Newspapers / Mars Hill University Student … / Dec. 10, 1976, edition 1 / Page 10
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Page Ten, The H'LVLto'p, December 10, 1976 On Christmas Then said a rich man. Speak to us of Giving. And he answered: You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow? Kahlil Gihran There is nothing I can give you which you have not; but there is much that, while I cannot give, you can take. No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in it today. Take heaven. No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present instant. Take peace. The gloom of the world is but a shadow; behind it, yet within reach, is joy. Take joy. And so, at this Christmastime, I greet you with the prayer that for you, now and forever,the day breaks and the shadows flee away. Fva G'iovann'i There is a better thing than the observance of Christmas day and that is keeping Christmas. Are you willing to forget what you have done for othe^ people and remember what other people have done for you? Ignore what the world owes you,and to think what you owe th® world? to see that your fellow men are just as real as yo'* are and to try to look behind their faces to their heartSi hungry for joy? to close your book of complaints against th® management of the universe, and to look around for a pis*'® where you can sow a few seeds of happiness? If you are wlH' ing to do these things, even for a day, then you can keeP Christmas. Are you willing to stoop down and consider the needs the desires of little children? to remember the weakness loneliness of people who are growing old? to stop asking much your friends love you, and ask yourself whether or you love them enough? to trim your lamp so that it will more light and less smoke, and to carry it in front of so that your shadow will fall behind you? Are you willing to believe that love is the stronges^^ thing in the world stronger than hate, stronger than evil> stronger than death, and that the blessed life that began Bethlehem nineteen hundred years ago is the image and brig'’*'” ness of eternal love? Then you can keep Christmas. And if you can keep it for a day, why not always? Henry Van Margaret Doqtt CarolsMostlMversalWay of Celebration Of all of the customs sur rounding the Yuletide season, perhaps the most popular is the singing of Christmas car ols . Anyone, young or old, prima donna or monotone, can sing the many songs that cel ebrate the world's most joy ous holiday. Where, however, did the singing of carols be gin, and where did some of the best known carols origi nate? The word "carol" comes from the French word carole, and was originally a dance done in rings, and accompanied by singing and,sometimes,flutes. In the thirteenth century these carols were secular in nature; but,according to leg end, St. Francis of Assisi changed the songs into relig ious hymns. From then on, the singing of carols spread throughout Europe; later,col onists carried them to dis tant lands, including America Although there are carols for Advent, Epiphany, and Easter, the most popular ones are those about Christmas,and can be placed in several di visions. The largest group of carols are of the nativity, such as "What Child Is This?" Others can be classified as shepherd carols ("While Shep herds Watch Their Flocks By Night"), wise men carols ("We Three Kings"), and ballads (the sixteenth century carol, "I Saw Three Ships"). Some carols, such as "Angels We Have Heard on High" are maca ronic, a medieval practice of mixing an English and Latin text. Some carols have melodies that date far back in history with lyrics of fairly recent origin. The tune of "Deck the Halls" dates back to the Druids. It was published in 1784 under the Welsh lyrics entitled "Nos Galan" or "New Year's Night." Over a hundred years later—in 1881—this same melody appeared in New York with the now-familiar lyrics "Deck the halls with boughs of holly." The music of "Good King Wenceslas" originated in 13th century Sweden with words that began "Spring has un wrapped her flowers." Around 1850 an English minister,John Mason Neale, wrote several verses about the Bohemian king, Wenceslas, noted for the good deeds he performed. Neale set his verses to the old Swedish melody,and creat ed a new Christmas song. Other popular carols were written within the past two centuries. Issac Watts, the "Father of Hymnody," wrote the words of "Joy to the World" as his translation of the last five verses of Psalm 98. Years later, an American, Lowell Mason, composed a mel ody to Watt's words, borrow ing two musical phrases from Handel's "Messiah" as inspi ration. He entitled the carol "Antioch" and published it in 1839. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" took over a century to evolve into its present form. Charles Wesley wrote a poem in the early 1700's that be gan "Hark how all the Welkin rings/Glory to the King of Kings." A George Whitefield, apparently having little fond ness for the word "welkin"— it means sky—changed the lyrics to "Hark! the herald angels sing/Glory to the new born king." After that,sever al editors saw fit to make changes in the text. In 1840, German composer Felix Mendelssohn was asked to compose a work in honor of the invention of the printing press. He responded with a composition for male chorus and piano. An English organ ist, Dr. W.H. Cummings, dis- Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Wh^ Christmas," and "Do You What I Hear" are among popular of today's sl> most ols. But no matter what song is—an ancient Swedi melody or an Irving original—Christmas have been and shall rem^ ^ one of the most univef^^ ways to celebrate Christit*^ .d covered that one portion the work, "Vaterland, " f Charles Wesley's words. ^ Mendelssohn's music, then/^^ Wesley's poem, he publish® "Hark I The Herald Angels in 1855. j Perhaps the world's popular Christmas carol \ "Silent Night, "and its ori9^, was almost as s_imple as words. At Christmastime,1®^I an Austrian priest, Mohr, discovered he needed new carol for services wrote down a poem, and it to his friend, organi® Franz Gruber. Gruber compo^® the melody on Christmas and "Silent Night" was sung that very night Mohr's church. The twentieth century also produced many Christ®®^, songs that are fast heco^^ traditional Christmas card® Melodies such as "Rudolf laf tH® i at
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Dec. 10, 1976, edition 1
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