The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, December 24, 1953, Image 18
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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.
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