Talking about Christmas

Christmas (literally, the Mass of Christ) is a holiday in the Christian calendar, usually observed on December 25, which celebrates the birth of Jesus. Christmas allowance - Christmas bonus Christmas cake - a rich fruitcake (usually covered with icing and marzipan) and eaten at Christmas Christmas card - a greetings card that people send to friends and family at Christmas Christmas carol - a song whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas, or the winter season in general Christmas cracker - consists of a cardboard tube wrapped in a brightly decorated twist of paper (making it resemble an oversized sweet-wrapper). It is pulled by two people and much in the manner of a wishbone, the cracker splits unevenly. The split is accompanied by a small bang Christmas Day - a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Christ, 25 December Christmas Eve - the day before Christmas Christmas holidays - the holiday period for about a week before and after Christmas Day Christmas present - a present given at Christmas time Christmas stocking - a large sock which children leave out when they go to bed on Christmas Eve so that it can be filled with small presents Christmas pudding - plum pudding: a rich steamed or boiled pudding that resembles cake Christmas rose - European evergreen plant with white or purplish rose like winter-blooming flowers Christmas shopping - buying Christmas presents Christmas tree - an evergreen or artificial tree decorated, as with lights and ornaments, during the Christmas season Father Christmas - chiefly British - - Santa Claus Christmas tree ball - Christmas ball ornament white Christmas - a Christmas when it snows Merry Christmas! - said at Christmas to wish people a pleasant Christmas period Some expressions containing the word Christmas: Happy Christmas! Merry Christmas! When do you break up for Christmas? at Christmas for Christmas Now we put new vocabulary into context, so you can see how you might use these terms yourself. The expressions are in boldface in the text. Each of our employees who have been with our firm for a period of six months or more receives a Christmas bonus. The Christmas Cake as we know it today comes from two customs which became one around 1870 in Victorian England. Originally there was a porridge, the origins of which go back to the beginnings of Christianity. Then there was a fine cake made with the finest milled wheat flour, this was baked only in the Great Houses, as not many people had ovens back in the 14th century. Many businesses, particularly smaller local businesses, send Christmas cards to the people on their customer lists, as a way to develop general goodwill and reinforce social networks. Christmas carols can be sung by individual singers, but are also often sung by larger groups, including professionally trained choirs. Many Christians traditionally celebrate a midnight mass at midnight on Christmas Eve, which is held in churches throughout the world, marking the beginning of Christmas Day. Christmas pudding is the dessert traditionally served on Christmas day in Britain. It has its origins in England, and is sometimes known as plum pudding, though this can also refer to other kinds of boiled pudding involving a lot of dried fruit. The Christmas tree is normally an evergreen tree that is brought in the house or used in the open and is decorated with Christmas lights and colourful ornaments during the days around Christmas.