Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Page F*bur THE ( LINTON CHRONICLE -» \SO N S Greetings ALL GOOD WISHES ' FOR THE HOLIDAYS MOORE’S DRESS SHOPPE Mrs. Pern M. Moore Thursday, December 22, 1919 -f- CLINTON SERVICE STATION GULF PRODUCTS Carroll, Mason and Charles Young HKRAI.D ANGELS . . . Rehear*. In? for the annual Christmas candlelight service, the children choristers of the Crawford Meth odist Memorial church In the Bronx, New York, make an Im pressive picture when viewed through s Christmas wresth In the foreground. - •'" v } WWI ' l' " , ‘ 11?, \. came \\* . 1* ; • "#. j/ ij’* 1 $ ' ■ rrikM ^ cjnree /> , % \ ^ 11 Wmm 'z-__» .. ^ i: ■ < i • $ 4/. *;!' By John Scott Douglas • T7RED DOBSON plugged in the ^ string of lights and then stood back to admire the blue and red and green candle globes on the Christmas tree. Ellen left the table she was setting to study the effect. “Nice littie tree, Fred. Seems a shame, though, not to be sharing ii with someone. This was our year—” And fhen^she stopped, and her face, still pretty in middle age, grew pink. Fred knew she’d been about to say t! at it was their year to have the Robbins to Chiristmas dinner. Every year since their children had married and left they had either entertained their neigh bors or had been their guests. But now, by mutual consent, the quarrel with the Robbins was not mentioned. It was characteristic of Ellen not to blame Fred. And that took forbearance because Mar tha Robbins had been her dearest friend. Ellen sighed. “Goodness! the tur key must be almost ready.” with all good wishes for ChristmM and a sincere thanks for all past favors RUBY’S BEAUTY SHOP Phone 453 Legend not only has identified the Wise Men as Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, it has crowned them and given them the king doms of Tarsus, Arabia * and Ethiopia. It has symbolized their gifts as symbolic of what Jesus was to become—gold for a king, frankincense for a high priest and myrrh for a great physician. The Gospel text's specific wise men from the east logically identi fies them with Zoroastrianism—an ancient monotheistic religion of Persia. Zoroastrian priests were called Magi; they were powerful in public and private life since they, and they alone, possessed the priestly mysteries mvolved in the worship of Mazda—who repre sented the Zoroastrian power for good. The Magi may or may not have been fabulously wealthy: St. Mat thew does not elaborate their treasures nor the amount of gold, frankincense and myrrh... whic!? they presented to the Christ Child. The gifts may have been mere tokens of their treasures, or the sum and substances thereof. And if they were soothsayers, mystics and possibly clairvoyants they were also truly wise—in as much as they did not return to Herod, but departed into their own country by ^ different route. CHMAS * > • from . . RODDY’S DRIVE-IN CLOSED CHRISTMAS DAY x OPEN MONDAY, THE 26TH if^ rim A ^^epfored “l)e CkriAtmaA Say ” Puritan disapproval of Christmas celebrations disembarked from the Mayflower with the Pilgrims in 1621 and, accordingly, Governor Bradford issued a statement pub licly rebuking certain young men ! who declined to work on December 25, “ye day called Christmas.” This first New England Christ- ; mas — or non-observance thereof— ; should not be credited as the first Christmas on American soil, since Leif Eriksen.spent a winter or two on the North American continent around the turn of the 11th century. Leif was a Christian, and it is likely that members of his crew were Christians, too; although it is quite possible that some had ac cepted the faith without remodel ing their pagan natures, since King Olaf’s methods were ruthless and his command “Be baptized, or else!” left them little choice. Undoubtedly, flagons of crude, raw wine fermented from the grapes of Leif's vinland were passed around and the celebration may have been rather boisterous, but in all fairness to Leif—who, ac cording to excellent testimony, was a sincere convert—it is reasonable to assume that there was a trace of religious observance. Perhaps Leif remembered the few words of Latin prayer he learned at the time of his conver sion and recited them in honor of the birthday of the Redeemer he had accepted. . . . Thus, the first Christmas in America was ob served. l The first Christmas card was de signed in 1845. —Poinsettias which have come to be a “must” for Chirstmas decora tions owe their name and popularity to an early American. diplomat, botanist and scholar—Joel Roberts Poinsett. He was back in a moment pritb a rake. Lifting the smouldering tree with the tines, he hurled it out onto the snowy lawn. Fred thought of their quarrel, which had started because of a cocker puppy which wouldn’t stay home. Tom, with his usual consid eration for his neighbors, had started to build a fence to keep the dog out of the Dobson’s garden. Fred thought the fence was a foot within his own property line, and jokingly said so. Tom had laughed. “Who’s paying for it?” “I’ll pay half,” Fred had said, “if you’ll buy the strip you’re using.” The joke, within a matter of days, had taken on an edge, and then they gave up speaking. No longer did they fish and hunt together, or play in their usual SaturdfjTlfour- somes. By then, beginning to fume at Tom’s high-handedness, Fred had his property surveyed, only to dis cover that his garden had in reality extended onto his neighbor’s pr6p- erty. The fence was where it be longed. Fred wanted to apologize, but every time he stepped outside, Tom walked into the house. Within a matter of seconds, Fred was too busy to think of Lie quarrel. The little Christmas tree was on fire .and carckling fiercely. He flung open the door and screamed, “Fire! help! help!” And then, snatching up the hall runner he’d been planning to replace, he knocked over the tree and began beating out the flames. Behind him Tom called, “Stay with it, pal—I’ll get something.” He was back in a moment with a rake. Lifting the smoldering tree with the tines, he hurled it out onto the snowy lawn. Martha Robbins had appeared by then. Seeing Ellen staring dazedly at the cloud of smoke and the blackened wall where the tree had stood, she opened (he windows and tnen slipped her arm around Ellen s shoulders. ‘ Poor dear! And just when you were sitting down to your Christmas dinner. After the ssaoke has thinned out, this room will be freezing. You and Fred are having dinner with us.” Ellen looked happy but flustered. “But this was our year—” ’•Nonsense!” Tom said heartily. “We’ll eat with you next year.” “That will be swell,” Fred said, beaming. When they started Martha Rob bins’ bountiful dinner, there was at first a little stiffness. But Tom was soon joking about Feed’s “high forehead,” and Fred was asking Tom ii he’d considered sell ing his hair to a wire-brush factory. As they said hearty farewells later, Tom remarked, “Can’t say I’m sorry about that fire. We’ve sure missed you folks.” “And it was all my fault,” Fred said. “I was wrong about—” “Aw, forget it,” Tom interrupted. “How about some golf Saturday?” When they reached home, Fred looked at the blackened wall specu latively. “No real damage done,* Ellen. A coat of paint will fix it *«*w •* y up. “How do you suppose tha tree ever caught fire?" Ellen asked. Fred grinned sheepishly. “A match and a hunch of tissue paper may have helped." \\iarkA AT CHRISTMA5 Accept this sincere expression of our appreciation for your friendliness and patronage in the post. Our most cordial greetings ond best wishes for your happiness. -MERRY CHRISTMAS! -HAPPY NEW YEAR! Sunshine Cleaners H. F. Blalock — Gary Holcomb Phone 436 Clinton, S. C. T- When ie air is a HttSc crisper, the ihnppiH| ctowds are a kttk thicker, and a feeling of good cheer spreads over everyone, it's a good sign that Christana* fc juet around the comer, so we take this opportunity to wish you and yours all the happiness for the coming festive season. Gulf Oil Corporation JOHN A. ADDISON, Agent