The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, December 22, 1945, Page 12

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE—JUNEAU, ALASKA Still Center of Nation’s Celebration .l_’_AGE FOUR " : » " b Tradition?and Customs Are,mg (HRISTMAS : Bequeathed by Ancient World ! - STARS TELL hmumumwmmuuwmwuué Early Christians did not celebrate the birthday of Christ. It was not until the Fourth century that December 25 came to be accepted as the | presumed anniversary of the great event. In that year Pope Gregory V set this day officially. His intention was partly to absorb the old pagan festival of the returning sun (the winter solstice on December 22) | Godbsabnion in a Christian feast. A number of pagan celebrations were overlapped in this manner during the first centuries of Christianity. The stars at Christmas have a IS In Great Britain, for instance, the ““Lord of Misrule" led the frolicking, | story of their own 1o tell of crea- parading, and carol singing. This period of pranks and general foolish- | tlon—the story that gradually is ness is supposed to have descended from the Saturnalia of pagan Rome. | becoming better understood by as- Only a few Britons now follow this jolly old custom. tronomers. Nativity Plays. It is the story of the birth and The Santa Claus tradition represents the combining of a number of | BrOWth of our galaxy which we rec- widely differing relics of old superstitions and beliefs. The northern Euro- | 08Nize as the Milky Way and which § peans in pre-Christian times believed in a spirit | includes our sun with the earth (@ of woods and fields who had to be placated now and other planets. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1945 . good luck feature. St. Nicholas, it is | Same old carol, same old light, related, once dro a purse down SAME olD SA"TA " A e i Instl:l;zd & *’m"ng clad | Same old stockings hung at night; | Same old words of mu ‘[the- hc_n_rth. the purse dropped into Sume old Sasita, same ol Joye. s o erry cheer, |a stocking, and ever since then the Same good wishes for the year. happy custom of filling the Christ- Same old dolls and sleds and toys; 8 1 y | mas stocking has been universally| Same old holly, same old tree, i ristmas, seems to me | popular. Same old gifts for cherubs wee; | That's thc way it ought to be. TURKEY, AMERICAN STYLE, VERY TASTY Roast peacock is still the piece de resistance of Christmas dinner in | Argentina. | In Medieval England, the peacock | was served with all the brilliant plumage intact; sometimes, when he was baked in a pie, his head ap- peared from one end of the crust and his tail from the other; more GREE]INGS and then, or he would ruin the harvests. This Recent calculatio.s (210w that the # 7 # e being was known in Norway as the “Nisse,” and galaxy, measured in the time scale M ;Jll'tl!»thl‘ 'N;S‘afv\r!:ll ;illlll;lfl “tpti)h : i he abA Rl Miy Rt onhs vees : by various names in other Scandinavian countries. of its own years, is very youthful arge 1”8&)— ““? OYh e feas % y Merry Christnas and all more ekttt Giok J It is still a custom in rural regions for children and Is approaching its 12th year. lady of tfe coun‘.i who was chosen a Happy New Year! h4 kndWlads thike the u;eset o&t p;rridge ;nd beer onl Chr:‘:tmas Eve'“:l: But that does not mean lzdyears and Nonored i 4b 80, i sacrifices you have L ‘:h ase u]e filsse. esxs melrg ng, however, w in our time. Rather lt_i-s made up To serve him whole, the bird was This is an old, old * made have been worth- R of SRS ) SXyouis I Wil itk the g flayed—skin and feathers togethe wish, but one that is while to the mainten- In Britain the character known as “Father in which a rotating body completes care Wi HAART to " Tuhys . ths Head i I § B Christmas" is supposed to be a Christian version one circuit around a central mass. _¥he Whitc House belonged to the children on Christmas, during the | 47 W8 W O €000 G0 P00 sincere. It conveys our ance of our way of liv- of this ancient spirit of the fields. The Dutch Our galaxy is rotating around its late F. D. Roosevelt terms, and this Christmas will find President Tru- ;J A P rebis thoughts explicitly. ing. Sim:hr xms.borhsc, Nfic;idolas. is gm ;ecolgnizazle central mass. Our sun, out near the Man's daughter and her friends carrying on the American traditions. | e v:*:g be:n s g e 15 Betag sheocot s the more BOCURE YeE: e, Tl pths SR EEL 8 DCNE | to cool, the