n. Oxymoronicly named period alluding to the daylight hours prior to
Christmas Eve. Quite an acceptable coinage despite the objections of some opinionated pedants. An alternate etymology comes from the traditions of the Armenian Orthodox church which speak of the Bethlehem innkeeper's wife, Evangelina, who convinced her husband to allow Mary to give birth in their stable. A feast day in her honour was declared on the day preceding Christmas.
Christmas Eve Day, a time for quiet
contemplation and fasting, is still celebrated in Asia Minor and much of Central Alberta.
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