We are coming to the end of 2022 and, as usual, we are in the midst of joyous Christmas festivities. Regardless of whether or not you believe in its origin and religious nature, it marks the end of the year and brings with it great hope that is promoted by publicity and encourages consumerism. Like any period that marks an end, Christmas is a time filled with excitement, good feelings and a desire to be surrounded by loved ones to spend quality time together. It is also a time when children daydream of magical and folkloric characters that travel the world giving out presents as a reward for their good behavior. Over this festive period, adults celebrate and enjoy knowing another year has passed. Ultimately, the end of the year brings with it the start of a new one, laden with opportunities to start over, make motivational plans and fulfill dreams that were not possible in previous years.
Through this magical spirit and with the aim of delving deeper into the culture we have inherited through tradition, in today’s article we will travel into the past and discover the etymological origin of some of the most characteristic words related to Christmas. Our hope is to highlight all the underlying culture behind the way we currently express ourselves and broadly understand where we come from and where we want to go.
Naturally, we must start by looking at the word Christmas, written with a capital letter to denote the importance of this solemn celebration. It is essentially a shortened version of “Christ’s mass”; “Christ” coming from the Greek translation of the Hebrew word for Messiah and “mass” from the Latin missa. Another word we use to refer to Christmas is Nativity, which has its roots in the Latin term nativitas, meaning “arisen by birth” and thus celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Contrary to popular belief, Jesus was not born on December 25th (or it cannot be stated with certainty), but rather the date was chosen during the Roman Empire because it was the day that the birth of Sol Invictus was celebrated, a religious variant of the cult of Mithra, a Messiah Savior of Oriental origin that belonged to a very popular religion among Romans before the spread of Christianity.
According to the stories, when Jesus was born, whenever this was, three wise men from the far east followed a star to meet him. The term for this point of light, star, also has an interesting origin. It is first thought to derive from the Proto-Indo-European root h₂stḗr also meaning star, but further meaning to burn. Some believe the word is borrowed from Akkadian istar (Venus).
“Star” is also cognate with astral, which has its roots in Latin astrum and has given us word such as astrology, which is the observation of heavenly bodies.
And speaking of heavenly bodies, another typical image in Christmas folklore is that of the angel, a celestial spirit created by God for his ministry. Although the term goes back to ancient Iranian culture, it reached Latin through a borrowed Greek term άγγελος, which means messenger. As we can see in several parts of the Bible, some of which have been represented in art, angels are being who bring messages or guide towards a purpose. There are also beings that are referred to as archangels. This term carries the prefix αρχι- [archi-] and means “first, principal”, meaning an angel of the highest order, like archangel Gabriel, who announced to Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus.
Another popular tradition that combines religion and folklore is that of singing Christmas carols or hymns. Another popular tradition that combines religion and folklore is that of singing Christmas carols or hymns. Carol comes from the French carole, which in turn has its roots in Latin choraulēs (“flute player accompanying a chorus dance”). Hymn derives from Greek ὕμνος, which means “a song of praise” and can be defined as a lyric poem accompanied by musical instruments. The first Christmas hymns can be traced to 4th-century Rome but acquired their modern form between the 15th and 18th centuries. The printing of Christmas music books in the 19th century helped make them more popular. The printing of Christmas music books in the 19th century helped make them more popular. One of the most popular carols Adeste Fideles (O Come all ye faithful) appears in its current form in the mid-18th century, although the words may have originated in the 13th century. However, the origin of the tune is disputed. Another of the most famous carols in Latin is Gaudete, Gaudete, Christus est natus.
Today it is traditional to decorate Christmas trees, which are normally evergreen conifers, such as spruce, pine or fir. One of the most common decorations are garlands, which in origin were braided flowers and leaves that were worn on the head or around the neck. We inherited the term from old French garlande, which itself comes from the Latin ghirlanda, which is a braid. We can also find its origin in the Germanic wiara which literally means crown. Today, these crowns are completely open and are sometimes confused with what we traditionally call tinsel. As etymology has shown us, we must speak with propriety, even at Christmas.
Ref. de la imagen: https://www.joniandfriends.org/the-three-wise-men-under-a-van-gogh-like-sky/
