ProverbWisdom
English origin16th c.
English origin16th c.Christmas comes but once a year
Meaning: Rare opportunities demand we cherish them fully rather than postpone joy or neglect what matters most.
Origin: Thomas Tusser's Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, a 16th-century farming calendar in verse, has "At Christmas play and make good cheer, / For Christmas comes but once a year." Tusser meant it as a farmer's license to feast after the year's labor; it is now also used to excuse extravagance.
Explore another collection: Idioms
Colorful expressions from dozens of languages, with their word-for-word translations.
- Egyik kutya, másik eb Two things are exactly the same; six of one, half a dozen of the other.
- Bagoly mondja verébnek, hogy nagyfejű The pot calling the kettle black.
- A freca menta To waste time; to loaf around doing nothing useful.
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