New Year vs Christmas: useful Christmas vocabulary for the New Year holidays. New Year's vocabulary in English Words in English related to Christmas
(Christmas Star) – The star of Bethlehem that led the wise men to the newborn Jesus
[ðəˈmeɪ.dʒaɪ] – bib. Magi (in the New Testament - wise men from the East who came to Bethlehem to worship the newborn baby Jesus): Caspar (Caspar, Gaspar), Melchior (Melchior), Balthazar (Balthasar, Balthazar)
["ʃepəd] – shepherd
["eɪnʤ(ə)l] – angel
– a play about Christmas (dramatization of the gospel legend; performed by children)
["krɪsməsˌ"kær(ə)l] – Christmas carol
Other words:
Christ– Christ; King- God, the King of Heaven; Bethlehem– Bethlehem (a city in Palestine, south of Jerusalem; birthplace of Jesus Christ); orient– mouth; poet. East; gift– gift
Advent- Christmas post; Yuletide(= Yule), Christmastide– Christmas time (the period from Christmas to Epiphany)
frankincense– incense; myrrh– myrrh (aromatic resin); Advent wreath (Advent crown, Christmas wreath)- Christmas wreath
Roman Catholic– Catholic; biblical– biblical; evangelic(al)– evangelical
2 Words on the topic: Christmas in secular culture and New Year (sound, transcription)
[ˌnjuː"jɪəˌ-"jɜː] – new year
[ˌnjuːˌjɪəzˈdeɪ] – January 1
New Year's Eve[ˌnjuːˌjɪəzˈiːv] – December 31
[ˈsæn.təˌklɔːz] – Santa Claus
- sled
["reɪndɪə] – reindeer
(Christmas) ["hɔlədeɪ] – holidays (Christmas holidays about a week before and a week after Christmas)
["krɪsməsˌtriː] – Christmas tree
["faɪəpleɪs] – fireplace
["mɪsltəu] – mistletoe (traditional home decoration for Christmas)
["hɔlɪ] – holly (holly, evergreen with red fruits, Christmas decoration)
["prez(ə)nt] – gift
Other words:
Father Christmas– British Santa Claus, Father Frost; Christmas stocking– stockings for Christmas gifts for children; Christmas cracker- firecracker; Christmas-tree decorations- Christmas decorations; Christmas card– Christmas card
mince pie– sweet pie with filling (raisins, almonds); Christmas pudding– British Christmas pudding with candied fruits and spices; Christmas cake– Christmas cake (fruit); turkey- turkey; candy cane– lollipop in the form of a stick; eggnog– a drink based on beaten eggs with the addition of milk, cognac or rum, sugar, spices
tinsel- glitter, tinsel; ornament– decoration, ornament; candle- candle; chimney– pipe, chimney; mouth fireplace; snowman- snowman; snow- snow; snowflake- snowflake; jolly– cheerful, joyful, festive; jingle bell– bell, bell (in horse harness); firework- fireworks, salute
...........................................
3 Video in English: The biblical legend of the birth of Jesus Christ
...........................................
4 Song in English: We three Kings of orient are
...........................................
5 Video about the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center
...........................................
6 New Year's fireworks in London
...........................................
7 Christmas Carol in English: Deck the Halls
...........................................
8 Song in English: Jingle Bells (with subtitles)
...........................................
9 The Story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (in English)
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows.
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games.
Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say.
"Rudolph with your nose so bright,
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?
Then how the reindeer loved him
And they shouted out with glee
"Rudolph the red nosed reindeer
You"ll go down in history!"
10 Merry Christmas and New Year greetings in English
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! / Merry Christmas!
Happy Christmas!
Merry Christmas! / Merry Christmas!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! / Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Wishing you a prosperous New Year!
I wish you success in the new year!
Wishing you all the best for the New Year!
May the new year give you all the best!
Best wishes for the New Year!
I wish you all the best in the new year!
All the best for the coming year!
All the best for the coming year!
Season's Greetings!
Happy New Year holidays!
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays! / Happy holidays!
