The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, December 23, 1944, Page 23

+*SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1944 Leason 3 Groohings To faithful old friends, cherished new friends, and those whose friendship we strive to deserve, our hearty Greetings are tendered for a genii.ne American Christ- mas. May the New Year be a joyous and prosperous one THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE—JUNEAU, ALASKA [ | Warry Christmas 1 L) '/ ARE 10 | LIK , ) ) CHRISTMAS TREE Al | €44 2| Personalities and fraditions asso- ciated with Christmas, wending their . way through folklore and ‘history, (may be likened into trimmings upon |.a huge and fanciful Christmas tree. | Approaching the central climax of | fid the Nativity Scene, pre-Christian peoples and symbols crowd the low- er branches; Arch-Druids advance bearing boughs of mistletoe to sym- bolize the Divine blessing; palm branches from Egypt and the glow- ing Yule log of Northern peoples be- speak of the winter solstice; nine- branched candelabra of Hanukkah represent Judaism, and Roman pon- tiffs proclaim the festival of Sat- urnglia a time for gift-giving and gaiely ) * |son: HOLIDAY QUIZ; JUST HOW 600D ARE YOU ANYWAY! i | RS | Christmas comes but once a year on the calendar, but the day of good cheer has kept writers and | poets busy for centuries. You've heard and read many Yule quota- | jtons since you were a youngster. How many of these excerpts, from | well-known works, can you identify out of their context? | The answers are at the end of the story, but—no peeking until you | have tried the whole list: | 1. Let's start with an easy one: | “*Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house not a |creature was stirring, not even a | mouse.” | 2. Just a tip on this that it is| {from a traditional song of the sea- To save us all from Satan’s The Holy Infant lies within His Manger hovered by Mar and watchful angels; reverential shepherds stand by and ‘Wise Men, for you. Joseph, | The men on Guadalcanal will nev- er forget the Christmas of 1943, Sol- diers, sailors and marines were still But the pow'r when we were gone astray.” 8. “At Christmas play and.make | geod cheer, for Christmas comes but {once a year.” HOTEL JUNEAU CLARENCE WISE—Manager 59 N "9 N g CRRRRPCRRRRRRRRRRARRRITTRRRRINT 5 o 5 ) SOORETTRITTRRRRE oo . Just as the ties of friend: strengthened at this Holiday Season. our business associations grow in|mut accord and confidence. R Best wishes for Christmas and the cofquy year. * j by > . ) ELECTRIC SERVICE SHOP JERRY MCcKINLEY WL § %%@EW@&WWH%@ ggaeny BRI bearing gifts, kneel in adoration Legend reports that generations of ) patriarchs awaited the Star of Beati- ; tude. Epiphany is the day of gift- giving in many lands and, in Spain, % the Wise Men bestow gifts as they ) travel to Bethlehem on Epiphany eve. Santa Claus, with his traditional | paraphernalia, stands beside the real St. Nicholas .surrounded by an ascending swirl of gift-bearing satel- lites; Italian Befana and Russian Babouska, awaited with eagerness by children of their repective coun- tries; Christkind—from whom Ger- | man children receive presents; Tan- | te Aria of Franche-Comte; the Mag- {ic Mule of Syrian legend: and the | Youngest Camel who, exhausted by | the hastening Wise Men, was blessed with immortality by the Christ Child. Jule-Nisse the Scandinavian attic gremlin—plays hide-and-seek around the tree’s topmost constel- | lations while angel choirs proclaim the story of Bethlehem unto all nations and peoples of the world. | - ST. FRANCIS FIRST 10 POPULARIZE CUSTOM OF CHRISTMAS CAROLS St. Francis of Assisi is accredited {as having been one of the first to | popularize the custom of singing carols at Christmastime. He taught the faithful simple and tuneful melodies, and the saying goes that, overjoyed by the succs attending his presentation of the first Christ- mas Crib in 1223, he burst into joy ous vocal recitation of the gospel story o o S o N o oo o g N o o o o S N COOR0CT lg‘ '..' N battling the fading Japs. familiar Yule touches were in evi- dence. Here is a scene in the out- door kitchen as chefstarved turkeys ready for roasting and serving. | 4. “Coming! | mas 5! “The mistletoe hung in the | castle hall, the holly branch shone {on the old oak wall.” Hymns in honor of the nativity| 8 "O morning stars, together were written as early as the 4th proelmm‘ the holy bml\!_ And century, but those monotonous :;:Zl::’:n""r‘“én(';“fi:;d“s‘f King, and church chants neither properly nor DY musically ante-date :ur mogegn/| 1. “Blow, bugles of batile, the carols. Experimentation with modal marches of peace; east, west, north and intervallic relationship during | #hd south let the long quarrel cease; the 15th century, together with '.he‘sh“8 the song of great joy that the folk songs and minstrelsy of the |PR@els began, sing the.glory of God times, made definite contributions | &nd of good will to man. to the traditions and popularity of | “They talk "f Christmas so Christmas music. long that it comes § | 9. “Christmas is coming, the geese Puritan England forbade public |are getting fat, please put a penny performance of carols; so for &4 “pe 14 man's hat” While they fraveled “upbergroundlli8ln, ¢« + Behold, thers came wise s}{ve(s" printed annually, served to | D% fipm th Eapt 10 JAIBARETS, | ! 1 & |saying: ‘Where is He that is born preserve the texts with a variance King of the Jews? For we have of accuracy. seen his star in the east, and are With the restoration of English | royalty voided the Roundhead Par-| liament's abolition of Christmas fes- I tivities, residents of colonial Boston | placed lighted candles in their win- | dows to welcome the Waits who, re | suming the Old English tradition, | ! went about the city singing carols | on Christmas Eve: “It came upon the midnight clear | That glorious song of old | The world in solemn stillness lay | To hear the angels sing.” R OLD CAROLS | Not a few of our carols have been | traced to the mystery plays of the | ! 12th and 13th centuries. In those primitive times, the church, in or- | | der to entertain the people, indulged | lin extraordinary representations of | | the events associated with the birth Lot Christ | PEIRRDRDLRCE Aye, so is Christ- | | | | . 5 | ,n\\\\\\\\\\\“\\\\\“\\\\\{?Mwm\“m\\\\\‘.. $ . come ‘to worship Him. And there are the answers: 1. Clement Moore’s “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” (2) English song, “God Rest You Merry Gentlemen.” (3) Thomas Trusser, “Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry.” (4) Swift, “Polite Conversation.” (5) Thomas H. Bayly, “The Mistletoe Bough.” (6) Redner-Brooks, “O Lit- tle Town of Bethlehem.” (7) Whit- ter, “A Christmas Carmen.” (8) Gecrge Herbert, “Jacula Pruden- | tum.” (9) Traditional British, beg- gar’s rhyme. (10) the Gospel accord- ing to St. Matthew, 11, 1 BAN IS PLACED ON CHRISTMAS Puritanism brought over with it in the Mayflower the anti-Christmas | PAGE FIVE sachuestts, following the example of the English parliament, enacted a feelings. In 1659 the general court of Mase, « « e law providing: “anybody who is found observing, by abstinence from labor, feasting, or any other way, any such day as Christmas, shall pay for such offense five shillings.” The law remained in effect until 1681. The repeal, however, was bit- ter to old Puritanisms, which kept up an event protest down to the early part of the present century. T T TR R B TN TO AMERICAN ARMED FORCES ABROAD GRUEN SENDS THIS HOLIDAY MESSAGE: J: The folks back home ® - Merrier Christmas for you 1 and your loved ones ¥ 9 nuad - &