BE GRATEFUL
EOR CHRISTMAS
“Peace on earth.”
' How old is this Christmas
greeting! For many years has
Christmas returned to a world
in which the promise of jieace
,Was yet unfilled? For how
many Christmases yet to come
.Will the world be yet awaiting
peace on earth to ALL men of
good will?
The answer is not readily at
hand. Yet, this we know; for
this one single day of the year
We can be grateful for the true
meaning of the holiday we ob
serve.
We can give thanks for man
kind’s greatest gift, the birth of
the Christ Child, and do so with
the knowledge that on His
birthday once each year the
spirit of good will becomes the
hiotto of all men everywhere.
IN NORWAY
Norwegians hide an almond
in the Christmas pudding.
Tradition says the finder will
be married in the next year.
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AUTOMOTIVE PARTS AND jj
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CHRISTMAS*
fare's
Santa with
our very best
wishes for al!.
PALMER MACHMERV
Ralph & Duane Goodrich
745-3520
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Spirit Of Christmas Rules
In Community Celebrations
It’s Christmas time! Every
where. glad sights and sounds
reflect the spirit of the season,
as this community celebrates
the joyous holiday.
The spirit of Christmas is
seen, in gaily decorated streets
and stores, in homes aglow
with light and festive with
evergreens, in churches where
the manger scene tells anew
the wonderful old story of a
holy Babe who was born in
Bethlehem nearly two thous
and years ago.
The spirit of Christmas is
heard, in bells ringing out from
street corner to steeple, in hap
py voices singing all the songs
of the season, from old familiar
carols to the more solemn, but
at the same time joyful, anth
ems, cantatas and oratorios.
The spirit of Christmas is
felt, as last minute prepara
tions for the big celebration
are made. There are always, it
seems, some packages still to
be wrapped, some final trim
mings to be put on t h e tree,
some part of the Christmas pa
geant or choral program that
needs just one more rehearsal,
some extra touches to make the
Christmas feast absolutely per
fect.
In the midst of t h e hustle
and bustle, the spirit of Christ
mas shines through in all its
many meanings.
The spirit of Christmas
means laughter and joy — best
expressed, perhaps, by the
faces of children, eager and
smiling as they wait for Santa,
full of reverent wonder as
they hear the Christmas story
and see the manger scene.
The spirit of Christmas
means giving, with love wrap
ped into every package. And it
means sharing — the riches of
thoughtful consideration and
genuine interest, as well as
time and money — with the
aged, the ill, the needy and
unfortunate.
The spirit of Christmas
means a warm renewal of fam
ily ties and close friendships,
and an enjoyment of traditions
treasured through the years —
the special customs each fam
ily creates for itself, as well as
the traditions garnered from
the lore and legends of Christ
mas .
As a holy day and a holiday,
Christmas means both prayer
ful worship and festive merry
making. The holy meaning of
the day is expressed in its
name.
The Latin name for Christ
mas translates as the Feast or
Birthday of Our Lord. The
English Christmas means the
Mass of Christ, a meaning
which is closely paralleled by
the Dutch "Kermis.” In Ger
man it’s "Weihnacht,” or sac
red night.
The French "Noel” has sev
eral possible meanings — news,
birthday or a “shout of joy.”
Whatever the exact origin,
there’s no question that Noel
now means Christmas.
When the German prince
Alfred married Queen Victoria,
he carried the custom of the
Yule tree to England, and from
there it spread by imitation
and immigration to the United
States and Canada.
The German origin is appro
priate, since it was in Germany
that the English missionary
St. Boniface, formerly a monk
named Winfrid, first instituted
the decorated fir tree, a tribute
to the Christ Child, as a re
placement for the sacrifices
made to the oak, which was
sacred to the pagan god Odin.
With the joyful strains of
“Silent Night,” “The First
Noel” and other beloved car
ols, today's carolers carry on a
meaningful Christmas custom
that originated centuries ago.
As early as the fourth cen
tury A.D., a musical poem was
sung in honor of St. Basil and
his victory in the fight for
Christianity over the Byzantine
emperor Julian. In Greece,
legends of St. Basil were later
put to music and sung at
Christmas and the New Year.
The first real Christmas car
ols, however, were probably
sung in the Italian mountain
village of Grecchio when St.
Francis of Assisi created the
first manger scene in 1223. He
and his brethren led the vil
lagers in singing hymns of
praise to the Christ Child.
Giving gifts at the Yuletide
season has many precedents.
In the years before Christ,
Romans gave branches of lau
rel, olive and myrtle to each
other at the Saturnalia, a pa
gan festival that occurred
about the same time as the
present date of Christmas. In
England and Northern Europe,
Druid worshippers tied gifts on
trees during the Yule festival
held at the winter solstice.
Roman emperors often de
manded Yule gifts of clothing,
gold and silver from their sub
jects. and so did the kings and
queens of medieval England. It
is said that Queen Elizabeth I
gained most of her wardrobe
through these compulsory gifts.
In later years the idea of giv
ing in a spirit of kind-hearted
generosity developed.