11 Christmas and New Year in English idioms
Christmas bazaar– Christmas tree decorations market
Christmas club- Amer. "Christmas club" (a type of savings deposit for saving for the Christmas holidays)
Christmas party- holiday for Christmas
Christmas seal- Amer. "Christmas stamp" (decorative sticker; proceeds from sales go to charity)
Christmas shopping– buying gifts for Christmas and New Year
Christmas-tree set– a garland (of multi-color miniature lamps) to decorate the Christmas tree
Christmas box– box with Christmas gifts; (any) Christmas gift; Christmas bonuses (for employees, servants, sellers)
Christmas tree lights- Christmas tree garland
Christmas tree holder– Christmas tree stand
white Christmas– snowy, white Christmas
New Year's Resolution- New Year's resolutions given to oneself
New Year address– New Year’s address (by the president)
dress the New Year tree- decorate the Christmas tree
ring in the New Year– celebrate (welcome) the New Year (with something)
The New Year's greetings- New Year's greetings
welcome in the New Year- celebrate New Year
see in New Year- celebrate New Year
Santa Claus- Amer. Christmas presents; christmas sweets
Boxing Day– British Boxing Day
angel- source gold coin
angel cake– light sponge cake
angel's visits– rare but pleasant visits
to join the angels- go to a better world, die
angel– colloquial a person who gives smb. financial or political support
fallen angel– a high-yield bond that has lost its rating level acceptable to investors
guardian angel– guardian angel, kind genius
recording angel– guardian angel (who keeps a “record” of all the deeds and actions of his ward)
warrior-angel– rel. warrior angel
Jesus Christ!- God!; damn it! (exclamation expressing fear, surprise, disbelief)
by Jesus– by God
Jesus freak- Amer. slang. fanatical preacher of Christianity
alms-gift- alms, alms; donation (to the poor and the church)
gift-wrapped– beautifully packaged
gift token– gift voucher or token (indicating the amount for which you can choose a gift in a certain store)
gift coupon– a check purchased as a gift for a certain amount, with which you can purchase anything in this store; inserts (in boxes of cigarettes, etc.), a certain number of which entitles you to receive a gift from the company
Joseph- a chaste young man; ist. long women's riding cloak
Ave Maria, Ave Mary– Ave Maria (prayer to the Virgin Mary)
Virgin Mary– Mother of God
Typhoid Mary- Amer. decomposition infectious patient, carrier of infection; plague, ulcer (about a person who is a carrier of evil)
Mary- Australian slang. native woman
12 Christmas in proverbs in English
Christmas comes but once a year.
Christmas only comes once a year.
The closer to Christmas, the gooder kids get.
The closer Christmas is, the more obedient the children are.
The devil makes his Christmas pies of lawyers" tongues and clerks" fingers.
The devil makes Christmas cakes from the tongues of lawyers and the fingers of officials.
After Christmas comes Lent.
After Christmas comes Lent.
It is good to be priest at Easter, child in Lent, peasant at Christmas, and foal in harvest-time.
It’s good to be a priest at Easter, a child at Lent, a peasant at Christmas, and a foal at harvest.
A goose never voted for an early Christmas.
The goose will never vote for Christmas to come.
If it weren't for sorrow and bad times, every day would be Christmas.
If there were no suffering and hard times, every day would be Christmas.
There is always a Pharaoh who does not know Joseph.
There will always be a Pharaoh who does not know Joseph.
Fools rush in where angels fear to thread.
Fools rush into places where even angels fear to tread.
When the Angels arrive, the devils leave.
When the angels come, the devils go on vacation.
When a girl whistles, the angels cry.
When a girl whistles, angels cry.
The good shepherd shears, not flies.
A good shepherd shears without tearing off the skin.
Liberty is God's gift, liberties the devil's.
Freedom is a gift from God, permissiveness is a gift from the devil.
13 Games, songs, stories in English on the theme: Christmas (flash)
December holidays in the USA: Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year
Songs, exercises and games on the theme: Christmas (in English)
Christmas and New Year in English children's poems
Christmas is coming,
the goose is getting fat
Please put a penny in the old man's hat
If you haven't got a penny,
a ha"penny will do
If you haven"t got a ha"penny,
a farthing will do
If you haven't got a farthing then
God bless you!
God bless the master of this house,
The mistress, also,
And all the little children,
That round the table go;
And all your kin and kinsmen
That dwell both far and near;
I wish you a Merry Christmas,
And a Happy New Year.
About the Advent wreath
An Advent wreath is a traditional decoration made from fir branches in homes during the pre-Christmas season. On the first of four Sundays of the Nativity Fast (Advent), the first candle is lit, the next week - the second, etc. according to the number of candles.
The Advent wreath was invented by Lutheran theologian Johann Hinrich Wichern. His children constantly asked when Christmas would come. So that they could count down the days remaining until Christmas, in 1839 Wichern made a wreath from an old wooden wheel, decorated with nineteen small red and four large white candles. Every morning one small candle was lit in this wreath, to which a large candle was added on Sundays.
