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Saleniitt*. Dt*cfiiiber 8. 1*>78, Page 4
Christmas
rout’d, from one
illuminated with candles, of
the baby ,Iesus and Virgin
Mary. the Bethlehem
manager and the shepherds.
Below the illuminations the
word Children was written.
Though decorated trees
appeared in Europe during
the 17th century and in
England and America around
1820. they probably did not
appear in Salem until 1840 or
later.
Occurring about 8:00 that
same night, Chirstmas Eve,
was the watch service and
Lovefeast. The service in
cluded the reading of the
story of the Birth of Christ
and the singing of Christmas
carols and hymns. The music
came from the large Hymn
Book which contained over
2,000 hymns dating from the
early Latin church to the
contemporary Moravian
church. This service would
last until midnight.
coffee served in mugs with
cream and sugar already
stirred in. When everyone
was served a blessing was
said and the minister and
congregation ate together.
At an appointed time
during the service, while the
choir sang anthems, the
Lovefeast was served.
Usually the food offered was
simple and consisted of a
lightly sweetened bun and
Christmas Day, December
25, at dawn the birthday of the
Savior was announced in-
strumentally, with the sound
of horns filling the air. Then
at 9 a.m. a Liturgical service
for the confirmed members of
the church was given with a
sermon on the text of the day.
Preaching services occurred
next at 10 a.m. This service
was usually held in German
and English for outside
visitors. That afternoon
prayer services were held for
individual choirs. Around
evening time a service for the
whole congregation was held.
This included choir music and
the Christmas sermon.
On Christmas Day the
church was decorated with a
few precious figures which
were set up along with
illuminations of scenes of
Christ’s birth and beautifully
written lines of scriptures. It
has been concluded that, in
Wachovia, this was the first
“putz” (from the German
word putzen which originally
meant to decorate and was
usually applied to the
decorating churches).
With the coming of the
Christmas season. Old Salem,
Inc. has been busy decorating
the restored area and plan
ning seasonal activities
depicting' the old time
Moravian Christmas. It will
be fun to imagine ourselves
back in the 18th century as we
walk through decorative Old
Salem and eagerly await the
Holidays.
-Kimberly King-
The Moravian Candle Tea
ceremony began this past
Wednesday evening. The
Candle Tea has been a
tradition at the Home
Moravian Church since 1929.
This ceremony takes place
each year in the Brother’s
House on South Main Street
(across from Salem Square).
In earlier Moravian history,
the Brother’s House was a
workshop and apprenticeship
house for the single men in
the community. Here they
z.
Candle Tea Emphasizes Christmas Spirit
learned their trades as weil
as their moral and spiritual
disciplines.
The first part of the
ceremony is held in the Old
Chapel, where Christmas
carols are sung, accompanied
by a classic David Tan-
nenburg organ of pewter and
wood. Downstairs, one is
exposed to the art of candle
making. The ingredients of
these candles, beeswax and
tallow, are poured into
pewter molds and left to set
firm on their own. The red
crepe paper ruff on the
bottom is an added bit of
Chirstmas decoration and
spirit. Beside the old dining
room where these candles are
made is the Old Brother’s
Kitchen, where German
sugarcake and the traditional
Lovefeast coffee is served
during the ceremony.
In the cellar is the “putz” a
word derived from the
German verb putzen, “to
place, to decqrate”. When the
Moravians came to the New
World, they brought with
them years and years of
traditions. One of these
traditions was the putz-
building at Christmas-time.
The first scene is an ac
curately scaled reproduction
of Old Salem as it was in 1860.
The second scene is that of
the Nativity, which shows the
coutryside and town of
Bethlehem as it was the night
of Christ’s birth. Here a
woman dressed in the style of
Old Salem recites the
Christmas Story. Both scenes
are built in the old meat
cellar of the house and in
volve antique hand-carved
wooden figurines.
