Christmas A to Z Letter N

December 12, 2025

Welcome Back to Christmas A to Z
N …is for Noel, Nutcracker, and North Pole

Noel

Noel (or noël) is an alternate word for Christmas. The word comes from the French word Noël meaning "Christmas" which derives from the Old French word noël, a variant of nael. The Latin origin is the word natalis meaning "birth" or “birthday”.

The song, “The First Noel”, is thought to have been brought across the channel to England before 1823 by the wandering troubadours. The carol under the English form, "Nowell," became a great favorite for Christmas Eve, especially in the west of England.

"The First Noel" the story of the birth of Christ. All six stanzas are needed to complete the entire event when the hymn is sung. The sixth stanza urges us to join together to sing praises to God for the marvels of His creation and for the salvation provided through Christ's shed blood. The repetition of the joyous "noel" in the refrain is equivalent to our singing out "happy birthday" to someone.

Nutcracker

A Nutcracker is a mechanical device for cracking nuts. The earliest use of the term nutcracker in English dates to 1481.Nutcrackers in the form of wooden carvings of a soldier, knight, king, or other profession have existed since at least the 15th century.

These nutcrackers portray a person with a large mouth which the operator opens by lifting a lever in the back of the figurine. Originally one could insert a nut in the big-toothed mouth, press down and thereby crack the nut. Modern nutcrackers in this style serve mostly for decoration, mainly at Christmastime.

Of course, I have loved the famous “Nutcracker” ballet for many years, and enjoy watching it each Christmas Season.

North Pole

Thomas Nast established Santa's workshop and official residence at the North Pole in four different drawings between 1879 and 1886. On January 4, 1879, Harper’s Weekly published "A Christmas Post," showing a girl putting a letter in the mailbox, addressed to St. Claus, North Pole. There is a Nort Pole Santa’s Village in Colorado if you are ever passing through.