New Word: Holiday Celebrations

ESL, Food, Reflections, vocabulary 3 Minutes

Image by timokefoto from Pixabay

New Word #126

I was trying to compile a holiday word list, for which immigrants have alternative interpretations. Then I realized that it’s a list that requires more thoughts and it wouldn’t be completed today. For example, turkey is a mischievous reminder that one can never be Americanized enough to roast a good turkey. Also Christmas lights are mystical objects for which one feels a great love and admiration from a distance; however one never feels the need get them placed at one’s own home to waste one’s electricity. However other words need to be worked on a little bit more. It’s good that I will have the whole month of December to ponder on them.

Since Thanksgiving is here, I will have a simpler list for now. Searching online, I find that many holiday events have interesting names, which can make a nice word list. And here they are:

Event Names

extravaganza: an elaborate and spectacular entertainment or production. Townships, churches, music departments, big stores can all have their own Holiday Extravaganza.

gala: a social occasion with special entertainments or performances.

wonderland: a land or place full of wonderful things.

lightscape: I don’t think this is a real word although Google thinks it is. It means an illuminated environment.

spectacular: an event such as a pageant or musical, produced on a large scale and with striking effects, such as a Christmas spectacular.

multiverse: The multiverse is a term that scientists use to describe the idea that beyond the observable universe, other universes may exist as well. There is a Holiday Multiverse exhibit in New York City, which shows breathtaking digital views.

jollification: lively celebration with others; merrymaking.

Food Celebration

feast: a large meal, typically one in celebration of something.

banquet: an elaborate and formal meal for many people.

boujee: It means a materialistic person. In one Panera Bread store in New York City, there’s a Boujee Brunch event. I really don’t understand what it means. A brunch for a materialistic person?

bake off: a contest in which cooks prepare baked goods such as bread and cakes for judging.

acorn: I’ve never eaten any food made of acorn, but I know it is a common thing here. However it is said that some acorns are toxic and bitter.

gravy: a sauce made from cooked meat juices together with stock and other ingredients. This word has extended its meaning to refer to unexpected money.

bonfire: a large open-air fire used as part of a celebration. It is quite common for college students here to make a bonfire during a camping trip and roast some marshmallows.

High Tech In Celebrations

drones: 500 drones lighted up New York City sky early November. There are more and more drones being used in celebrations nowadays.

holograms: a three-dimensional image formed by the interference of light beams from a laser or other coherent light source. Some holiday events will deploy holographic Santa to attract visitors.

teleport: transport or be transported across space and distance instantly.

outdoor Christmas light projector: this device lets you decorate the outside of your house with dazzling designs without buying any Christmas decorations.

flameless fire, candle, digital log: I’ve seen this in restaurants and they look so beautiful.

snow machine: Since this winter is pretty warm, one probably needs a snow machine to make some snow.

robot chef: Robot chefs start to appear in New Jersey. There’s a robot cooking burger, another one cooking general Tsao’s Chicken, and yet another one being a waiter. I’ve never visited such a restaurant yet.

food 3D printer: 3D food printing is the process of manufacturing food products using a variety of additive manufacturing techniques. I don’t know what this means. Are these machine printed food eatable?

Can Happen During Holidays

heortophobia: fear of holidays

doronophobia is an irrational fear of opening gifts.

giftophobia: fear of gift giving

holiday blues: the feeling of sadness that occur during the holiday season.

post-holiday blues: feelings of emptiness, sadness, and other negative emotions following the intense rush of the holiday season.

heart attack: There are more fatal heart attacks during the holiday season than any other time of the year.

cold turkey: in a sudden and abrupt manner.

Published by haoyando

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32 thoughts on “New Word: Holiday Celebrations”

  1. Yes, I have heard of printed food too and it’s actually edible which I find surprising. If I am not wrong some countries like Singapore actually serve printed meat dishes in some restaurants.

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        1. Wow, I wish they can be available here. I somehow feel that Central Jersey region is not a place for vegan products since most people don’t buy them. Wish more people become vegans, which will make vegan products more popular.

