{"id":441,"date":"2018-12-18T09:01:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-18T14:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/441\/"},"modified":"2018-12-17T18:24:59","modified_gmt":"2018-12-17T23:24:59","slug":"grammar-errors-associate-with-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/grammar-errors-associate-with-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Fix Those Christmas Grammar and Usage Errors!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/grammar-errors-associate-with-christmas\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-6436 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Fix-Those-Christmas-Grammar-and-Usage-Errors-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Fix-Those-Christmas-Grammar-and-Usage-Errors-2.jpg 600w, https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Fix-Those-Christmas-Grammar-and-Usage-Errors-2-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Merry Christmas from Language Lady and Character Ink Press! It is the time of good cheer, festivities, magical moments with children, celebrating the Nativity&#8211;AND grammar errors galore! Usage errors are to be expected since many of the things we are writing this time of year are things we only write once a year. It&#8217;s hard to remember grammar and usage protocols that we use daily, much less ones that we only use yearly. I hope this post will clear many of your Christmas grammar issues up!<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>(Want to learn more grammar and usage from Language Lady? Check out these links:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>My new <a href=\"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/tricky-tricks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tricky Tricks to Help It Stick Page<\/a><\/li>\n<li>All of our amazing <a href=\"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/punctuation-puzzles\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Punctuation Puzzles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/characterinkstore.com\/product\/write-right-quick-kit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Write Right Quick Kit<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/characterinkstore.com\/product\/preposition-practice-packet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Preposition Practice Pack<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/characterinkstore.com\/product\/think-fast-grammar-quizzes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Think Fast Grammar Quiz)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-6438\" src=\"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/jez-timms-175639-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"Fix Those Grammar and Usage Errors!\" width=\"786\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/jez-timms-175639-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/jez-timms-175639-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/jez-timms-175639-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/jez-timms-175639-1080x721.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 786px) 100vw, 786px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>This time of year we see a plethora of spelling, capitalization, grammar, and usage errors&#8211;on signs, catalogs, greeting cards, and more:<\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>1. merry Christmas on a greeting card (which technically isn&#8217;t wrong, but just doesn&#8217;t look right either!)<\/p>\n<p>2. &#8220;This line is for eight items or less&#8221;&#8211;even though it should be &#8220;eight items or fewer&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>3. Xmas&#8211;even though the Associated Press itself says to never use this abbreviation!<\/p>\n<p>4. Seasons&#8217; Greetings (which indicates that you are offering someone greetings for more than one season&#8211;the plural noun seasons)<\/p>\n<p>5. Happy capitalization guy or girl&#8211;Christmas Tree, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Ham, etc.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h5>Many holiday greetings and terms are subjective (shocking, huh?); however, here is a list to help you see the <strong>most common ways that greetings and holiday words are expressed this time of year:<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>1. You can write <strong>any of the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">a. Seasons Greetings (no possession shown at all&#8211;more of a noun describing another noun)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">b. seasons greetings (same as a., but no capitalization&#8211;not recommended for greeting cards and headers)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">c. Season&#8217;s Greetings (the most common way, showing that the season {one season} possesses the greeting; note the capping here)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">d. season&#8217;s greetings (like c but not capped)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>2. Of course, people also write Merry Christmas in different combinations (with and without the M capitalized; however, <strong>Christmas should always be capitalized<\/strong> because it is a proper noun by itself:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">a. merry Christmas<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">b. Merry Christmas<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>3. To cap or not to cap greetings? This is a stylistic preference, but if it is in a <strong>header or greeting card, you definitely want to capitalize:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">a. Season&#8217;s Greetings or season&#8217;s greetings<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">b. Merry Christmas or merry Christmas<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">c. Happy Holidays or happy holidays<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">d. Happy New Year or happy New Year<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">e. Happy Christmas or happy Christmas<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">f. Happy Christmastime (all one word) or happy Christmastime (again, all one word)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-6437\" src=\"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/annie-spratt-446155-1024x751.jpg\" alt=\"Fix Those Grammar and Usage Errors!\" width=\"765\" height=\"561\" srcset=\"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/annie-spratt-446155-1024x751.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/annie-spratt-446155-300x220.jpg 300w, https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/annie-spratt-446155-768x563.jpg 768w, https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/annie-spratt-446155-1080x792.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 765px) 100vw, 765px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>4. <strong>Words that are already proper nouns should remain proper nouns in every context and should retain their capitalization:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">a. Santa Claus<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">b. Poinsettia&#8211;This is traditionally capitalized because the flower is named after a botanist and physician who was also the first US Ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett. In 1828, he introduced the plant to the country.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">c. The actual holidays<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">i. Christmas or Christmas Day<br \/>\nii. Christmas Eve<br \/>\niii. New Year&#8217;s Eve (one year&#8211;singular YEAR&#8230;..hmm&#8230;.&#8221;that doesn&#8217;t end in an s, so I need to put apostrophe s&#8221;)<br \/>\niv. New Year&#8217;s Day<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">d. North Pole (Remember&#8211;you capitalize directions when they are part of a proper noun already&#8211;but not when giving directions. No &#8220;Turn West at the corner&#8221;!)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">e. Jesus, Jesus Christ, Messiah&#8211;most Christian publications capitalize names for or references to God and Jesus<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">f. All locations associated with Christ&#8217;s birth and life as they are proper nouns already&#8211;Bethlehem, Nazareth, etc., and, of course, King Herod, Joseph, and Mary (but not shepherds or wise men)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">g. When describing decorations, only capitalize the original proper noun:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">i. Christmas tree<br \/>\nii. Christmas wreath<br \/>\niii. New Year&#8217;s Day dinner<br \/>\niv. Christmas Eve party<\/p>\n<p>h. Nativity is capitalized when it stands alone or when it is combined with non-proper noun elements<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">i. Nativity scene<br \/>\nii. Nativity pieces<br \/>\niii. Nativity story<\/p>\n<p>i. Advent is capitalized in all contexts<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Merry Christmas from the Language Lady!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-5714\" src=\"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/DonnaSig.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"158\" height=\"83\"><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Merry Christmas from Language Lady and Character Ink Press! It is the time of good cheer, festivities, magical moments with children, celebrating the Nativity&#8211;AND grammar errors galore! Usage errors are to be expected since many of the things we are writing this time of year are things we only write once a year. It&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1264,628,640,82,632,183],"tags":[644,645],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.5.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Fix Those Christmas Grammar and Usage Errors! - Character Ink<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Merry Christmas from Language Lady and Character Ink Press! 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