DECEMBER 19, 1961
THE LANCE
PAGE FIVE
merican Colleges And Universities"
Nike Pegram
Having studied at N. C. State,
P. J. C. and Flora Macdonald
College, Michael Allen Pegram
is completing his college ca
reer here at St. Andrews.
Mike is vice president of the
student body and president of
the Senate. He also fills the
positions of chairman of the
Publications Board, chairman of
the Constitution Committee,
and member of the Elections
Committee. Mecklenburg dorm
knows Mike also as a suite
leader and member of the dorm
council. The Christian Associa
tion and the Athletic Associa
tion list him as ex-officio mem
bers.
Mike is majoring in math and
plans to go to U. N. C. gradu
ate school upon graduation
from St. Andrews.
MIKE PEGRAM
MARY E. WALKUP
Mary E. Walkup
A senior from Sanford, this
Bible and Christian Education
major is looking forward to
continuing her church-related
activities after graduation. Dur
ing her years both at Flora
Macdonald and here at St. An
drews, Mary Emma has taken
much interest in the fields of
music and religion particular
ly, while constantly maintain
ing a high scholastic average.
She is an accomplished organ
ist and quite a worker in the
Christian Association, sei’ving
as president of the Westminis
ter Fellowship and as a Sunday
School teacher and at present
a pianist in a nearby church
Her leisure hours are spent
playing tennis or reading and
she has held a variety of sum
mer jobs, ranging from being
a waitress in Montreat to a
hosDj'tai nurse’s aide
Jean Pigolt
A senior from Shallotte,
Jean Pigott has concentrated
on a career in business edu
cation in many ways. Besides
serving as a typist for both
the newspaper and annual
staffs, she is an officer in
Phi Beta Laml>da.
In addition to being a class
officer and a doiTnitory section
leader, Jean maintains grades
no lower than B’s. She is con
sidering graduate school for
next year.
At present her favorite pas
time is riding ai'ound in a
certain red Austin-Healy. Col
legiate football games and
beach activities such as water-
skiing are also tops with this
“Who’s Who” honoree.
tIEAN PIGOTT
ELAINE WARD
Elaine Ward
An individual who should be
a familiar figure on the cam
pus by mow, this senior has
had great effect on our cam
pus life here at St. Andrews.
As editor of The Lance she
has put many hours into being
sure that The Lance meets
the press on time and in good
order. Her collegiate journal
ism began at FMC where she
served as assistant editor of
the newspaper. Elaine also ser
ves on the Senate, the Publi
cations Board, and the Points
Committee.
Elaine will receive a BA in
English, Bible, and Christian
Education, yes, all three, and
she intends to teach English
aft^r graduation.
Elaine’s interests include the
usual activities of an individu
al with excess energy, includ
ing sports, singing, and numer
ous others, not to mention the
Honor society.
Christmas Celebrated In Various Ways
Skiing down a mountain with
a lighted torch in your hand
. . . strewing hay on the floor
of your home . . . knocking on
neighbors’ doors in a symbolic
pilgrimage — these are some of
the ways you might find your
self celebrating Christmas in
other parts of the world.
In token of Christ’s birth in
a manger, Poles spread hay on
the floor and Lithuanians have
straw under the tablecloth at
their festive Christmas Eve
meal. The colorful Mexican
posada or pilgrimage drama
tizes the search which led Mary
and Joseph to the stable. For
each of the nine nights before
Christmas, a couple dressed as
Mary and Joseph goes from
house to house. Only at the
last house are they —■ and the
parade of neighbors which is
now following them — invited
in for suipper.
An even more novel proces
sion may be seen in the moun
tains of Austi'ia. Wood carvers
in the little town of Oberam-
mergau meet on Christmas Eve
and ski down the mountain
slopes with flaming torches in
their hands, singing as they go!
Just about every country
which celebrates Christmas has
its unique bit of seasonal folk
lore or ritual. In Sweden, it’s
the feast of St. Lucia on Dec.
13, ushering in the Christmas
season. Each community choos
es a lovely Lucia Queen to rep
resent the young girl martyred
for her religion centuries before
in ancient Rome. In families
with daughters, the prettiest
plays the role of Lucia. Her
“privilege”: to wait on every
one else for the day!
But even the standard holi
day features — Christmas din
ner, Christmas presents and
Yuletide decorations — have
picturesque local variations. Not
only does Santa have numer
ous aliases (he’s Julenissen in
Denmark, Fere Noel in France,
the Abbot of Unreason in Scot
land), but in Italy he is she.
Italian kids place their trust in
Befana, an old woman on a
broomstick who brings gifts to
good children and ashes to bad
ones. (In older versions of the
legend, she ate the juvenile de
linquents).
Americans are probably the
champion gift-givers, spending
more than $27 billion for Christ
mas presents in a recent year!
The most popular gifts? For
women, probably perfumes and
colognes; at least 22% of the
nation’s annual perfume sales
occur in December. (In round
numbers, this means over $7
million in Yuletide fragrances!)
Men who think this "scent-
sationally” high should remem
ber that this figure includes not
only Joy — “the world’s most
expensive perfume.”
Toiletries are a highly popu
lar gift for men, too; despite
the jokes about Christmas neck
wear, many a man unwraps
Old Spice instead of new ties
on Christmas mom. Whether
they give it, get it, or buy it
for themselves, A m e r i cans
spent over $44 million a year
on after-shave lotion!
