of a poor christening party, […] and very kindly partook of their humble offering.

1861, Joseph George Cumming, “Manners and Customs”, in A Guide to the Isle of Man with the Means of Access thereto and an Introduction to Its Scenery: […], London: Edward Stanford, […], →OCLC, page 22:

Who would the ‘Qualtagh’ to a parish be?

1875, Oscar Harrison, The Isle-iad; or, King Orry’s Banquet. A Fragment of a Mankish Tale, Douglas, Isle of Man: James Brown & Co., page 59; quoted in Joseph Wright, editor, The English Dialect Dictionary: […], volumes IV (M–Q), London: Henry Frowde, […], publisher to the English Dialect Society, […]; New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, 1903, →OCLC, page 667, column 1:

On New Year's Eve there occurred an incident which greatly increased the tension at Claddagh House. Mrs. Colquitt was in a painful state of agitation about the quaaltagh, or first person who should cross the threshold after midnight. If he happened to be dark, she anticipated some wonderful slice of luck; if light, a continuance of misfortune; and if a spaagaght or splay-footed person, nothing short of a calamity. […] [S]he kept trotting up and downstairs, being imperatively urged to confide to Mona her wish that the quaaltagh might be somebody she had just thought of, a different somebody each time.

1887, Hugh Coleman Davidson, “Suspense”, in The Green Hills by the Sea: A Manx Story […], volume III, London: Hurst and Blackett, […], →OCLC, pages 4–5:

[page 79] At present New Year's Day is the time when the qualtagh is of general interest, and in this case he is practically the first person one sees (besides the members of one's own household) on the morning of that day, whether that person meets one out of doors or comes to one's house. The following is what I have learnt by inquiry as to the qualtagh: all are agreed that he must not be a woman or girl,[…]. The prevalent belief, however, is that he should be a dark-haired man or boy, […] An English lady living in the neighbourhood of Castletown told me that her son, whom I know to be, like his mother, a pronounced blond, […] called at a house in Castletown on the morning of New Year's Day, and he chanced to be the qualtagh. The mistress of the house was horrified, and expressed her anticipation of misfortunes to the English lady; […] [page 90] Mr. [Alfred] Nutt: […] [I]f red-haired and splay-footed people, the qualtaghs were not likely women of the aboriginal race, i.e., assuming this race to have been a dark, small, high-instepped one.

1892 March, John Rhys, “Manx Folk-lore and Superstitions. II.”, in Folk-lore: A Quarterly Review of Myth, Tradition, Institution, & Custom, volume III, number I, London: David Nutt, […], →OCLC, pages 79 and 90:

"I should be the first-foot here, only I'm no use as a qualtagh," said Philip. / "Why not?" / "I'm a fair man, and would bring you no luck, you know."

1894 January–July, Hall Caine, chapter II, in The Manxman, London: William Heinemann, published 3 August 1894 (1 September 1894 printing), →OCLC, part II (Boy and Girl), page 71:

The "White Boys," the "Hunt the Wren Boys," and "Quaaltaghs" received the dessert.

1911, John Clague, Cooinaghtyn Manninagh: Manx Reminiscences, Castletown, Isle of Man: M. J. Backwell, →OCLC, page 11:

The Foolish Fortnight and its gaieties may have been relinquished under the relentless pressure of modern life as we choose to live it, but at least one of the old New Year rituals is still quite vigorous amongst us – the Qualtagh, or First Foot.

1966, Mona Douglas, “The Foolish Fortnight and the Qualtagh Tradition”, in This is Ellan Vannin again: Folklore, Douglas, Isle of Man: Times Press, →OCLC, page 84:

Did you ever use to go as the ‘quaaltagh?’ […] I did indeed!

1977, Jennifer Kewley Draskau, quoting John Gell, “Verbs”, in Practical Manx, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, published 2008, →ISBN, page 126:

(Isle of Man) The first person one encounters, either after leaving one's home or (sometimes) outside one's home, especially on New Year's Day; a first-foot.


Christmas creep

The inexorable tendency for the commercial aspects of Christmas to appear earlier every year.


Mother's Day

Mother's Days (plural)
Mothers' Day (alternative)
Mothers Day (alternative)

From Anna Jarvis's campaign in the early 20th century, which insisted on using a singular spelling in order to associate the day with observants' particular mothers.

عِيد اَلْأُمّ

a day in honor of one's mother or all mothers, on whichever day

Mothering Sunday
Mothering Sunday#English

(UK and Ireland, informal) Synonym of Mothering Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent, a moveable feast three weeks before Easter, used as a day in honor of mothers in some Commonwealth countries.


vicennial

From vicennium + -al or directly from Latin vīcenniālis, from vīcennium (“20-year span”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjective-forming suffix), from vīcennis (“20-year”) + -ium (“-ium”, suffix forming abstract nouns), from vīciēs (“20 times”) + annus (“year”) + -is (suffix forming compound adjectives). Equivalent to vice- (“twenty”) + -ennial.

The feast of Constantine's vicennials fell on the 25th of July this year: it was the commencement of the twentieth year of his reign. It is supposed, that to avoid interrupting affairs or greater moment, this ceremony was deferred till the end of the council, which broke up the 25th of August.

1776, Charles le Beau, The History of Constantine the Great, page 267:

Roman coins mentioning the vota publica for Macrinus are RIC IV.1 5–13; on vota publica for the decennials and vicennials of emperors in the 2nd and 3rd c. ad, see Chastagnol 1984.

2022, Martin Hallmannsecker, Roman Ionia..., p. 110

(historical) Synonym of vicennalia, the festival and religious ritual held in the 20th year of a Roman emperor's reign.


Labor Day

Labor Days (plural)
Labour Day (alternative)

(US) The holiday marking the unofficial end of summer, held on the first Monday in September.


martyrology

martyrologies (plural)
Mart. (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-martyrology.wav

From martyr + -ology or from Latin martyrologium.

The study of martyrs and martyrdom; the names and stories of martyrs, particularly

(Judaism, often capitalized) Synonym of Eleh Ezkerah, a midrash concerning the Ten Martyrs killed by the Romans, usually read on both Yom Kippur and Tisha B'Av.

վկայաբանություն

Roman Catholicism: a calendar of saints' days, typically with biographical information


Advent calendar

en-noun

Advent calendar (plural Advent calendars)

Probably a calque of German Adventskalender, the modern tradition having originated in 19th-century Germany.

A calendar used to count down the days of Advent, having windows revealing a hidden picture or gift on each day.

адве́нт-календа́рь

note that since Christmas in Russia is in January and was prohibited in Soviet times Advent calendars are untraditional for Russians


Lughnasadh

From Irish Lughnasadh (obsolete form of Lúnasa (“August”)), from Old Irish Lugnasad.

The Celtic people of Ireland viewed they year in two equal halves, Samhain, side of dark, and Beltaine, side of light. Dividing these halves are the harvest festival of Lughnasadh and the spring festival of Imbolc. The Celtic year begins November 1st, but I have started my collection in the fall harvest festival of Lughnasadh, a time of year where memories abundant dance in my head like the leaves in which my brothers and I played.

1998, Kelly Ann McMillin, Seasons of Time, Lulu.com, page i:

It was first light and the kitchens were alive with activity, this was Thar's day, the day of the festival of Lughnasadh, the beginning of a new year.

2012, Tony Collins, The Lost Crystal: Key to the ancient world of Thar Cernunnos, AuthorHouse, page 203:

August brings us to the eighth month of our modern calendar and the celebrations of the first harvest at Lughnasadh and the Corn Moon.

2014, Lotuswulf Satyrhorn, Tribes of the Moon: A Book of Otherkin Coventry, Seasonal Rituals and Lunar Magick for All 13 Months, AuthorHouse, page 138:

A Gaelic/Celtic holiday celebrated on the full moon nearest the midpoint between the summer solstice and autumnal equinox, during the time of the harvesting.

lúnasa

holiday near the midpoint between summer solstice and autumnal equinox


candy cane

(US, Canada) An edible candy in the shape of a cane or staff, generally consumed during Christmas time and usually having a peppermint flavor.


Festivus

Coined by Daniel O'Keefe and popularized on the TV series Seinfeld; either borrowed from Latin fēstīvus or else derived from its English descendants festive and festival by adding the Latin suffix -us.

