What does Christmas mean?

Definitions for Christmas
ˈkrɪs məschrist·mas

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Christmas.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. Christmas, Christmastide, Christmastime, Yule, Yuletide, Noelnoun

    period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6

  2. Christmas, Christmas Day, Xmas, Dec 25noun

    a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Christ; a quarter day in England, Wales, and Ireland

Wiktionary

  1. Christmasnoun

    Christmas Day, the day it is celebrated, 25 December, an English quarter day.

    This Christmas we'll open presents then go to grandma's for dinner.

  2. Christmasnoun

    Christmastide, the Twelve Days of Christmas, the season (traditionally from the 24th of December to the 6th of January) around the holiday.

  3. Christmasnoun

    The period from the Friday following Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, busy with shopping and preparations for Christmas.

    The last three Christmases have been good for retailers.

  4. Christmasnoun

    Christmas season, the end of the year period, busy with shopping and preparations for Christmas.

    The Christmas shoppers spent less this December, than last year, but our store will probably see just as many returned items during the twelve days of Christmas.

  5. Christmasnoun

    A widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, incorporating various Christian, pre-Christian and secular customs.

    Do you celebrate Christmas?

  6. Christmasnoun

    A personification of Christmas.

  7. Etymology: From late Cristesmæsse; as if Christ + mass.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Christmasnoun

    The day on which the nativity of our blessed Saviour is celebrated, by the particular service of the church.

    Etymology: from Christ and mass.

Wikipedia

  1. Christmas

    Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is preceded by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many countries, is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season organized around it. The traditional Christmas narrative recounted in the New Testament, known as the Nativity of Jesus, says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in accordance with messianic prophecies. When Joseph and Mary arrived in the city, the inn had no room and so they were offered a stable where the Christ Child was soon born, with angels proclaiming this news to shepherds who then spread the word.There are different hypotheses regarding the date of Jesus' birth and in the early fourth century, the church fixed the date as December 25. This corresponds to the traditional date of the winter solstice on the Roman calendar. It is exactly nine months after Annunciation on March 25, also the date of the spring equinox. Most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar, which has been adopted almost universally in the civil calendars used in countries throughout the world. However, part of the Eastern Christian Churches celebrate Christmas on December 25 of the older Julian calendar, which currently corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. For Christians, believing that God came into the world in the form of man to atone for the sins of humanity, rather than knowing Jesus' exact birth date, is considered to be the primary purpose in celebrating Christmas.The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving; completing an Advent calendar or Advent wreath; Christmas music and caroling; viewing a Nativity play; an exchange of Christmas cards; church services; a special meal; and the display of various Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly. In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore. Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. Over the past few centuries, Christmas has had a steadily growing economic effect in many regions of the world.

ChatGPT

  1. christmas

    Christmas is a Christian holiday celebrated annually on December 25th that honors the birth of Jesus Christ, with traditions derived from ancient pagan winter festivals. It is marked by religious ceremonies, exchanging of gifts, decorating of Christmas trees, and visit from Santa Claus. For some, it's observed as a religious day while others celebrate it as a cultural event. It's considered a public holiday in many countries around the world.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Christmasnoun

    an annual church festival (December 25) and in some States a legal holiday, in memory of the birth of Christ, often celebrated by a particular church service, and also by special gifts, greetings, and hospitality

  2. Etymology: [Christ + mass.]

Wikidata

  1. Christmas

    Christmas is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ and a widely observed holiday, celebrated generally on December 25 by millions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it closes the Advent season and initiates the twelve days of Christmastide, which ends after the twelfth night. Christmas is a civil holiday in many of the world's nations, is celebrated by an increasing number of non-Christians, and is an integral part of the Christmas and holiday season. While the birth year of Jesus is estimated among modern historians to have been between 7 and 2 BC, the exact month and day of his birth are unknown. His birth is mentioned in two of the four canonical gospels. By the early-to-mid 4th century, the Western Christian Church had placed Christmas on December 25, a date later adopted in the East. The date of Christmas may have initially been chosen to correspond with the day exactly nine months after early Christians believed Jesus to have been conceived, and became generally associated with the southern solstice, with a sun connection being possible because Christians consider Jesus to be the "Sun of righteousness" prophesied in Malachi 4:2.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Christmas

    kris′mas, n. an annual festival, originally a mass, in memory of the birth of Christ, held on the 25th of December.—ns. Christ′mas-box, a box containing Christmas presents: a Christmas gift; Christ′mas-card, a card, more or less ornamented, sent from friend to friend at this season; Christ′mas-eve, the evening before Christmas; Christ′mas-rose, or -flow′er, the Helleborus niger, flowering in winter; Christ′mas-tree, a tree, usually fir, set up in a room, and loaded with Christmas presents. [Christ and Mass.]

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

  1. Christmas

    the festival in celebration of the birth of Christ now celebrated all over Christendom on 25th December, as coinciding with an old heathen festival celebrated at the winter solstice, the day of the return of the sun northward, and in jubilation of the prospect of the renewal of life in the spring.

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz

  1. CHRISTMAS

    A widely observed holiday on which the past nor the future is of so much interest as the present.

Suggested Resources

  1. christmas

    Song lyrics by christmas -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by christmas on the Lyrics.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. CHRISTMAS

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Christmas is ranked #6122 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Christmas surname appeared 5,599 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 would have the surname Christmas.

    53.2% or 2,983 total occurrences were White.
    40.4% or 2,266 total occurrences were Black.
    2.7% or 152 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    2.7% or 151 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    0.4% or 24 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
    0.4% or 23 total occurrences were Asian.

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Christmas' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1439

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Christmas' in Written Corpus Frequency: #471

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Christmas' in Nouns Frequency: #534

How to pronounce Christmas?

How to say Christmas in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Christmas in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Christmas in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of Christmas in a Sentence

  1. Kayleigh McEnany:

    We read the Christmas story to remember it’s not about the gifts, it's about the savior, and now, more than ever, I know that looking at my young little one … Christmas symbolizes that Jesus Christ, the savior of the universe, came down in the humblest of ways, in a manger, and came to die. And essentially, that's what it is. We have Christmas and it's joyous, but we know Easter is around the corner where He gave his life for all and saved the world in doing so.

  2. Mel Kiper Jr.:

    A ridiculously stupid move is the way to sum it up ... I think the Colts, a stroke of genius. Maybe it was just because what other teams allowed to happen that they fell into Carson Wentz, and Frank Reich is sitting there saying, ‘Boy, talk about an early Christmas present, or a late Christmas present.’ Whatever you want to talk about, that’s what he got with Carson Wentz.

  3. Lala Kent:

    He came in for a Christmas dinner and sent his assistant up to me and asked me if he could get my manager’s contact info because he wanted me in a film, and so then Them Lala started that whole process, I booked the film, and then Them Lala just had this instant connection. It was my first season of [' Vanderpump Rules' ]. I think only like, three episodes had aired of Season 4.

  4. Luiz Urriquia:

    It hurts me, of course, Christmas, we should be together.

  5. Troy Edwards:

    The matter was set to be heard before Christmas but there was a sick barrister and Nick asked me to agree to a delay, and now it's all kind of blown up in his face.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

Christmas#1#1170#10000

Translations for Christmas

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"Christmas." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Christmas>.

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  • Buddy Reams
    Buddy Reams
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one whose prevailing mental imagery takes the form of inner feelings of action
A tantamount
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C pecuniary
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