The Christmas wreath is endowed with different meanings. The addition of light in the wreath symbolizes the increasing anticipation of the birth of Christ. Four candles are associated with the globe and cardinal directions. The circle symbolizes eternal life, which is bestowed by the resurrection, greenery is the color of life, and candles are light. Advent wreaths are often decorated with three purple and one pink candles, in accordance with the liturgical colors of Catholic Advent services.
From the history of British Christmas pudding
Some vocabulary for the New Year theme! The most frequently used words and phrases in the New Year!
Hello friends. There are just a few days left until the New Year 2015. I hope your preparations for the holiday are going well. Happy New Year and I wish you a great mood in the New Year, no matter what.
In this article, I would like to share with you the words and phrases that we often use in New Year's speeches.
How to say “Happy New Year!” in English?
English speakers do not use this phrase in their speech. In English everything is simple:
Happy New Year!— Happy New Year; with coming.
That is, you will be perfectly understood if you simply say “Happy New Year!” a few days before the holiday. By the way, this applies not only to the New Year.
Merry Christmas! — Merry Christmas; Merry Christmas; Merry Christmas.
So, when talking to people, don’t rack your brains and think for a long time about how to say “Happy New Year!” It's simple 😉
By the way, it would also be correct to say:
Happy upcoming holiday! — Happy upcoming!
upcoming coming.
The phrase “Happy upcoming New Year!” you are unlikely to hear from native speakers.
How to ask “What will you do for the New Year?”
Another incredibly popular phrase during the holiday season, right?
Since by “New Year” here we most often mean December 31 and New Year’s Eve, native speakers would ask this:
What are you going to do on the New Year’s Eve?
(What are you going to do for the New Year?)
What are your plans for the New Year’s Eve?
(What are the plans for the new year?)
How are you going to celebrate the New Year’s Eve?
(How are you going to celebrate the New Year?)
Where are you going to celebrate the New Year’s Eve?
(Where are you going to celebrate the New Year?)
New Year's Eve — New Year's Eve.
About gifts and congratulations!
What kind of gifts do you usually get from people?
(What gifts do you usually receive from people?)
What kind of gifts do you usually buy for your family and friends?
(What gifts do you usually buy for family and friends?)
My best wishes to you!
(Wishing you all the best for the New Year!)
May God bless you with great health, success and happiness!
(God bless you with health, success and happiness!)
Other useful vocabulary and phrases:
Happy holiday, friends! And see you in touch!
New Year Vocabulary
- Happy New Year – Happy New Year!
- on New Year’s Day (Eve) – on New Year’s Eve
- New Year’s tree – New Year tree
- Christmas tree - Christmas tree
- in the morning - in the morning
- late at night - late at night
- when the clock strikes 12 – when the clock strikes 12
- New Year's Party - New Year's party
- Snow Maiden – Snow Maiden
- Jack Frost – Santa Claus
- Father Christmas - Santa Claus (who comes at Christmas)
- to see (welcome) New Year in – celebrate the New Year
- to look forward to New Year - look forward to the New Year
- colored lights – lanterns
- glass balls, toys - balls, New Year's toys
- a tinsel – garland
- to hang up – hang up
- to be hung with – hung with
- a candle - candle
- to light (lit) – light up
- to decorate with – decorate
- special decorations - special decorations
- to celebrate (all over the country) – celebrate throughout the country
- to congratulate - to congratulate
- to wish each other – to wish each other
- a wish - desire
- to make a wish - make a wish
- to come true - come true
- to tell fortune - predict fate
- to explode crackers - clap crackers
- to make fireworks – arrange fireworks
- to send greeting cards – send greeting cards
- a holiday meal - festive dinner
- a treat - treat
- merry – cheerful
- midnight - midnight
- a guest - guest
- to invite - to invite
- to visit smb; to go to see - go to visit
- popular - popular
- popular gifts - ordinary gifts
(a box of chocolate, flowers, books, records, a photo album, A CD, computer games, perfume) - hand-made gifts – homemade gifts
- to prepare – to prepare (to prepare)
- to put up – put, install
- to put up a New Year Tree – put up a Christmas tree
- to represent – represent, symbolize
- to listen to the speech of the president – listen to the president’s speech
- relative - relative
- to stay up late - stay up late
English words (New Year Vocabulary) will help you talk about how you are going to celebrate the New Year. And here is a short text in English about how the New Year is celebrated.
Every country has its national holidays, but there are also holidays that are common for many countries. New Year's Day is the first holiday of each New Year. In Russia it is the most popular holiday, but in the West people pay more attention to Christmas.
New Year is always connected with our new hopes and dreams. Everyone hopes that next new year will be better than the last one. As usual people make New Year Resolutions, they promise to start doing morning exercises, to eat healthier food. Unfortunately people don’t always keep them.
