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Merging branch A into branch B does two things:

1. Create a new merge commit with two parents: the commit pointed to by A and the commit pointed to by B.

2. Set branch B to point at the new merge commit.

This is a non-linear history; when comparing some commits there isn't a "before" or "after."

If I checkout the merge commit and then do a ‘git log -n 5’, which parent pointer is followed to show the previous commit logs? A or B or Both / all if it is more than a 2-way merge?

As I recall, it shows commits from both parents in order of the committed date.

By default it's by commit date.

Other ordering is possible, e.g. --topo-order

To complete the answer, the only difference if you merge branch B into branch A is that A is advanced to the new commit instead.

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