Make If a Musically
Merry Christmas
Music can be as much a part
of the Christmas spirit as a
Christmas tree, and no home
need have a “silent celebra
tion” this year. In fact, say the
manufacturers of P h o n o 1 a
Phonographs, while trimming
the tree or just enjoying it,
music will help set the holiday
mood. One will find on visiting
a favorite record shop that
record offerings are more di
verse for this Christmas season
than ever before.
Whether you like Bing Cros
by’s old stand-by of “White
Christmas” or prefer the more
rollicking sing-a-longs of “Ru
Color Keynotes
Decorations
A look through the merchan
dise mart suggests Christmas
this year will be traditional
with lots of green, gold and
bright berry red. Holly wreaths
and small decorative trees are
shiny green trimmed with vel
vet bows, garlands of della rob
bia fruits, bright red cherries,
strawberries and “just-for-fun"
polka dot mushrooms.
Tinsel string, fluffy foil frin
ge and gold paper garlands off
er trimming possibilities art
fully festive and fascinating.
Small mirrors on an invisible
nylon thread, or multi-faceted
glittering ornaments reflect a
thousand dancing lights in a
holiday room.
Oversize ornaments, much
too big for the tree hang in
cl asters and carry Christmas
into every corner of the house.
Some resemble frosty decora
ted icicles; others use velvet,
iewels and glitter for fancy
festive baubles.
No cranberry strings or pop
corn strings in the stores —
but there's more than a hint
this will be an old-fashioned
Christmas.
CAREFUL HOLIDAY
Christmas tree ornaments
particularly strings of small
lights, are a potential holiday
hazard. Children will some
times chew up or even swallow
a small bulb, with obvious re
sults. Tree lights of flimsy wir
ing, or old strands that have
been reused for years, some
times can be fire hazards.
Glass tree ornaments often
shatter easily and sprinkle sli
vers around the room. Handle
all ornaments and lights with
care and keep the extras and
discarded bulbs out of the
reach of children.
BIG TREE
The largest Christmas tree
ever lighted is believed to
have been 364 feet tall. It is
located in California's red
wood forest and was first
decorated in December, 1945.
dolph the Red Nosed Rein
deer,” you’ll find your enjoy
ment will be thoroughly more
complete if your phonograph is
in good playing condition.
Phonola suggests the follow-',
ing care for your family phon
ograph and records to insure
good sound reproduction for
the holidays and all year long.
Make sure your needle and
pick-up are mechanically ac
curate and correctly adjusted.
To prevent damage and undue
wear, the stylus (needle) must
be tracking at just the right
angle and the pick-up and tone
arm should be exactly the
right weight.
Have your needle changed
periodically. You should use a
diamond needle as it lasts 10
to 30 times longer than cheaper
needles. It gives up to 1,000
hours of playing time as
against 40 hours for a sap
phire. But even a diamond nee
dle wears out and it is wise to
have it checked after about 600
hours of playing. It is danger
ous to go much beyond 600
hours without at least having
the needle scrutinized micro
scopically by your dealer. Ab
rasions injurious to your rec
ords, but not apparent to your
ears, may be revealed under
the miscroscope.
Clean dust and dirt off rec
ords with a slightly damp or
chemically treated cheese cloth.
Apply cloth in a gentle circu
lar motion over the surface
from the outer grooves inward
to the center.
Our wannest wisnes
for a happy holiday.
Palmer Body & Paint
L
ROY KNAPP
I
Bells,
Bells, Bells
Through the ages,
bells have served many
purposes — announcing
the approach of vehi
cles, for instance, or sig
naling the beginning of
curfew. Early associated
with churches, by medi
eval times the pealing
of the bells had come
to signify the rejoicing
of the Christmas season.
An early custom was
the tolling of church
bells on Christmas Eve,
during the hour before
midnight. The tolling
announced the death of
Satan, and at midnight
joyous peals told of the
birth of Christ.
In England, where
bell-ringing is an hon
ored, family-taught art,
the tuneful bells ring
out at seven-thirty on
Christmas morning.
It takes years of train
ing and practice to learn
the ringing of complex
“changes, as the differ
ent chants and tonal
combinations are called.
Choice of Tree Differs From East to West
In New England and the
Northeast, balsam fir and white
spruce are the most popular
Christmas trees, while Penn
sylvania’s often prefer Scotch
pine, spruce and red pine.
In the South, red cedar and
the scarce but beautiful holly
tree are often used, as well as
pine.
In the West, cedars and
Arizona cypress are favorites,
and on the West Coast a wide
variety of trees, Douglas fir,
blue spruce, Engleman spruce
and other locally grown tr, s
are all popular.
Frontiersman Classifieds!
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A KjlERRY. MERRY
CHRISTMAS
And many thanks to / / \ ^
you for your
patronage.
C'
ALASKA TITLE GUARANTY CO.
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^ joyful chpistm^s
Let us lift up our voices and sing
“ out glad tidings for all to hear, in
the spirit of the first Christmas.
& H SUPPLY
SAM KOPPENBERG
745-3150
Palmer
IVtgRRy CHRi51M!15
^ssssssss. srsr
MATANUSKA HOTEL
PAT
ALMA
and
DEAN
745-3330
ralmer