(CNN) Christmas isn't for another week, but political Washington -- especially on the liberal side -- spent much of Wednesday celebrating a holiday of its own: "Impeachmas."

Throughout much of Wednesday morning, the hashtag "#MerryImpeachmas" was a top trend in Washington and nationally on Twitter.

Which got me to thinking: Where did "Merry Impeachmas" come from?

Between November 2017 and November 2019, however, the word "Impeachmas" and the phrase "Merry Impeachmas" barely registered on Twitter. Actually, until December 15 -- Sunday -- there was nothing more than a low-level buzz around the term "Merry Impeachmas." Then, suddenly, a massive spike.