"Festivus isn't about any specific religion," Doyle said, stating what seemed both obvious and reassuring. "It's inclusive. And funny."

2006, Boston Globe Article- “Yes, Virginia, there is a Festivus” http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2006/12/18/yes_virginia_there_is_a_festivus/?p1=MEWell_Pos4

2005, Allen Salkin, Gabi Payn (Illustrator) “Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us”

A nondenominational holiday featured in a Seinfeld episode, now celebrated (seriously or otherwise) on December 23rd.


St. Stephen's Day

en-proper noun

St. Stephen's Day (countable and uncountable, plural St. Stephen's Days)

St. Stephen's Days (plural)
Saint Stephen's Day (alternative)
St Stephen's Day (alternative)

And the Commonalty having renewed their Petition on the Friday following, being Chriſtmas Day: And the King's Will being known, and his Warrant obtained, the ſaid Charter, which confirmed the Perambulation, was ſealed on Saturday, being St. Stephen’s Day, in a little Houſe near the Severn, belonging to the Prior of Worceſter, […]

1717, William Nelson, “Purlieu”, in Manwood’s Treatise of the Forest Laws: Shewing Not Only the Laws Now in Force, but the Original of Forests, What They are, and How They Differ from Chases, Parks, and Warrens; with All Such Things as are Incident to Either; …, 4th corrected and enlarged edition, in the Savoy [i.e., London]: Printed by E[lizabeth] Nutt (executrix of J[ohn] Nutt, assignee of Edward Sayer, Esq;) for B. Lintott at the Cross-Keys, R. Gosling at the Mitre and Crown, J. Pemberton at the Buck and Sun, all in Fleet-street; and L. Ward in Inner-Temple-Lane, →OCLC, paragraph 83, pages 283–284:

[…] Dugdale, in his Origines Judiciales, gives a long and particular account of the revelry at the Temple, on each of the twelve days of Christmas, in the year 1562. It appears from this document, that the hospitable rites of St. Stephen's Day, St. John's Day, and Twelfth Day, were ordered to be exactly alike; and as many of them are in their nature perfectly rural, there is every reason to suppose they were observed, to a certain extent, in the halls of the country gentry, and substantial yeomanry.

1821, Sholto Percy [pseudonym; Joseph Clinton Robertson], Reuben Percy [pseudonym; Thomas Byerley], The Percy Anecdotes. Original and Select, London: Printed for T. Boys, Ludgate Hill, →OCLC, page 163:

That order of the Church is the proper one, which disposes men to earnest meditation, which causes men to feel the weight of truth and be humbled under it; and that order is an unworthy one, which occupies the popular mind with deaneries and bishoprics, Michaelmases and Epiphanies, St. John's days and St. Stephen's days. If a preacher wish to present the doctrine of divine sovereignty to his hearers, he must let it pervade all the exercises of the Sabbath, […]

1844 May 28, Edwards A[masa] Park, A Discourse Delivered in Boston before the Pastoral Association of Congregational Ministers in Massachusetts, May 28, 1844, 2nd edition, Andover, Mass.: Allen, Morrill & Wardwell, →OCLC, page 25:

"Feeding the Wren" is a custom based on the legend of Saint Stephen, who was hiding in a bush and betrayed to his enemies by a wren. On Saint Stephen's Day, December 26, the young children gather together, obtain a wren, and place it in a cage on top of a bush while they go from door-to-door collecting money which will be used for charity.

1991, Stephen M. Crotts, Saint Nicholas Speaks, Lima, Oh.: C.S.S. Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 17:

Late in the morning of St. Stephen's Day, Marc mounted his horse, ready to leave Windsor, Cecily, and all of Angleterre.

2015, Blythe Gifford, chapter 13, in Whispers at Court, Don Mills, Ont.: Harlequin Historical, →ISBN, page 170:

Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church

(Christianity) A Christian holiday commemorating Saint Stephen the protomartyr (first Christian martyr; died 34 C.E.), falling immediately after Christmas Day (on December 26 in the Western Church and on December 27 in the Eastern Orthodox Church).


Saint Stephen's Day

Saint Stephen's Day (countable and uncountable, plural Saint Stephen's Days)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Saint Stephen's Day.wav

St. Stephen's Day
St. Stephen's Day#English


Boxing Day

Perhaps because of boxes that were placed outside churches to collect special offerings tied to St. Stephen's Day; or because of the old British custom of tradesmen collecting “Christmas boxes” of money or presents on the first weekday after Christmas as thanks for good service, mentioned by the English diarist Samuel Pepys (1633–1703).

There are plenty of discounted Christmas items in the Boxing Day sale.

Boxing-day in the London streets, and especially a wet Boxing-day, can scarcely fail to afford us some tableaux vivants illustrative of English metropolitan life. […] Christmas-eve of the year about which I write was bright and springlike; Christmas-day dismal, dark, and un-Christmas-like; but Boxing-day that year was essentially muggy, sloppy, drizzly, and nasty.

1875, Charles Maurice Davies, “Boxing-day on the Streets”, in Mystic London, or, Phases of Occult Life in the Metropolis, London: Tinsley, →OCLC:

On Boxing day, December 26th, 1902, the sixth grand annual pantomime, "Jack & the beanstalk"

[1902], On Boxing Day, December 26th, 1902, the Sixth Grand Annual Pantomime, “Jack & the Beanstalk”: With which is Incorporated the Patriotic Legend, “St. George and the Dragon.” (pantomime programme), Kingston upon Thames, London: [Royal County Theatre], →OCLC, title page:

Think about all those Boxing Day sales, then sit back and relish in the fact that you have enough and that you don't give a shit.

2015 January 5, Steven J. Bennett, “Rule #12: Boxing Day”, in 365 Rules of the New World: If We Had a Chance to Do It All Over Again, Would We Do It Right?, Bloomington, Ind.: Balboa Press, Hay House, →ISBN, page 483:

Boxing Day is celebrated on December 26 each year and is a national holiday in the UK. […] Boxing Day is a time to spend with family or friends, particularly those not seen on Christmas Day itself. It is also a day to eat left over turkey. […] Boxing Day is also a time when the Brits show their eccentricity by taking part in all kinds of bizarre traditions including swimming the icy cold English Channel, or running into the sea, fun runs and charity events. December 26 is a big day for sales too. Dramatic price reductions lure out millions of shoppers who even queue for hours before the shops open.

2016 December 22, Chloe Kerr, “More turkey! Where does Boxing Day get its name, what are its origins and how is it celebrated?”, in The Sun, London:

The day after Christmas; the 26th of December.

يَوْم اَلصَّنَادِيق

the day after Christmas: 26 December — see also St. Stephen's Day


Festival of Lights

From the importance of candles or light during the celebrations.

[…] celebration of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights[.]

1996, Jewish Life and Thought among Greeks and Romans: Primary Readings:

One of our more Judaically advanced cellmates gave us insightful lessons about the laws and customs of the Festival of Lights.

2012, Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul, →ISBN:


Christmas season

en-noun

Christmas season (plural Christmas seasons)

(US, informal, retail and marketing) The winter season starting around Thanksgiving (typically Black Friday) and ending at or about New Year's Eve.


Christmas cracker

Christmas cracker (plural Christmas crackers)

(British, Canada, New Zealand) A table decoration, in the form of a large paper sweet wrapper, constructed around a cardboard tube typically containing a paper hat, silly joke and a small novelty or toy; a pair of people pull the ends of the cracker causing an embedded device to make a crack sound as the cracker breaks in two and the contents are released.


Groundhog Day

The prominence of the groundhog as a popular figure in the country lore of the Eastern States is shown by his having been given a place with the Saints on the calendar, February 2 being widely known as "Groundhog Day." It is claimed that on this date the groundhog wakes from his long winter sleep and appears at the mouth of his burrow to look about and survey the weather. If the sun shines so that he can see his shadow, bad weather is indicated and he retires to resume his sleep for another six weeks. Otherwise, the winter is broken and mild weather is predicted. Even on the outskirts of Washington some of the countrymen still appraise the character of the coming spring by the weather on "Groundhog Day."

