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•J PAGE EIGHT Puritans Outlawed Yule as Frivolous Tbe Puritan government of Eng land outlawed Christmas in 1643. With the restoration of the Stuarts Christmas customs and traditions were revived, but Christmas never regained its former prestige in gngland. It is observed religiously in the churches and as a day for family reunions and social gatherings, in to the lavish feasting and merry-making of olden # Merry-making and gift-giving come in for their share, however, on December 26 which is Boxing Day. The origin of Boxing Day antedates Christmas and can be traced to the custom of gift-giving during the Roman festival of Satur nalia. In Christian liturgy December 26 is observed as the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, and during the centuries when journeymen and apprentices were in the habit of levying upon' their masters' customers, “Christmas Boxes” were collected on St. Stephen’s day. CHRI STTUfl S Joseph Proved His Love for Mary, Mother of Jesus Joseph, the bible relates, had to prove his faith in and love for Mary before they were married. It is one of the great love stories of all times. When Joseph thought of Mary, he forgot the difference in their ages: she was the girl he had waited for, his beloved. They were espoused—or, as we would say, en gaged—which was almost as of ficial as being married. His heart soared on wings of the approach ing wedding day, and then’. . . What Mary insisted hhd come to pass, simply could not be! Joseph wanted desperately to believe Mary, but such things just didn't happen, and if they did, they hap pened to somebody else. Much as he loved Mary, Joseph was a righteous and God-fearing man and while he couldn’t even think of making her a public ex ample, he had just about-made up his mind to put her away privily. That is, he thought he had made up his mind. In his heart, he knew he couldn’t; what would become of her ... of her child . . . Then one night, after he had ex hausted himself with tortured thinking, he fell asleep and the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream: saying. "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not ..." And when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel had bidden hint, and took Mary as his lawfsd and cherished wife. - “Fear not,’ to Joseph. the angel spoke un- Pike are little, if any, inferior to musky as fighters, except they do not leap quite so spectacular ly.—Sports Afield ■ : 'A IP.v t is particularly encouraging and pleasing to experience the true spirit of good fellowship that is so much in evidence at this time of each year — Christmas. We like it because it affords us the opportunity of ex pressing our sincerest thanks for the opportunity of serving you in the year • / • ■ ■ just closing. So, as we say thanks, we are sending you the cheeriest compli ments of the Season. TIMES SQUARE CROWDS . . . This picture was made from atop the marquee*bf the Hotel Astor looking southward along the ‘Gay White Way.” Scenes like this are enacted every New Years Eve in Times Square, called the crossroads of the world. New Years and Superstition Go Hand in Hand Mankind has always been super stitious about New Years. In olden times families south a glimpse into the future by the “dipping” custom. The head of the family, with his eyes closed, opened the family Bible and in dicated a passage with his finger; the text, solemnly read and inter preted was indictive of the luck— good or bad—that was in store for them. Probably one of the most wide spread superstitions concerned the. first person to cross the threshold on New Year’s morning. Women and light-haired men were con sidered unlucky, as where people who walked pigeon-toed. In some villages, the supersti tion was taken so seriously that a dark-haired man was hired to be the first-footer. Going from house to house, he would be the first person to cross the threshold, thus preserving the good fortune of the community. Anglo-Saxons, believing that something might happen when the New Year occurred often climbed upon the roof on New Year’s eve so as to have a good view of any such event. We moderns make as much noise as possible« presumably because our primitive ancestors believed that noise would keep evil influ ences at a distance. THE NOSE ... It takes more than an hourglass, a hay cutter and a crop of chin spinach to camouflage the classic features of Jimmy Durante. Here he kids with a couple of Copacabana cuties. Bowl Games Have Become American New Year Tradition Bowl games have become a great American New Year’s tradi tion. The fabulous Rose Bowl game started out as a supplement to the Tournament of Roses when the first east-west game was played on January 1, 1902. In that game the University of Michigan barn stormed to a 49 to 0 victory over Stanford. The success of the Rose Bowl classic has “mushroomed” vari ous bowl games from coast to coast. Among the many, there are the Orange Bowl, the Sun Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Gater Bowl, Hawaii’s Pineapple Bowl and even Alaska’s Ice Bowl. But getting back to the Rose Bowl, after the first year a chariot race was substituted for the game in .1903. Originally run with ama teur drivers, the chariot races be came professional affairs after the first few years and the public lost interest. The year 1916 brought a return to collegiate football via a contest in which Washington state defeat ed Brown university. The Rose Bowl has been going strong ever since. \ / The Year 46 B. C. Contained 445 Days The longest year in calendar his tory was 46 B. C. and contained 445 days. This is how it happened: Numa Pompilius supposedly created the Roman calendar in the seventh century B. C. It was revised several times, but by Ju lius Caesar’s time it was two months behind the sun. When Caesar’s experts revised the calendar in the 16th century there was the problem of catch ing up with the sun. So two months were inserted between the months of November and December. As a result 46 B. C. contained 445 days. There is no report of the con fusion it must have caused, but it must have played heck with tax collections and the like. RICHARD NO. 1 GRANDCHILDREN . . . Grandchildren of President Eis enhower get a look at Christmas dolls. They are (left to right) Susan, Barbara Anne, and Dwight David. The children spent last Christmas with their grandparents at 60 Morningside Drive, New York. New Year in France Day Par Excellence January 1, la jour de la bonne annee, is the day par excellence in France. It is the day of gift-giving and of ringing doorbells. Besides friends, who come to present gifts, tradespeople are accustomed to call to offer compliments of the day and receive, in turn, small sums of money. The atmosphere is full of joy and gaiety and hospitality. Gifts are proudly displayed and callers Come and go amid many compli ments and the toasting of every one’s health. Jour de I’an has its serious side, too. Many families visit the graves of departed members, since this day is considered an appropriate time to remember the dead as well as the living. The churches generally are crowded on New Year’s Eve, which is also the Vigil of St. Sylvester, an early pontiff and father of the Church. In various rural commu nities, the cattle are driven to the door of the village church where they are blessed by the priest who also says Mass for their protection during the New Year. Egypt, Rome Observed New Years in Spring Ancient Rome and Egypt cele brated New Year in the spring. Egypt used the overflowing of the Nile as a calendar and cele brated the New Year accordingly, in June. The Babylonians began their year in March and the early Ro mans followed the Babylonian pat tern. Bearing this in mind, the custom of invoking the gods of fertility at New Year’s time—the origin of which is lost in antiquity—seems logical and appropriate. The Romans were accustomed to hanging tiny masks of Bacchus upon trees and vines, the idea be ing to impart fertility to every side of the tree to which the masks were turned by the wind. Scottish lads always had a howl ing good time going about on New Year’s Eve switching the trunks of fruit trees and petitioning a “good howling crop.” Reflecting the fear of starvation, peasant families in various parts of the world baked a special New Year’s cake which they dashed against the door; member of the household hastened to pick up a piece and eat it, prayful that neith er hunger nor want should enter the house during the year. k