1962-12-21; Saline Reporter

              ^^.. *£&**•$?
eetings The Saline
fc SUPPLEMENT
VOLUME 15, NUMBER 14A - FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1962
10c PER COPY — $3 PER YEAR
Candles Gleam, Bells
Ring —It9s Christmas
Christmas comes but once a year — and into that magic
"once" are packed years and years of well-loved traditions'.
Candles gleam brightly, bells ring merrily, glad carols fill the air.
Up goes the tree and on go the ornaments and lights, in
many a home and in many other places, too, both in and out of
doors. Evergreen branches, holly and mistletoe decorate the
season.
Children eagerly await Santa Claus, his sleigh and his reindeer. Stockings are hung, and greetings and gifts, gaily wrapped,
spread the spirit of Christmas.
How did it all begin? The manger scene, in churches and
homes, testifies to the religious meaning and real beginning of
Christmas. To be glad and grateful, to give and to help others
are expressions of that. meaning.
The legends and customs of the holiday season, however,
come from scores of sources, and many ancient festivals have
contributed their part to Christmas as a time of merry-making.
GIVING GIFTS nTmr»rir.T^T^XT
First of all Christmas gifts EVERGREEN
were gold,  frankincense,   and ormj T     rrrkTid
myrrh, the wise men's gifts to J51 .LL.L    1 U-TiO
the Infant Jesus. Gift giving at .Q   rriT>TiTi7
the season of the year now cele- A.O    IJvtLfL
brated as Christmas can also be
traced  back 'to  pre-Christian Nowadays Christmas trees
tjmes are made out of almost every-
The ancient Romans  ex- thing, from aluminum to plas-
(r\'
"AND, LO, THE STAR, which they saw in the
east, went before them, till it came and stood
over where the young Child was. When they saw
the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy."
(Matthew 2:9-10)
"AND THERE WERE IN THE SAME COUNTRY shepherds abiding in the
field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the
Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:
and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."
(Luke 2:8-10)
"FOR UNTO YOU is born this day in the city of
David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And
this shall be sign unto you: ye shall find the
Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a
manger."
(Luke 2:11-12)
changed gifts  during the "Sa- tic - but the world's favorite YiiWiHa Snirit ^tilVC  All Vpar
turnalia, a festival honoring Sa- Christmas tree is still the ever-   l UUSIMUS OJJIIll OldVb All   1 Cdf
turn, the pagan god of agricul- green..
ture. Hanging gifts on trees fig-     Many legends explain how the its  spec"iai w"ay  of observing "David's "Home'
ured in Druid tree worship in evergreen became associated Christmas » and in some towns Grand Palace.
Nearly every community has located in Bethlehem, such as
and   Herod's
early Britain.
with   Christianity   and   Christ-
HELPING POOR
Principles of Christianity are
reflected in Christmas giving to      ^     i _
the poor and unfortunate. An
old legend says that on Christmas Eve the Christ Child" roams
woe /w«   «,arfww,rf«. wm   and Cities the Spirit 0f Christ-      Crowned  by  a  Cross,  Pine
mas. One is the story of St. Wil- mas prevailSi literaUy) the year HiU has d an ideal loca.
fred, according to the Book oi aroun(j. . *
in search of food and shelter.
People believed that any kindness shown a beggar expressed
a love for Jesus.
SOURCE OF SANTA
Origin of Santa Claus as a
gift giver is usually traced to
a real St. Nicholas, bishop of
Myra, in Asia Minor, in the
fourth century A.D. St. Nicholas was renowned for his generosity, and he still retains his
role as a gift giver in many
tion for the project,  since its
In Waterbury, Conn., an all- shape  is  similar .'to the-"lime-
Speaking to a group of con- year reminder of the first Noel stone cliff where Bethlehem in
verts, the saint sought to illus- is the re-creation of the Town Judea was built.
trate  how  they  had  broken ot Bethlehem  on nearby Pine nimwrn im„„„ wwmma„
-    -     - • OTHER "BETHLEHEMS"
Well-known "Bethlehems" in
the" earth^ dressed as"a beggar, away from the heathen worship Hm.
of the Druids.
