It's the Most Word-ful Time of the Year!: Joy To The Word: Christmas Terms, December 25

In Latin, adventus means "approach," "arrival," or, in the case of a god, "manifestation." Now it refers to the season before Christmas, a time often marked with advent calendars.

There's a long history of mythological beings entering and leaving homes through the chimney, many of them specifically at Christmastime. In Latin, caminata means "furnace" or "oven." From there it became the French cheminée; over time it came to mean "a room with a fireplace," then "a fireplace and chimney," and finally just the chimney itself.

Frankincense is the hardened sap from boswellia serrata trees native to India and Pakistan. It's used in traditional medicine, but is most famous for its compelling fragrance when burned as incense. Along with gold and myrrh — another tree resin burned as incense — frankincense was one of the gifts brought by the three wise men to the baby Jesus.

At the bottom of most chimneys you'll usually find a hearth, also known as a fireplace.

While nativity refers to birth, it's most often used specifically to refer to Jesus — either his birth itself, or any of the works of art depicting that event. Whether they're Renaissance paintings or the sculptural scenes installed on church lawns, they're all nativity scenes.

Shepherd is a combination of sheep and herd, and refers to someone who tends sheep or goats. Jesus is often referred to as "the good shepherd" who guides and protects his flock of faithful followers, and that metaphor extends to members of the clergy, whose congregations are frequently also called their flocks.

The Latin verb scintillare, meaning "to glitter or sparkle" — and which gave us the word scintilla — became étincelle in French. Drop that first e and you end up with tinsel in English: shiny strands we use to decorate Christmas trees.