Christmas Gifts

"And when we give each other gifts in His name, let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon and the stars, and the earth with its forests and mountains and oceans--and all that lives and move upon them. He has given us all green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused--and to save us from our foolishness, from all our sins, He came down to earth and gave us Himself."

— Sigrid Undset

The Origins of the Name Noel

I had heard that people weren't certain of the origins of NOEL - and the explanation on Wikipedia seems a bit convoluted.

The thought occurred to me that it could be a simple abbreviation of the last four letters in IMMANUEL.

The WAW (a Hebrew letter) can express both "U" and "O". A little child or someone not entirely familiar with Hebrew or Biblical pronunciations might certainly shorten it this way.

Immanuel: Born is the King of Israel.