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        2. Yeah areas with less vegans and vegetarians have less plant based products which can be frustrating. I think big cities tend to have better vegan products because I got so many in Toronto compared to the little town I lived in.

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        3. Yes, I guess this area is very close to Rutgers University. And I know an Asian restaurant that sells the most oily and unhealthy food on the planet, but it has such good business. I heard of Toronto, which has become more diverse and more international in recent years…

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        4. Yes, some restaurants sell extremely unhealthy food. Unfortunately I am sure it tastes amazing will all that oil. But it will probably kill you at some point. Toronto is wonderful for products and finding lots of great food but it’s a difficult place to live in permanently.

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        5. You know the problem with New Jersey is that it is just so expensive. And probably Toronto is becoming an expensive city too. It is ok for people who just want to work and spend money etc here. However if one wants to have more time to write or explore a little bit of other options, the basic living cost can be a huge issue.

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        7. So true. Just think about how many hours one has to work to pay the minimum cost of housing, transportation, food, taxes etc. No wonder Arthur C. Clarke chose to live in Sri Lanka. Usually writers want to have more time to chase their own goals…. And women will have the extra job of doing housework. No wonder there’s a great resignation happening. It is no surprise.

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        8. Absolutely, these days most jobs aren’t even worth having because they pay so little and demand too much. I think a lot of writers move to more affordable places because they need time to concentrate on their writing.

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        9. So true. The problem with Asians is that all the places that Asians are concentrated in are expensive places in the U.S. or in Canada. I mean as Asians, we move more comfortably within the Asian concentrated areas and don’t usually adventure out of them. LOL. I think I have this love and hate relationship for being an Asian since we can be so conservative and reserved…

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  5. I’d never heard of boujee before. The etymology of bonfire is interesting. People used to think that it meant “good” fire from the French word “bon”. Now it is thought to come from “bone” fire – from the practice of burning bones from graveyards.

    One difference on this side of the Atlantic: We don’t talk about “the holidays” – we just say Christmas and New Year. We tend to use “holiday” where you would use “vacation”.

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    1. Isn’t boujee a weird word? It is said it is considered a very popular slang word in English? However I had never heard of it until several days ago.
      So true, I’ve seen many videos on the differences of English in different countries, and words like holiday and vacation often make the list. Also hospital and doctor. Like go to hospital or go to the hospital. I can never figure out which is which. As a confused non-native speaker, they all sound similar to me.

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      1. I guess I would say “go to hospital” if I had no particular hospital in mind. “The” implies that you have a particular one in mind or maybe it’s already been mentioned.

        But TBH in most cases it probably doesn’t matter that much!

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        1. There are varied explanation from Internet. Some say in the UK people say “go to hospital” and “at university”, while in the U.S., people say “go to the hospital” and “at the university”. Some say to go to hospital means become a patient while to go to the hospital means to go for a visit or in some other capacity. I don’t know which is which and it is a very big mess to me that is forever incomprehensible. LOL.

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        2. Actually that explanation of UK usage is correct. I didn’t realise it was different in the US, so that’s interesting!

          It’s better than my explanation, but I guess it amounts to the same thing because if you’re going as a patient (in the UK) you may not be 100% sure what hospital you’re going to, because of the way the NHS works! The same maybe applies to universities. In the UK you are less likely just to go to your local university?

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        3. Thinking about it, it’s difficult to imagine a situation in which you would say “go to the university” in the UK, unless maybe you were delivering something. “Go to the hospital” is something you might do if you were visiting or an outpatient.

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        4. I was surprised too since I learned UK English in school and the distinction of “to hospital” or “to the hospital” was explained exactly as what you said. And it makes perfect sense. However in the U.S., “the hospital” is the de facto description of being a patient and it doesn’t really mean any particular hospital. It is so confusing to me that I don’t think I will ever get it. There is also a bunch of things about university, college etc.

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