Christmas comes but once a year
Christmas comes but once a year proverb: used to emphasize the annual distinctiveness of Christmas, especially in contexts where either the special joys or tribulations of the holiday are described.
Proverb
Christmas comes but once a year
- Used to emphasize the annual distinctiveness of Christmas, especially in contexts where either the special joys or tribulations of the holiday are described.
- At Christmas play and make good cheere, / For Christmas comes but once a yeere.1878, Thomas Tusser, “The Fermers Dailie Diet”, in Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie. […], London: Published for the English Dialect Society by Trübner & Co., […], →OCLC; republished as...
- Chriſtmaſſe commeth but once a yeere.1623, M. N. [pseudonym; William Camden], “Certaine Prouerbes, Poemes or Poesies, Epigrammes, Rhythmes, and Epitaphs of the English Nation in Former Times, and Some of This Present Age”, in Remaines...
Examples of Christmas comes but once a year in a sentence
- "Christmas comes but once a year, / And then Mother wishes it wasn't here."1901, Lucy Maud Montgomery, “A Christmas Mistake”, in Short Stories: 1896—1901:
- Christmas comes but once a year, which is just as well—shopping during the festive season can be no fun at all.2006 December 9, Lila Das Gupta, “Christmas gifts”, in The Daily Telegraph, London: Telegraph Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC:
Origin of Christmas comes but once a year
Apparently coined by the English poet Thomas Tusser (c. 1524 – 1580): see the 1580 quotation.
Questions about Christmas comes but once a year
- What does Christmas comes but once a year mean?
- Christmas comes but once a year means used to emphasize the annual distinctiveness of Christmas, especially in contexts where either the special joys or tribulations of the holiday are described.
- How do you use Christmas comes but once a year in a sentence?
- "Christmas comes but once a year, / And then Mother wishes it wasn't here."
- What part of speech is Christmas comes but once a year?
- Christmas comes but once a year is a proverb.
Words near Christmas comes but once a year in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Christmas comes but once a year (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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