not just a festival, it's actually a culture in many countries and because it's a culture,

it has definitely shaped the way we speak. So today I'm going to bring you a whole lot

of expressions, which are influenced by the Christmas culture but guess what, you don't

have to wait only for Christmas to use them, you can use them pretty much all year long.

So the first one is “the proof is in the pudding”. Now this expression means that

you have to try something and see the results for yourself. Now this idiom originated in

Britain, where pudding is a very common dessert, especially made during Christmas, okay? So

in a sentence you could say something like, “these advertisements keep marketing their

products, but let's see if they work, after all the proof is in the pudding”. So you've

got to try things out for yourself before you can make, you know, a judgement about

it, okay? Alright, the next one we have is, “the more, the merrier”. This expression

is a way of saying that you would love it if more people were part of something. So

let's say, you're throwing a party, a Christmas party, and a friend might ask, “hey, can

I get my sister along?” and you might say okay, “of course, the more, the merrier”.

You'd love to have more people. Okay the next expression is, “to light up like a Christmas

tree”. Now a Christmas tree that is lit up with all the colorful lights and the decoration,

pretty looks nice and beautiful. In fact you feel like it is giving out a very happy vibe,

right? So if someone looks really happy, I could say something like, “when I told my

baby brother that I got him a new puppy dog, he lit up like a Christmas tree”, he was

so, so, so happy. Okay, our next expression is, “to be in the Christmas spirit”. Now

this means that you participate or you are taking part in all the Christmas festivities

like, putting up the Christmas tree, going shopping, decorating, planning a Christmas

party and all of those things, yeah… So if you're doing all these things which are

very typical of the holiday season, you can say, “I'm learning to bake the perfect pudding,

I'm totally in the Christmas spirit.” Believe me this is kind of contagious, the 'spirit'

because when people are happy and when you see people that are very happy because of

Christmas, you also become happy, right? That's why I love this time of year, so I'm in the

Christmas spirit. Okay, next… the next expression is “what are you waiting for… Christmas?”

Okay now this expression is kind of used in a very sarcastic way and it is used when someone

is taking their own sweet time to get something done, you know… For example, if I don't

study and my mother were to ask me, “so did you start studying?” and I'd say something

like, “no, I haven't started as yet” and she would go on to tell me, “oh, so what

are you waiting for… Christmas?” In other words I was taking my own sweet time to do

something and she was sarcastically asking me that question. Okay the next expression

is, “don't be a Scrooge” and now 'Scrooge' for those of you who don't know is a character

in a novel called a 'Christmas Carol' and Scrooge happens to be this old man who

is very mean, very rude and he hates everything about Christmas, I mean can you believe it,

a person who doesn't like Christmas… I mean, I wouldn't be friends with all like that,

but well that was Scrooge for you, and you know this guy never liked Christmas, so if

you see someone like that which really shouldn't see too many of those people in this time

of the year, but if you do see someone like that you might say, “hey, don't be a Scrooge,

just be nice” or “hey, don't be a Scrooge, why can't just be happy?” Alright, so don't

be a Scrooge, don't be mean during Christmas. The next expression is, “she's a cracker”

or “he's a cracker”. Now this expression is used to say that someone looks really attractive.

Now Christmas crackers are these festive decorations that make a nice snapping sound when pulled,

when you pull it open you know, and it often contains a small gift or something very nice

and now I really cannot make a connection, but I think a cracker is supposed to look

like really beautiful and I think an attractive person also looks good, so that's why this

expression, I don't think the question is like the best but if you hear it, you now

know what it means. So if someone says, “Oooh! You look like a cracker.” it's kind of a

compliment, so just take it as one, okay? Alright then the next expression, “don't

look a gift horse in the mouth”. Hmm… what does this mean? Now a lot of us get presents

right, during Christmas? But some people have this bad habit of finding out how much the

cost of the gift is, that's kind of rude, yeah? So don't question the value of the gift,

so this expression you know it comes from a practice of evaluating how much a horse

or how old a horse is? So when you say don't look a gift horse in the mouth, it just means

that don't look at the price of the gift but just be happy you got one, because every gift

is valuable, okay, so don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Alright then, the next one like,

“turkeys voting for Christmas”. Now 'Turkey' is a food commonly eaten at Christmas, right?

Every Christmas meal pretty much has a turkey, so this expression means that you are inviting

trouble for yourself, because if a turkey votes for Christmas, it's begging to be eaten

which not a good thing for the turkey, right? So if you are one of those people, well you

are like a turkey voting for Christmas. In a sentence you could say that, “don't take

a ride from a stranger, it's like a turkey voting for a Christmas.” It's self-destructive,

it's, as if you are inviting trouble for yourself, so don't do it, okay? Well these are the expressions

which are related to Christmas, but as you can see you can use them at any time of the

year, okay? So I'll be back with some more lessons, but keep practicing, keep learning

and have a lovely Christmas, I'll see you soon with some more lessons…