1918 May, Edward W. Nelson, “Smaller Mammals of North America”, in National Geographic, volume XXXIII, number 5, page 434:

An annual festival held in Canada and the USA on February 2 in which the arrival time of the spring season is predicted by whether or not a certain groundhog can see its shadow.


jack-o'-lantern

jack-o'-lanterns (plural)
jack-o-lantern (alternative)
jack o'lantern (alternative)
Jack O'Lantern (alternative)

Originally, a night watchman who carried a lantern. (See Jack.)
Attested as a term for ignis fatuus in English folklore in the 1660s, mostly in East Anglia but also in southwestern England.
The sense of carved pumpkin in American English is attested in 1834.

A carved pumpkin whose top and stem have been cut out and interior removed, leaving a hollow shell that is then decorated to represent a face, illuminated from within by a candle. It is a symbol of Halloween.


Little Christmas

(Ireland) January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany.


Mardi Gras

/ˈmɑːdi ɡɹɑː/

/ˈmɑɹdi ɡɹɑ/

/ˈmɑɹdi ɡɹɔ/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Mardi Gras.wav

Borrowed from French mardi gras (literally “fat Tuesday”).

bor+

Mardi-gras was ushered in with various ceremonies, offering a strange mixture of devotion and profaneness.

1839, Marguerite Blessington, The idler in Italy, Henry Colburn, page 299:

Dancing, fiddling, and feasting at Christmas and on Mardi-gras, before Lent, and feasting at or after Easter, are among their amusements or indulgences.

1847, John Macgregor, The Progress of America: From the Discovery by Columbus to the Year 1846, Whittaker & Co., page 88:

Today's wild Mardi Gras parades are much different than the original, more religious events of the Middle Ages.

2007, Ace Collins, Stories Behind the Traditions And Stories of Easter, Zondervan, →ISBN, page 113:

The day when traditionally all fat and meat in the house were finished up, before Christians were banned from eating them during Lent, which commenced the following day on Ash Wednesday.


Spring Festival

en-noun

Spring Festival (plural Spring Festivals)

A calque of Chinese 春節 /春节 (Chūnjié), the usual modern name for the holiday.

Although the Hui in the northwest do not celebrate the Han holidays of Zhongqiu, Qingming, or even Chun Jie (Spring Festival), the Hui in most of China's cities gladly participate.

2020, Dru C. Gladney, Muslim Chinese..., page 192:

Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year#English

(chiefly China) Synonym of Chinese New Year.


Waitangi Day

The national day of New Zealand and a public holiday held each year on February 6 to celebrate the 1840 signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document. The Treaty made New Zealand a part of the British Empire, guaranteed Māori rights to their land and gave Māori the rights of British citizens.


Earth Day

(North American countries) April 22; Created in 1970, global day of observance of the need to protect the earth.


Holy Thursday

From Middle English Holy Thursday, holy Thurysday, hooly þursday, haly þorsday, Hallʒhe Þurrsdaʒʒ, equivalent to holy + Thursday.

(Christianity) Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter


Pascha

Pascha (countable and uncountable, plural Paschas)

From Latin pascha (“Passover”), from Ancient Greek πάσχα (páskha, “Passover”), from Aramaic פַּסְחָא (paskha), from Hebrew פֶּסַח (pésakh). Doublet of Pasch, paskha, and Pesach.

crucifixional Pascha

Ancient Greek: πάσχα σταυρώσιμον

crucifixional pascha

Ancient Greek: πάσχα σταυρώσιμον

resurrectional Pascha

Ancient Greek: πάσχα ἀναστάσιμον

resurrectional pascha

Ancient Greek: πάσχα ἀναστάσιμον

Easter, the most important Christian religious holy day or feast.

Orthodox Christian church services during the week succeeding Easter.


Pascha

In the Orthodox Christian church, Pascha week is the week succeeding Easter.

(attributive) Pertaining to either Passover or Easter (Pascha is an ambiguous term and its meaning depends on context).


lebkuchen

en-noun

lebkuchen (plural lebkuchen or lebkuchens)

Borrowed from German Lebkuchen, from Middle High German lebekuoche. The origin of the first component is uncertain: it might come from Latin libum (“flat bread”) or Germanic Laib, loaf, or Leb-Honig, crystallized honey often used in baking.

The kettle was coming to the boil, and the tray was ready with two teacups and the little sweet lebkuchen that Rachel liked.

2004, Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty […], London: Picador, →ISBN:

A traditional German Christmas biscuit form of gingerbread.


round robin

round robins (plural)
round-robin (alternative)

/ˌɹaʊnd ˈɹɒbɪn/

From round (adjective) + robin. Sense 1 (“senses relating to something with a round shape, or which goes around”) is connected with the word round, while sense 2 (“senses relating to people, animals, or plants”) is connected with some English regional senses of the word robin where it is used in the names of various fish and plants which are not related to the red-breasted bird. However, apart from the alliteration, it is not clear why the two words came to be linked together in compounds. It is possible that the term was first used to refer to sense 1.13.1 (“consecrated host”) which appears to be the earliest attested sense, and then extended to other senses either having the sense of round or robin.
Alternatively, it has been suggested that the term is a corruption of French ruban rond (literally “round ribbon”), referring to the practice in 17th-century France of signing on ribbons which were then attached to petitions of grievances in a circular manner: see sense 1.1. However, this etymology does not explain the senses of the term unrelated to a signed document.

der

[T]he Sacrament of the Altar, is nothing elſe but a piece of bread, or a little predie Round-Robin.

1659, Thomas Fuller, “The Fifth Book. Relating to the Time of King Henry the Eighth.”, in The Appeal of Iniured Innocence: Unto the Religious Learned and Ingenious Reader: In a Controversie betwixt the Animadvertor Dr. Peter Heylyn and the Author Thomas Fuller, London: […] W. Godbid, and are to be sold by John Williams […], →OCLC, part II, page 60:

(also attributive) Senses relating to something with a round shape, or which goes around.

(Christianity, derogatory) The consecrated host used in the Eucharist.

Senses relating to people, animals, or plants.

(Canada, US, rare) A freshwater sunfish native to eastern North America, either the pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) or the redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus).


Memorial Day

Memorial Day (Newfoundland and Labrador)

Tomb Sweeping Day
Tomb Sweeping Day#English

(uncommon) Synonym of Tomb Sweeping Day, a Chinese holiday.


trick-or-treating

Coordinate term: souling

The practice of going house to house on Halloween evening to receive treats.


Beltane

From the Celtic *belo-tanos "bright fire".

Bealtine (alternative)
Bealtaine (alternative)
Beltaine (alternative)
Beltein (alternative)
Beltin (alternative)

And quhair it be tainted that they big, and the Birdes be flowin, and the nest be funden in the Trees at Beltane the trees sal be foirfaulted to the King (bot gif they be redeemed fra him, throw them that they first perteined to) and hewin downe, and siue schillings to the King is unlaw.

1424, James I of Scotland, The lawes and actes of parliament maid be King James the first and his successours kinges of Scotland, Edinburgh edition, Robert Waldegrave, published 1597, page A3:

The first day of May (since 1752); May Day, a Scottish quarter day, sometimes associated by Christians with the nearest Church Feast, the Invention of the Cross (3 May), and Whitsunday (15 May).


national holiday

en-noun

national holiday (plural national holidays)

A statutory holiday enacted by a country to commemorate the country itself.

National Day

holiday to commemorate the country itself


Spy Wednesday

From the idea that Judas Iscariot was spying on Jesus before betraying him. The Middle Irish equivalent, Cédaín in Braith ["Wednesday of Betrayal" or "Spy Wednesday"], is attested in the 15th-century Leabhar Breac.

CATHEDRAL. Spy-Wednesday—Evening Office of Tenebrae, at 5½ o'clock.

1844 March 30, “Order of Service in Holy Week.”, in Bengal Catholic Herald, Vol.VI No.13 p.174:

On Spy Wednesday 1916 Thomas McDonagh gave B Company, 2nd Battalion, Irish Volunteers a pep talk.

1974 January 23, Seamus de Burca, "Peadar Kearney (1883–1942)" Dublin Historical Record (Old Dublin Society) Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 42–56 : 49


Holy Wednesday

The Wednesday of Holy Week; the day before Maundy Thursday.