This   non-sectarian   "Bethle-
He chopped down a giant tree iehem" was constructed to scale the United States include Beth-
— an oak, since this kind of after research and study of pho- ^hem, Pa., and Bethlehem, Ind.
tree was one of the chief ob- tos showing the Biblical coun- The Pennsylvania Bethlehem
jects of Druid worship. As it try. The cave or manger where emphasizes the religious mean-
fell with a crash, it split into Christ was born, inns like the in& o£ Christmas during its an-
four pieces. From the center a one where there was no room, nua* celebration. A star erected
young fir tree sprouted. and the Roman legation where
St. Wilfred told the converts  the  tax
that the fir should from then on Augustus Caesar was to be paid
serve as their "holy tree".        are  among the  buildings rep
It is the sign of an endless resented.
Ringing bells in churches,
for solemn and glad ceremonial occasions, goes back
to about 7 AD.
In early Britain church
bells tolled for an hour on
Christmas Eve, announcing
to Satan the coming of
Christ. At midnight, joy-
jL ous peals heralded* Christ's
9 birth.
LITTLE BUT LEGEND  KNOWN
ABOUT   VISIT  OF  WISE MEN
SCIENCE SEEKS
SOURCE OF
THE STAR
Since St. Matthew first described the star of Bethlehem,
Many legends have developed fers to the visit, reports that
around the visit of the three wise men came from the east,
wise men to adore 'the Infant without stating how many there
Jesus. Even their number is le- were,
gendary. It was not until later, in a its mystery has fascinated man-
• St. Matthew, the, only, book legend  which   can  be  traced kind. Was it a miracle? Or was
in the New Testament that re-"ba'ck  to   the  second -century, it a brighter-than-usual star or
   that they were called "kings", other celestial object?
according to  the Encyclopedia      Astronomers,   while   seeking
Americana. to identify the star, emphasize
In even later times, they were that it may have been indeed
distinguished as Melchior, Gas- a miracle that can't be explain-
par or Caspar, and Balthasar. ed in terms of natural pheno-
The magi originally stood for mena.   However,   research  has
Sea Inspires Lore
Of Ships At Yule
*oman legation wnere on a nearbv mountain top  is w     .     ,-,
collection  decreed  by ^ghted throughout the holiday  Pastor  Wrote To
Please Children
season.
STAR IS BEACON
Near Palmer Lake, Colo., an
life," he said, "for all its leaves      "Poetic license" has been used electrically  lighted "star "on  a
"*«= « * 6"-«. e^v«.  iu xuemy evergreen,   and   it  points to include some buildings which mountain"top°is"! Christmas- Hanby, in 1864.
countries, arriving on January +_oWI y,Za„J „mT.„ „„+ „,„,„„„,.wawn T     p  - • ■r^w;™ +»,=
Ships   arrive   on   Christmas
morning, carrying Jesus, Mary
and Joseph, says the English the priestly caste of the ancient provided material for conjee-
carol, "I Saw Three Ships Come Persian Zoroastrian religion. As ture that the star may have
Sailing". This is one of many the religion moved westward, been a natural occurrence,
legends developed by seafaring it came in contact with Babylo- One Discovery
peoples to connect Christmas nian beliefs and practices and A Danish astronomer, Tycho
and ships. derived a strong interest in as- Brahe, discovered a new and
Stories of the first St. Nicho- trology, demonology and magic, brilliant star in the constella-
By the time it reached the tion Cassiopeia in 1572, accord-
by" an  Ohio  pastor,  Benjamin nor   to   Northern   Europe  by Graeco-Roman  world,   it  was ing to the Encyclopedia Ameri-
"Up on the Housetops" isva
happy Christmas Tsong written las were carried from Asia Mi-
6 - traditionally the  date  of
the visit of the wise men.
YULE GREENS
toward heaven
'It is the wood of peace, for
all your houses are built of the
fir. Let this be called the tree
A GIVING DAY
  Christmas  is  a  giving  day,
Evergreens at Christmas are 0| ^e Christ Child;  gather when Christ the Lord was born,
an emblem of life eternal. An- aD0Ut it, not in the wildwood,  Christmas is a singing day.
cient peoples believed that the but jn y'our homes." -    ~ Danny Reed, 2nd grade
greenness of evergreens in winter was a promise of the Creator that  spring  would" come
again.
