Christmases

1. 1
   proper noun

   Plural of Christmas.

   The two Christmases we hosted that decade were the busiest of all.

   Snowy Christmases have become rarer in this part of the country.

   Note

   Counting the holiday turns it into an ordinary countable noun: two Christmases abroad, snowy Christmases. On its own, Christmas usually names a single season (this Christmas, at Christmas). The plural appears when separate years are set side by side. The same spelling also serves the verb form, so "two Christmases abroad" and "she Christmases abroad" differ only in grammar, not in letters.

2. 2
   verbUS

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of Christmas.

   Whenever she Christmases abroad, she sends postcards to everyone back home.

   Our neighbor Christmases with relatives in the city most years.

   Note

   Here the holiday becomes something a person does. Most uses are intransitive and want a place or company after them: she Christmases abroad, he Christmases with relatives. Both mean spending the season there. The verb is American, and a transitive use, decorating a room with holly and greenery, also exists. The sense of bringing someone Christmas cheer is obsolete. Outside American usage, "spends Christmas" is the safer phrasing.

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