Juneteenth

en-proper noun

Juneteenth (countable and uncountable, plural Juneteenths)

Juneteenths (plural)
juneteenth (alternative)

Blend of June + nineteenth, commemorating the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when Union Army General Gordon Granger (1821–1876) issued General Order No. 3 in Galveston, Texas, to enforce President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of September 22, 1862. The General Order stated that all previously enslaved people in Texas were now free. Entered wider usage after becoming a federal holiday in 2021.

There was^([sic – meaning were]) not so many colored people in the city as usual on Saturday evening, all of them, very near, being out at the "Juneteenth siliibration."

1891 June 25, “Local news”, in Brenham Weekly Banner, volume XXVI, number 26, Brenham, Tex.: J[ohn] G. Rankin, →OCLC, page [7], column 1:

If there is plenty of sunshine within the next ten days there will be sufficient supply of watermelons in Southwest Texas to take care of the "Juneteenth" celebrations of San Antonio's colored population.

1912 June 15, “Watermelons are Moving”, in Fruit Trade Journal and Produce Record, volume XXXXVII, number 10, New York, N.Y.: Fruit Trade Journal Company, →OCLC, page 12:

"'Twere Juneteenth day," she began reverentially, "when my light firs' broke. The darkies all bunched up down in the live oak grove were a-singin' an' a-dancin', 'spressin' their glory 'cause they warnt no mo' slaves nohow.["]

1921, Julia Walcott Hoffman, chapter I, in Pearl o’ Great Price or A Woman’s ’Sperience, Chicago, Ill.: Gift and Music Shop, →OCLC, page 11:

"But whut if it rains?" asked Josy. "It always do rain on Juneteenth." / "Dat's jes' de way of it," said John. "Someone is always a-th'owin' cold water on eve'ything I does."

1922, Hubert Anthony Shands, chapter VIII, in White and Black, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC, page 50:

He had invited her to attend the Juneteenth picnic as his guest all day. And now he had done something that never, in all his life, had he heard of any colored boy doing before—planned an expensive outing right on the eve of the big annual event. [...] "Juneteenth"—white people also pretty generally use the phrase—is their Emancipation Day, and it is the one day in the year when every Caucasian is supposed to consider the comfort and enjoyment of his negro friends ahead of his own.

1925, J. Frank Davis, “Episode I. Juneteenth and Joada”, in Almanzar Evarts, Hero, Macon, Ga.: J. W. Burke Company, →OCLC, pages 13–14:

Truck drivers, business men, and school teachers belonging to the racial group have told me tales, but the best of tale-tellers has been some ex-slave buoyed up by the spirit of a Nineteenth of June celebration—the "Juneteenth"—the day on which all colored people in the South commemorate the freedom of their race from slavery. The significance of the day is so great and the tales I have collected are so bound up with the legalized slavery which, in 1865, this day put an end to, that I have used Juneteenth as a title. Nobody who does not understand a Juneteenth celebration can ever understand the Negro or his songs and tales.

1932, J[ohn] Mason Brewer, “Juneteenth”, in J[ames] Frank Dobie, editor, Tone the Bell Easy (Publications of the Texas Folk-lore Society; no. 10), Austin, Tex.: Texas Folk-lore Society, →OCLC, pages 8–54:

The annual celebration by Negroes of June 19—the day when emancipation from slavery became effective in the State [...]—is general; few Texas Negroes would consider working on "Juneteenth" if it can be avoided. The holiday is generally observed by a picnic at which everyone eats, dances and sings to his heart's content.

1940, Writers’ Program, Work Projects Administration, Texas, “Folklore and Folkways”, in Texas: A Guide to the Lone Star State (American Guides Series), New York, N.Y.: Hastings House, published 1943, →OCLC, part I (Texas: Yesterday and Today), page 97:

As I chewed on my extra-hot barbecue sandwich, Mr. Artis Lovelady, the vendor and celebration sponsor, explained why he was having a Juneteenth observance: "I just wanted to do something, just wanted to kinda bring back old times and let the younger people see what we used to do to celebrate it on account of our Emancipation Proclamation."

1987, William H. Wiggins, Jr., “Following the Freedom Trail”, in O Freedom!: Afro-American Emancipation Celebrations, Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, published 2000, →ISBN, page 5:

But what they [black people] chose to emphasize by means of traditional activities each year was the memory of gaining freedom. Consequently in African-American communities, especially in the South, a day of prayer, preaching, and festivities usually known as "Juneteenth" came to be observed [...].

1991, Michael Kammen, “The Civil War Remembered—but Unreconciled”, in Mystic Chords of Memory: The Transformation of Tradition in American Culture, 1st Vintage Books edition, New York, N.Y.: Vintage Books, published February 1993, →ISBN, part 2 (Circa 1870 to 1915), page 122:

There's been a heap of Juneteenths before this one and I tell you there'll be a heap more before we're truly free!

1999, Ralph Ellison, chapter 7, in John F. Callahan, editor, Juneteenth: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →ISBN, page 131:

On June 19, 1883, an eighteen-gun salute on the plaza in front of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, signaled the start of the annual Juneteenth observance.

2005, W[illiam] Fitzhugh Brundage, “Celebrating Black Memory in the Postbellum South”, in The Southern Past: A Clash of Race and Memory, Cambridge, Mass., London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 55:

Proud Pelham in Navarro County had a long history of major Juneteenths. Every year on June 19, pigs and goats roasted over open pits or old bedsprings, while fish deep-fried in lard in big washpots hung from trees.

2005, Thad Sitton, James H. Conrad, “Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings”, in Freedom Colonies: Independent Black Texans in the Time of Jim Crow (Jack and Doris Smothers Series in Texas History, Life, and Culture; no. 15), Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, →ISBN, page 105:

Senator Taylor, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of "Juneteenth Day," to symbolize the struggle for freedom and equality in the United States. [...] Indeed, Juneteenth Day is much more about the future than the past. It is a day where we gather to continue the struggle. We all realize the true freedom still eludes many of us.

2009 June 17, Lena C. Taylor, “Announcements, Adjournment Honors, and Remarks under Special Privilege”, in State of Wisconsin Senate Journal: Ninety-ninth Regular Session (Wisconsin State Senate), Madison, Wis.: State Printer, →OCLC, page 218, column 2:

[M]aking Juneteenth a federal holiday is both urgent and necessary. [...] A Juneteenth federal holiday would be more than a "day off," but one filled with educational experiences about the institution and affliction of slavery, community conversations on race and reconciliation, and cultural experiences that bring the history, challenges, and contributions of Black Americans to the forefront of the nation's consciousness.

2020 June 14, Seth Cohen, “No More Excuses – It’s Time to Declare Juneteenth a Federal Holiday”, in Forbes, New York, N.Y.: Forbes, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2020-06-14:

(US) Also more fully as Juneteenth Day: the United States national holiday commemorating the end of slavery, observed on June 19.

Abraham Lincoln
Emancipation Proclamation
General Order No. 3
Gordon Granger
Union Army

Dia De l'Emancipació

holiday celebrated in the U.S. on June 19, commemorating the end of slavery


nativity scene

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-nativity scene.wav

In 1958, it was reported that for "the fourth year in succession, staff of four South London stations have combined to decorate the booking hall at Peckham Rye station". They installed a nativity scene, models of Father Christmas, and a sleigh driven by huskies, and Christmas trees were placed around the station.

2023 December 27, David Turner, “Silent lines...”, in RAIL, number 999, page 29:

(Christianity) A depiction—which may be pictorial, dramatic, or by means of figurines—of the birth of Jesus Christ in a manger, as described in the New Testament account.


Christingle

Uncertain; according to the Oxford English Dictionary, possibly from dialectal German Christkindl, Christkindle (“the Christ child, believed to deliver presents to children on Christmas Eve; the presents so brought”), from Christ (“Christ”) + Kindl, Kindle (dialectal diminutive of Kind (“child”)). The -ingle portion of the word may be a corruption of Kris Kringle (“Santa Claus”) (also derived from German Christkindl, Christ Kinde) among the German community in the United States.

I lit the three Christingles, / I lit them one by one, / On the merry, merry Christmas Eve, / When all the work was done. / I lit the three Christingles, / And they burned with a joyous ray, / But the faces that bent above them / Were fuller of light than they.

