evergreen

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Merriam-Webster's Crossword Puzzle Dictionary, Third Edition.
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The Word of the Day for December 28 is:

evergreen   \EV-er-green\   adj
     1 : having foliage that remains green and functional through more than one 
growing season 
    *2 : retaining freshness or interest : perennial

Example sentence:
     Every Christmas season, we go to see Tchaikovsky's evergreen Christmas 
ballet, The Nutcracker.

Did you know?
     Which adjective do you think has existed longer in English, "evergreen" or 
"perennial"? If you count the hyphenated form "ever-green" (which of course 
meant "always green"), then "evergreen" is older; its earliest known use dates 
from 1555. If you are a purist and insist on the hyphen-free form, 1671 is the 
earliest known adjectival use of "evergreen" (although the noun "evergreen," 
meaning "conifer," has been in use since at least 1644). The first English text 
known to use "perennial" as an adjective meaning "remaining green all year 
long" was published in 1644. But "perennial" wins in the more general "long 
lasting" sense; it has been used with that enduring meaning since the early 
1700s. "Evergreen" did not appear in English texts in that sense until the 
1800s.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.