4 Fun holiday words and phrases explained

Posted by Megan Lillick on Dec 23, 2016 1:56:25 PM

To continue with our holiday spirited and themed articles, here's one you can impress your family with over a game of Scrabble or whilst decking the halls, prepping for Santa.

Below are four of our favorite origin stories of some rather random, yet fun holiday words and phrases. Maybe you'll recognize them from holiday songs you've sung or books you've read in the past. For the native English speaker, you may know the meaning of these words, but do you know their origins? And for those English learners out there, here's a lesson on English 'holiday' vocabulary.  

Enjoy!

Sugar-plums

Most know the famous Christmas poem,Twas the Night Before Christmas written by Clement Clarke Moore. It’s a classic. 19th century classic, in fact. It was first published anonymously in 1823, until Moore claimed authorship in 1837. Since then, there have been a couple adaptations in the early 1900s. This all said, it may make more sense as to why some words, phrases, and lines throughout it come across a bit vintage.

And as to not dissect the poem in its entirety (that would be a blog all on its own), we picked our favorite word, sugar-plums, to share its origin story. Below is where it makes its appearance in the poem.

“The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.”

Now for the origin. Well you see, sugar-plums aren't even plums. They’re actually no fruit at all. Let’s face it, most kids aren’t dreaming about fruit unless their parents are dentists. Instead they dream of candy. And that’s exactly what sugar-plums are in this sense: sugar coated candy. 

Back in the day—between the 17th and 19th century—English speakers often called a “sugar plum" a dragee or more commonly, a comfit. These were sweet terms. Literally. They were pretty much any kind of sugar coated sweet. They were often made with caraway or cardamom in the middle.

Deck the halls

“Deck the Halls” is a popular Christmas carol sung during the holiday season.

Perhaps you’ve sung it around the fire whilst sipping on eggnog. Or maybe you’ve serenaded your neighbors with it out in the frigid cold during a session of door to door caroling for a cause. Regardless, some singers don’t exactly know the meaning behind ‘decking’ the halls. Sometimes, they don't even know what boughs of holly are.

Well you can bet we’re not singing about porches here. 'Deck' in this sense of the song means “to decorate or adorn” something for festivity’s sake. It comes from the Middle Dutch word decken, meaning “to cover”. It is also related to the deck of a ship alluding to the canvas used to make a covering on ship decks.

Holly Jolly

“A Holly Jolly Christmas” is a holiday song by the American folk singer Burl Ives. It was first recorded in 1964, and finally released by Decca Records a year later. Ever since, it’s been covered by many an artist like Alan Jackson and most recently Michael Bublé.

Just like decking the halls, one may wonder what the heck they’re singing when they belt out the lyrics. What is a ‘holly jolly’ Christmas anyway? Well, hollies are an evergreen shrub with red berries. So then, we can assume Ives is singing about a decorative Christmas full of holly, correct? But what about ‘jolly’? Was it purely placed for rhyming purposes? Well maybe.

Or maybe not. Santa, is often known for having a jolly personality. His belly is even known for being so. Like most songs, this one's open for interpretation. Nevertheless the song instills a festive feeling in our jolly ‘ole selves (and even elves) for the holidays. Holly hung or not.

Out with the old, in with the new

“Out with the old, in with the new “ is often paired with, “may you be happy the whole year through.” With it’s pairing, comes a nice poetic ring, making it a nice holiday greeting for extending warm wishes to loved ones in the coming new year. It means to start the new year fresh, with a brand new beginning. To let last year’s happenings—the good and bad—be the past. And the new year to be the present and future. The saying is often used during the the holiday season, mostly on New Year's Eve. 

Although, it doesn’t have to be. “Out with the old, in with the new” can be used throughout the year as a statement for getting rid of pretty much anything, to make room for something new. Maybe this is decluttering a closet during spring cleaning, for example.

So what do you think? Did you learn something new? Have any other holiday phrases with interesting meanings? If so, we'd love it if you'd share them in the comments section below.

Happy holidays and New Year!