SINGING CAROLS
Caroling at Christmas may
be a carryover from the Roman songs of the Saturnalia,
or so some researchers believe.
Early Christian songs were solemn and somewhat forbidding.
The simple, touching carols best
liked today didn't gain widespread popularity until the 14th
and 15th centuries.
DECORATING TREES
In ancient feasts of the winter equinox, trees wiare adorned
with trinkets. Like many pagan
customs, the evergreen tree became associated with Christian
observances, and legends link
it to the birth of Christ. One
story says that on Christmas
Eve all the trees of the'forest
bloomed and bore fruit.
LIGHTING CANDLES
Candles at Christmas symbolize the coming of Christ as
the Light of the World. Since
earliest times, man has used
lights - torches, watch-fires,
beacons - on occasions of joyous celebration.
Custom of placing a candle
in the window on Christmas
Eve is usually attributed to the
Irish. It was thought that
Christ wandered the earth on
that night, and a candle would
show Him a home where He
was welcome, or help to light
Hhn on His way.
were not, or may not have been,  season beacon for -motorists on
highways many miles away.
LIGHTING DISPLAYS
Believing that music was  a
part of religion, he held week'
iy
sailors, and children in Holland practically identical, in the pop- cana.
long believed that St. Nicholas ular view, with astrology and      Since that discovery, the Am-
arrived by ship from Spain. In magic. Ths explains the use of ericana says, it has been sug-
songfests   for   children   in Greece,   St.   Basilio   comes   on the term "wise men" by St. Mat-
New Paris, Ohio. Since he was
Beautiful lighting displays short of money, when the chil-
for Christmas are famous in dren needed a new song, he
many U.S. cities. wrote it himself.
In Altadena, a suburb of Pa- The song, which tells the joys
sadena, Calif., a mile-long ave- of going "up on the housetops"
nue bordered by deodar cedars and "down through the chim-
becomes "Christmas Tree Lane" ney with good Saint Nick" to
at the holiday season. The deo- the "click, click, click" of rein-
dars are illuminated by thou- deer hooves, gained early popu-
sands of multi-colored bulbs for larity.
the annual spectacle.	
Colored lights outline the
buildings of the Country Club
Plaza district in Kansas City,
Mo., at Christmas time,
Winter Time
by Tom Hollister
The tree was up,
January 1 to deliver gifts, and thew, since they were astrolo-
he too is transported by ship.      gers.
Blababobefobeo
Meets Santa Claus
by Sandra Jedele little rowboat to Blababobefebeo
™ v i. i. * u TX4.1    an(i sai<3 that once a year he
Blababobefobeo  was a little ,„„„,,, *,„;„„ +!,,•„„„ *„„ «,„ „„,-
, . T_    ,.    , . .,      would bring things for the am-
chimpanzee.  He lived in the majs
Ethiopian Jungle with his mo-
Denver7colo.,7numinates its ^f stoddngs_were hung,
ther,  Mamabobefobeo,  and his
He gave a watch to Blababo-
Civic  Center  during  the holi-
The people in bed,
gested that this might be an
especially brilliant star visible
only at long intervals.
A reported appearance of a
bright star in that part of the
heavens about the middle of the
13th century, coupled with a
vague account of a similar appearance 300 years earlier, led
to the thought that these might
possibly be former appearances
of the star of 1572.
If, as this might indicate, the
star appeared at intervals of
310 to 315 years, three intervals
of 300-odd years from the time
it was first reported would carry it back to about the time of
father, Flababobefobeo. They befobeo and said to give it to        __ _	
lived in a little grass hut by his father He .also gave him a &e birth of Chr-
watch for his mother. Then Santa gave him a car, a book, and
the Ewakewa River.
