Christmases is the correct plural form of the word Christmas. Christmas is an international holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. When referring to more than one Christmas, use the spelling Christmases.
Many new writers mistakenly use the spelling Christmas’s or Christmas’ in their writing. However, both of these spellings can be correct when used in the correct context. In this post, we’ll explain the plural form of Christmas and other common holiday spelling mistakes.
How To Use Christmases?
“Christmases” is the correct plural form of Christmas. This spelling indicates multiple occurrences of the holiday Christmas. This term should be used when referring to more than one Christmas celebration or event.
- “We’ve had many wonderful Christmases together with our family”
- “Over the years, we’ve celebrated Christmases in various countries.”
The spelling Christmases can be used to describe more than one Christmas that occurred in the past or is going to occur in the future.
The “Christmases” is not as common in published writing as the singular “Christmas.” Christmas is most commonly used to refer to one occurrence of the holiday.
Sentence Examples
Here are 3 sentence examples that demonstrate how to use the word “Christmases” correctly.
- “Over the years, our family has created cherished memories during our Christmases in the cozy cabin up in the mountains.”
- “She loves decorating her house with unique ornaments collected from different countries during her travels over the Christmases.”
- “The book is a heartwarming collection of short stories, each depicting diverse and heartwarming Christmases celebrated around the world.”
Just like we saw in our comparison of the phrases “Is it ok” vs “would it be ok” we know that word choice and spelling can make or brake your writing.
How To Use Christmas’s?
“Christmas’s” is the correct possessive form of Christmas, indicating ownership or association with the holiday. We recently learned that adding the apostrophe creates the possessive singular noun.
This spelling “Christmas’s” is used to show ownership of something related to Christmas. For example, you can say “The church was beautifully decorated with Christmas’s twinkling lights”.
Here is a list of items or events that can be possessed by the holiday Christmas.
- Decorations
- Holiday traditions
- Holiday celebrations
Sentence Examples
Here are 3 example sentences that demonstrate how to use the possessive form of the word Christmas.
- “The beauty of Christmas’s spirit lies in the joy and generosity it brings to people’s hearts.”
- “Every year, the town hosts a parade to celebrate Christmas’s arrival, with colorful floats and marching bands.”
- “The warmth of the fireplace added to the coziness of Christmas’s ambiance in their charming countryside cottage.”
How To Use Christmas’?
The spelling Christmas’ is another acceptable possessive form of Christmas. This spelling is far less common & is rarely used in published writing.
Sentence Examples
Christmas’ is an alternate spelling of the possessive form of Christmas. Here are 3 sentence examples that demonstrate how to use Christmas’ correctly in your writing.
- “The church was adorned with twinkling lights for Christmas’, creating a festive and welcoming atmosphere.”
- “The neighborhood’s annual Christmas’ party was a grand affair, filled with laughter, music, and delicious treats.”
- “Their family tradition was to gather around the Christmas’ tree on Christmas Eve and exchange heartfelt gifts.”
Popularity Analysis
Google’s own N-Gram Viewer Data shows how frequently each spelling variation of Christmas is used. The singular spelling Christmas is used the most frequently by a large margin. However, you can see that the plural version (Christmases) is used more commonly than Christmas’. Just like we saw in our post comparing the words Parents’ vs Parent’s, writers have to pay close attention to punctuation. This is because it is very rare to use the possessive form of Christmas.
What Are Other Common Holiday Spelling Mistakes?
Here is a list of the most common holiday spelling mistakes.
- Christmas: Misspelled as “Christams” or “Chritmas.”
- Halloween: Misspelled as “Hallowen” or “Holloween.”
- Thanksgiving: Misspelled as “Thankgiving” or “Thanksigiving.”
- Valentine’s Day: Misspelled as “Valentines Day” or “Valentines’s Day.”
- Easter: Misspelled as “Easter” or “Ester.”
How Do Other Holidays Handle The Plural Form?
Most holidays follow standard English pluralization rules. Here is a list of 5 holidays and how they handle the creation of their plural form.
- Halloween: The plural form of Halloween is “Halloweens.”
- Thanksgiving: The plural form of Thanksgiving is “Thanksgivings.”
- Valentine’s Day: The plural form is Valentine’s Day.
- Easter: The plural form of Easter is “Easters.”
- New Year’s Day: The plural form of New Year’s Day is “New Year’s Days.”
Frequently Asked Questions
No, the spelling of Christmas does not change depending on regional or geographic location. There is only one way to write Christmas.
Native English speakers refer to more than one Christmas as Christmases. They might say “the next few Christmases will be at my house!”
The Bottom Line
By now you should be an expert on the plural form of the word Christmas. Christmases is the correct spelling to indicate more than one Christmas. There are often unique spelling and punctuation rules around holidays so you have to pay close attention to your writing. If you need more help with spelling rules like this, consider utilizing our own Grammar checker software to make things easy for you!
