December 14
The word noel was originally derived from the Latin word nasci which means birth, or “to be born.” From Latin it took two different directions, in Middle English it became nowell and in Old French it became nael. The meaning of both of those variations came from the meaning “birth.” However, interestingly, the old English acquired the meaning “news” and the old French was changed to mean “shout of joy.”
The world might be wondering why these words went through drastic changes in meaning to end up with a word that now means “Christmas” in most languages. To you and I, and every other Christ follower around the globe, these meanings are all tied up in the same event and make perfect sense. The birth of Jesus is the ultimate birth, of the one and only Savior of the world, which certainly was news to proclaim, and which most certainly brings shouts of joy (or should anyway.)
When we shorten the word noel to just mean “Christmas,” we might be robbing some people of the actual message that the word really portrays in the old languages.
As we approach Noel (Christmas) this year, let’s spread the good noel (news) with a noel (shout of joy) about the noel (birth) of our Savior Jesus!
Luke 2:8-11 “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”
It just so happens that all of those meanings are found in the passages in Luke 2 that proclaim the birth of Jesus!
Once again we see how the birth of our Lord made major changes to the status quo. His birth changed BC to AD and even the meaning of words. Even better news -He is still making changes today! Forgiving people, setting people free, healing the broken. Now that’s some more good news to shout for joy about!