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The Etymology and Meaning of NOËL

NOËL
A term signifying the holiday season, Noël comes to us from the Latin verb nasci, meaning “to be born.”

In the book of Ecclesiastes, the birth of Jesus is called natalis. A variation of this word, nael, made its way into Old French as a reference to the Christmas season and later into Middle English as nowel. Today it refers both to Christmas and to Christmas carols.

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