The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, December 21, 1961, Image 11
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1961
THE NEWBERRY SUN, NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA
SECTION C—PAGE 3
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A little gM’s curiosity has led to a;
bit of Christmas philosophy that has;
since become a Christmas classic.
One day—in December—in 1897, |
Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the New York Sun.
“I am eight years old. Some of my little friends say]
there is no Santa Claus. My papa says, ‘If yon see it in]
the SUN, it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth — there a]
Santa Claus?”
Because we believe the reply with its message of keen,]
spiritual insight deserves reading again and again
we show it here. It was written by Francis E. Church,)
a writer for the old Sun.
Here it is:
‘Yes, indeed! ” ~ ~ ~ g
“Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been
affected by the scepticism of a sceptical age — they do not;
believe except what they see — they think nothing can be
which is not comprehensible by their little minds.” |
“All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s!
are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, |
an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world |
about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasp*
ing the whole of truth and knowledge.”
‘Yes, Virginia, these is a Santa Claus.”
“He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion
exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its
highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if
there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there
were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no
poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should ^
have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight The eternal §
light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.”
“Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe
in fairies!”
“You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the!
chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if g
they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would thatg
prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus — the most real things in theg
world are those neither children nor men can see.” I
“Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, §
but that’s no proof that they are not there — nobody can con-1
ceive or imagine all the wonders that are unseen and unseeable |
in the world."
‘You tear apart the bab/s rattle and see what makes the
noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which |
not the strongest man, or even the united strength of all the |
strongest men, that ever lived, could tear apart Only faith, g
fancy poetry, love, romance, can push aside the curtain and g
view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond.”
“Is it all real? — ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing I
else real and abiding." I
“No Santa Claus! Thank God! — he lives, and he lives forever |
! — a thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten thousand years |
S from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.” |
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If would be astonishing, indeed, if no candles
appeared in homes throughout the nation on Christ
mas Eve. The legend which surrounds the custom is
believed to have started in Ireland.
There on Christmas Eve a large candle was burned
which could be snuffed out only by one named Mary,
As the Irish put it: "Who knows, on some Christmas
Eve, Jesus and Mary and Joseph may come again,
not to Palestine, but to the Holy Isle on the farthest
edge of Europe?"
The first use of candles for Christmas is not re
corded anywhere. But according to an old legend,
fhe "Christ Child Candle" was burned in windows to
light His way if He made an earthly visitation. It
was also lighted in atonement for the night of His
birth when there was no room for Him.
MISTLETOE CUSTOMS
The ancient Druids worshipped
mistletoe because it grew on their
sacred oak. At the end of each
year, a Druid priest would cut
down the mistletoe with a golden
sickle, and not one twig was al
lowed to touch the earth. Later,
sprigs of mistletoe were fastened
over doorways to ward off evil
spirits.
ST. STEPHENS DAY
In Christian liturgy, December
26 is observed as the feast of St.
Stephen, the first Christian mar
tyr, and during the centuries when
journeymen and apprentices were
in the habit of levying upon their
master’s customers, “Christmas
Boxes” were collected on St.
Stephen’s day.
Agents Help Children
Have Merry Christmas
Insurance agents of an Evans
ton, Illinois, company have devel
oped a tradition of sharing at
Christmas time.
Two years ago, they gave up
their Christmas gifts from the
company to establish a four-year
scholarship with the National
Merit ScholarLh p Corporation.
In 1960, tire scholarship was con
tinued and in addition the agents
extended their share of the Christ
mas spirit by “adopting” three
needy children through Foster
Parents Plan, Inc. Through FPP.
the agents now provide monthly
assistance to children in Italy,
France and Hong Kong.
Christmas, Florida Once
Feared Hostile Indians
The town of Christmas, Florida,
foday is a symbol of peace and
good will. Thousands send Christ
mas cards and packages to be
mailed from this small commu
nity during each holiday season.
Christmas, Fla., was estab
lished 122-years ago as a fort to
provide protection against hostile
Indians. Today, it is a small,
average town, with no claim to
fame other than its unique post
mark, ’‘Christmas. Fla.”
Each year, thousands of Ameri
cans send their cards and pack
ages to the Chamber of Com
merce in the nearby city of Or
lando, and the Chamber sees to
it that the items are mailed from
nearby Christmas.
•.'v'V .•:£s.
Airlines Promoting
Shop In Europe Trip
In the way of an unusual pre-
Christmas gift, KLM Royal Dutch
Airlines seeks to popularize
Christmas shopping Europe, sug
gesting that husbands send their
wives to do Christmas shopping
tax-free in Amsterdam, Holland
Dramatic? Sure, says the air
lines, “but it only costs $359.60
round trip end since shopping
seems to be one of the major
loves of American women, why
not?”
The airline spokesman says
that things are cheaper in Europe
and that a smart shopper can
save enough money to pay for
the trip.
Holiday Decorations
Go Far Back In Time
The ancients celebrated the win
ter solstice — the return of the
sun—by decorating their homes
with branches of mistletoe and
holly.
Traditionally, Martin Luther is
said to have set up the first Christ
mas tree for his children, al
though it was half a century after
Luther’s death that the first ref
erence to a yule tree appears.
A manuscript traced to the year
1604 relates: “At Christmas they
set up fir-trees in the parlors at
Strasbourg and hang thereon
roses cut out of many-colored
paper, apple wafers, gold-foil,
sweets, etc.”
CAROL ONCE SUNG
Before 1550, the English card
was a poem that could be re
cited or sung, and might cove
any subject of the times. It w»—.
danced as well as sung.
The word “card” came down
from the French “carole,” which
meant a round dance, or a dance
performed in a closed circle.
EVERGREEN IDEA
According to an ancient Norse
belief, an evergreen on the door
will keep out witches—which may
or may not have something to do
with the fact that a giant, 22-foot,
1,000-pound wreath was hoisted
onto the Metropolitan Museum in
New York for the 1958 holiday
season.
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'How did the tree symbol
ome to be associated with
lie Christmas observance”
-is a Question often asked.
Its origin is clouded with
jysteiy and legend but
lost historians agree that
; dates back to an era long
efore Christianity.
However, in the earliest
ays of man, the use of ever-
reens for indoor decor
ymbolized the ever-green
pirit of Nature.
Long after the practice of
ree worship was ended, de-
cendents of the Druids
ontinued to bring ever-
reens and other foliage in-
o their homes to ward off
vil spirits. They sought
his protection for their
homes even though they
had no idea where or how
the custom had started.
It is generally accepted,
however, that the custom of
decorating trees at Christ
mas time, and gift-giving
too, originated in Germany
in. either the 16th or the
17th century.
Over a period of years,
these customs spread all
through Europe and even
tually to America.
Decorating the outdoor
tree is a particularly-Amer-
ican custom which is be
lieved to have begun with
the lighted community tree,
later spreading to lighting
and decorating individual
frees around the home.
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r Wt extent* to pou frtenblp Ijotitrap
greetings tuarm toitf) olb fastiioneti guletibe spirit
fTlap tfjis enchanting season gtabben your hearts
Urith its magical splenbor anb make tins the
best Christmas eber for pour family, ^e say
thanks too, for your contmueb
loyalty to our firm.
Employees & Management
Newberry Mills,
I.Y