1869 January 23, “Christingles”, in Every Saturday: A Journal of Choice Reading, Selected from Foreign Current Literature, volume VII, number 160, Boston, Mass.: Fields, Osgood, & Co., successors to Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 127, column 2:

A Christingle is an orange with a red ribbon around it. A small candle is set in the top. Four sticks, usually cocktail sticks, are placed in the orange. Pieces of fruit or small sweets are placed on the sticks. A Christingle is full of symbolism. The orange represents the world. The red ribbon is the blood of Jesus shed for everyone at his crucifixion. The candle represents Jesus, the Light of the World. The four sticks are either the four seasons or the four corners of the world. The fruit and sweets represent the food that God provides.

2002, Gordon Geddes, Jane Griffiths, “The Christmas Cycle of Festivals”, in Christian Belief and Practice: The Roman Catholic Tradition (GCSE Religious Studies for AQA), Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers, →ISBN, page 92:

The Christingle service has its origins in the Moravian Church and dates back to 20th December 1747 in Mairenborn, Germany. The language used to describe a Christingle has changed over time but fundamentally a Christingle is a candle set into an orange, respectively representing the world and Jesus. A red ribbon is tied around the orange, representing the blood of Christ. Fruit and sweets on four cocktail sticks are also set in the orange, representing the four seasons and God's love in providing the fruits of the earth. […] This service was performed in local churches all over Moravia when families would gather together at Christmas time. In the first service, the children were encouraged to take their Christingle home to re-light and place in their cottage to show the light of Christ to passers by.

2015 November 25, Rachel Stevenson, “268 Years of Christingle”, in The Children's Society, archived from the original on 2015-09-05:

(Christianity) A small Christmas gift for children symbolizing Jesus Christ as the “light” of the world. A typical modern Christingle is made of an orange with sweets skewered into it, a candle inserted into the top, and a red ribbon wrapped round it.


Christmas pudding

en-noun

Christmas pudding (countable and uncountable, plural Christmas puddings)

A rich dessert traditionally eaten at Christmas, made from dried fruit and nuts.


white Christmas

white Christmas (plural white Christmases)

“It′s like frozen thistle-down!” she cried. “I hope it will snow all day and all night until everything is covered. I never saw a white Christmas.”

1905, Annie Fellows Johnston, chapter 8, in The Little Colonel′s Christmas Vacation:

In New York City 10,000 men struggled to clear away the heavy snow which promised New Yorkers their first white Christmas in 15 years,[…].

1945 December 31, “The Big Snow”, in Life, page 23:

At Environment Canada, senior climatologist David Phillips′ standard for a white Christmas calls for at least two centimeters of snow on the ground at 7 a.m. . . . “In England, if a weather guy sees a snowflake, they call it a white Christmas.”

2008 December 18, David Bruser, “Thanks to more storms, Christmas may be white”, in Toronto Star, page A2:

A Christmas Day or Christmas Eve in which there is snowfall or ground covered with snow.


Twixmas

Blend of twixt (“betwixt, between”) + Christmas.

blend

Christmas / Twixmas and New Year

1998 December 9, dear..., “Super Savings - UK Hotels for Xmas”, in alt.travel (Usenet), retrieved 2023-12-27:

All of this leaves a gap for families to spend quality time together in a relaxed atmosphere – and that is where the Twixmas breaks have come in.

2014 December 28, Gareth Rubin, “Families find a haven with Twixmas breaks”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Twelve Days of Christmas
Twelve Days of Christmas

(slang) The period in between Christmas Day and New Year, typically December 27th–30th where Boxing Day is observed, and December 26th–30th elsewhere (i.e. the first six of the Twelve Days of Christmas).

romjul

the period between Christmas and New Year


Canada Day

A Canadian statutory holiday celebrating the country's creation in 1867, celebrated each year on July 1st.


Chinese New Year

en-noun

Chinese New Year (plural Chinese New Years)

From Chinese + New Year, the latter component also matching the traditional name of the holiday, 新年 (xīnnián, “New Year”) = 新 (xīn, “new”) + 年 (nián, “year”).

An annual Chinese holiday, marking the beginning of the Lunar New Year according to the traditional Chinese calendar.


Ascension

(Christianity, specifically) The believed entry of Jesus Christ into heaven after his resurrection.

(Christianity) A holiday celebrating the Ascension of Jesus, 40 days after Easter.

For a relatively unpromising scrap of land – 88 square kilometres of infertile shore and mountain – Ascension attracted a lot of interest.

2023, Martin MacInnes, In Ascension, Atlantic Books, page 453:

Ascension Island
Ascension Island#English


mumu

(Nigeria, derogatory) A victim of an online scam.


Tabernacles

A particular Christian holiday based on the Jewish one.


Christmastime

Christmastime (countable and uncountable, plural Christmastimes)

Christmastimes (plural)
Christmas time (alternative)

Christmas season; Christmastide; yuletide


Nyepi

A Hindu Balinese day of silence, fasting, and meditation that falls on Bali's Lunar New Year.


reindeer games

/ˈɹeɪndɪə ˌɡeɪmz/

From the song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1949) by the American songwriter Johnny Marks (1909–1985): “All of the other reindeer / Used to laugh and call him names. / They never let poor Rudolph / Join in any reindeer games.”

The natives are a primitive but gregarious lot. They invited me to join them in their reindeer games, which I did.

1984, Joseph Dougherty, Digby: A Play, New York, N.Y.: Dramatists Play Service, published 1986, →OCLC, page 68:

Transfer to Washington. Transfer to Jefferson. No one at Westerburg's going to let you play their reindeer games.

1989, Daniel Waters, Heathers, spoken by Heather Chandler (Kim Walker):

His unhappiness was not due solely to the ravages of adolescence, the eccentricities of his family, exclusion from his peers' reindeer games, or even by living in the embodiment of Thornton Wilder's Our Town. It was all of those things and none of them.

2002, Terry J. Kunkel, “An Older Reflection”, in Is Wanting Enough? […], Lincoln, Neb.: Writers Club Press, iUniverse, →ISBN, part I (Lighting the Race Point Luminaria on Cape Cod), page 40:

It's tough being different in a society where conformity is so very important. Not the type of different that caused you to be picked on by the big kids in grade school because you wore glasses or didn't join the reindeer games, but the type of different that caused you to listen up in class and always do your homework.

2003 October 27, Tim Dannelly, “The Top, Home of the Lonely Brave”, in Living the American Dream, [Bloomington, Ind.]: 1stbooks, →ISBN:

When socializing it's important that you never talk business unless they bring it up. If you do, you'll find out quickly that you're no longer invited to any of the really good reindeer games. Rather, be a good listener.

2006, Christopher Duncan, “Managing Your Management”, in Dominic Shakeshaft, editor, The Career Programmer: Guerilla^([sic]) Tactics for an Imperfect World (The Expert’s Voice), 2nd edition, Berkeley, Calif.: Apress, →ISBN, part II (Guerilla Tactics for Front-line Programmers), page 171:

Some fighter pilot traditions have taken on the air of reindeer games—they are nothing more than something one has to be a fighter pilot to understand.

2007, Jonathan C. Dowty, “Fighter Pilot Traditions”, in Christian Fighter Pilot is Not an Oxymoron, [U.S.A.?]: [Jonathan C. Dowty], →ISBN, part 1 (Fighter Pilot Foundations), page 23:

He found all the faddishness of what restaurant or club was in, much less what designer clothes one wore or food one ate, to be depressingly shallow and frantic. In his own private protest, he had long since consciously decided not to play their reindeer games.

2009 April, Robert Asprin, “Prologue”, in Dragons Luck, New York, N.Y.: Ace Books, →ISBN:

In my mind I had won. Lyndon was with me and not with Hope so whether the two of them shut me out of their reindeer games or included me, it didn't matter one iota to me.

2014, Latonya D. Young, “The Promise of Forever”, in Secrets in Love, [Morrisville, N.C.]: Lulu Publishing, →ISBN, page 86:

I know reindeer games, and this chick is playing them.

2015, John Hornor Jacobs, chapter 9, in The Conformity (The Twelve-fingered Boy Trilogy; 3), Minneapolis, Minn.: Carolrhoda Lab, Lerner Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 55:

(US, informal) Activities which exclude outsiders.

