'tis the season

phrase

Indicating that it is the time of year around Christmas, and that things associated with that time period are happening or likely to happen.

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Meanings

phrase
  1. Indicating that it is the time of year around Christmas, and that things associated with that time period are happening or likely to happen.

    Dear Marcia, According to television advertising, ‛tis the season, so Merry Christmas!

    2012, Marcia Aldrich, Companion to an Untold Story, page 138
    2 more examples

    Anyway, ‛tis the season, and apropos of that and this particular evening's events, here we are.

    2001, David Kranes, The National Tree, page 278

    Training kids to perform a series of academic stunts in sixty-minute time slots makes me cringe. But ‛tis the season, so let the testing begin.

    2008, Lori L. Conrad, Missy Matthews, Cheryl Zimmerman, Put Thinking to the Test, page 6

Origin

From the popular Christmas song, Deck the Halls, written in 1862.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

'tis the season. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/'tis%20the%20season

MLA

“'tis the season.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/'tis%20the%20season. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “'tis the season,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/'tis%20the%20season.

Source: 'tis the season on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.