{"id":70190,"date":"2015-12-14T14:01:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-14T14:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/insight\/the-definition-of-christmas\/"},"modified":"2015-12-14T14:01:00","modified_gmt":"2015-12-14T14:01:00","slug":"the-definition-of-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/the-definition-of-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"The definition of Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rudolph<\/strong><br \/>Santa\u2019s famous red-nosed helper, Rudolph the reindeer has always been portrayed as somewhat of an outcast. His name however, actually means \u2018famous wolf\u2019 and would have been an epithet given to only the bravest of warriors. Go Rudolph!<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mistletoe<\/strong><br \/>Arguably one of the most romantic traditions of Christmas, the origins of this word are slightly less so\u2026 The \u2018toe\u2019 part is easy; it\u2019s an Old English word for \u2018twig\u2019. \u2018Mistle\u2019, however, is not quite so straightforward.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The plant was previously known as just \u2018mistel\u2019, which was a word used for birdlime \u2013 a sticky substance put onto branches to trap birds. Why the two words came together we can\u2019t be sure, although an interesting theory suggests that the birds would eat mistletoe berries and pass the seeds elsewhere to create sticky twigs too. So \u2018mistel\u2019 may also have been used to mean \u2018bird droppings\u2019\u2026 Perhaps something not to remember when you\u2019re puckering up for that Chrimbo smacker!<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Advent<\/strong><br \/>Deriving from the Latin word \u2018adventus\u2019, which means \u2018a coming, approach, arrival\u2019, advent has of course come to be known as the build-up to Christmas. It\u2019s the part when it\u2019s socially-acceptable to put up the tree, hang up the lights and drink mulled wine with breakfast, lunch AND dinner\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>No\u00ebl<\/strong><br \/>No\u00ebl derives from the Latin verb&nbsp;<em>\u2018<\/em><em>nasci\u2019<\/em><em>,<\/em> which means \u2018to be born\u2019. The book of Ecclesiastes refers to Jesus\u2019 birth as&nbsp;<em>\u2018<\/em><em>natalis\u2019<\/em> and a variation of this word,&nbsp;<em>\u2018<\/em><em>nael\u2019<\/em>, was used in Old French in reference to the Christmas season and later in Middle English as&nbsp;\u2018<em>nowel\u2019 \u2013 meaning <\/em>\u2018feast of Christmas\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Cheers<\/strong><br \/>Although not strictly Christmassy, we can\u2019t think of many times when we use this word more often than during the festive season. It comes from the Latin for face or countenance, and was originally used to refer to any facial expression at all. It evolved to mean \u2018gladness\u2019 and the first record of it used for encouragement or support is in 1720. It wasn\u2019t then used as a toast until the early 20<sup>th<\/sup> century, and there are lots of theories as to how that came about\u2026 Our favourite is that to wholly enjoy an experience &nbsp;revellers need to satisfy all senses. They can see, taste, smell and touch their drink. So clinking and \u2018cheers\u2019ing completes that with sound.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Have we missed your favourite Yuletide word? Let us know by tweeting us or in the comment box below and we\u2019ll demystify it for you\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About us <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a copywriting company, we know how to give your content writing an engaging boost. Speak to us about our range of copywriting services. Whether you\u2019re a global brand or a start-up, we can help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RudolphSanta\u2019s famous red-nosed helper, Rudolph the reindeer has always been portrayed as somewhat of an outcast. His name however, actually means \u2018famous wolf\u2019 and would have been an epithet given to only the bravest of warriors. Go Rudolph! MistletoeArguably one of the most romantic traditions of Christmas, the origins of this word are slightly less [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":57113,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[314],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-copywriting-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The definition of Christmas - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting &amp; Content Marketing Agency<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/the-definition-of-christmas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The definition of Christmas - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting &amp; Content Marketing Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"RudolphSanta\u2019s famous red-nosed helper, Rudolph the reindeer has always been portrayed as somewhat of an outcast. His name however, actually means \u2018famous wolf\u2019 and would have been an epithet given to only the bravest of warriors. Go Rudolph! 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