The celebration of this holiday begins on New Year’s Eve, that is, on the 31st of December. At home people stay up until midnight and much later. They light colored lamps on New Year Tree and have late dinner with champagne. Sometimes they just watch TV or go out for late walk. Everybody gets presents.
In Scotland New Year's Eve is called Hogmanay. Also the Scottish have the custom of First-Footing.
Most differences in celebrating New Year are connected with a meal or special food. For example, in Switzerland special bread, rich in butter, eggs and raisin is baked and a roasted goose is cooked. In Spain there is a custom to eat 12 grapes at midnight. In Greece some people play cards believing that they will be lucky the whole year if they win. In Russia the traditional dish for the holiday is “Russian salad” (Olivier).
In anticipation of the upcoming holidays, I decided to compile a list of words and expressions that are often used when we talk about celebrating Christmas and New Year.
Traditions
Christmas tree= a real or artificial tree that people decorate inside their home (Christmas tree)
to decorate a Christmas tree- decorate the Christmas tree
A garland is used to decorate the Christmas tree ( fairy lights), Christmas balls ( baubles), tinsel ( tinsel). There may be a star at the top ( star) or angel ( angel).
cracker= a colored paper tube with a small toy inside, that people pull open at Christmas in the UK
A multi-colored Christmas cracker containing a prize, usually a small toy or a humorous note. To open a cracker, two people pull it in different directions, and it bursts with a characteristic popping sound. These firecrackers are popular in the UK.
to pull a cracker- pull (open) the cracker
It looks something like this:
Christmas card= a decorated card that you send to someone at Christmas (Christmas greeting card)
Carol= a song that people sing at Christmas
Father Christmas/Santa Claus= a kind, fat, old man in red clothes who people say brings presents to children at Christmas (Santa Claus, Father Frost)
stocking= a large sock
Traditionally, stockings are hung by the fireplace and Santa Claus comes down the chimney (chimney) and puts gifts in them. Santa Claus is often left with treats: milk and cookies (in America), or pies and a glass of wine (in Great Britain).
reindeer= a deer with large horns (reindeer)
elf= a small person with pointed ears who has magic powers (elf)
snowman= something that looks like a person and is made from snow (snowman)
sack = a large bag
bells= an object that makes a ringing sound
sleigh = a large vehicle that is used for traveling on snow (sleigh)
mistletoe= a plant with white berries (mistletoe, often used to decorate houses at Christmas)
holly= a green bush with sharp, pointed leaves and small, red fruit (holly, often used to decorate houses at Christmas)
New Year's resolutions= a promise to do an act of self-improvement
Promises that a person makes to himself on New Year's Eve. For example, lose weight, quit smoking, learn a foreign language :).
Religion
Jesus= the name of Christ (Jesus Christ)
Mary= the mother of Jesus (Mary, Mother of God)
Joseph= the husband of Mary (Joseph, Mary’s husband)
the Magi= the three men who followed a star to visit Jesus Christ when he was a baby and give him presents, they are also called the Three Kings or the Three Wise Men (Magi)
manger= an open box from which cattle and horses feed (manger)
Bethlehem= small town in the Middle East believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ (Bethlehem)
the star of Bethlehem= the star that announced the birth of Jesus and guided the wise men to find Him (Star of Bethlehem)
gold= a yellow precious metal, one of the gifts that the three wise men gave to Jesus (gold, one of the Gifts of the Magi)
frankincense= a gum used for incense, one of the gifts that the three wise men gave to Jesus (incense, one of the Gifts of the Magi)
myrrh= a sticky brown substance with a strong smell that is used in making perfume and incense, one of the gifts that the three wise men gave to Jesus (myrrh, one of the Gifts of the Magi)
the Nativity= (Nativity of Christ; nativity scene)
Advent= the religious period before Christmas
Midnight Mass= a Christmas Eve liturgy (all-night vigil)
Food
roast turkey- roast turkey, which can be served with vegetables, gravy ( gravy), cranberry sauce ( cranberry sauce) or bread sauce ( bread sauce)
Christmas cake= a cake containing a lot of dried fruit and nuts and covered with icing (Christmas cake. Prepared from thick dough with a lot of nuts and dried fruits, covered with white icing on top.)
