Christmas Season 2022

The middle of winter has always been a time of sincere celebration around the world. Centuries before the arrival of the man who was called Jesus, early Europeans were celebrating light and birth in the darkest days of a winter season. Many peoples had a tradition to rejoice during the winter solstice. It was considered the time when the worst of the winter was behind them, so they had an opportunity to look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.

Christmas is celebrated on December 25. It is not only a sacred religious holiday. It is a worldwide cultural and business phenomenon. So, it wouldn’t be a mistake to call Christmas the most popular holiday celebrated in the world. Lots of customs and traditions are practiced. We have nativity plays for children, we decorate our homes, people sing carols and have a traditional roast turkey dinner on Christmas day.

Popular customs include also exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, attending church, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive.

Here are 12 English Christmas idioms plus sayings one can use at the end of December

Christmas comes but once a year As the holiday only happens once a year, we’d rather treat people less fortunate than us a bit better during the Christmas Eve. For example: Kate went to the charity shop and made a huge donation of cash for homeless people. Apparently, Christmas only comes once a year.

To cancel someone’s Christmas When one threatens to cancel someone’s Christmas. It means that he/she would like to kill or destroy someone (not literally, of course!) as the dead person will definitely miss Christmas. For example: If Mike keeps bugging me, I’m ready to cancel his Christmas this year.

All my Christmases have come together To experience a moment of extremely good luck or happiness. When something that you were dreaming about has happened. For example:
Yesterday I received an inspiring job offer and my boyfriend proposed to me! It looks like all my Christmases have come together.

To light up like a Christmas tree Something had a dramatic effect on someone’s mood. An event or situation has made someone extremely happy. For example: Ann saw a box of white chocolates on her office desk, and she lit up like a Christmas tree.

Eat, drink and be merry Enjoy yourselves with good food and drink. For example: Welcome to our party! Eat, drink and be merry.

Trim the tree To add various decorations to the Christmas tree (ornaments, ribbons, stars, baubles, or lace). For example: It was a long-term tradition for the whole family to trim the tree together.

White elephant A gift exchange when people present unwanted items For example: – Where did you get that ugly vase? – Oh, I got it yesterday at a white elephant at my office.

Pigs in blankets A variety of sausage-based meals in the United Kingdom, US and Ireland. In the US pigs in blankets are small sausages which are wrapped in croissant rolls. In the United Kingdom the ‘blanket’ is bacon. Pigs in blankets are considered to be an ideal accompaniment to the traditional Christmas dinner.

Like turkeys voting for Christmas Turkeys are the favorite choice of food for the Christmas dinner. When people make a decision, which is not going to work out well for them, it is like turkeys voting for Christmas. For example: The teachers accepted the introduction of larger class numbers without any increase in their payment. For me it was like turkeys voting for Christmas.

To ring in the New Year To have a party on New Year’s Eve to welcome the New Year. When the church bells ring, couples kiss, and everyone wishes each other a happy New Year. For example: Mary and Sam invited their closest friends to their home for a New Year’s Eve party. The idea was to help them ring in the New Year.

Christmas has come early Someone gets a welcome surprise which was not expected. For example: On the 1st December John got a letter from his boss telling him that he had been promoted and was to receive a bonus. As a matter of fact, Christmas had come early for him.

Bah, humbug Ebenezer Scrooge, who is the main character of Charles Dickens’ novel “Christmas Carol” used to pronounce this term quite often. The expression is often used in the context of someone who shows a lack of Christmas spirit and it ruins other peoples’ enjoyment.