peacock was wrapped in . g o0 5 along with the rest of the stars in 2 Ve A his festh AR Hrbost T AN s * sion of Santa Claus, the fat, red-coated little man with the big bag of the disc-shaped system and is doing oRlG'N OF STO(K'“GS natural that Santa Claus should (m eal ‘elrs p tmz _tp b presents. This idea of Santa Claus is a south German interpretation. In e e pick them as the place in which ray—as e was wont to sit when .l other parts of Germany the dispenser of gifts is “Dame Bertha.” The so at a F""e which enables it Fo to deposit gifts. alive, showing off his magnificent . make a circuit of its own orbit in AND SHOES FOR GIFI'S . custom of hanging up stockings comes from Italy. about 250,000,000 earth years. In certain regions of France it| tail; a sponge, saturated with spir- « Switzerland has developed the custom of parading from house to house cmm° ciohlans wleter “nights is the shoe that is put out on|its, was placed in his gilded beak and singing carols in a picturesque way. Costumes are remarkable. turnish s ghod 4 ortunity for Why have stockings come to be| Christmas Eve. Some authorities| and lighted as the bird was being Young men and women wear headdresses repre- . .o lshlk wpap and visual- the traditional receptacles for say that shoes and stockings were served—but for all his go?d looks, senting houses, ships, mountains, and so forth. me:' ogur eosmm?: in ‘{ and its re- family Christmas gifts? put near the fireplace for the same | the peacock was cold and dry when Huge sleigh bells tinkle from their waists and "1& OU% Bosit ot 8 B SO0 10 FO% “a1hough historians can give nol reason that an old boot was asso- | caten. Junea“ Dru C” shoulders. These Swiss carolers also have a pe. lation to the 3 . P cer. they| ciated with a wedding—in order to e ) P A s On Christmas night the moon ¢ompletely auiaeniic answer, they ciated wi g i Sullsr dance used oily on Chrismas Kwe. I, il be half way between first Point out that children's stockings bring good luck and drive away evil| The printing press was invented o! i 5 tSvyntze(rkl‘and:fas 5 a:,h" s:rt;ernfiurz;;&an coun; :l:artereandnrun mzon reaching the are usually hung by the chimney spirits. |about the middle of the 15th cen- % % S S 3 A= o ?3 ries, the gifts are brougl good children, no 3 & =4y Mg T S o s o | e L SN . LA 3 e G T A % TS 2 by Santa Claus, but by the Christ Child, who comes latter state on Dec. 29. The dark to keep warm or dry out, so it was' One Christmas story stresses the|tury. ,W;fi. fl-k» fl?&-fl??fi&;)fi- ‘:fi B R L L g from the North Pole in a fairy sleigh. new moon comes on Jan. 14, so __ L TR S o R S Ay AR T SRS ool LA LR SRR D ANt 1 XA iy et - -~ In many German villages an old man with a after the first week in January b small drum marches about the house after the there will be a period in which the Christmas dinner, leading a procession. His drum moon will not interfere with star is to frighen away any witches who might have ' gazing during the first half of the come into the house during the year. He finally night. reaches the last room where the Christmas tree ———————— stands, laden with presents. Mexican Christmas. | MIS‘“H‘OE M AY Mexican Christmas Eve is a pretty combination of the religious ana the festive observance. There is a dance in every village until midnight. | At the stroke of twelve the musicians play a mystical sacred melody, MEAN ‘ &nd everyone converges in front of the “nacimiento,” or crib representa- i gion. Then the oldest woman present picks up the image of the Christ oF GOD Child and marches slowly to the church, followed by all the villagers. They enter the church for the midnight mass. When this is over, the dancing and revelry, complete with fireworks, recommences, and lasts until dawn. Members of the Orthodox Greek church, who cling to the old style cal- endar, celebrate Christ's birthday on January 6. Many people in Gry Serbia, Romanik and other Balkan states, as well | - " O'cc® the plant to the carth. Actually, the as many Russians, belong to the Orthodox church, hird 1s TEES ndiggihe be".les Ane ir Christmas feast traditionally begins with a ‘S. tesDonsldle fdr me Jice delioy 1ot “kutya,” which is a combination of wheat, fr tion. Growing as it does, on trees honey, ground poppy seed and pecans. Mushroom as_a parasie, 1 15 showy because soup, fruit, fish and nuts are also served. A small of its huge mass of dense light ; : layer