Johnny Marks
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer


Dragon Boat Festival

Calque of Chinese 龍船節 /龙船节 (Lóngchuánjié) or 龍舟節 /龙舟节 (Lóngzhōujié), an alternative name for 端午節 /端午节 (Duānwǔjié) from the races traditionally held on that day in southern China, now popularly connected with the legend of townspeople racing to throw zongzi into the Miluo River to preserve the body of the Chu poet and statesman Qu Yuan.

calque

Behind the Dragon Boat Festival is the tragically heroic story of a famous Chinese poet and statesman of ancient times, Chu Yuan, who ended his life by jumping into a river. His reason: he was not able to save his country, which he saw heading toward destruction.

1977 June 19, T. K. Yang, “Dragon Boat Festival Honors famed statesman-poet”, in Free China Weekly, volume XVIII, number 24, Taipei, page 2:

In the folk tradition, rites, festivals, and myths began an early accretion around an apotheosized Ch'ü Yuan. The most famous of these, the Dragon Boat Festival (Tuan-wu chieh), takes place on the summer solstice, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, ostensibly to search for Ch'ü Yuan's body.

1988, Lyman P. Van Slyke, Yangtze: Nature, History and the River, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., →ISBN, page 137:

A Chinese holiday on Duanwu, the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar


parol

From Tagalog parol, from Spanish farol (“lantern”).

An ornamental star-like Christmas lantern from the Philippines.

parol

an ornamental star-like Christmas lantern


Hallowe'eny

en-adj

Hallowe'eny (comparative Hallowe'enier, superlative Hallowe'eniest)

Hallowe'enier (comparative)
Hallowe'eniest (superlative)
Halloweeny (alternative)

The barn was dim and shadowy in the dusk of the October evening — "very Hallowe'eny," as Max said.

1913, Mormon Church, The Children's Friend:

Thus, as in Villon's "Ballade des pendus," the joy here is largely necrophilic and adolescent-spooky or Hallowe'eny.

1973, Robert Greer Cohn, The Poetry of Rimbaud:

Evocative of Hallowe'en; creepy, spooky.


Halloweeny

Halloweeny (comparative Halloweenier, superlative Halloweeniest)

Halloweenier (comparative)
Halloweeniest (superlative)

A Halloweeny incoherence cautions reading assumptions from or into things, a creative nightmare loosens the reader from adult imperative.

1999, Kenneth Lincoln, Sing with the Heart of a Bear: Fusions of Native and American Poetry, 1890-1999:

It adds a bit of a Halloweeny atmosphere to Yule. It's safe, scary fun.

2001, Estelle Daniels, Paul Tuitean, Essential Wicca:


pisanka

pisanki (plural)
pisankas (plural)
pysanka (alternative)
pysanky (alternative)


Christmas cookie

en-noun

Christmas cookie (plural Christmas cookies)

A sugar cookie, usually cut in festive shapes, that is made and eaten at Christmas.


T-Day

(US, slang) Thanksgiving Day; Turkey Day.


tió de Nadal

/tɪˌəʊ dɛ nəˈdɒl/

Borrowed from Catalan tió de Nadal, from tió (“log”) and Nadal (“Christmas”).

Another ritual to do with trees is the tió de Nadal, the Yule log that becomes fertile and “craps” sweets and presents;

1991, Catalònia Culture, Centre Unesco de Catalunya, page 13:

A traditional Catalan Christmas character made by decorating a short log. It is “fed” with gifts each day from December 8th until Christmas, at which time it is sung to and beaten with sticks until it “poops”.

tronca de Nadal

a wooden Christmas character that is beaten until it poops gifts


bairam

Eid, either of two Muslim festivals held after Ramadan.


Chrimbo

The OED cites the first printed usage (of the variant spelling Crimbo) as being in 1928. They give John Lennon's 1963 usage in a Beatles' Fan Club Christmas single as the first recorded use of the variant form Crimble.

The thing is, The Montrose is cracker on a Thursday night, never mind that the Chrimbo lunacy season has kicked off good and proper.

"A Chrimbo pressie for me?" He peeped around the door.

2004, Amanda Boulter, Back Around the Houses:

(British, slang) Christmas, especially with regard to its more secular and commercial aspects.


Father Frost

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Father Frost.wav

Calque of Russian Дед Моро́з (Ded Moróz), literally "Grandfather Frost".

calque

In Slavic culture, a traditional Yuletide gift-bearing character.


Kallikantzaros

Borrowed from Greek καλλικάντζαρος (kallikántzaros).

bor

καλλικάντζαρος

In Greek and Cypriot culture, a traditional Yuletide gift-bearing character, resembling a goblin.


Christmas stocking

en-noun

Christmas stocking (plural Christmas stockings)

A stocking hung up by a child on Christmas Eve to be filled with gifts, ostensibly by Santa Claus.

聖誕襪 /圣诞袜

stocking hung up on Christmas Eve to be filled with gifts


Presidents' Day

Two weeks later, on Presidents' Day, while Nancy was away on a speaking trip in Texas, I decided to try again and sent Gorbachev a seven-page, handwritten letter with a set of new proposals that I hoped would bring the still-deadlocked Geneva talks off dead center while responding to his proposals.

1990, Ronald Reagan, An American Life, Pocket Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 656:

A day celebrating George Washington and other presidents, a federal holiday in the United States, celebrated on the third Monday of February (formerly on the 22nd of February).


Washington's Birthday

On Washington's Birthday nineteen congressmen⁷ wrote me an impressive letter. These men, some of whom I knew well, a number of whom I knew not at all, urged me, on behalf of their respective constituents, to come home and seek the Republican presidential nomination.

1963, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mandate for Change 1953-1956, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 21:

(US) A public holiday in the USA celebrated on the third Monday of February, during which the US presidents, especially George Washington, are celebrated or remembered.


Santa hat

It is Boxing Day in a football ground, and all we can do is sprawl over the plastic, hurling instructions and vague encouragement. The seat is an extension of the sofa, the match another Pick of the Day in the Radio Times. Some are wearing Santa hats, some have been drinking only six or seven hours after last stopping, guzzling away, topping up their levels to reach pie-eyed delirium.

2016, Daniel Gray, Saturday, 3pm: 50 Eternal Delights of Modern Football:

A red and white hat associated with Santa Claus, approximately conical with a white bobble on top.


Santa suit

my 8th grade social studies teacher quit his job at Old Navy during college because he refused to wear a Santa suit

2023 December 25, Lucinda DiFiore, Twitter:

A red and white costume associated with Santa Claus, normally including an ostentatious black belt


hanukkiah

hanukkiah (plural hanukkiahs or hanukkiot or hanukkioth)

hanukkiahs (plural)
hanukkiot (plural)
hanukkioth (plural)

Borrowed from Hebrew חֲנֻכִּיָּה (khanukiyá).

Some might say that the hanukkiah is decorations, but it isn't; the hanukkiah is a ceremonial object, with specific, non-decorative purposes. Perhaps the Stars of David that many string about are appropriate Jewish decoration?

2005 December 23, Jonathan Safran Foer, “A Beginner's Guide to Hanukkah”, in The New York Times:

As a child of Holocaust survivors, there was nothing, no family relics. The celebration was very modest, with a very small hanukkiah, and my mother was a great maker of latkes. I now luckily have many different kinds of hanukkiahs.

2010 November 17, Rima Suqi, quoting Daniel Libeskind, “Daniel Libeskind on a New Show of Menorahs”, in The New York Times:

The candelabras lit on Hanukkah are technically called hanukkiahs. They have eight candles plus one more, a shamash, that is used for lighting the others.

[2023 December 7, Jacey Fortin, “For Some, the Symbols of Hanukkah Bring Extra Concern This Year”, in The New York Times:

(Judaism) A nine-branched menorah used during Hanukkah.


haunted house

haunted house (countable and uncountable, plural haunted houses)

بَيْت أَشْبَاح

house believed to be a center for supernatural occurrences

Lisette can't wait to create a haunted house on Halloween night.

An amusement attraction in which a building or series of rooms is decorated to frighten the people who pass through.


Golden Week

(Asian holidays): Borrowed from Japanese ゴールデンウィーク (Gōruden Wīku), equivalent to golden + week.

Any of several extended holidays celebrated in China and Japan, usually early in May.

(US politics, colloquial) A period of early voting time during Ohio's election season in which citizens can register to vote and cast an absentee ballot on the same day.


