Not Only Gold, But Frankincense,
Myrrh Were Precious Gifts, Too
“And when they had opened
their treasures, they presented
unto Him gifts; gold, and
frankincense, and myrrh."
Thus St. Matthew descnl>es
the first Christmas gifts of all,
brought to the Christ Child by
“wise men from the East."
Each of the gifts was rare and,
especially in Biblical times,
truly a treasure.
Among the gifts, the value
and beauty of gold is most
readily apparent to modem
(readers. Then, however, its
•worth was even greater, for it
was still more rare and pre
vious than it is today. Archae
ological diggings in ancient
Troy, Crete and Egypt have re
vealed that articles of gold
■were usually royal treasures
Since St. Matthew says the
wise men were from the East,
their gold may have come from
the mines of Indian Mysore.
Frankincense and myrrh,
while less familiar today, have
modern uses.
Frankincense, or “olibar.um.”
is a gum resin which flows
from a tree growing on bare
rocks in the mountains of
southern Asia and northeastern
Africa. It was formerly used in
medicine but is now chiefly
employed as incense in Cath
olic churches and Indian and
Chinese temples.
Myrrh is the popular name
for a gum resin obtained from a
small gray-barked tree which
grows in Arabia and adjacent
Africa. From earliest times it
has been used for making in
sense and other perfumes, the
Encyclopedia Americana says.
May the Christmas message shine
in your heart, bringing new
hope, courage and fulfillment.
ALASKA RURAL REHABILITATION CORP.
- PI 5-2070
Palmer
Christmas Story Borrows Legends From indents
The willingness of people all
over the world to believe myths
and legends that have been
passed down from generation
to generation, is well known.
Because Christmas—and the
festival of the holiday season
is so interwoven with mysti
cism, legend and historical rec
ords, many superstitions have
resulted in various countries.
The very Santa Claus story
itself, is perhaps the greatest
of all the Christmas myths, and
as research has revealed, is
expressed differently in var
ious parts of the world.
As a matter of fact, the act
ual modern symbol of Santa
Claus with his round belly,
twinkling eyes, rosy cheeks,
flowing white beard, driving
his reindeer-drawn sleigh
across the sky on Christmas
1 Eve from the North Pole where
he has a mammoth toy factory,
was created in New York as
j early as 1882, a mere eighty
| years ago.
There are, however, equally
as fanciful beliefs in other
j parts of the world, and while
' there is no documentary evi
dence to support actual belief
in these superstitions, they
are nevertheless accepted as
legend and passed on, keeping
them alive.
For example, if you were
born on Christmas Eve in Scot
land, it wouldn't be at all amiss
if you believed that you had
the power to see spirits, and
yes, even to command them to
do your bidding.
If this idea gives you pause
and you mentally raise a quiz
zical eyebrow in disbelief, con
sider the peasantry of France.
These gentle folk believe (the
story goes) that all babies bom
on Christmas Eve will have a
ready and facile tongue. We
wonder if by that they mean
“gift of gab.”
But that isn’t all with these
French folk of the countryside.
They also believe that those
babies born on Christmas Day
will be gifted with logic; a
moot quality, one often bom
with the progenitor of argu
ment. But ah, the maidens of
■i
Love is tlie heart of Christmas; ;
its spirit is peace, and hope the glad
ness. May you and yours he hlessed
with these joys and every other hap- :
piness for which you are wishing.
Kirk's Sales & Service
WALT - RAY - JIM - NEAL - PRES
PI 5*2200
Palmer
France who, born on Christmas
Day, come in for the big boon,
for these lucky mademoiselles,
it is said, will be witty, wise
I and virtuous!
The Silesians have a pixie
ish sense of legend — or per
haps humor, when it comes tc
the gifts earmarked for babies
born on Christmas. And how
they arrived at this equation
beggars logic, because they! >
claim that all such babes who
see the light of day on this
holy day are destined to be
either lawyers or thieves!
In Ireland—land of the le- i
prechaun and other little;
foLk from never-never land,
they have a religious belief
that is worthwhile indeed.
They believe that if one dies
Carols Spring
From Many
Sources
From the first angelic cho
rus, “Glory to God in the High
est,” the sound of voices raised
in song and rejoicing for the
birth of Christ swells across
the ages. Today, carols from
many lands and many epochs
fill the air at holiday time.
