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holiday season

American  
[hol-i-dey see-zuhn] / ˈhɒl ɪˌdeɪ ˈsi zən /

noun

  1. a period of days or weeks in which two or more annual observances occur, especially in the United States, where it most often refers to the approximately 5–6 weeks from Thanksgiving in November to New Year’s Day in January.

    The kids will be singing Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa songs for the holiday season.


Usage

What is the holiday season? The holiday season is the period that starts on Thanksgiving and continues until New Year’s Day. It includes the holidays of Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve.The holiday season is sometimes called the holidays. These terms are typically used to refer collectively to all of the holidays that occur during this time, regardless of whether the person using the term celebrates them or not. In contrast, the terms Christmas season and Christmastime specifically refer to the period leading up to Christmas.People often wish each other a happy holiday season by saying happy holidays.Example: I start feeling all warm and fuzzy as soon as the holiday season begins.

Etymology

Origin of holiday season

First recorded in 1840–45

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“It’s devastating because this is happening during the holiday season when people are supposed to be with their loved ones.”

From Los Angeles Times

Over the holiday season, there were online pile-ons galore, with straight women repeatedly taking gay critics of the show to task over their negative or merely interrogative opinions of the series.

From Salon

“It’s the holiday season right now. There are so many families that don’t know how to put food on the table or pay their next bill,” Flores said.

From Los Angeles Times

He was close with the partners and chummy with employees, handing out lucky $2 bills to workers last holiday season, three former employees said.

From Los Angeles Times

This holiday season, Nussen, of Wesley Hills, N.Y., ordered multiple items from a clothing store that she and her daughter love without worrying about returning some.

From The Wall Street Journal