The custom of not learning Torah on Christmas eve

The custom of not learning Torah on Christmas eve is discussed by Daniel Sperber in his Minhagei Yisrael vol. 3, pp 93-94. The term "nittel" is indeed from the Latin, either dies natalis (day of birth) or Natalis Domini (birth of our Lord). Jews chose to interpret the word as deriving from "nitleh" (hanged), although the date in question is the anniversary of the birth, not of the crucifixion. The term "nittel" is used by a number of Rishonim who discuss the halakhah prohibiting doing business during or before yom eidam (Gentile holidays) as discussed in the beginning of Masekhet Avodah Zarah.
Read on: Mail-Jewish Volume 28 Number 59. (via Bloghead)