The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, December 24, 1946, Page 2

® You hang holly in your window to keep witches away, not for decorative purposes, according to one of the many legends and superstitions that have been built around Christmas customs. @ Mistletoe is said to cure all wounds as as give strength 1o wres S. © Sauerkraut should be eaten for luck on Christmas. stimas ven out of with holly a branch of yew is accidentally it intc a house on Christmas, it is looked upon as an augury that a death will occur in the family before the end of the year. @ It is also claimed that a child born on Christmas can understand the speech of animals, and see what others cannot see. ® Dauglters born on Christmas will be wise, witty aad virtuous. new-born King; right-eous-ness! to the Sun of fb ald an - gels sing, “Glo-ry Prince of Peace! Hail the = | cy mild; God and sin - ners He brings, Risen with heal - ing He rec-on - ciled.” in His Wings. Peace on earth, Light s skiess die, of the more may Join the umph Born that man no rise, by, na-tions lays His glo - ry ve {l pe faithiul, pful and friumphant, 10 pe, © come pe to Bethlehent. on \ i 1 | i THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE—JUNEAU, ALASKA Candles Originally Were Symbols of Light and Joy fi ning cf time man | i Since the beg s sought to prolong the day and dispel the terrors of darkness with | watch-fires, torches, beacons, ete. _ | R ! California Has Mile Long | Avenue of Lighted Trees | 5 = e = | == The trees comprising the mile long | | Avenue of Christmas Trees in Alta- | | Answer each other in the mist. | Four voices of four hamlets round, | dena, Calif., are descendants of the | Deodar Cedars of India which grow upon the slopes of the Himalayas. | While traveling in India in 1882, | Capt. Frederick J. Woodbury gath- | ered the seeds which he planted lat- er on his ranch in California. When | the seedlings re about two feet tall, the captain’s sons transplanted them to line the wire driveway lead- ing to the ranch residence. The once private driveway at the foot of the Sierra mountains is now a busy public thoroughfare and Cap- | tain Woodbury’s seedlings, illumi- | nated each rear at Christmas, at-| tract thouso s of visitors annually, [ | | | Chrisimas Poem | The time draws near the birth of Christ. | The mooy is hid; the | ¥ bt 1o st i The Christmas bells | from hill to hill Answer each other in the mist. Four voices of four hamlets round, From far and near, on mead and moor, T Swell out and fail, as if a door | ¥ere shut between me and the sound. Each voice four changes on the wind, That now dilate, and now decrease, Peace and goed-will, good-will and peace, Peace and good-will, to all mankind —Tennyson. Pcac; Z;ood-lVi/l | The time draws near the birth of Christ: The moon is hid; the night is | still; | The Christmas bells from hill | to hill | From far and near, on mead and moor, | Swell out and fail, as if a door Were shut belween me and the sound. Each voice four changes on the wind, That now decrease. Peace and good-will, good-will and peace, Peace and good-will, to all mankind. Tennyson. i | | dilate, and now MERRY CHRISTMAS! { Mike and his staff wish every | one a Very Me Christmas and ; a happy prosperous New Year.| Mike's will be closed all day Christ- ! mas, as usual. adv. 459-t1 position in our lives. called held many miraculous virtues. Scandinavians ‘dedicated it to their | goddess of love, Friga. this goddess of love is responsible i qualit ! Déiiphers Story of TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1946 antedating similar tales familiar in |logue of a Canaanite saga ahout a 2 Old Testament literature certain Daniel, who HNvea more Hinate Ifll‘l-”p’ der » The ancient tablet was one of | than 1,000 years before his name- By GABRIELLE - 0|ds rian Tab!ei several unearthed during a series | sake who invaded the lions’ den, y of archeological expeditions begun ' and how he begat a t'n named g 2 in 1929 at Ras S te of | Aghat A scholar Yale University re- | 2ncient 1sla- R itly translated an inseription on | Hom Was Julian J OPEN HOUSE! !a clay tablet found in Northern Obermal of Judaica re-| The Douglas Fire Department ex- { Syria which mprised “the old- Search & t-nds an invitation to all'to Open | est known na e of the miracu-| He su iption, 1n cunei- | House Christmas Day, from 1 to §” | lous birth of an exceptional child,” ' ierm adv 459-t1 Look your prettiest to greet the New Year! Pin