Meaning of Noel + DIY Stenciled Sign

I'm back with another Create & Share challenge! A big thank you to Cutting Edge Stencils for sponsoring this post. All opinions are mine and mine alone.

Christmas is just a few days away and it flew by faster than I could've imagined. Wasn't it just Halloween? The older I get the more I realize that time just really does fly by. So how do we make the most of that? Present over Perfect and I'll be talking about that on another post. For today I want to share with you the meaning of Noel. Have you ever wondered why Noel is used for the Christmas season? I finally took the time to do a little research because I was curious myself...

Websters Dictionary says // English speakers borrowed the word noel from French. It can be traced further back to the Latin word natalis, which can mean "birthday" as a noun or "of or relating to birth" as an adjective. (The English adjective natal has the same meaning and is also an offspring of natalis.). Noels were being sung in Latin or French for centuries before the word found its way into our language in the 1800s. The earliest known musical use of noel occurred in the text of a Christmas motet called "Nova vobis gaudia," which was written in the 1400s.

Really interesting right? The straight forward meaning is just another word for Christmas. Simple as that. Think about the words to The First Noel.

[Verse 1]
The first Noel the angels did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay:
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.

[Chorus]
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel.

[Verse 2]
They looked up and saw a star
Shining in the east beyond them far:
And to the earth it gave great light
And so it continued both day and night.

[Chorus]
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel.

[Verse 3]
And by the light of that same star
Three wise men came from the country far;
To seek for a King was their intent,
And to follow the star wherever it went.

[Chorus]
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.

[Verse 4]
This star drew nigh to the north-west;
O'er Bethlehem it took it's rest,
And there it did both stop and stay,
Right over the place where Jesus lay.

[Chorus]
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.

[Verse 5]
Then entered in those wise men three,
Fell reverently upon their knee,
And offered there in his presence
Their gold and myrrh and frankincense.

[Chorus]
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the kind of Israel.

[Verse 6]
Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord,
That hath made heaven and earth of naught,
And with his blood mankind has bought.

It is ALL about the birth of Jesus. If you actually read the lyrics to most of the popular Christmas music, they really can be used as worship songs. They are beautiful and timeless.

Now that I have a new love for the word NOEL, I decided to make an easy wooden sign with a few scraps of wood that I had lying around and the Medium NOEL Cutting Edge Stencil. It really was simple to use the stencil and made it easy and quick!

WHAT YOU NEED:
Scraps of plywood
Scrap of 1x4 boards
White paint
Black paint
Red spray paint
Red craft paint
Red glitter
Hot glue gun
4 tiny nails
Hammer
Small paint brush
Pen

1. Nail the plywood to the 1x4 board. It doesn't have to be perfect. Mine isn't!

2. This is what it will look like.

3. Paint the front of the board white and let dry completely.
4. You can paint the words and holly leaves black with a foam brush or trace with a pen and hand paint with a small paint brush. Let dry completely.
5. Paint holly berries red and sprinkle with glitter while wet.

6. Cut 1x4 slats of wood into 4 pieces. 2 width x 2 length. Spray paint red and let dry.
7. Glue gun the 4 red wood slat corners together framing in the noel sign. It should fit snugly.
8 Stand the sign up and enjoy!

Note: This sign is too heavy to hang with the frame being glue gunned together. If you want to make it extra sturdy to hand you could nail it all together. By using a glue gun, you are making your project quick and easy and it will withstand being placed on any surface.