Newspapers / The Warren Record (Warrenton, … / Dec. 23, 1981, edition 1 / Page 13
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SECTION B ®tjc Harrcn IRecarb SECTION B THE CUSTOM OF SENDING CHRISTMAS CARDS origi nated in England in 1843, where the first known Chriatmas card was designed by John Caleott Horslry. Today, Americans exchange more than three billion carda during the holiday sea son. Pictured herr is "Real Qiriatmas Wishes," a European print (circa 1890). Courtesy of the Oakland, California Museum. The historic origins of the modern Christmas card (JijChnstmas cards originated with an English nobleman who yearly wrote Christmas letters to friends and family One year—1843—he didn't have the time, and so com missioned an artist to design a card to which he could just add a note. By the I860's Christmas cards had caught on in England, and shortly afterward crossed the ocean to America. Today Americans exchange some 3 billion Christmas cards each year. What with the rising prices of cards and postage, it's a custom that can be costly. No wonder so many people are now making their own. Here are a few ideas, which are easy and fun to make: First, find envelopes, then cut colored paper or card stock to Pit. For a design, cookie cutters arc one quick and sure trick, especially for the novice de signer. Trace a single tree or star, or make a pattern of several. Fill in the outline with scraps of fabric, glitter, bits of pretty giftwrap, whatever. You could accent the outline by glueing on contrast ing glitter or yam. Hint: to keep fabric from ravelling, glue tissue paper to the back and let dry before cut ting. Here is another idea: You can make shiny paint by mixing Elmer's Glue-All and food col oring. Mix in small applicator bottles of Elmer's—red in one. green in another, and so on. Then apply direct from the bot tle in dots or lines. Or, mix in small paper cups and apply with toothpicks or paint brushes. Once you've started card making, you'll find yourself thinking of all sorts of ideas. You don't have to be an artist to make cut-and-glue Christmas cards—all you need is a sense of fun! Spirit of Christmas reaches out to all cultures, religions Another Christmas. For the millions of Christ ians throughout the world, this is a season of joy ous celebration as they mark the birth of their re deemer, Jesus Christ Yet it is a season which holds special significance for non-Christians. as well For there is in the air at Christmastime an infectious sense of peace and brotherhood, a feeling which goes beyond the recognized boundaries of religion. culture and geography The Christmas celebration offers a glimmer of light in the bleakness of December, when the days are shortest and the worst of winter'sonslaught lies ahead. The brightness of a blazing hearth fire, the twinkle of a Christmas tree's lights, the brilliance of the sun against a whitewashed landscape—these are some of the elements of Christmastime that bring light into the hearts of all men Other December festivals It is no coincidence that the celebration of Christ's birth in Bethlehem some two thousand years ago falls at the same time of year as the many festivals of light w hich preceded Christianity Late December, the moment of the sun's annual rebirth, has since primitive days been a time of great feast ing and prayer. It was a time when ancient peoples, whose lives were so greatly affected by the ele ments. rested from their labors on the land and gave thanks for the previous season's harvest One such festival was the Roman Saturnalia. Beginning at the winter solstice, it was a period of great feasting and thanksgiving throughout the whole of the Roman Empire With elaborate pro cessions. decorations, gift-giving and other rituals, this highly civilized ancient people paid homage to their diety of agriculture. Satumus. in hopes of gaining his favor during the follow ing year's plant ing season Similar non-Christian rituals were practiced at the time of the winter solstice by the early Vikings. Goths, Saxons and Druids, and \estiges of these ancient solstitial festivals are apparent in our modem-day celebration of Christmas Christian celebration established It was not until the middle of the fourth century that the Church of Rome established December 25 as the date commemorating the birth of Christ. And while the exact birthdate of the Christchild has never been known, the Church did not select this date arbitrarily. Siricc llic winter solstice had al ways signified a time of celebration and prayer to pagan gods, it was an opportune season of celebra tion for Christians seeking to convert pagan peoples to their faith. "Hie Christian celebration gradually incorpo rated a number of traditions which had formerly been part of the early non-Christian festivals of light The decorating of churches with greenery, for example, did not take place until the year 6(11. when Pope Gregory instructed Augustine of Can terbury to follow the ton Christian custom of de corating temples with ',;.>||y , laurel and other ever greens. Romans introduced gift-Riving The tradition of gift-giving can he traced to the Roman Saturnalia ai which time the Romans made presentations of sai,.ius foodstuffs and finery to their emperors But. it is no less significant to the Christian celebration that the Three Wise Men. or Maji. brought gitts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the Christchild as he lay in a manger in Bethlehem Today's most popular gift-giver is. of course, Santa Claus Known as St Nicholas and Father Christmas until Thomas Nasi popularized the name Santa Claus (possibly. from the Dutch Same klass, or Saint Nicholas). Saint Nicholas was a bishop of Myra in Asia Minor in the fourth century Legend holds that Samt Nick saved three young daughters of an impoverished lather from a ques tionable, "dowryless" fate by quietly leaving each girl a quantity of gold to use as a dow ry This he is said to have deposited through windows during the night, a harbinger of the present-day practice of Santa's clandestine nocturnal v isit ( liristmas spirit survives In these days of convincing marketing cam paigns and gross commercialism, however, it be comes easy to lose sight of the special meaning of Christmas Many of us become reluctantly swept up by the holiday rush: trying to wend our way through hustling crowds in an elaborately deco rated department store, managing to schedule two Christmas parties and a stop at Aunt Alice's in one evening, addressing those last few season's greet ings to friends before the post