Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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SEC. B — PAGE 2—The Newberry Sun, Newberry, S. C., Thursday, December 20, 1967 If you were to travel through the rural areas of Austria, you would no doubt wonder about an unusual inscription written in chalk above the doorway of many homes. It goes like this: C + M + B = 1967> These letters are re newed every year at Epiph any, the only change being replacement of the date of the new year. On January 6, 1968, the letters will be renewed, with the sole ad dition of the new year's numeral. The letters stand for the names of the Three Kings, or the Three Wise Men, or Magi. In case you have for gotten, they are Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. The Three Wise Men arc the focal point of the cele bration of Epiphany in the Western church, as they are considered the first called upon to worship Christas God and King. Tradition holds that January 6 was the date up on which the Wise Men completed their journey to Bethlehem. Yet Epiphany, from the Greek "revelation of the Lord" actually cele brates three manifestations of Christ: to the Wise Men, at his baptism 30 years later, a?id in the wedding feast at Cana. The Austrian custom of painting the initials of the Wise Men and the year above doorways replaced the pagan "Drudenfuss” or pentagram and other hex symbols inscribed thereon to guard the house from evil spirits. During the Austrian Epiphany season, three boys dressed as the Three Wise Men, and called Sternsinger, or "Star Sing ers”, carry the message of the Magi from house to BETHLEHEM LIGHT THE WAY OF THE WORLD AT THIS HOLY TIME, TO PEACE, GOODWILL AND UNDERSTANDING AMONG ALL MEN AND NATIONS. Baker & Buddin Ins. Agency R. B. Baker B. A. Buddin Mrs. Ada F. Hawkins Mrs. Helen D. Darby 1114 Caldwell Street Rhone 276-;i764 NEWBERRY. S. C. house. They are rewarded with cakes, candy and fruit; in recent years nave taken up collections for charitable groups around the world. How Old Is This World of Ours? Happy birthday, world! But, which one? The New Year is 1968, but how old really is this world of ours? One thing is certain. The world is centuries old. Using the principle of radioactivity, modern researchers have dated wood samples to be as old as 4,600 years. Atomic scientists expect to extend their measurements be- yond 20,000 years, which would, of course, be long be fore the dawn of recorded his tory. Calendar Accurate Until Year 2500 Man marks time by the Gre gorian calendar, which was in stituted by Pope Gregory in 1582. It is based upon the solar year of 365 days, 5 hours and 48 minutes, 46 seconds, with the extra hours, minutes and seconds compensated for through a well-ordered system of leap years. Despite the fact that the Gre gorian calendar doesn’t please everyone, it will probably be around for a long time; at least, until the year 2500. Mathematicians have guaran teed its accuracy until that date and mankind seems to have the habit of never solving problems until they are ac complished fact. Simply stated, the Gregorian calendar provides that years divisible by four, except for the years numbering the centuries, shall have 366 days, and the century-marking years shall be leap years — and have 366 days — only if divisible by four after the ciphers have been re moved. For example, the year 1900 was not a leap year; the year 2000 will be, since it is divisible by four after the last two ciphers are removed. Yule Plant The most popular pot plant fqr the holiday season is the poinsettia. It normally blooms when days are short and is therefore ideally suited to the Yule season. Red poinsettia is the favorite, but white and pink are also used. This warm-cli mate plant was introduced into the U. S. from Mexico in 1834 by Joel Roberts Poinsett, U. S. minister to that country. THE ISLE OF MAN Long ago on the Isle of Man, women sprinkled ashes on the kitchen floors on New Years Eve. Next morning they looked carefully to see whether there were any footsteps among them. If they saw prints leading toward the door, it was a sign there would be a death in the home. Ifthe steps were reversed, it portended an addition to the family. Lest we lose sight of the true f meaning of Christmas, Vq wouldn't it be well at this time I to rededicate ourselves to the \ teachings of Christ? \ May each of us maintain the s ] true spirit of Christmas \y in the days to come — Best Wishes to all our friends. West Route 1 Electrical Service PHONE 276-1884 Newberry, S. C.