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Christmas – Vocabulary Lesson

Hi, this is Kristin Dodds, one of the teachers and directors of Learn Real English. Welcome to this month’s vocabulary lesson for the conversation Christmas. Yay!

So I have the text here of the conversation that I’ve printed out and I’ve made some notes of some words or groups of words that you may have had difficulty understanding.

And I’ll give you the meanings for those words or groups of words as they relate to this conversation. So they could have another meaning in a different conversation.

Alright, and as I always start off saying, in our conversations you will hear “yeah” used a lot, which yeah is a slang word for yes.

You’ll hear the word “like” used a lot, so like as you probably know is to have positive feelings for someone or something. But we can use “like” a lot as just a filler word, so in other words it has no meaning. You’ll hear that a lot in native English speakers’ conversations and it just… it possibly might not have a meaning.

And then you’ll always hear “y’know” a lot. Y’know is actually two words combined together, you and know. And when native English speakers can speak very fast, those two words sound like one word then. Because as we speak fast, we kind of bridge them together, we connect them. So you and know, y’know. Alright, let’s begin.

So in the very beginning, I’m actually singing, “Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells.” So I’m actually starting to sing a Christmas song. It’s called Jingle Bells.

A jingle bell is a type of bell found on a sleigh and a sleigh is… it’s a form of transportation that’s pulled by a horse or horses. So in this song, Jingle Bells, it’s actually… it’s a, I don’t know that there’s actually, that Christmas is mentioned in the song.

But it’s a song that you hear around Christmastime because there’s snow mentioned or automatically you think of riding in a sleigh on snow, I should say. So this song is just about riding in a sleigh, being pulled by a horse and listening to the bells, the jingle bells.

So next I say, “Just thinking about different Christmas decorations that my mom would bring out.” So when I say bring out, I mean she would get out of storage. So bring out, get out of storage.

And then I say, “We had a nativity scene.” So a nativity scene, this was a Christmas decoration that we had and a nativity scene is… it’s a scene or representation of Jesus’ birth.

So in our nativity scene we had a little wooden barn and then we had dolls that you would put inside the barn. And the dolls were baby Jesus, Jesus’ parents, and some other people, as well as some animals.

Okay, then Joe says, “The Catholic household.” So a household is a house or a home.

And then Joe says, “In New York when I was a child growing up.” So New York, you may know that it is a city but it’s also a state and New York City is actually in the state of New York. New York is in the northeastern part of the United States.

And then I say, “A lot of our Christmas decorations were Frosty and Rudolph, Santa Claus.” So around Christmastime there’s a lot of stories that you read or that you hear or a lot of special songs, y’know, Christmas music.

So Frosty, he is a very typical or very usual Christmas character and he’s actually a snowman, Frosty the Snowman. Rudolph was… Rudolph is a reindeer, a reindeer is a four-legged animal, there were several that pulled Santa Claus’ sleigh. And Santa Claus, you probably know, he’s the most popular well-known Christmas character.

So the story goes that Santa Claus rides his sleigh pulled by reindeer around the world and drops off packages, presents, wrapped presents, to every house. And he comes… he does it by sliding down the chimney of your house.

So this is a story that’s told to us when we’re children and maybe it was told to you, too. Although I know some other countries that celebrate Christmas, like some European countries, they have some different stories, I think, around Christmastime.

Okay, so then Joe says, “Christmas wreaths.” So a wreath is a circular band so it’s… it’s a band, it’s in a circle, she shape of a circle, and it usually has flowers, plants, leaves, inside of it, arranged in a very pretty way. So at Christmas you see a lot of wreathes and they’re usually all green plants and you’ll usually see like a red bow put on them. So that’s a usual Christmas decoration.

And then Joe says, “I think we had mistletoe.” So mistletoe is another Christmas decoration, if you don’t know. It actually comes from a plant called mistletoe and you usually will hang it in a doorway, so up high in a door where people can walk through.

And if two people are under the mistletoe at the same time, the tradition is that you kiss each other. So sometimes people will joke and they’ll get some mistletoe and if they want to kiss someone, then they’ll go and stand next to that person and hold the mistletoe above both of them.

Okay, then AJ says, “For Christmas it was completely secular.” So secular means not connected to a religion.

And then AJ says, “They co-opted it as they often do.” So co-opted means they took it as their own.

And then AJ says, “When it was less commercial.” So commercial here means about buying presents. It was less about buying presents.

And then I say, “A lot of people have fond memories.” So fond means good.

And then I say, “Some people get really depressed around Christmas.” So depressed means very sad.

Okay, then I say, “Talking about the commercial aspect.” So aspect means part.

And then I say, “She gets really down.” So down, like depressed, means very sad.

And then I say, “The claymation, like the Rudolph, claymation ones.” So claymation is an animation or cartoon process that uses figures made out of clay. So you used to see a lot of claymation I believe in the 1970s. You don’t really see things made this way anymore.

And then Joe says, “I have to imagine maybe now it’s like CGI graphics.” So imagine here means think. I have to think. I have to imagine. And CGI graphics, CGI stands for computer-generated imaged. So it just means animation or cartoons that are made by the computer.

