Where does Christmas come before Thanksgiving – Riddle Answer + Meaning

Riddle: When does Christmas come before Thanksgiving?

Answer: In the dictionary

Riddle Explanation + Meaning

In the dictionary, words are organized in alphabetical order.

This means that words are listed from A to Z based on their first letters, and then the second letters if the first are the same, and so on.

Since the word "Christmas" starts with the letter "C" and "Thanksgiving" starts with the letter "T," "Christmas" comes before "Thanksgiving" in the dictionary.

This has nothing to do with the actual dates or months when these holidays are celebrated.

The riddle uses the context of the dictionary to provide a clever and unexpected answer, playing with the idea of order in a literal, rather than chronological, sense.

Why the answer is in the dictionary

The riddle leans on the word "before." On the calendar, Thanksgiving in November always comes before Christmas in December, so the question seems impossible. The way out is to think of order in a list instead of order in time. Sorted alphabetically, C comes before T, so in a dictionary, an index, or any A to Z list, Christmas appears first. The phrase "come before" is the key. We use it for both time and position, as in "A comes before B." Once you hear it the second way, the answer is easy.

What makes it tricky is that holidays feel tied to dates, not spelling. There is also a second fair answer: last year's Christmas came before this year's Thanksgiving. Some kids also point out that in Canada, Thanksgiving is in October, but that still comes before Christmas, so it does not help. Letting children look for extra answers is a good way to stretch the riddle.

Where this riddle comes from

This is a classic word riddle of unknown origin, part of a family that uses alphabetical order to flip the order of time. It is popular around the holidays and in classrooms practicing dictionary skills, and it can be changed to use any two holidays or months.

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