It’s time to return to our Christmassy Words for Wednesday! In the past we’ve looked at decorations and festive food and drink, and our Word for Wednesday theme for December is words you only hear at Christmas. Our first word for the month is carol. A carol is a joyful religious song which usually celebrates the birth of Christ (though can be about other seasons). Famous Christmas carols include: O Holy Night, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, and Oh Come All Ye Faithful. The word dates to around 1300 when it described a ‘joyful song’ or a ‘dance in a ring’ and came to be used in reference to Christmas hymns from around 1...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for December is Christmas decorations. A decoration is something that is used to beautify a space. The word comes from the Latin ‘decorare’. Over December we’ve looked at the words nutcracker, bauble, mistletoe, and stocking. Though Christmas might be over, there are still a few days left to enjoy the festive decorations and, with that in mind, our final word of the month is poinsettia. A poinsettia is a small shrub with scarlet petal-like leaves. The star-shaped leaves symbolise the star of Bethlehem and their blood red colour symbolises Christ’s sacrifice. The story of the poinse...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for December is Christmas decorations. A decoration is something that is used to beautify a space. The word comes from the Latin ‘decorare’. So far this month, we’ve looked at the words nutcracker, bauble, and mistletoe. With Christmas Eve just days away, what else could we choose for this week’s word but stocking? Stockings are long socks which are hung up by children on Christmas Eve in the hope that they will be filled with gifts. There is no record of the origin of this tradition and even today different households have different gift-giving rituals. In some families, stockings are filled e...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for December is Christmas decorations. A decoration is something that is used to beautify a space. The word comes from the Latin ‘decorare’. So far, we’ve looked at the words nutcracker and bauble. Today’s word is mistletoe. Mistletoe is a plant with green leathery leaves that grows on trees including apples and oaks. In the winter, the mistletoe plant produces white berries. Though poisonous, mistletoe is often used to decorate with at Christmas time. The tradition of kissing under a mistletoe branch is attributed to servants in late-eighteenth-century England. In some versi...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for December is Christmas decorations. A decoration is something that is used to beautify a space. The word comes from the Latin ‘decorare’. Last week we looked at the word nutcracker and this week's Christmas decoration is bauble. A bauble is brightly coloured glass or plastic orb that is hung on a Christmas tree and catches and reflects the lights in a room. Today, it is common for people to buy or make baubles that are personalised with names, special dates, or photos. The word also means trinket or toy. Bauble dates to the early-fourteenth century and comes from the...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for December is Christmas decorations. A decoration is something that is used to beautify a space. The word comes from the Latin ‘decorare’. Our first Christmas decoration of the month is the nutcracker. A nutcracker is a device that is used to crack nuts open. Some traditional versions of this tool are shaped like a human figure with a space for the nut where the mouth would be. Such devices have come to be associated with Christmas thanks to The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E. T. A. Hoffman, which was famously scored as a ballet by the composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. In the ballet, a little girl is given a figure-...
Have you noticed a Christmas theme in our Word for Wednesday posts? Last week we looked at the word trim, and today’s word is something you might use when trimming your tree: tinsel. Tinsel is a type of Christmas decoration made up of strips of shiny metal foil attached to a thread. Used during the Christmas season to adorn everything from trees, to picture frames, to ponytails; tinsel is often a divisive subject. While some love it, others deem it gaudy. In fact, the word is sometimes used figuratively to describe something that is superficially glamorous but ultimately cheap. Here is the word used in some example sentences: Every Christmas th...
This year, to get us in the festive spirit, we’ve made a list of all the Chritmassy expressions we could come up with – can you think of any others? a grinch – a grumpy and mean-spirted person a white Christmas – a snowy Christmas all the trimmings – all the traditional accompaniments (usually used in reference to a meal) Bah humbug! – a phrase used to express grumpiness and disdain for Christmas Boxing Day – the day after Christmas (which is a public holiday in Britain) Christmas comes but once a year – since Christmas is celebrated only one time a year,we should make the most of the occasion (this expression is either used to ...
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One of the students has put in a huge amount of effort in completing Spellzone at least 3 times a week since his arrival with us in January. Looking at his scores after the latest GL testing, his standardised score has risen from 99 to 131. This is a truly phenomenal result. I just wanted to share the best result I have ever seen.
Terrie Penrose-Toms, Casterton College
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