merrymaking means joyful festivities, especially as a celebration. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 81 out of 100.
Why “merrymaking” is a great word
MERRYMAKING — [Noun] Lively, joyful social festivities and celebration. From the adjective 'merry' (meaning cheerful and lively) + the noun 'making' (meaning the act or process of creating or doing); first recorded in 1618. Unlike "mirth," which names the inner feeling of glee, or "conviviality," which describes the ambient friendliness of a gathering, "merrymaking" is the enacted script of celebration itself. It is the clamor of raised glasses in a crowded hall, the patterned whirl of dancers on a swept-floor barn, and the sudden, shared chorus of a song everyone half-remembers—a deliberate, collective manufacture of joy against the quiet of the ordinary night.
Etymology
From merry + making.
noun
- Joyful festivities, especially as a celebration.