Weihnachten

See also: weihnachten

German

Alternative forms

Weihnacht f (literary, poetic)

Etymology

From Middle High German wīhenahten (“Christmas”), from a dative plural ze den wīhen nahten (“in the holy nights”). Compare modern weihen (“to hallow”) and Nacht.

The oldest form (1170) is a singular diu wīhe naht (“the Holy Night”); the somewhat later plural is used to refer to the Christmas days and nights collectively. A relation with earlier heathen festivals is not endorsed by the etymological standard sources, though the possibility is admitted.

The term is a cognate with Low German Wiehnachten as well as Czech Vánoce and Slovak Vianoce.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈvaɪ̯ˌnaxtən/, [ˈväɪ̯ˌnäχtən], [ˈʋäɪ̯-], [-ˌnäχtn̩]
Audio: (file)

Noun

Weihnachten n (strong, genitive Weihnachten or Weihnachtens, plural Weihnachten)
Weihnachten pl (plural only)

(often in the plural, see usage notes) Christmas
Synonyms: Weihnachtsfest, Christfest

Es ist Weihnachten. ― It's Christmas.

frohe Weihnachten! (fröhliche Weihnachten!) ― merry Christmas!

Wir wünschen Ihnen frohe Weihnachten und ein gutes neues Jahr! ― (formal) We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
- 2016, Miriam Malik, Ein Drache zu Weihnachten und andere Weihnachtsgeschichten, story Ein Löwe zu Weihnachten:
  Drei Weihnachten, zwei Ostern und Fasching sowie unzählige Kindergeburtstage hatte ich bereits überstanden.
  I already endured three Christmases, two Easters and carnival as well as countless child's birthdays.

Usage notes

In German-speaking countries, Weihnachten includes the 25th as well as the 26th of December and usually also the evening of the 24th (from circa 6 p.m.). The inclusion of the morning and afternoon of the 24th is informal and sometimes frowned upon.
Weihnachten is originally a plurale tantum with the singular meaning Christmas. This is still invariably used in wishes: Frohe, gesegnete, schöne, ... Weihnachten! Otherwise, the word is most often treated as a neuter singular: Weihnachten ist ein christliches Fest. (“Christmas is a Christian holiday.”) Particularly in Austria and Switzerland, the plurale tantum may alternatively be used, then requiring the definite article: Die Weihnachten sind ein christliches Fest. The neuter singular also has a true plural referring to Christmases in different years: Die letzten drei Weihnachten war er krank. (“He was sick for the past three Christmases.”)

Declension

Declension of Weihnachten [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Weihnachten	die	Weihnachten
genitive	eines	des	Weihnachten, Weihnachtens	der	Weihnachten
dative	einem	dem	Weihnachten	den	Weihnachten
accusative	ein	das	Weihnachten	die	Weihnachten

Declension of Weihnachten [pl-only]

	plural
	def.	noun
nominative	die	Weihnachten
genitive	der	Weihnachten
dative	den	Weihnachten
accusative	die	Weihnachten