Christmas is a relatively rare surname, which is sometimes said to have been a byname given to a person born at Christmas. However, others dispute this interpretation.
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A few hundred years ago, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. When literacy was still uncommon, spelling variations are often found in names with Anglo-Saxon origins which are transcribed based . Words were transcribed using their pronunciation when names are listed in public records.
The byname was spelled "Cristemass" in 1185 and 1191, and "Cristesmesse" in 1308. The name is principally found in Essex and Sussex counties in England where some records suggest that they held a family seat during ancient times..
At least fifty (50) women called Mary have married a man with the surname of Christmas over the past 170 years to become Mary Christmas. In December 2012, living Mrs. Mary Christmas from Hull, England was featured online as a woman with a year-round Yuletide spirit. She is a wife to a certain Leeroy Christmas.
The earliest known record on Mary Christmas was discovered in 1837 when Mary Cannon married a Mr. Christmas in Alton, Hampshire and "set herself up for years of festive ribbing."