Christmas pudding= a sweet, dark food containing dried fruit (Christmas pudding, made from dried fruit. It is often prepared several weeks before the holiday, and kept for a long time in a cool place.)
brandy butter= a sweet food made of sugar, butter, and brandy, served on Christmas pudding and mince pies
candy cane= a piece of flavored hard candy shaped like a cane (staff-shaped lollipop) 
mice pie= a small pastry filled with mincemeat that is eaten mainly at Christmas (a pie with a sweet filling of nuts and dried fruits, prepared mainly for Christmas)
gingerbread man= a hard ginger biscuit shaped like a person (gingerbread or gingerbread man)
leftovers= food remaining after a meal (Leftover food. At Christmas this is often leftover turkey, which is then used to make sandwiches, omelettes or risotto)
Useful words and expressions
Xmas= abbreviation or informal term for Christmas (shortened spelling of the word Christmas)
white Christmas= a Christmas when it snows (Christmas with snowfall)
Christmas Eve= the day before Christmas Day (Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve)
Christmas holidays= the holiday period for about a week before and after Christmas Day (Christmas holidays)
Useful phrases
We wish you a Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas!/Happy Christmas! - Merry Christmas!
Hope you have a wonderful Christmas! / Have a wonderful/ lovely/ great Christmas! — We wish you a good/happy Christmas!
Asking about plans for Christmas
Have you got any plans for Christmas? — Do you have plans for Christmas?
What are you up to over Christmas? — What are you planning to do for Christmas?
Are you getting a Christmas tree this year? — Will you put up a Christmas tree this year?
Have you decorated your tree yet? — Have you already decorated the Christmas tree?
We talk about past holidays
Did you have a good Christmas holiday? — Did you have a good Christmas holiday?
What did you do over Christmas? — What did you do for Christmas?
What did you get for Christmas? — What did you get for Christmas?
Did Father Christmas bring you what you wanted? — Did Santa Claus give you what you wanted?
Happy holidays everyone!
1. to look forward to the holiday- look forward to the holiday
2. Bethlehem– Bethlehem (a city in Palestine, south of Jerusalem; birthplace of Jesus Christ)
3. The Star of Bethlehem- Star of Bethlehem
4. Jesus Christ- Jesus Christ
5. Christmas holidays- Christmas holidays
6. Christmas card– Christmas card
7.white Christmas– Christmas with snow
8. Christmas Eve- Christmas Eve
9. on Christmas Day- At Christmas
10. at Christmas- At Christmas
11. on Christmas morning- on Christmas morning
12. a Christmas Tree- Christmas tree
13. Father Christmas- Santa Claus
14. Santa Claus– Santa Claus (American Santa Claus)
15.Jack Frost- Father Frost
16. a red robe– red caftan
17. gloves- gloves
18. long white beard– long white beard
19. – reindeer
20. a sleigh- sled
21. chestnuts– chestnuts
22. the fireplace- fireplace 
23.the chimney– chimney
24. a Carol- New Year's song with religious content
25. colored lights– flashlights
26. glistening glass balls- New Year's balls
27. a tinsel- garland
28. a holly with red berries– holly (its evergreen branches with red berries are traditionally used to decorate the house at Christmas)
29. Christmas wreath– Advent wreath (in England, a traditional home decoration for Christmas)
30. a stocking- stocking
31.to hang up- hang
32. to be hungry with- hung
33. a candle- candle
34. to light a candle- light a candle
35. to decorate- decorate
36. special decorations– special decorations
37. to celebrate(all over the country) – celebrate (all over the country)
38. to congratulate- congratulate 
39. to wish each other- wish each other
40. to toast- raise a toast
41. a wish- wish
42. to make a wish- Make a wish
43. to come true- come true
44. to tell a fortune- guess
45. to send greeting cards(Christmas cards) – send Christmas cards
46. Christmas meal- Christmas meal
47. a holiday meal- festive dinner
48. Christmas turkey– holiday turkey
49. Christmas pudding– holiday pudding
50. a treat– treat
51. to wrap up gifts- wrap gifts
52. to leave the gifts under the tree- leave gifts under the tree
53. to sit down to dinner- sit at the table
54. merry- funny
55. midnight– midnight
56. a guest- guest
57. to invite- invite
58. to give presents- give gifts
59. to get (receive) a present– receive a gift
60. to be visiting- to be visiting
61. to visit smb/ to go to see- go for a visit
62. popular– popular
63. popular gifts– regular gifts
(a box of chocolate, books, records, a photo album, computer games, a video cassette, perfume)
64. hand-made gifts– homemade gifts
65. to prepare for- prepare to
66. to put up- put, install
67. to put up a tree- put up a Christmas tree
68. to represent- represent, symbolize
69. to listen to the speech of the Queen- listen to the queen's speech
70. a relative- relative
71. to stay up late- stay up late
