Little But Legend
Known About Visit
Of Wise Men
Many legends have develop-1
around the visit of the three
wise men to adore the Infant j
•Jesus. Even their number is
legendary.
St. Matthew, the only book!
<n the New Testament that re-;
fors to the visit, reports that
wise men came from the east,
without stating how many
there were.
It was not until later, in a
♦ gend which can be traced
back to the second century,
that they were called “kings,”
■according to The Encyclopedia
Americana.
In even later times, they
were distinguished as Melchior,
Gasper or Caspar, and Balthas
ar.
The magi originally stood for
the priestly caste of the ancient
Persian oroastrian religion. As
the religion moved westward,
it came in contact with Baby
lonian beliefs and practices and
derived a strong interest in as
trology, demonology and ma
gic.
By the time it reached the
Graeco-Roman world, it was
practically identical, in the
popular view, with astrology
■and magic. This explains the
use of the term “wise men" by
St, Matthew, since they were
astrologers.
Holy Land Birthplace of Three
Of World's Great Religions
It is questionable whether |
many people realize the geogra
phical area that comprised the
world around which Christian
ity grew. It is also more amaz
ing to contemplate the world
today and the influence Chris
tianity has had upon civiliza
tion, when it is reflected that
all the events the Bible records
occurred in a area no more
than 80 miles wide and 400
miles long!
The area known as the Holy
Land is small indeed. The his
torical events however, which
have taken place in this tiny
piece of land, have almost lit
i erally taken civilization by its
i heels and shaken it into a real
; ization of the difference be
' tween good and evil, even
1 though in some parts of the
j world this realization is not
j openly acknowledged.
Within these small boundar
ies, contrasts can be found that
are startling. For example, neai
Galilee the rainfall is abundant,
while not far distant the deso
j lateness of the Negev desert
j is well known. Within a dis
tance of 15 miles one can travel
from heights of 2600 feet above
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‘ •'* • 44#*
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MERRY
CHRISTMAS - >*■
to our many customers and friends.
TEELAND’S COUNTRY STORE
Wasilla
VIV and WALT TEELAND
CHRISTMAS CHEER TO ALL
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BOB THELMA MIDGE
Palmer
sea level to 1297 feet below
sea level.
The oldest inhabited city in
the world is in the Holy Land.
It is Damacus, which has been
continuously inhabited from
the earliest recordings of Bib-1
lical times to the present. The
old wall around Damascus still!
stands and is so thick in places
that many families have carv
ed out homes from its massive
ness.
The oldest city in terms of
founding dates is Jericho. It is
said to be 10,000 years old.
However, it has not always
been inhabited. There have
Time For Low Bush
Cranberry Season
AiasKans wno picxea nngen
berries (low bush cranberries)
last summer are in great shape
to enjoy them during the holi
day season, according to Miss
Agnes Sunnell, state home
demonstration leader with the
Cooperative Extension Service
of the University of Alaska.
[ The bright red color is tra
ditional for the season and their
flavor is as good, if not better
than cultivated and processed
cranberries.
There are many kinds of lin
genberry relishes that are ex
cellent with meat.
One common and successful
relish uses two cups of frest
berries and one orange. Then
wash the skin of the roange
and put it through the food
chopper with the large blade,
or chop coarsely by hand. Sfir
all these ignredients with one
cup of sugar and chill until
serving time. This will make
about one pint of relish.
For a variation on this recipe,
Miss Sunnell said you can sub
stitute apple and lemon for
the orange. Cut an apple finely
with the lemon juice and put
the lemon peel through the
large blade of the food chopper.
Chill the mixture and serve
with chicken cr other poultry.
f
Another variation is to chop
pne-half cup raisins with the
berries and the orange, reduce
the sugar by five tablespoons
and substitute Vi cup honey
and 3i teaspoon ginger. Mari
nate the refrigerator for a day
or so to blend all the flavors.
This variation goes especially
well with baked ham, Miss
Sunnell said.
Still another variation calls
one cup of chopped, pitted,
cooked prunes mixes with the
berries and the organe. Add
one tablespoon lemon juice to
the sugar to make the relish a
little more tart. This variation
| goes nicely with turkey and
other poultry, she says.
Tinsel
Tinsel on the Christmas
tree began, so legend says,
when spiders covered with
webs a tree that had been
decorated by a mother for
her many children.
To reward the woman
for her goodness to her chil
dren, the Christ Child
changed the spider webs to
gleaming silver.
PEACE ON EARTH AND
GOOD WILL TO MEN
The joy of Christmas comes to our world
once more, bringing its message of hope
and love to all men. May we wish you the
happiest of seasons at this time. "U*
MATANUSKA VALLEY HOTEL
PAT - ALMA - DEAN '
PI 5-3330
Palmer
been four Jerichos at various
times, each not more than two
miles from the previous sites.
Also in this fabulous land
is the River Jordan. It now is a
muddy stream not more than
50 feet wide that’s deep in the
springtime and dry during the
hot summer months.
Many people are under the
false impression that the Sea of
Galilee is really a sea. It is
a lake 13 miles long and 8 miles
wide.
There is one place in the
Holy Land that is more famous
than any other — Jerusalem.
Even today, it is a walled city,
that has been besieged and raz
ed more than thirty times, re
built at least six times, and it
is little more than 80 acres in
area. Outside the wall of Jeru
salem is the famous Garden of
Gethsemane and the Mount of
Olives.
Nazareth, the city from which
Joseph and Mary started on
their trip to Bethlehem, is now
a barren small town.
The Holy Land is the birth
place of three of the world’s
great religions: Christianity
Judaism and Mohammedanism.
Still a land of controversy and
conflict, it is prayed one day
the teachings of Him who said.
“Peace on Earth, Good Will
Toward Men,” will be heeded.
Leads to Seals
Inspiration for the first
Christmas seals came to Einar
Holboell, a Danish postal clerk,
as he was sorting packages one
Christmas season. He envision
ed all the packages bearing a
special stamp, with the pro
ceeds spent to aid people who
suffered from tuberculosis.
The king and many of Den
mark's leading citizens endor
sed the idea, in 1904. Later, the
plan spread to Norway and
Sweden, and in 1907 wras adopt
ed in the U. S. More than 50
countries now use the seal.
Christ's Birth Dale
Shrouded in Mystery
Christmas is celebrated j
throughout the Christian world
as the birth date of Christ.
True enough, but what day ex
actly that Christ was born is a
mystery.
The date has been in dispute
for centuries with the excep
tion of one thing. All agree that
it wasn’t December 25th.
At one time or another
Christmas was celebrated in
January, March, April, May,
October, November, and De
cember.
The reasons for the diver
gence of beliefs are: the Bible
j does not give any clues; the
early manuscripts disagree,
j the interpretations of these
manuscripts disagree and fin
ally, the calendars have chang
ed over the years.
One theory why December
25th was chosen as the date
was because Saturnalia was the
great Roman holiday, and it
came around the third week in
December.
In the face of disagreement
one fact emerges from the mor
ass of argument and interpre
tation; Christmas is celebrated
to commemorate His birth. The
names differ, the dates differ
and the many ways of express
ing the spirit of the season can
not be counted. But Christmas
is a wondrous time and De
cember 25th is our date for re
membering and celebrating.
GILLOWS LAKEVIEW
KEN AND FRAN
Wasilla
A
EVAN JONES
GOAL COMPANY
PRODUCERS OF ALASKA'S FINEST COAL
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