The Moravian tradition is a
preparation for their
celebration of Advent. It is an
inspirational time of
fellowship. It attempts to link
the past with the present
through the various stages of
the candle-making, the putz,
and the sugarcake and coffee.
The Candle Tea emphasizes
the timelessness of the
Christmas spirit.
iV.C. Composers^ Symposium Scheduled for February
The annual North Carolina
Composers’ Symposium will
take place for the fourth time
at Salem College in the Fine
Arts Center the weekend of
February twenty-third, 1979.
The Symposium will be
sponsored by the Music
Department of Salem College
with the cooperation of Wake
Forest University and The
North Carolina School of the
Arts.
Composers and their
composition students from
universities and colleges
throughout the state will
come together in order to
hear each others works, to
discuss their music and to
talk over various aspects of
their craft. The following
events are scheduled:
Schedule of Christmas Events
Friday evening, February
23rd: Concert of works by
North Carolina Composers,
8:15, Shirley Recital Hall.
Saturday morning and
afternoon, February 24th:
Student readings, discussion
and coffee, 10:00 a.m. to 12:30
p.m. and 2:00 to 4:30 p.m.,
Fine Arts Center.
Saturday evening,
February 24th: Concert of
works by North Carolina
Composers, 8:15, Shirley
Recital Hall.
All events are free and open
to the public.
The idea for such a Sym
posium was initiated by Ann
Listokin, composer-pianist of
Salem’s Music Department,
who with the help of Margaret
Sandresky, Professor of
Music at Salem, began the
Symposium four years ago.
Since 1976 Dr. Annette
LeSiege, composer and Head
of the Music Department at
Wake Forest University, has
also been a member of the
S fanning committee. The
brth Carolina School of the
Arts has made many of its
resources available to the
Symposium throughout the
past for years.
The Symposium provides a
valuable mans of com
munication and fulfills an
important need in the growth
of the arts in North Carolina.
Candle Tea - Single Brother’s House - sponsored by
Home Moravian Church, Women’s Fellowship. Nov. 30,
Dec. 1, 2, 2 p.m. - 9 p.m. Dec. 7, 8, 9, 2 p.m.- 9 p.m. Adults
- $1.00. Students - $1.00
Christmas Eve Lovefeasts -- Home Moravian Church.
Derember 24, 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. (children’s), 5:00
p.m. and 7:45 p.m.
S"ilem Christmas -- sponsored by Old Salem, Inc. Dec.
12, 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Reading Program
Offeredm January
In January a Reading
Program will be offered at
the Center for Special
Education. It is scheduled for
3 weeks—January 8 - January
26 and will be taught from
4:00 - 5:30 p.m. 5 days per
wee;., hoping this will not
interfere too much with the
students’ January Term
exi lienees. '
'i‘ course is a -aevelop-
mf r al reading ;vogram
de. ;’ned especially for
college women and Salem
Academy students. It’s
emphasis will be diagnosing
the students’ reading
weaknesses and sharpening
reading skills. Some attention
will be given to organization
skills, getting the main idea,
outlining and study skills.
Tuition will be $50.00 and
students will be working in
small groups with individual
programming geared to each
student’s needs.
A Specialty Shop for
discriminating girls and
women who prefer a
discreet amount of per
sonal attention in con
nection with their dodong
and accessory needs.
Open 9-9 Mon.-Fri.
9:30-5:30
Thruiway Shopping
Contor
Phono 725-SS19
TOG
Happy Hour Every Night
Open ^ven Nights Weekly
Disco Music Nightly V
Beach Music on Thursdays J
Proo OInnors G/van To Old TOO' ^
^ ^Spaclol Keg Portias For Spatial Collagaj
The Old Salem
Pi South Main Stroot
btore
A convenient place
to find that special
pift for parents,
for friends, or—
just for yourself , . .
CHINA
PEWTER
CRYSTAL
FRAMED PRINTS
WOODEN ACCESSORIES
OLD SALEM REPRODUCTIONS
Monday - Saturday 9:30 A.M. - 5 P.M.