"Silent Night"
A broken organ inspired
“Silent Night.” So that the peo
ple of the parish might have a
song at Christmas, Father Jos
eph Mohr, an Austrian priest,
wrote the carol, and his organ
ist composed the music. It was
sung on Christmas Eve, 1818, to
guitar accompaniment.
"Deck the Halls"
Expressing the merriment of
Christmas, “Deck the Hall with
Boughs of Holly” is an English
carol set to an old Welsh air.
It refers to such ancient tradi
tions as the “blazing Yule” log.
"First Nowell"
First published in English,
“The First Nowell” is believed
to be primarily a French carol.
Tire French word “Noel” comes
from the Latin word meaning
birth; “Nowell” is the angli
cized version. Both mean
Christmas or a "shout of joy”
for the birth of Christ. Tune is
a medieval shepherd song.
FRIENDLY
CHRISTMAS
*; GREETINGS
With gratitude for your loyal
friendship and support, we
extend our warmest wishes for
a very cheery holiday season.
PALMER
BOWLIRC CENTER
PI 5-3891
"Adeste Fideli*"
“O Come, All Ye Faithful” or1
‘Adeste Fidelis” may have been
written by the 13th century
writer and teacher. Saint Bona
venture, but its exact origin is
a mystery. There’s no secret
about its popularity today. It
has been translated into 120
languages, and there are more
than 40 English versions.
"O Tannenbaum"
Most familiar of many Christ
mas carols originating in Ger
many, “O Tannenbaum,” or “O
Christmas Tree,” celebrates the
evergreen as an emblem of im
mortality. It has added famil
iarity in the U.S., since the tune
is used for several college songs
and for the state song, “Mary
land, My Maryland.”
"Merry, Gentlemen"
An old English carol that
sometimes suffers from a com
ma out of place is “God Rest
You Merry, Gentlemen.” The
meaning is not “God rest you,
merry gentlemen,” but “God
keep you merry, gentlemen.”
"Herald Angel Sing"
Charles Wesley, who during
his lifetime (1707-1788) wrote
hundreds of hymns, was in
spired to write “Hark, the Her
ald Angels Sing” as he walked
to church on Christmas day
1
>n Christmas JJay, ne goes | e
straight to Heaven. The doors 1
:o Paradise are open for such 1
'ortunates, and Purgatory is l
completely by-passed no mat- 1
:er what kind of malefactor the i
leceased was on earth. Now
that's a gift of Heaven! I j
The farmers of Denmark |
have a legend they keep alive 11
—but this one is couched in
the economic formulas of life.
They believe that baked goods,
and particularly bread that is
made at Christmas time and
saved until sowing time, will
insure a good crop and har
vest.
“Good St. Thomas serve me
right, and send me my true
love tonight,” is a jingle that
is highly romantic and might
be applied to either sex. But
not so in northern England. In
this region of our English cou
ins, a iiiaiucii wun
ieart, used this as a supplica
ion for a mate, but only if she
>laced a piece of holly under
ler pillow during the observ
ince of Christmas.
One word of warning to un
earned ladies who might find
hemselves, for whatever reas
>n, in the Swiss Alps. Beauty
s beauty, and no one denies
;he majesty of the Alps nor
;he invigorating climate of this
aart of the world is for the
lardy ones. But should our
Miss be wielding her alpen
stock high on the mountain and
meet up with a romantic Swiss
gentleman who offers her a
sprig of edelweiss, she’s had
it. This is the signal of a mar
riage proposal and when the
unwary Miss accepts, she ac
cepts the .donor with it. (That’s
at Christmas time, of course).
Merry Christmas
Eternal peace and happiness is our
sincere hope ior each of you this
holiday and all the year through.
D ft A GROCERY
DARRELL & ANN - LYNN - RANDY - JACKIE
PI 5-4077 Palmer
Chfc cheery wish for Christmas joy,
though it’s repeated yearly, is
just as warm as it can be and meant
oh-so sincerely: tHappy ^Holiday!
GLASS SAG
WALT & MARY
PI 5-2810
Palmer