Christmas Slang Special - What is the meaning of Yule, Xmas and Chrimbo?

For the next two weeks every episode is dedicated to British Christmas slang.Today we will be starting with different words for the winter season. So let’s get started.

Christmas is a time for friends, food and fun but if you are in a non native English speaker, enjoying all three of these things may be a challenge if you don’t know how to express yourself!

To start off, Brits have found a way of making just the word Christmas confusing:
- Xmas
- Chrimbo
- Yule!
Which is correct and what do they mean?

You may have heard Christmas, but perhaps not xmas X-M-A-S. In fact Xmas does not come from British people being lazy and when spelling Christmas but in fact, in Greek, the letter X or Chi is the first letter of the word for "Christ". The suffix "mas" is from the Latin-derived Old English word for Mass. Both Christmas and Xmas have the most religious connotations out of all the words used in this season.

So where do "Chrimbo" and "Yule" fit in?

"Yule" Y-U-L-E is the pagan celebration of the winter solstice and has been around much longer than father Christmas and Rudolph . Yule celebrations were first recorded in 1475. The Yuletide season lasts from the end of November to the beginning weeks of January. Yule celebrations include traditions like mistletoe and decorating trees, traditions we still use today. So in fact Christmas hijacked many of these traditions.

Chrimbo spelt C-H-R-I-M-B-O is much more modern and was first used in 1929. Today it symbolizes the more commercial side of Christmas. John Lennon also used the version Crimble C-R-I-M-B-L-E in the Beatles' song about Christmas, titled "Happy Crimble".

Ok so now we know how to refer to Christmas, but on these days how to we great each other? Here are some options for you..

We can say:
- "Merry Christmas!"
- "Happy Christmas!"
- "Winter wishes!"
- Or "seasons greetings!"

So have a think, this year are you celebrating Chrimbo, Christmas, Yule or Xmas?

That's our episode of the day, remember this is the first of four Christmas Specials so tune in on Wednesday to hear about British winter holidays and celebrations.

You can find us on our website https://theslangpodcast.com and from there you can see our transcript and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and many more apps.

Or head over to our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/theslangpodcast for updates and more slang!

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-slang-podcast-learn-british-english-now--4117941/support.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:14):
Hello, and welcome back to a very special episode of
Slang with Me Louisa may Adams. This show will give
you the chance to hear, understand the origins and meanings
of new slang and to use them immediately. For the
next two weeks, every episode is dedicated to British Christmas slang.

(00:34):
Today we will be starting with different words for the
winter season, so let's get started. Christmas is a time
for friends, food, and fun, but if you are a
non native English speaker, enjoying all three of these things
may be a challenge if you don't know how to
express yourself. To start off, Brits have found a way

(00:55):
of making just the word Christmas confusing xmus crimbo yule.
Which is correct and what do they mean? You may
have heard Christmas, but perhaps not xmus xmas. Xmus does
not come from British people being lazy when they're spelling Christmas,

(01:16):
but in fact, in Greek, the letter x or chi
is the first letter of the word for Christ. The
suffix mass is from the Latin derived Old English word
for mass. Both xmus and Christmas have the most religious
connotations out of all of the words used for this season.
So where do crimbo and Yule fit in Yule y

(01:41):
u l e is the pagan celebration of the winter
solstice and has been around much longer than Father Christmas
and Rudolph. Yule celebrations were first recorded in fourteen seventy five.
The Yule Tide season lasts from the end of November
to the beginning weeks of January. Your celebrations include traditions

(02:03):
like mistletoe and decorating trees, traditions we still use today.
So in fact, Christmas hijacked many of these traditions of Yule.
Crimbo spelt c h r imbo is much more modern
and was first used in nineteen twenty nine. Today it

(02:24):
symbolizes the more commercial side of Christmas. John Lennon also
used the version crimble c rmb l e in the
Beatles song about Christmas titled Happy Crimble. Okay, So now
we know how to refer to Christmas and the days
around it. But on these days, how do we greet

(02:44):
each other? Here are some options for you. If you
see a family member or a friend or a colleague,
you could say Merry Christmas, Happy Christmas, winter wishes, or
seasons greetings. Think this year, are you celebrating Crimbo Christmas
Mule or Xmas. That's our episode of the day. Remember

(03:08):
this is the first of our four Christmas specials, so
tune in on Wednesday to hear about British winter holidays
and celebrations. You can find us on our website, The
Slang Podcast dot com, and from there you can see
our transcript and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and many
more apps. Or head over to our Facebook page The

(03:29):
Slang Podcast for updates and more Slang