Joy is a word that is splashed all over the story of the first Christmas. And beyond.

It begins with the angel Gabriel telling Zechariah that his son, who will be John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus the Messiah, "will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth" (Luke 1:14).

When the pregnant Mary visits Zechariah's wife, the baby in Elizabeth's womb "leaped for joy" (1:44) at the presence of the unborn-Messiah.

In Mary's Magnificat, she declares "my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour" (1:46).