Divine Mercy Sunday

en-proper noun

Divine Mercy Sunday (plural Divine Mercy Sundays)

(Roman Catholicism) The Sunday after Easter.


melomakarona

From Greek μελομακάρονα (melomakárona) or μελομακάρονο (melomakárono).

bor

μελομακάρονα

Earlier in the day, his mother had prepared soup for the female lead and melomakarona, or Greek honey cookies, for the crew.

2007 January 14, Jeff Vandam, “Lights, Camera, Honey Cookies: A Soap Opera, Greek Style”, in New York Times:

Greek honey macaroons with crushed walnuts, traditionally served at Christmas.


Abbot of Misrule

en-noun

Abbot of Misrule (plural Abbots of Misrule)

(usually capitalized) One elected to preside over the Christmas revelry in noble households and elsewhere in England during the 15th and 16th century; Lord of Misrule.


holiday season

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-holiday season.wav

What are your plans for the holiday season?

(US, Canada) The period of the late fall and early winter when several holidays occur, such as Halloween, American Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa


Mothering Sunday

From the former British custom of visiting mother churches (q.v.) at Mid-Lent, which by the English Civil War had passed on to servants receiving leave to go a-mothering, visiting and providing small gifts to their families. Revived as a national tradition in the early 20th century after the model of Mother's Day in the United States.

...on Mothering Sunday, when all the ‘servant-lads’ and ‘servant wenches’ are, in some parts of the country, set at liberty for a day, to go and see their mothers...

1838, William Howitt, Rural Life in England, page 159:

Mary, it's twenty good year—twenty-one, come Mothering Sunday—'Since he was here at the farm.

1880, Arthur Joseph Munby, Dorothy, page 66:

"Mothering Sunday," the fourth Sunday in Lent, when absent sons and daughters—particularly the young apprentices—would return to their homes with some little present for both parents, but more especially for the mother... Imagine the... pride of the mother in the simple gift, and the admiration of the small brothers and sisters who gathered around and longed for the time when they also would be out in the great unknown world and could come "a-mothering."

1894 March, Mary B. Merrill, “Mothering Sunday”, in Mary Mapes Dodge, editor, St. Nicholas: a monthly magazine for boys and girls, volume 21, part 1, page 388:

Mothering Sunday is a British, Christian tradition. The Americans celebrate ‘Mother's Day’ later in the year.

2007, Susan Elkin, 100 Ideas for Secondary School Assemblies, page 12:

(UK) The fourth Sunday of Lent, three Sundays before Easter, now especially as a day to honor one's mother.

Laetare Sunday

usual liturgical name in Catholicism & Anglicanism

Refreshment Sunday

in reference to the customary relaxation of Lenten abstention on this day

Sunday of the Five Loaves

in reference to Catholic practices on this day


Sunday of the Five Loaves

From the traditional Gospel reading at mass, retelling the miracle of Jesus feeding the multitude.

(archaic) Synonym of Mothering Sunday: the fourth Sunday in Lent.


kutia

From Russian кутья (kutʹja) and Ukrainian кутя (kutja).

He reached for a handful of kutia, the luscious sweet of boiled wheat, poppy seeds and honey.

2003, Laura Langston, chapter 16, in Lesia’s Dream, Toronto, Ont.: HarperTrophyCanada, published 2005, →ISBN, page 189:

Katya prepared a large batch of kutia, the ancient porridge of wheat and honey, to be served at the meal in the cultural center following the burial.

2010, Valya Dudycz Lupescu, chapter 13, in The Silence of Trees: A Novel, Chicago, Ill.: Wolfsword Press, →ISBN, page 221:

Hefty bowls of kutia were passed around each table to start the traditional supper.

2014 February 27 – March 12, Lidia M. Wasylyn, “Shchedry Vechir celebration a joyous success”, in Marco Levytsky, editor, Ukrainian News, volume LXXXVII, number 5, Edmonton, Alta.: Edmonton Lasergraphics, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 13, column 3:

Knowing what a foodie Mary was, I inquired about the Russian food. The waitress explained in detail about some of these items, like galushki, grenki, and something called kutia with rice and raisins.

2015, Frank G Schafer, “The Garden of Eden”, in Sammy: Gaia Lives, →ISBN, page 221:

A ceremonial grain dish with sweet gravy traditionally served mostly by Eastern Orthodox Christians and some Catholic Christians during the Christmas – Feast of Jordan holiday season or as part of a funeral feast.


plygain

plygain (usually uncountable, plural plygains)

A Welsh custom of singing carols at dawn on Christmas morning.


Wren Day

(Ireland, Wales, Isle of Man, Newfoundland) A celebration on December 26 where people, especially boys, hunt a fake wren and parade it upon a decorated pole.


Charlie Brown tree

Charlie Brown tree (plural Charlie Brown trees)

A reference to the animated television special A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) based on the comic strip Peanuts by American cartoonist Charles M. Schulz (1922–2000), in which the title character Charlie Brown picks an unattractive Christmas tree to decorate. The selection of the tree represents a protest against the commercialization of Christmas.

There is a place in our Christmas for a Charlie Brown tree—as the Children's Tree.

1985, Lasley F. Gober, The Christmas Lover’s Handbook, or, How to Plan the Merriest Christmas—Ever!, White Hall, Va.: Betterway Publications, →ISBN, page 137:

As Regina put it, "It was the ugliest, skinniest Charlie Brown tree you ever saw."

1998, Liz Curtis Higgs, “Humor and Marriage: Are You Married to a Funny-baked Ham?”, in Help! I’m Laughing and I Can’t Get Up: Forty Reasons Why Life is More Fun after the Big 4-0, Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishers, →ISBN, page 89:

Trees grown in the wild are naturally sparser trees with fewer branches. In the industry these are sometimes referred to as "Charlie Brown trees," after the pathetic, droopy specimen that Charlie Brown selected for the Christmas pageant in his eponymous cartoon classic.

2005, Kevin Cuddihy, Phillip Metcalfe, “O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree: All about Christmas Trees”, in Christmas’s Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Kris Kringles, Merry Jingles, and Holiday Cheer, Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, →ISBN, page 44:

She liked to think of it as a Charlie Brown tree, worthy of pity, not just a plain old ugly tree.

2005, Janell M. Ramos, Waiting for Odysseus, 2nd edition, Visalia, Calif.: Goddess Guild Publishing, →ISBN, page 136:

By today's standards these "Charlie Brown" trees of my childhood were haphazardly decorated creations at best; but to my brother, sisters and I, they were some of the most beautiful creations we had ever laid eyes on.

2011 December, J. D. Eident, “Cedar-scented Memories (This Story Appeared in the December 2011 Edition of the ‘Good Old Days’ Magazine)”, in Once More a Mindful Gatherin’ (In Verse & Prose), [United States]: J. D. Eident, published 2012, →ISBN, page 213:

A Christmas tree considered unattractive and undesirable by normal standards, often small and sparse.

A Charlie Brown Christmas
Charles M. Schulz
Charlie Brown
Peanuts


like turkeys voting for Christmas

En-au-like turkeys voting for Christmas.ogg

Because turkeys are commonly eaten at Christmas, turkeys voting for (an early) Christmas would be hastening their own death. The phrase is thought to have been coined by the British Liberal Party politician David Penhaligon (1944–1986) who used it to express opposition to the 1977 Lib–Lab pact. It was popularized by the British Prime Minister James Callaghan (1912–2005) who used it in the House of Commons in March 1979 when his Labour Party lost a vote of no confidence: see the 1977 and 1979 quotations.

coinage

a turkey voting for Christmas (alternative)

The next morning [14 December 1977] the Liberals held a two-and-a-half meeting at which Steel let them have their head. Only two MPs, Howells and Johnston, said they were willing to continue the Pact. The opponents were delighted. […] ‘Us voting for the Pact is like a turkey voting for Christmas’, said David Penhaligon

[1977 December 14, Alistair Michie, Simon Hoggart, “The Wispy Beards Strike Back”, in The Pact: The Inside Story of the Lib-Lab Government, 1977–8, London: Quartet Books, published 1978, →ISBN, page 156:

The minority parties have walked into a trap. If they win, there will be a general election. I am told that the current joke going around the House is that it is the first time in recorded history that turkeys have been known to vote for an early Christmas.

