Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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SECTION C—PAGE 2 im m ■x Wz- KN v A K v\ 1 j/' \ Mm K<M3 K» ^Jlory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. LUKE 2:14 May the true message of Christmas fill your heart with greatest joy. BAKER’S INSURANCE CO. R. B. BAKER Ida Mae Hawkins B. A. BUDDIN | A Helen ^arby ' * ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft lit Ipiip V II ' ♦ I - ISi Siv- \ \ .5 S'S'- K;.N>- ::::-y - HI il ^,2 I pi l ms) WE PRAY THAT THE BEAUTY OF THE YULETIHE SPIRD GLADDENS EVERY HEART B. C. MOORE AND SONS “Buy From Moore and Save More” 1408 Main Street Newberry, S. C. THE NEWBERRY SUN, NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 19< ■ i 11 |jul? Hug, Ag?-(0U) C^uud-UurA ^gmtrul One of the more familiar and somewhat nostalgic scenes shown on traditional Christmas cards is a snow scene of a group of men with horses bringing home a freshly-cut log for the Christmas fireplace. The Yule Log, lighting up the house with its bright and cheerful glow, long has been a part of Christmas festivities. Although modem living has made this practice diffi cult, especially in our urban areas, the custom is still followed in some U.S. rural areas and abroad. The origin of the Yule log goes back many centuries, far back into pagan times. In those early days lighting the Yule Log was part of the Winter Fire Festival. Because the weather was cold and snowy during the Winter Solstice, the cere monies to celebrate the sea son were held indoors. With great ceremony and reverence, the Yule Log — most often from an oak tree — would be lighted with a fragment of the Yule Log of the past year. This was carefully preserved for the express purpose of lighting the Yule Log and continu ing its mystic power. Once the Yule Log was lighted, it was believed that its brilliant fames and warm glow would protect the house and family against all evils; for protec tion from fire, storm and from famine. They prayed then for thriving fields, for healthy cattle, for fertility and prosperity. Person to person greet ings at Christmas time have been exchanged for many centuries in every Christian community around the world. The custom of exchang ing greetings at Christmas via printed and illustrated cards is, however, a little over a century old. According to existing rec ords in 1843, an Englishman named Henry Cole intro duced the “Christmas card”. Two months prior to Christmas, Mr. Cole, an educator and patron of the arts, had commissioned a British Royal Academy art ist, John Calcott Horsley, to design a card depicting a typical family of that era gathered at a holiday feast. The design was executed and the phrase, “A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year* was added. A thousand copies of this were lithographed and then hand- colored. Cole addressed and mailed a group of the cards to his friends. He then offered the re mainder of them for sale in a London stationer's shop, where they sold quite quick ly and thereby started what since has become a tradi tional part of our Christmas observances. Christmas seemed to have a lot of significance in the 184Q’s in England. It was at this time, too, that Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” was published, and Prince Al bert, Queen Victoria's Ger man-born consort, was re ported to have introduced the first decorated Christ mas Tree, into English life! -4 Christmas cards appeared in the United States shortly thereafter. No one knows exactly who introduced the idea in the States. However, credit is given to an Albany, New York dry goods mer chant by the name of B. J. Pease. It is said that he designed, printed and mailed one of the first examples of Amer ican Christmas cards as a special greeting and adver tisement for his store. Since then — the ex change of Christmas cards has become a traditional part of the American scene. Greeting card manufac turers produce millions up on millions of assorted greetings — humorous, gay, religious and reverent. Many of the world's lead ing artists are called upon to design special motifs, and great writers, too, contrib ute their ideas on Christmas in prose and poetry. * legend of the Betts Many years ago, in the little town of Locen, Holland J [there hung in the church tower two fine bells. Their clear tones gave comfort to all who heard them. However, these bells had never been baptized, and one night, so the story goes, they disappeared from the [church tower. The sorrowing townspeople searched 1 everywhere, but the bells could not be found. On the Eve of Christmas, the people longed for the j joyous sound of the bells —- proclaiming the Christmasi [spirit. Then, precisely at midnight, bell-like tones were I heard through the snowy night. They seemed to be j coming from a nearby pond. Though the bells themselves were never found, each Christmas Eve, just at midnight, their chimes rang out over the town and the legend of the bells spread far and abroad. Other towns, and other countries continued the eus- | tom of bell-ringing, and today it has become a beautiful I part of the traditional celebration of Christmas. many, many centuries — brightly burning candles have been an important part of the Christmas observance. And, in days of yore — the bayberry candle held a mystic significance — it was believed that if the candles burned bright and clear throughout the Christ mas season, then the coming year was sure to be lucky and happy. Branches from bayberry trees dipped in wax were used instead of candles in Colonial days, when animal fiat for making the candles was in short supply. Even when tallow candles were more plentiful, the bayberry candle remained as a traditional part of the Christmas observance in early days. Even before the Chris tians, Romans sent gifts of holly to friends to mark the December festival of Sat urn. The superstitious Dru ids kept holly in their dwell ings, as an invitation to the “spirits” to enter and leek shelter from winter cold and winter winds. The early Germans used holly in an observance which marked the return of the sun from its southward pilgrimage. Holly, like mistletoe, is surrounded by legends superstitions, dating back to pagan rites and rituals. Today there is no partk- m ular significance to our use of holly as a Christmas dec oration — other than it is “traditional” and “pretty.’ Yet, we use so much more holly than our ancestors did, that today the plant has .all but disappeared. OUR MANY THANKS TO YOU ALL, AND TO ALLA VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! MR. and MRS. TOM LEWIS and SON, TOMMY BOUNDARY STREET EXTENSION S m HWkiinnw s s TO OUR MANY FRIENDS. OUR WARMEST WISHES! Jt ■ H & H Machine & Welding Shop Willie and Jack Hawkins, Owners 1502 Martin Street Newberry, S. C. •&.. ->* «v>. <*7^ m + As the carolers sing outside your home, we hope they look into a room filled with warmth and true Christmas happiness. This year, along with our sincere thanks fox your continued loyalty and friendship# we wish you cm especially memorable Christmas. Champion Papers, And Their Employees Si- ! ’r.'iV- '■■■J m ■' ix