A fourteen-point silver star embedded in white marble indicates the birthplace of Christ.
Why is it called 'Christmas'? In medieval England, the name of the feast being celebrated was joined to the word "Mass," and this became the name of the day. For example, the feast of St. Michael is called "Michaelmas." The feast of the Presentation, because candles were blessed on that day, is called "Candlemas." And so, in English, the feast of the birth of Christ is called "Christmas." In other languages, the designation may be different: • Latin: "Dies Natalis Domini" - the Birthday of Our Lord • German: "Weinacht"- Holy Night • Spanish: "La Navidad" - the Birthday • French: "Noel" - uncertain, but probably from the Latin "natalis" • Polish: "Boze Narodzenie" - God's Birth Merry Christmas The English word "merry" did not originally convey "jolly, mirthful." It was more along the lines of "blessed, peaceful" - a deep down inner joy rather than revelry.
One gets a sense of its original meaning in the well-known carol "God rest ye merry, gentlemen." As can be seen from the comma, the word is not used to describe jolly gentlemen, but rather it is a blessing from God invoked upon them - "God rest ye peacefully, gentlemen."
Thus, "Merry Christmas," when spoken to one another is a blessing.
