From Bishop Whalon-We get “joyous” from “joyeux.” The English say “happy” Christmas, Americans have kept that lovely word “merry” alive. “Noël” is a mysterious word, not Latin or Greek or even Hebrew in origin. Originally it was a cheer when the king visited or the queen gave birth or French arms won a victory. Hooray for the newborn Prince of Peace! Noël!
Joyeux Noël is also the name of a film that came out nine years ago. It depicts an event that happened exactly one hundred years ago today. On Christmas Day 1914, French, British and German troops declared a truce in order to celebrate Christmas together. The high commands hated that it happened, devised policies to stop it from happening again, and did not allow any mention of the truce. Yet rumors were rife, soldiers recorded it in diaries and drawings, and gradually the story came out, well after the Great War was over.
http://bppwhalon.tumblr.com/post/106238699496/the-christmas-truce-100-years-later
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