[1979 March 28, James Callaghan, Prime Minister, “Her Majesty’s Government (Opposition Motion)”, in House of Commons Debates (House of Commons of the United Kingdom), volume 965, London: Parliament of the United Kingdom, archived from the original on 2022-12-07, column 471:

Many of the responses to proposals, particularly regarding deregulation, were unsupported: it would have been like turkeys voting for Christmas in some respects.

1998, Philip Allmendinger, Huw Thomas, “Conclusions”, in Philip Allmendinger, Huw Thomas, editors, Urban Planning and the British New Right, London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 247:

Bear in mind, however, that for some purchasing people, deciding to use an agent is a little like turkeys voting for Christmas.

2001, Trevor Kitching, “The Internet – the New Frontier for Scam Merchants”, in Purchasing Scams and How to Avoid Them, Aldershot, Hampshire, Burlington, Vt.: Gower Publishing, →ISBN, page 90:

The anti-divorce rallying cry of Fine Gael’s Alice Glenn, ‘Women voting for divorce is like turkeys voting for Christmas’, captured the sense of fear felt by many at the economic consequences of divorce for women.

2002, Frances Gardiner, Mary O’Dowd, “The Women’s Movement and Women Politicians in the Republic of Ireland, 1980–2000: Introduction”, in Angela Bourke et al., editors, The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing, volumes V (Irish Women’s Writing and Traditions), New York, N.Y.: New York University Press, →ISBN, page 233, column 1:

like turkeys voting for an early Christmas

(British, simile, humorous, of an action) Self-defeating; serving to bring about a situation detrimental to the performer of the action.

James Callaghan
Lib–Lab pact
Oxford University Press

sahata omaa oksaansa

of an action: self-defeating or serving to bring about a situation detrimental to the performer

scier la branche sur laquelle on est assis

肉屋を支持する豚 (nikuya wo shijisuru buta, literally “pigs who support butchers”)

пчёлы про́тив мёда (pčóly prótiv mjóda, literally “bees against honey”)


boxing day

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(business, marketing) The day or days (boxing week) following Christmas (December 25th) when stores have large reductions.


boxing week

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Derived from boxing day (“the day after Christmas”).

(business, marketing) The period after Christmas (December 25th) until New Year's (or longer), when stores offer large discounts.


Chrismahanukwanzakah

Chrismahanukwanzakahs (plural)
Christmahanukwanzakah (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Chrismahanukwanzakah.wav

Etymology tree
English Christmasblend.
English Hanukkahblend.
English Kwanzaablend.
English Chrismahanukwanzakah
Blend of Christmas + Hanukkah + Kwanzaa.

etymon

Happy Chrismahanukwanzakah! Merry HanuKwanzMas! (Whew... that covers everyone, right?)

2005 December, “Diversity Calendar 2006”, in Cincinati Magazine, volume 39, number 3, Emmis Communications, →ISSN, page 66:

How could Fox ever win its holiday war now? Surely all would be lost, and the nation would be forced to endure another Chrismahanukwanzakah.

2007, Joseph Minton Amann, Tom Breuer, Fair and Balanced, My Ass!: An Unbridled Look at the Bizarre Reality of Fox News, →ISBN, page 247:

Have a Blessed Chrismahanukwanzakah and a Spectacular New Year!

2009 December 16, "John H", “Approval ratings not the best...”, in rec.boats (Usenet):

(humorous) A fictional holiday in December combining aspects of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa into one festival.


paschal candle

(Christianity) A large symbolic white candle used at Easter.


Paschal troparion

en-noun

Paschal troparion (plural Paschal troparia)

(Christianity) In the Eastern Orthodox church, a traditional hymn sung at Easter (Pascha)


Great Lent

A calque from a language with traditional Orthodox practice, where this fast is called "great" to distinguish it from the Advent and Dormition fasts, likely Calque of Byzantine Greek Μεγάλη Νηστεία (Megálē Nēsteía).

calque

Μεγάλη Νηστεία

(Christianity) In Eastern Christianity, the period of fasting before Pascha.

Մեծ Պահք (Mec Pahkʻ, literally “Great Fast”)


Paschal

From Latin paschālis; ultimately from Hebrew פסח (pésakh). Doublet of Pascal and pascal.


Eastery

en-adj

Eastery (comparative more Eastery, superlative most Eastery)

more Eastery (comparative)
most Eastery (superlative)


Easter egg roll

en-noun

Easter egg roll (plural Easter egg rolls)

A competition, held at Easter, in which an egg is pushed along a lawn.


Victory Day

Any of various public holidays in various countries to commemorate victories in important battles or wars in the countries' history.

عِيد اَلنَّصْر

a day to commemorate victories in important battles or wars in the countries' history


Wenceslaus

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Latinization of a Slavic (Old Czech) name, from Proto-Slavic *Vęťeslavъ (from *vęťьjь (“greater, more”) + *slava (“fame, glory”)). Doublet of Vyacheslav.

der

A male given name from the Slavic languages.


Wenceslas

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Good King Wenceslas look'd out, On the Feast of Stephen; / When the snow lay round about, Deep, and crisp, and e-ven: / Brightly shone the moon that night, Though the frost was cru-el, / When a poor man came in sight, Gath'ring win-ter fu-el.

1854, John Mason Neale, “Good King Wenceslas”, in J. M. Neale, T. Helmore, Carols for Christmas-tide: The Condensed Vocal Parts, London: Novello, →OCLC, page 37:


juneteenth

en-proper noun

juneteenth (countable and uncountable, plural juneteenths)

Alternative letter-case form of Juneteenth


Vesak

Visakha (alternative)
Wesak (alternative)

Vesak or Visakha is a spring celebration that commemorates Buddha's birth, enlightenment, death, and passing into nirvana. It is the most important Buddhist holiday in Asia, although its observance varies according to national tradition. […]At Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara in Los Angeles for example, Vesak extends over a weekend and draws hundreds of people.

2012, Richard Hughes Seager, Buddhism in America, Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 167:

A Buddhist holiday celebrating the birth, enlightenment, and passing of the Buddha.


Mid-Autumn Festival

en-noun

Mid-Autumn Festival (plural Mid-Autumn Festivals)

A calque of Chinese 中秋節 /中秋节 (Zhōngqiūjié).

A harvest festival celebrated by ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese people, held on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar (between early September and early October).


Cyber Monday

(US, marketing) The Monday after Thanksgiving, regarded as a day when many people shop online.

الِاثْنَيْن الْإِلِكْتْرُونِيّ

the Monday after Thanksgiving, regarded as a day when many people shop online


Santa sack

A sack used for transporting Christmas presents.


Christmas star

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Ghost of Christmas Past

A fictional ghost in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, who visits Ebenezer Scrooge in order to show him his past, especially certain events of past Christmases that contributed to his later distaste for Christmas.


Saint David's Day

The feast day of Saint David, patron saint of Wales, celebrated in Wales on March 1.

Gouel Dewi

the feast day of Saint David, patron saint of Wales


quinquennalia

quinquennalia (plural quinquennalia or quinquennalias)

quinquennalia (plural)
quinquennalias (plural)

From Latin quīnquennālia, from quīnquennium (“5-year period”) + -ālia (“-alia: forming the names of festivals”), from quīnquennis (“5-year”) + -ium (“-ium: forming abstract nouns”). Equivalent to quinquennium + -alia.

(historical) The festival and religious rituals sometimes observed celebrating a Roman emperor's 5th year of rule.


Super Saturday

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(US) The last Saturday before Christmas, a major day of revenue for retailers.


Moravian star

Named after the Moravian church, which first commercially produced them at Herrnhut.

A (usually illuminated) star, made of a geometric solid such as a rhombicuboctahedron to which a large number of pyramidal points are attached, a popular Advent or Christmas decoration in Germany and other places having Moravian congregations.


Halloweener

Halloweeners (plural)
Hallowe'ener (alternative)

Someone who takes part in Halloween, particularly a trick-or-treater


Christmas cheer

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Food and drink, especially alcoholic beverages, consumed around the Christmas holiday.

The message of the astronauts, however, was not primarily one of Christmas cheer, and had nothing to do with the "Prince of Peace" or the "spirit of the season." Instead, it consisted of a dramatic reading of the first ten verses of the Book of Genesis, the story of the creation of the world.

1990, Rowland A. Sherrill, Religion and the Life of the Nation: American Recoveries, page 152:

The joyful and generous attitude expected of people at Christmas.