Many countries find it so
to come across on Jan. 6, Ital
ian children and their elders
draw small gifts on Christmas
Eve from a jar called the “Urn
of Fate.” The French exchange
gifts on New Year’s Day, but
the impatient young fry are
visited by Pere Noel on Christ
mas Eve. And leave it to the
systematic British to establish
Dec. 26 as Boxing Day. On this
pugilistic - sounding occasion,
servants and tradesipeople are
remembered with boxes of
money!
The date of the big Christ
mas dinner also varies around
the world; many countries have
it on Christmas Eve, before or
after midnight services. Our
traditional Christmas turkey
does not appear on many men
us. The French reveillon, a feast
which occui’s after midnight
mass, is apt to feature oysters
and sausages; in the French
province of Brittany, buckwheat
cakes with sour cream are serv
ed. The Norwegian Christmas
dinner features a fish called
lutfisk. At a Polish Christmas
Eve dinner, the number of
courses is fived at 7, 9 or 11, a
Lithuanian Christmas feast
must include 12 courses, one
for each of the 12 disciples.
During the Christmas season.
blessed to give Christmas gifts Christ. In parts of rural Ger-
that they do it twice a Yule- ^ many, this is carried one step
tide. While waiting for Befana i further — cattle and their
owners both fast the day be
fore Christmas, and eat well
on Christmas Eve!
“Deck the halls with boughs
of holly” is a traditional re
frain in English and American
homes, but in Spain 'and Italy,
householders decorate with
flowers instead of evergreens
at Christmas time. The Christ
mas tree, poipular throughout
the United States and Northern
Europe, is relatively rare in
Southern Europe; the creche,
or mange scene, usually re
places it. In Sicily, many fami
lies use Christmas trees, but
they decorate them wdth ap
ples and oranges instead of tin
sel! This carries out an old tra
dition that all the trees bore
fruit when Christ was bom.
In England and France, the
Yule log is favored; in some
districts of England, whole fam
ilies go to the forest to select
their Yule log. Pear, olive and
applewood are considered best,
and tradition says that the log
must be large enough to last
until New Year’s Day.
Perhaps the most unusual
Christmas tradition of all is the
one still adhered to by some
Swiss romontics. These folk ad
vise a boy or girl to visit sine
different fountains and take
Germans and Rumanians bake three sips from each at the
long, thin cakes that symbolize time the bells are ringing for
tlie Christ Child wrapped in midnight services on Christmas
swaddling clothes. In the Uk- Eve. After this odd rite has
rainian part of Russia, cattle been completed, the future hus-
are given the first taste of the band or wife wiU be found
Christmas supper, because ani- standing at the door of the
mals were the first to behold church and regular courtship
will begin — if the spell has
'/orked.
Us, we’ll take mistletoe.
Origins Of
Christmas
Ever wonder, as you deck the
branches of that prize pine or
spruce, who trimmed the first
Christmas tree? Or when folks
first “discovered” the existence
of Santa Claus? Or who sang
the first Christmas carol . . .
hung up the first Christmas
stockings . . . chose a strategic
spot for the first holiday mis
tletoe?
Some Christmas customs are
surprisingly recent, while oth
ers date back even beyond the
earliest Christians. But the
Yuletide we know — complete
with gifts under the tree,
friends calling to admire the
decorations, and family reun
ions — has existed only for the
past 200 years.
To our ancestors who cele
brated "Christmas Messe” (The
Mass of Christ) several cen
turies ago, Christmas was a
time of solemn rejoicing and
deep religious dedication, with
little of the modem gaiety. The
New England Puritans actually
forbade joyous Yuletide demon
strations!
Follow The New York Dutch
New Englanders and other
Americans eventually followed
the lead of New York’s Dutch
settlers and succumbed to the
charm of “San Nicolaas” — bet
ter known as Saint Nick or
Santa Claus. But the jolly gent
had a flourishing career long
before he reached our shores.
More than 1600 years ago
there was a St. Nicholas — a
Turkish bishop whose countless
works of charity made him a
legend in his own lifetime.
Martyred in 342 A.D., he be
came the patron saint of chil
dren and of three nations:
Greece, Holland and Belgium.
People pictured him on a
white horse ascribed to him by
old Turkish tradition. But his
fame spread to Scandinavia,
whose citizens felt more at
home with a Saint Nick who
rode a reindeer-drawn sleigh.
They also gave him his red suit,
a hand-me-dowTi from the an
cient Norse god, Thor. As for
the rosy cheeks, white beard
and jolly-jelly belly, they came
from the famous poem — “The
Night Before Christ mas,”
whose author, Dr. Clement
Moore, modeled Santa after an
Old Dutch gentleman he had
once met!
About those Christmas stock
ings: one legend says that the
original St. Nicholas, taking
pity on a man too poor to pro
vide a dowry for his daugh
ters, dropped gold pieces into
a stocking hung up by the fire
to dry. Actually, the custom
of hanging up Christmas stock
ings probably originated in
Germany.
Evergreen Long Revered
A Symbol
No. matter how many gifts
under the tree, the tree itself is
still the center of attraction in
most homes — a place of hon
or which is solidly rooted in
history. Thousands of years
before Christ’s birth, evergreen
was revered as a symbol of
longlife and immortality. Ger
man tribesmen brought fir trees
into their homes to please the
godlike “spirits” they thought
to inhabit the trees. When
these pagans were converted to
Christianity, they transferred
their feelings for the evergreen
to the new religion.
(Continued on Page 7)