office closes for the day. "Never again!" is uttered by many a weary holiday shopper, party-goer or letter writer, "next year will be different." But. beyond that hectic holiday rush is a genuine feeling of goodwill which differs little from year to year For Christmas is a time to take stock of the good things in life, the simple pleasures such as watching a child's face light up with delight at the sigiil of gaily-wiap|>eu packages spilling from be neath a tree Or. the warmth of sharing holiday cheer with family and friends, and the comfort of their company. Let's hope that next year won't he different, and that Christmas for many years to come will blanket the earth in a tranquil moment of peace and brotherhood Joyous strains of Christmas carols fill the December air than a chorus of voices singing hymns in perfect harmony? That same chorus of voices singing Christmas carols from a church choir or a snow-covered street comer The heavenly strains of carols awaken ears to the simple beauty of the Christmas celebra tion and. in no time at all, invite all within earshot to join in and sing The word, carol, derives from the Greek and Latin words for ' 'chorus." It was used in the middle ages to describe a ring dance or song, which was gen erally sung among a group of persons, either seated or stand ing in a circle. At some later time in history, the word be came synonomous with Christ mas and songs of wonder Different from hymns The Christmas carol—quite different from the traditional church hymn, which was al ways sung in Latin—originated as the song of the Nativity, sung in the vernacular and under stood by all. While many of the present day Christmas customs origin ated with ancient cultures' forms of worship, it was not until the second half of the 19th century that Christmas carols met with general acceptance in both Europe and North Ameri ca. When, in 1868. Bishop Phil lip Brooks was rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia, he was asked by hit Sunday school pupils to compose a Christmas hymn. It has since become the earliest popular carol composed by an American: How still we see thee lie.' Above th\ deep ami dreamless sleep The silent stars go In . Yet in thy dark sk\ shineth The everlasting light; The hopes and fear s ,>f all the years v Are met 01 thee tonight. And, gathered all above. While mortals sleep, the angels keep Then watch of wond' ring love () morning stars, together Proclaim the holy birth! And praises sing to Cod. the King. And peace to men on earth. "OH.COME, ALL YE FAITHFI'L . . The joyous strains of Christmas carols ran he heard in churches or on street corner* during the holida) season. While it in said thai St. Francis of Ai»isi was the first to «in^ Chrintma* carols in the 13th century, carolling did not become popular until the mid-19th century in England. Here, choir boys at Winchester C athedral. Cour tesy of the British Tourist Authority. l is the season for decking the halls, trimming the tree O Tannenbaum. O Tannen baum. How lovely are thy branches —Louis Schneider There's hardly a Christinas tradition that's more universally popular than trimming the tree Be it live, fresh-cut or artificial, a brightly decorated tree sets the stage for a spirited holiday celebration Tree-trimming is a custom that was exported from Ger many to England in the late 18th century. But it was not popularized until the 1940s when Prince Albert introduced it into the royal family, thereby setting a precedent which has since been followed by royalty and the common man alike. It is Mid that Martin Luther was so moved by (he sight of stars twinkling in the sky above a grove of evergreen trees, that he sought to simulate their effect by setting candles on a small evergreen which he brought into his home. In Victorian England, the Christmas tree was laden with sweets, fruits and nuts —as well as dancing candles. These edi bles were not eaten until the dismantling of the tree on the Twelfth Night, adding an ele ment of gaiety to the otherwise sobering activity of putting dec orations away until the next year. Eventually, ornaments made by glaisblowers and wood carvers came to replace the edi ble decorations on Christmas trees. Today, tree-trimming has been elevated to a considerable art form, a medium for (he trimmer's expression For some, a simple garland made by stringing popcorn and cranberries is an eye-pleasing decoration, while for others, elaborate links of red and green balsa wood appear more festive. Red ribbons and candy canes may suit one trimmer's taste, while velvet-covered turtle doves and hand-painted wooden figures may suit another's. The key to tree-trimming is to have fun at it, whether one opts for real candles or twinkling, multi-colored lights; for a strongly-scented Douitlas fir or an artificial tree After all, the evergreen is but a symbol of the presence of life in the darkness of winter, the true meaning of the Christmas celebration THE SCENE OF THE NATIVITY, a* willi many of the events in the life of C.hriiit. has long been a favorite image of arti»ts working in various artistic media. The creche pictured here dates to 1 738. and na* executed hy %»oodcar%ers in the uorld-famou* woodcar* ing district of Bavaria in Germany; Courtesy of the German National Tourist Office, Sampling those delectable holiday foods —forget about the calories! The very mention of the word "Christmas" brings to mind any number of images; rotund sidewalk Santas appealing to holiday shoppers; twinkling lights dancing upon the boughs of an evergreen; pleasant hear thside gatherings of family and friends. Food figures in Of all the associations that come to mind when thinking of Christmas, one of the most vivid is that of holiday foods For Christmas, like no other time of he year, seduces even the most iisdainful of cooks into the utchen Fruitcakes laden with raisins, •urran'ts and citron and laced a ] th a good dose of sheiry or ■>randy, are an old holiday tradi tion. Buttery cookies, cut in the shape of candy canes, reindeer, stars and Santas are a favorite with children. An adventure some baker might try his or her hand at a gingerbread house — when decorated with spice drops, icing and sugary confetti, it s a v isual treat too good to eat. Diet next year Don't be afraid to indulge in the seasonal goodies After all. those New Year's resolutions to dirt arc just around the comer!
The Warren Record (Warrenton, N.C.)
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Dec. 23, 1981, edition 1
13
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