One day while Mamabobefo-
days" with memy thousands'of The carols all sung
liahts Santa was riding with the toys
in his sleigh, _
YULE TOWNS For  he  knew  Christmas   was on^thr^er^d'^babob^obeo year Blababoli2fobeo went to the
Yule-named towns have a spe- well on its way. ' "1~"~: J       * -«—
bJ'waThanS some"cIothes a higJ^\ ^f6' *** eve5"y
was lying on the hammock reading the newspaper, Blababobefobeo  thought he'd  go  for  a
cial interest in Christmas. Ari- The reindeer were happy fly-
tually have towns  named ing with the load.
zona, Florida and Kentucky ac- Thank  goodness   they  didn't ~^fa ^ WQods_ go he walked
"Christmas".  Then  there  are have to pull it on the road. and he walked goon he found a
Christmas Cove, Me.; Nazareth, -When Santa had made his very little cleari      He st     d there
Pa.; Bright Star, Holly Grove first stop,
Anoher Theory
Johannes  Kepler,  a  German
astronomer, made discoveries
'" "iC that led to still another theory
clearing   and  got  many  other  about ^  gtar  Qf BetbJehem.
things. And that is how Blababobefobeo met Santa Claus.
THE SNOWFLAKE
I see a snowflake far away,
In 1604, he observed a configuration, or close grouping, of the
planets Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
He  determined  that such  a
JrayTfJ:JeIi.L ^Ltti'' ?Ty ww^ mu   "i.°L, BLT        +   A .and played.  Soon it got-very And" stoDned to look "and watch configuration occurred each
and Holly Springs, Ark.; as well The reindeer began to dance and dark And stoppea to iook ana waxen ^^s ^   paip„intw  «
as Noel, Mo.; Noel, Va.; Mistle- to hop.
toe, Ky.; Wiseman, Alaska; and When Santa came back,
it sway.
Santa Claus, Ind.
THE NATIVITY. Page from a medieval Book of Hours shows
the Nativity scene as illustrated and illuminated by the Lim-
bourg brothers, famous illuminators. Books of Hours, or
"Belles Heures", are hand-lettered and individually-illustrated
prayer boohs intended for private devotions. This one was
prepared for Jean, Duke of Berry, some time before 1413.
From the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection, purchase, 1954.
He tied up his pack.
When Santa had delivered all
his toys,
CHRISTMAS IS HERE        He  shouted to   the  girls   and
Christmas time is near. boys,
Time for joy and time for cheer. Merry Christmas, Merry Christ-
The lights are shining, mas>
The bells are chiming, Ana to all a good night.
For Christmas time is here. 	
The holly is hung. Christmas
The tree is strung. Christmas is a time for joy,
The boys and girls are having Of laughter, fun and happiness.
fun. Christ was born this day.
For Christmas time has begun. To him in faith we pray.
-- Connie Bersuder, 4th grade
805
years, and calculations estab-
Suddenly Blababobefobeo jt glistened as it came my way, lished that the same grouping
heard someone in the bushes, -j^g snowflake came afailing. might have appeared in 6 B.C.
He was scared. He could not j^ looked so shiney in the ray ~ which, some research indi-
find his way home. He cried qj= ^g sun on thiS fine day. cates, may have been the cor-
__,  _.._--„ ...,  „.,., rfl iike to wat^ but ]. shan,t rect year Qf christ,s birth_
Since  legends   identify  the
wise men  as  astrologers,  this
Jerry Hieber, 7th grade theory  accounts  for  the  fact
that, as reported in the New
Testament, only the wise men
In a little sleigh sat a little  SHOE TREATS saw the star,
man. Blababobefobeo climbed Spanish children, at Epiph- While the ihree planets
down the tree and walked over any, i3xpect the Thri3e Kings to grouped together would shed
to the little man. bring thi3m gifts, and they set unusual brightness, the average
The little man was  Santa out shoes filled with straw or observer might not notire tlnam,
Claus. He was taking some toys grain for the horses the Kings while the wise men as astrolo-
and cried and cried.
Soon he gave up crying and
hid in a tree. Then he saw something come out of the sky. It
landed right in the middle of
the clearing.
stay.
The snowflake came afalling.
D. Houghton, 7th grade out of a little sack. He gave a ride.
gers would.