During a recent study a question came up around the Hebrew word et. In Hebrew, et can serve as what is called an "object marker" (OM). It appears before an object that receives an action in a sentence (what we might call the direct object in English). Et points to the direct object. Here is an example from Genesis 1:1-

Merriam Webster's Word of the Day for Monday, January 26th was engender.

1 : beget, procreate

2 : to cause to exist or to develop : produce

3 : to assume form : originate

The Merriam-Webster word of the day for January 22nd was reconcile.  Here is the definition:

1 a : to restore to friendship or harmony b : settle, resolve 2 : to cause to submit to or accept something unpleasant 3 a : to check (a financial account) against another for accuracy b : to account for

Some very obvious references can be made with Scripture.  Here is the etymology:

After a long break from words that brought anything Scriptural to mind...

The Merriam-Webster word of the day for January 21st was "palatable".  These meanings were given:

1 : agreeable to the palate or taste

2 : agreeable or acceptable to the mind

In the first article of this two-part series on Debunking the Myths of Christmas we addressed the origins of Christmas itself.  This second article is dedicated to examining the origins of many of the traditional trappings of Christmas.

Part 2: Where do the traditional trappings of Christmas come from?

Christmas trees

Tree worship was common among the pagan Europeans and survived their conversion  to Christianity in the Scandinavian customs of decorating the house and barn  with evergreens at the New Year to scare away the devil and of setting up a tree  for the birds during Christmastime; it survived further in the custom, also  observed in Germany, of placing a Yule tree at an entrance or inside the house  during the midwinter holidays.

Encyclopedia Brittanica on Christmas trees