Then AJ says, “Observing kids in my family.” So observing means watching.

And then AJ says, “There really was more of a spirit of generosity.” So generosity means kindness.

And then AJ says, “Especially packing up the car.” So when he says packing up the car, he’s talking about loading the car with items that he and his family were going to take on the trip.

And then AJ says, “Our whole family would get into this station wagon.” So a station wagon is a type of car. It’s a long car so it can fit a lot of stuff, people, people’s items, it fits a lot. And back during this time, when AJ was younger, a child, it was known as the typical or the usual family… American family car.

And then Joe says, “My dad would drive us…” oh sorry, this is still AJ. AJ says, “My dad would drive us up to Indiana or over to Indiana.” So Indiana is a state in the eastern part of the United States.

And when AJ says drive us up to Indiana, up means north. So he actually made a mistake, that’s why he then says or over to Indiana. So he meant that his dad would drive them over to Indiana because he was living at that time to the east of Indiana. So they would drive from the east to the west. They would drive over, so across, instead of up, or north.

Then AJ says, “These big road trips to go visit my grandparents.” So big road trips, what he means is a trip driving for many hours.

And then I say, “My grandparents moved down to Florida.” So when I say they moved down, I mean down, they moved south. And Florida is a state in the southeastern part of the United States.

And then I say, “Or sometimes they would fly up to be with us.” So up meaning north, because I was living in the state of Georgia where I grew up, and Georgia is right above Florida. So if they came to visit us at Christmas, they would go north.

And then Joe says, or, sorry, I then say, “We would drive down.” Down meaning south.

And then Joe says, “I kind of feel similar.” So similar means the same way.

And then Joe says, “When there are children around the excitement level goes up significantly.” So what he means by goes up significantly is it increases a lot, the noise level increases a lot, or the excitement level, I should say.

And then Joe says, “The panic that set forth in his eyes.” So panic means fear. And when he says that set forth in his eyes, what he means is it showed in his eyes.

And then Joe says, “He just immediately started cleaning his room.” So immediately means right away.

And then Joe says, “He’s like coming up to us, ‘Can you guys look at the room…’” So when Joe says he’s coming up to us, what he meant was is he’s coming to ask us. He’s approaching us. He’s coming to ask us. And then guys, can you guys look at the room, guys is a slang word meaning all. Can you all, can all of you look at the room.

Okay, then I say, “Going back and surprising both sets of our parents for Christmas.” So when I say going back, what I mean is me going back to Georgia where I grew up and where my parents and brothers still live and I have some… an aunt and an uncle. And going back for Joe would be going to Pennsylvania where he grew up and where his parents and brothers still live.

And then I say, “Usually we’re abroad.” So abroad means traveling overseas in other countries.

And then I say, “It’s hot and humid.” So humid means a lot of moisture in the air.

And then I say, “Not typical Christmas weather.” So typical means usual.

And then I say, “Although in Bangkok you can see Christmas decorations.” So Bangkok is the capital city of Thailand.

And then I say, “People wishing you a Merry Christmas, which is a little odd.” So odd means strange.

And then Joe says, “They brought us up a little cake with Santa Claus on it or an elf.” So when he says they brought us up he means they actually brought these cakes upstairs. I think we were on the 3rd or the 4th floor of this hotel. So they brought the cakes up to us, up to our hotel rooms.. And then when he says that he thought there was a Santa Claus or an elf on the cake, an elf is another famous Christmas character. So elves were actually Santa’s helpers.

And then AJ says, “Getting together with my big extended family.” So an extended family means grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins.

And then I say, “Watching those Christmas specials with my brothers.” So when I say specials I mean special TV shows.

And then I say, “Sometimes we would go to the Nutcracker.” So the Nutcracker is a ballet. A ballet is a particular kind of dance. So it’s a ballet with a Christmas theme.

And then I say, “Charlie Brown Christmas.” So this was the name of a Christmas cartoon or animation that I used to love watching.

And then Joe says, “The Heat Miser?” So the Heat Miser, that’s the name of a character in one of the Christmas claymations that we were talking about.

And then Joe says, “I was afraid that he was going to actually steal Christmas and Santa Claus wasn’t going to come.” So what he means by that whole sentence, actually he was confused, he was thinking of one Christmas special, one Christmas TV show, but actually what he’s talking about in this sentence is another one. It’s called the Grinch that Stole Christmas. That one was a cartoon.

And then Joe says, “That one always freaked me out.” So when he says freaked me out, what he’s saying is that one always scared me.

And then I say, “And then there’s always the Baby New Year one.” So what I’m talking about is… the Baby New Year is a character in another claymation TV show. This one is about New Year’s.

Then I say, “The Baby New Year always used to remind me of AJ.” So the reason I say that is the baby, the Baby New Year, that character, he had blond curly hair. And when I first met AJ he also had very curly blond hair.

Alright, this concludes the vocabulary lesson for the conversation Christmas. And I’ll be right back with the commentary.