The word Yuletide has its roots in a pagan holiday, celebrated long before the advent of Christianity. We will examine the definition of the word Yuletide, where it came from and some examples of its use in sentences.
Yuletide is the Christmas season. Yule is a very old term for Christmas. The word Yule is derived from the Old English word gēol, which in turn is probably derived from the Old Norse word jol or Juul, which was pagan holiday that was celebrated for twelve days. Christianity has often absorbed local customs. The -tide in Yuletide comes from the Old English word tid meaning a period of time or a season, from the Germanic word tidiz. Yuletide is often seen written with a lowercase letter, as in yuletide, but the Oxford English Dictionary only lists the capitalized version. Yuletide is considered an archaic or literary term, not often used in common conversation.
Examples
Barely 24 hours to the celebration of the birthday of Jesus Christ, the Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Ali Janga has vowed to arrest and prosecute any individual caught disturbing public peace during this yuletide period. (The Daily Post)
“This Yuletide time is therefore ripe for Nigerians to bury their political, ethnic and religious differences and go on their knees to ask God to save this country from the hands of APC misrule and clear lack of direction,” the PDP Chairman added. (The New Telegraph)
So, for the first time in recent memory, the Yuletide on Atlantic Parade will include a contingent of Boy Scouts that rivals the rest of the parade – and that’s saying something for a parade that also features floats comprised entirely of the Pompano Piranhas Swim Team, and dancers of all ages from ProAm Dance Studio. (The Sun Sentinel)