Holy City Today
Filled with Poor
And Homeless
As they have done since the
first Christmas, Christians will
this year follow the Star to the
stablegrotto beneath the Church
of the Nativity, the traditional
birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth
in Bethlehem.
Always small and poor, Bethle
hem is even poorer today than
most people would believe. A re
cent-visitor said, “Wanderers fill
the streets—anyone can see why
Mary and Joseph found no room
in the inn.”
Last Christmas, shepherds wat
ching their flocks outside Bethle
hem had to be especially watch
ful lest the sheep trap themselves
in the barbed wire of the narrow
no-man’s land separating Jordan
and Israel. Bethlehem, on the Jor-'
dan side of the wire, has as well
been sorely affected by the hos
tility and the uneasy truce. It is
crowded with Arab refugees who
formerly lived in Israel.
The effect of the conflict has
been crippling of Bethlehem’s
chief industry, the making and
selling of objects of piety from
olive wood. Dead Sea stone and
mother-of-pearl. Except at Christ
mas. pilgrims are so few that the
profit had gone from the business.
On Christmas Eve. however, the
dusty city takes on new life.
Christian diplomats living in di
vided Jerusalem expect to be es
corted to the little town over the
unused highway through no
man’s land. Pilgrims from the
Israeli side pass through the
Mandelbaum Gate.
Pilgrims rich and poor alike,
worship together in the fourth
century Church of the Nativity.
There is a High Mass, during
which the image of the Christ
Child is carried from the church
through a series of underground
chapels.
The ceremonies come to a cli
max before three adjacent
shrines. The Altars of the Nativ
ity. the Wise Men and the Man
ger. Outside, Christians from
many lands will sing, as angels
sang nearly 2,000 years ago:
‘Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good will toward
men.”
The Puritan government of
England outlawed Christmas in
1643. With the restoration of the
Stuarts, Christmas customs and
traditions urere revived, but
Christmas never regained its for
mer prestige in England.
The oriental character of the.
spices and flavoring in mince pie
was said to represent the rich
gifts the wise men brought to the
Christ Child.
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PALMER MACHINERY
Ralph and Jack
Let faith and
hope be your
inspiration
during this
Christmas
season.
ALASKA RURAL REHABILITATION
COOPERATION
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JIM HURLEY
DOROTHY WOODS
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F.
Gift-Giving Custom
In Ancient England
One of the most plausible ver
sions of the origin of the custom
of giving gifts at Christmas time
is the one saying it began in Eng
land.
In the days of the knights, it
was custom to hang kissing rings
in the great halls. These rings
were decorated with mistletoe and
beneath them would meet the
young knights and ladies, each
bringing Christmas rose's to their
secret love.
As times changed, so did cus
toms, and roses gave way for oth
er personal gifts at Christmas
,ime. 7
And our best wishes
for a happy holiday.
Clara’s Variety
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