flowers in your hair. Mistletoe, dipped in silver powder, makes a beautiful *“frosty” hair decoration! You won't have to stand under the mistletoe—7you'll be under it, just in case! Lolior o Seunta | I wrote a note to Stanta Claus 1 thought it would be fun. I said I'd like a lot of things Especially a gun. But Father shook his head and said That wise old Santa knew I'd shoot myself or someone else And that would never do. So then I wrote and asked him for A sleigh with jingle bells, An auto, and a train of cars, And a pound of caramels. But sister May she cried Oh, don't ask for all those noisy toys And Santa knows that candy Ain’t good for little boys. So then I wrote 4nd asked him for A music box to play And a watch just like my father's To tell the time of day. But brother Tom he laughed and said Your brain must be askew, 014 Santa never brings such things To little kids like you. At first I felt discouraged But now I'm not because My mother says that no one knows The mind of Santa Claus. She says it's safe to let him bring Whatever he thinks best, And mother has, I truly think, More sense than all the rest.” m'J[/’/ae :bij tinct 3 [ u/e :br'co/'all'on Al Mistletoe, that distinctive Christ- mas green so common in many parts of America, is usually thought of as merely good holiday decoration or as a creator of open season on ladies | fair for otherwise bashful swains. Mistletoe did not always hold this The Druids and thought it The it *‘all-heal,” Probably for the custom of kissing under the mistletoe. The to heal, against sickness, to perform magic deeds—all these and more are the power to protect aseribéd to this plant in legends, traditions and even in an- cient histories and literature. Mistletoe is a parasite, which in- fests branches of various trees of both hardwood and conifers, but mainly on hardwoods. One species is found exclusively, however, on cenifers. Among the Celts and cthers mis- tletoe which grew from the oak was considered to have peculiar magical virtues not possessed by that from any other trees. Some even con- sidered it so rare as to be only cut | with a gold knife. Another old tradition is that the mistletoe supplied the wood for the ! holy cross, as previous to that time |1it was a forest tree but after the !! erucifixion was condemned to exist |ionly as a dwarf parasite. '| " Mistletoe was taken over into the Christian tradition in due course and dedicated to the Christ Child. {An old rbyme reads: The mistletoe bough At our Christmas board Shall hang to the honor Of Christ our Lord. Bonchevalier and Tree of Humanity The tale of Bonchevalier and the tree of humanity, told with minor variations throughout France and Germany, is one of the most charm- ing of all the Christmas tree leg- ends, Bonchevalier was traveling through a dense forest once upen 2 Christmas Eve. In the distance one’ tall evergreea stood apar! from ali the others; it seemed aglow with | lights and, from afar, a star ap- peared to rest gmong its topmest branches. As he drew nearer, Boncheva- lier saw that the tree was covered with candles — some standing up- right and others inverted. The star at the top seemed to be the vision of a child whose beautiful head was surrounded by a pale arnber halo. Word spread through the village that Bonchevalier had seen a vision, dreamed a dream, or perhaps ex- perienced a phenomenon. The knight himself admitted that the whole thing seemed incredible; if it was a vision, he could not interpret it; but he was gbsolutely certain he had seen it and his story was al- ways the same. Learned citizens of the com- munity questioned him and shook their heads—so did everyone else, except his mother. The tree of humanity had been revealed to her sor, she said proud- ly, and all the world would be blessed by his vision. Indeed; Bonchevalier's vision symbolized the tree of humanity; the candles represented persons, the good ones standing upright; the bad ones inverted; and the child at the top was the Infant Jesus who watches over all the world of hu- manity. j J ‘uhatet, formed the pro- \ YRRIN RLX!XIX‘XI!I!I\,E oy o g & E ) § Nl RANCH IN WINDOW AND CHRISTMAS MOTIFS HAND: PAINTED ON PANES USING QRDINARY POSTER PAINTS: 1 Al * USE SHINY PANS TO HOLD CHRISTMAS CANDLES- ; FiLL WITH GREENS, BALLS, AND BERRIES . FOR SVER. THE MANTEL, TRY LIGHTS, GREENERY ,B0WS, NUTS,. % AN INTERESTING DOOR TREATMENT~ BROAD RIBBONS AND A WREATH ON A" PLAIN DOOR —— PRINT YOUR OWN PAPER FOR. CHRIST MAS WRAPPING, | i e