Christmastide

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The traditional festive season beginning on December 25 and extending through the days that follow ; the period associated with the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ ; an interval marked by religious observances and customs during late December and early January
2. The span of time commemorating the Nativity, starting on Christmas Day and continuing to Epiphany ; a duration featuring special festivities and rituals in Christianity ; the twelve days commonly observed in the Christian calendar after Christmas
3. The cycle of observance from Christmas Day to the subsequent weeks ; a yearly interval dedicated to honoring the birth of Christ in Christian tradition ; the season of joy, feasting, and religious reflection following December 25

Etymology: Christmastide is a compound built from two English parts that each have their own story. The first, "Christmas," began as Old English "Cristes mæsse," meaning "Christ's Mass," and it was shortened over the Middle English period to "Cristemasse" before taking its modern spelling. Its first element, "Christ," traces back through Latin "Christus" to Ancient Greek "Khrīstós," a word meaning "anointed," from the verb "khrīō," "to anoint." The Greek word was itself a translation of the Biblical Hebrew "mašīaḥ," which carries the same sense of an anointed one. The second part, "-tide," is an older English noun meaning "time" or "season," and it survives in words such as "Eastertide" and "Yuletide." The compound therefore means something close to "the time of Christmas," a span of days rather than a single feast. Christmastide is most often used for the festive period around the holiday, which makes the word a useful reminder that the English calendar once marked seasons by religious occasions.

Synonyms: Christmas season, Yuletide, holiday season, Nativity season