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Christmastime is often associated with the concept of peace, mercy and compassion. King Ethelred (911-1016) ordained that the season of the Nativity should be a time of peace and concord among men when all strife must cease. There is a rather nice Christmas ritual in Serbian churches, where the congregation kiss each other on the cheeks and say “Peace of God, Christ is born!"
The touching story of the truce on the first Christmas of the First World War wonderfully illustrates the goodwill and peace that is extended during this time of year. It was on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 1914 that an unofficial ceasefire was called between German, British and French soldiers. The men ventured out into No Man's Land where they sang songs, exchanged gifts, and played football.
Peace and Mercy have both been used as names since the time of the Puritans. Mercy, in particular, was used popularly up until the 20th century. Related, are the Latinised Mercia, and the Spanish Mercedes.
The dove is often found as decorations to symbolise the peace and mercy of Christmastime. Callum, Colum, Columba, Jemima, Jonah, Jonas, Paloma, Pellumb, Toiba and Usoa all have "dove" meanings.
In Greek mythology, Eirene was the goddess of Peace. Arina, Eireen, Irene, Irina and Iryna are all modern forms of her name. Her Roman cognate counterpart was Pax, to which the Spanish Paz is related.
The Greeks also had the goddess Harmonia, the personification of harmony, known as Concordia to the Romans.
The Greek personification of Mercy was Eleos. In Latin, she was known by the cognate names Misericordia and Clementia. From the latter, the Latin clemens "merciful," we get the names Clement, Clemens, Klemen, Clemence, Clemency, Clementine, Clementina and the like.
The Hebrew word for peace is שָׁלוֹם (shalom) which is found in the names Absalom, Salome, Shulammite and Solomon. Rahamim, or Rachamim, is a Hebrew name that means "mercy."
In Norse mythology, Eir was the goddess of healing, whose name meant "mercy". The modern form of her name is Eira (AY-ra) and is used as a feminine name in Sweden, Norway and Finland. For boys, there is also the Finnish name Armo "mercy."
The Old English word for peace is frið, which derives from the Old German frid and the Old Norse friðr. It is found in many names, including Cynefrið, Frida, Frideswide, Frederick, Geoffrey, Humphrey, Siegfried and Wilfred.
The Old Slavic term for peace is mir, and is found in names such as: Branimir, Casimir, Damir, Dragomir, Jaromir, Mira, Miran, Mirna, Miroslav, Miroslava, Miruna, Radomir and Vladimir.
Other peace and mercy names include Welsh Heddwyn and Heddwen ("peace + fair, bright, holy"), the Hawaiian Aloha meaning "love, affection, peace, compassion and mercy" also found in Kealoha ("the love, the mercy"), Thulani and Thulile "peaceful" in Zulu and Ebele "mercy" in Igbo.