of hay is spread under the table cloth to green foliage ‘ show humility for Christ's birth in a stable. Polish Its Latin name, Phoradendron, B people also follow this last custom. means tree-thief. i So every country and every district often has In Virgil, mistletoe was the ; Its own special ways of keeping Christmas. The golden bough, by the plucking of United States, being composed of people from ev- which Aeneas was enabled to des- . s Some say the word mistletoe comes from the missel thrush, a messenger of the gods who brought erywhere, has received customs from every peo- cend into the underworld and re- ’ ple, and has adopted those it liked, and altered turn safely. | lhem to fit the American style. So it has been In ancient Britain it was the sa- with Santa Claus, the Christmas tree, holly and mistletoe, the Christmas cred plant of the Druids. The chief i plays and carols, the luscious menus—everything has been gladly taken nature festival of these forest wor- ’ over, with thanks to the many nations and peoples that have bequeathed shippers was around the oak tree 3 4 i to-us, with the mistletoe on it. The Arch- ‘e the next year, cut, on Christmas L st thg froe Jio 0 | u(H Swlss Eve, an onion imo l;ali' peel off ‘12 lo?n:st DUt on, wm?h ihagatyed o] > z mistletoe was growing. With a . layers, one for each month, and ;o5e; gicle he cropped the branch (A"]’ON HAS "’S fill the same with salt. Those peel- oo q anoeq o ean in g fold of ings which contain damp salt the ;¢ ample robes. The plant was so owu TRADIIION ;‘»C?‘t(:\or.nmg ';redm 1-atx;‘|y weather o oreq that it must never touch the | el i earth. The priest then broke the 6 - Young people who are anxious to bough into many pieces and gave a| twig to each of his followers with! » a prayer | In the language of the flowers,| - . v drink three times from nine differ- mistletoe means “give me a kiss.” ent founwans, when the church This has its basis from a Scandi- Winter beauty ana winter sporis learn something about their matri- reach the acme of perfection in| monial prospects are advised to : Switzerland by Christmas time. For many of the natives, however, this glad season signifies in addition a 5 period full of sacred mystery Bndl bells are ringing on Christmas Eve Davian myth. the anniversary of days particularly | and they will then behold their % specified in ancient legends. | future mate standing at the church FOR THE BRIDE i However, the ruddy-cheeked St If you are courageous enough to Nicholas has in some parts of the consult the oracle to the length country been supplanted by the of time which is still allotted to A i Christkindli, or Ohrist ohild, This|you on carth, take your Bible on Tas rush. Make this a special year lovely angel is said to have come| Christmas Eve and the first psalm With a gift of exquisite matched from the Far North and it always which strikes your eye contains in lingeric. She will love the white brings to each home it visits a|stanzas the number of years which Satin gown, slip and panties all Christmas tree decorated with all you are yet given to live. trimmed alike and beautifully the glittering things associated e | packed in a white and silver con- with fairyland and heavily laden e o e A "_lmncr, i with gifts ntonio Joe de Sucre was he - - Don't overlook that bride-to-be' on your list in the ordinary Christ- first president of the Republic of| In most English dictionaries| \ Aa l Forccasting With Onions Bolivia. Elected for life, he de- printed since 1940, the word quis-| I TR L ropoe pin o S B 3 9 B -and carols--=1 If you want, for instance, to find clined to serve more than two ling has appeared as a common | n angehc voices s“‘glng Chnstmas hymns an 1 9 out how the weather will be during years. noun. “we hear echoed all the glory of the story of the blessed .Babe's birth, and all the wisdom of His_teaching ig‘ manhood.! We feel inspired to observe this Christmas™in the) traditional way; and to heap upon all our friends the . riches of heartfelt good_wishes for_the Yuletide and for] the New_Year. IF WE HAD A WHOLE SHELF OF BOOKS. WE DOUBT VERY SERIOUSLY IF WE COULD FIND ANYWHERE IN THEM A PHRASE MORE BEAUTIFUL. MORE APPRO. PRIATE. OR MORE SINCERE THAN “MERRY CHRIST. MAS " IN EXPRESSING THIS CHRISTMAS SENTIMENT, WE WISH FOR YOU ALL THE THINGS THAT WILL ::;Nvg YOU THE HAPPINESS YOU'SO RICHLY r- . Peninsula Packing Co. FRIENDS Juneau Motor Co.