Newtonmas

English

Etymology

From Newton +‎ -mas, after Isaac Newton.

Noun

Newtonmas (plural Newtonmases)

1. (humorous) December 25, Isaac Newton's birthday (in the Julian calendar).
   • 1892 September 8, “"A New Sect of Hero Worshippers."”, in Nature‎^[1], volume 46, number 1193, →ISSN, page 459:

     At Christmas, 1890, or Newtonmas, 248, for the first time, the members of the Newtonkai, or Newton Association, met in the Physical Laboratory of the Imperial University, to hear each other talk, to distribute appropriate gifts, and to lengthen out the small hours with laughter and good cheer.

   • 1992 December 8, Nomi Pearlman, “Re: All these x-mas filks are making”, in alt.music.filk‎^[2] (Usenet), message-ID <104320@bu.edu>:

     Two of my friends (both Jewish) take 25 December as the holiday Newtonmas, in celebration of the birth of Sir Isaac Newton.

   • 2000 December 26, Lloyd Miller, quoting Alexander Chislenko, “Merry Newtonmas!”, in talk.atheism‎^[3] (Usenet), message-ID <n%626.283$AL.3706@nntp.msen.com>:

     So why not put some sense into your festivities and celebrate Newtonmas this year?

   • 2007, “Newtonmas Carols”, in Mansfield Public Schools‎^[4], archived from the original on 27 December 2010:

     On the first day of Newtonmas, Sir Isaac gave to me / The acceleration of gravity […]

   • 2007 December 22, Matt Blum, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Newtonmas”, in Wired‎^[5], →ISSN:

     Sir Isaac Newton was born on December 25, 1642 (old style), so it seems natural to take advantage of that complete coincidence and celebrate his life and works as Newtonmas.

   • 2009 December 14, “The Maternal Congruence” (1:38 from the start), in The Big Bang Theory‎^[6], season 3, episode 11, spoken by Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), CBS:

     Merry Newtonmas, everyone!

   • 2010 December 27, Tom Ingram, “Have Your Say”, in Winnipeg Free Press, →ISSN, page A16:

     Donalee Tauber has obviously never heard of Hanukkah, Ramadan, Diwali, New Year's Day, Newtonmas, Solstice, Kwanzaa or Yule.

   • 2011 December 9, James Kettle, “Brian Cox and Robin Ince: two wise men wishing you a merry XXmas”, in The Guardian‎^[7], →ISSN:

     Richard Dawkins mentioned the idea of calling it Newtonmas, because Isaac Newton was also born–I say also, I mean Newton actually was–born on the 25th of December.

2. (humorous) December 25 through January 4, Isaac Newton's birthday (in the Gregorian calendar).
   • 2008 December 23, Olivia Judson, “The 10 Days of Newton”, in The New York Times‎^[8]:

     Olivia Judson, an evolutionary biologist, recommends celebrate Newtonmas on December 25th and ten extra days representing the interval between Newton's birth dates on the Julian and Gregorian calendars.