Today I’m writing about some confusing Christmas words and common Christmas misspellings so you can write your holiday cards and family newsletters with peace of mind (and peace on earth).

Christmastime is one word.

Christmassy can take one S or two.

Ho ho ho! has one exclamation point after the last ho.

Santa Claus has no E at the end.

Noel has no dots over the E, unless you want to spell it the French way.

Xmas does not have a hyphen after the X.

Sugarplum is one word.

Mistletoe has a T in the middle that we don’t pronounce (because English).

Gingerbread is one word.

Eggnog is also one word.

Bough is spelled this way, not bow, regardless if you deck the halls with boughs of holly.

These are all according to Merriam-Webster.

And if you want to add some international flair to your season’s greetings, here is how to say “Merry Christmas” in other languages:

Danish: Glædelig Jul

French: Joyeux Noël

German: Fröhliche Weihnachten

Italian: Buon Natale

Spanish: Feliz Navidad

Swedish: God Jul

Erin Servais is a book editor, author coach, and founder of Dot and Dash, an author-services company. To see how she can help you with your writing project, email her at Erin@dotanddashllc.com.

 
Follow her on social media.
Twitter: @GrammarParty
Instagram: @dot_and_dash_llc
Facebook: facebook.com/dotanddashllc
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/dotanddashllc