The Key West Citizen Newspaper, December 24, 1954, Page 23

Legend Tells Origin Of Our Christmas Tree Legend has it that St. Winfrid) originated the Chricstm-~ * > | THE KEY WEST CITIZEN —— CHRISTMAS EDITION —— 1954 | Germany in 1604. He gathered a- group of converts aun. - forest and hewed down a giant oak | which as Druids they had worship- | a Sau GAT RAR I een | EE CM MN, ME MM MYM EE EE EE EY? It crashed to the ground, split- ting into many pieces, Behind it stood a young fir. According to the legend, St. Win- frid said, “This little tree, a young child of the forest, shall be your holy tree tonight. “It is the wood of peace for your houses are built of fir. It is the sign of endless life, for its leaves are ever green. “See how it points upward to hea- ven! Let this be called the tree of the Christ Child; gather about it not in the wildwood, but in your homes. j eS : “There it will shelter no deeds ‘ 2 7 q of blood, but loving gifts and rites “ » ’ of kindness.” METAL FOIL AND STYRAFOAM—were combined with Christmas ornaments and miniature — Christmas trees in a composition adaptable to any scheme, This arrangement has the added ad- The annual keeping of Christ- ility.—Citi Staff Photo, Don Pinder. mas in Great Britain repugnant to See eae ce agereninty: ami ee ore the Puritans and Nonconformists, was forbidden under the Common- : . e wealth in 1644. The order was giv- Christmas Carols Evoke The Simple Emotions _|:',2e%e"3 bam day. Eating of plum pudding and ee ee pune ie was denounced as a hea- a: a sc arols, en practice. UAE CEM EN IC ee ee eM | + Christmas time because of the p 4 simple emotions they evoke, are among the oldest forms of music. ‘The first of them was the carol of the Heavenly Host over the plains of Bethlehem (Luke 11:13- 14) but the earliest manuscript of | a carol is found in the British Mu- seum in London executed in the thirteenth century. The carol is perhaps the earliest form of the song and dance known to man, the derivation of the word itself being uncertain. The more accepted derivatives | are “cantare,” the Latin word for | “to sing,” and “rola” which is a | joyous interjection. Some musicologists, however, | find a different interpretation and contend the word stems from the early word for chorus. Even mote intriguing is the pe- lief by some students that there is a relationship between druidical rites at Stonehenge, in England, 9 that mystic ring of monoliths. Ear- SIMONE TOURS ly records contain references to S Stonehenge as “the carol.” The first book of carols was RAR ARAAMARRARAMANRBRMMRMBM! | ‘“auctorissed by my lord of Lon = ae GR don” in 1562 and bore the title page “Christenmasse Carowles.” Some of these were legendary and were drawn from the Coven- try Mystery Play “Joseph Was an Old Man.” Others were from the English folk tunes, used as the vehicle for words relating to the Christ Child. y There seems little doubt that} there is a pagan throwback to the carols heard in Key West today. Religious dances were of record in Spain in the fifth century when Hthe choir boys equipped with cas- tanets capered, singing, ‘around the lectern. Caroling reached its musical height during the reign of the Tu- dors in England although there is an historic reference to the fact that when Henry VIII lay very ill he forbade “carols, bells and mer- rymaking.”” The Puritans endeavored to do away with carols, holding that they had no religious significance, and the Scottish people at an even ear- 3 . ; lier date had tried to suppress the As the Christmas chimes fing out lighter carols, considering them . “popish” ant “pernicious.” once more we send wishes for a As time went along, there was a Happy Holiday to all iends. tendency to widen the horizon of PPY mn our friends the carol and some of the good old drinking runes were employed for OVERSEAS RADIC the sacred “words denoting. the ' bs , | AND APPLIANCE CO. §iitaion oer at witha forth hight Chitin ever! CO CE EO ET EO OO OO EO OE NE OE NO ON TE bia ao DTD Lou Carbonell 522 DUVAL STREET x RRR ¥ & z MAASAI AAARRISOSIIIATS wy, r Sit f The custom of singing carols from door to door is almost as old } ; ES ee : Of all the days in the year, there’s none quite like Christmas. Christmas ote ee eucae vis patel aa Day is bigger, brighter, better than any other. English medieval cities. The men This Christmas, we hope you and your family have the brightest of the watch would sing carols ac- . es :, . . companied by a flageolet and they Christmas ever—with an extra helping of the happiness that the magic would collect pence from the gen-| # of Christmas brings to our hearts! try. x In the West Riding of -Yorkshire today children parade from house to house with “milly” boxes (mi- lady boxes) in which there is a@ crib and a recumbent babe and in- to which the money offered them is placed. Rated among the most famous | $ Christmas Carols is ‘‘While Shep-| 2 herds Watched Their Flocks by | Night” written by Nahum Tate in lasiaee wishes §| & y in the eighteenth | 9 y tr y pie a coarse tak = - = | l e Cc 1c S em | Welkin Rings,” later paraphrased | & . toyous ’ 4 | to “Hark, The Herald Angels Sing.” i be a | “Good King Wenceslas” which de- mayeee Matidey | notes the Christmas charity of the merry one and ied with |Bohemian monarch, also ranks - | high. is a ill! he New | ‘The repertoire increased as the nn one |carol custom spread through Eu- i a tuck rope and the Christmas songs be- asians | came known as Noels in France success, and happiness! and Wiegenlied in Germany. FIRST GIFTS ELECTRICITY TODAY'S BIGGEST BARDA RS The first mention of gifts at the The Maxwell —§)<trstmas, setson wi trenomes | emperors who “invited” their sub-| = 909 Fleming Stree‘ 4 Bree ero mere an * ments for themselves. But it is a Dial 2-6031 custom we have taken over in a! MOC CWRMER SEK COCCI jcompletely different spirit today. (DRS RRA AAAI ASS SSIS RWIS SAMSHUSSEASSBASSSSSOSSssGo2e: