Newspapers / The Coastland Times (Manteo, … / Jan. 3, 1958, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Coastland Times (Manteo, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
VOLUME XXIII NO. 27 MANY NOTABLES TO VISIT RODANTHE OLD CHRISTMAS Unique Festival Saturday, Jan. 4 Has Attracted Interest Far and Wide RODANTHE.—Because January 5, traditional date of Old Christ mas here in this Outer Banks Com munity, falls on a Sunday this year the celebrating will be held on Saturday evening, January 4, with only the religious phases tak ing place the following day at Fair Haven Methodist and other church es in the island communities. 'Rte celebrating on Saturday evening will be in the old Rodanthe schoolhouse, noW a community building. Additional facilities have been provided here that guests at the celebration may be more com fortable. This includes new benches to provide seating for visitors, and provided chiefly through the gen erosity of Miles Clark of Elizabeth City, Huntington Cairns and Dr. Fred Moi-jpon of Washington, D. C., and W. B. Voliva of Belhaven. Actually the celebration has greatly outgrown the facilities provided in the little community building and there will be many, perhaps who will be present but unable to get inside. Merrymakers on the outside will enjoy the oyster roast which is held on the commu nity building grounds. Mr. and Mrs. John Herbert, na tives of the community, will again take the lead in providing the un usual program, a local talent min strel show, with the big feature an appearance of Old Buck, the legendary bull of Hatteras woods which according to tradition ap pears only at Old Christmas cele brations to provide a type of hilar ity that has been enjoyed by the residents through the ages. Several well-known and distin guished guests will be stopping at Mirlo Beach Lodge while taking in the festivities. These include Inglis Fletcher, the novelist and Capt. John Fletcher, her husband; Mrs, Alfred Dupont of Wilmington, Del. patron of the arts; Huntington Cairns, director of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and Mrs. Cairns; Dr. and Mrs. Fred Morrison of Washington, D. C., Dr. Richard Walser, professor of En glish at State College; Andy and Barbara Griffith of Roanoke Island and ‘Hollywood, and others. The observance of Old Christ mas was widespread along the North Carolina coast a half cen tury or more ago, and was.a sur . vival of old customs and traditions brought from other lands by pio neer settlers of the coastland. It gradually went out of style, and now Rodanthe is the sole remain ing community which continues to observe it, out of respect and love for the old customs of a liberal and friendly people. MRS. iL. CORBELL, NATIVE OF KITTY HAWK DIES SAT. Mrs. Lucetta Tillett Hayman Corbell, 67, widow of Capt. Charles Henry Corbell and daughter of the late Daniel W. and Mrs. Elizabeth Perry Hayman, died at the resi dence, 9540 Grove Ave., Norfolk, Saturday. She is survived by seven sisters, Mrs. Carrie Penn of Clayton, N. C.; Mrs. Rosalind Swain, of Kitty Hawk; Mrs. Stella Jordan of Ayd lett; Mrs. Bessie Johnston of Northwest; Mrs. Cynthia Aguirre, Mrs. Elizabeth Millicent Lohman and Miss Mary D. Hayman, all of Norfolk; a brother, the Rev. L. D. Hayman of Southport, N. C.; her step-mother, Mrs. Nettie Hayman, of Norfolk; a stepdaughter, Mrs. ' Clara Meuhler of Los Angeles, Calif.; a stepson, Guy C. Corbell of San Francisco, Calif.; a grand daughter, Mrs. Lucetta Corbell Dameron of San Francisco, and a number of nieces and nephews. Mrs. Corbell was a native of Kitty Hawk and had been a resi dent of Norfolk for 42 years. Funeral services were conducted Monday at 2 p.m. Burial was in Forest Lawn Cemetery. W. F. COHOON, TYRRELL NATIVE DIES IN SO. NORFOLK Wilbert Fowler'Cohoon, 50, hus band of Mrs. Myrtle White Cohoon, died Saturday in South Norfolk, Va. He was a native of Columbia, but had lived in South Norfolk for 30 years. He was a molder at the J. G. Wilson Corp. He was a member of the Baptist Church at Columbia. His parents were Robert Lee and Mrs. Cora Woodard Cohoon. Surviving, besides his wife, are two sisters, Mrs. Ira White and Mrs. Bruce Hassell, both of South Norfolk, two nephews and one niece. Funeral services Were conducted Sunday. Burial was in Riverside Memorial Park. THE COASTLAND TIMES PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE INTEREST OF THE WALTER RALEIGH COASTLAND OF NORTH CAROLINA STATE GRANTS SIO,OOO ALLOCATION TO ROANOKE ISLAND HISTORICAL ASSN. Governor Hodges and the Coun cil of State took steps Monday to ease a financial pinch for the Roanoke Island Historical Associa tion which produces “The Lost Colony.” The Council approved a SIO,OOO allocation from the State’s Con tingency and Emergency fund to help offset a $13,391 deficit in curred in the production of the outdoor drama last summer. The contingency appropriation was approved by the 1957 Legis lature. By law, the Roanoke Is land Historical Association is eli gible for State funds each year the Lost Colony loses money. At a December 5 meeting in Raleigh, the association made plans for its 18th presentation of the drama next summer, despite the fact its books were running in the red. R. E. Jordan, general manager of the production, said $19,000 would be needed to start the 1958 season free of debt. The association voted to press a campaign for SIOO lifelong mem berships and to raise reserve seat tickets to the drama from $2.50 to $3. Bad weather, too many mos • quitoes, and competition from the 1 Jamestown Festival in Virginia ' were cited as reasons for a drop in attendance and the $13,391 loss last year. In 1956, there was no need for i the historical association to call on the State for help. The Lost Colony made a profit. i NEW LICENSE PLATES ON SALE THIS WEEK . Cannot Be Bought However, Unless Owner Can Provo Financial Responsibility New auto and truck license ! plates for 1958 went on sale i Thursday with a new price and , new conditions for their purchase. In Manteo plates may be bought , from Mrs. Juanita Parker at the i Town Hall. I Brisk opening day sales are ex- I pected at 85 branch offices of the I Carolina Motor Club throughout the state, and at the Raleigh . headquarters of the Motor Ve- I hides Department. Insurance Necessary A new motor vehicle financial . responsibility law, enacted by the , 1957 Legislature, will require mo ’ motorists to show coverage by au to liability insurance or other , proof of .financial responsibility be fore purchasing the new license plates. In addition, a driver education program approved by the Legis , lature for the state’s high schools , will increase by one dollar the cost of license plates which pre viously sold for as much as $lO. Only New York and Massachu* setts have financial responsibility programs similar to the one going into effect in North Carolina. Al though it has been described as a “compulsory insurance law,” Mo tor Vehicles Commissioner Ed Scheldt pointed out the term is Aot completely accurate. Bond Permiasable If he prefers, a car owner may post SII,OOO in cash or a $15,000 bond to protect against possible damage claims from accidents, Scheldt said. Also, operators of fleets of more than 25 vehicles who qualify as self-insurers need not take out insurance policies. "But for most people insurance is mandatory unless the car owner is willing to park his car or sell it,” Scheldt said. The 1958 plates will be a reverse of last year’s orange-on-black color scheme. As usual, officials urged prompt purchase. The sales period mns from Jan. 8 to midnight Feb. 15. MRS. JULIA G. PALMER -, - ■ „< Mrs. Julia Gabriel Palmer, 84, died Thursday at 10 a.m. at the family residence in Coinjock. She was a native of Beaufort and had been residing in Coinjock for the last 60 years. She was the daughter of George R. and Eliza beth Smithwick Gabriel and the widow of William C. Palmer. She taught school in Currituck County for many years and was a mem ber of the Pilmore Methodist Church. Surviving are two daughters, Mrs. Ida Mae Tate of Great Bridge, Va., and Mrs. Doris O’Neal of South Norfolk, four sons, Clyde Palmer of Coinjock, Tully H. Palmer of Great Bridge, Va., Mrs. Roscoe D. Palmer of Charleston, S. C., and Brandon T. Palmer of Fayetteville, and several grandchildren. Funeral services will be conduct ed Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Twi ford Funeral Home by the Rev. A. J. Eure, pastor of Coinjock Baptist Church. Burial will be in the Snowden Cemetey at Maple. CHAIRMAN LARKINS TO ADDRESS YOUNG DEMOCRATS Oyster Roast to Bo Hold at Rodanthe on Saturday, January 18 By Dare Co. Club State Democratic chairman John D. Larkins Jr. of Trenton is to be the speaker at the Young Demo cratic rally and oyster roast to be held at Rodanthe on Saturday evening January 18, according to Mrs. Dotty Fry, secretary of the Dare County Young Democratic Club. Rodanthe was chosen for this meeting place at a conference held by club officers and others at Bux ton about five weeks ago. Jack Tillett of Manteo is President of the Club, Dr. W. W. Harvey Jr., Vice-President. Present plans call for the affair at Rodanthe to be held in the com munity buildings HEART ATTACK CLAIMS RAY T. ADAMS AT HIS WHALES HEAD LODGE Corolla—Ray T. Adams, 58, prominent Washington, D. C., busi nessman and sportsman died here Tuesday at the Whalehead Club, a hunting and fishing lodge he own ed. Adams, a native of Norfolk, was president of R. T. Adams, Inc., a Washington firm specializing in meats for hotels, and owner of Corolla Beach, a real estate de velopment near Corolla on the upper .Currituck County Outer Banks. Relatives said he died of a heart attack Tuesday at 6:10 o’clock. He had suffered two previous attacks. He was a son of the late Joseph A. and Mrs. Ida Fowler Adams, both Norfolk natives. Mrs. Adams died last summer, her husband in 1925. Adams, a veteran of the 112th Machine Gun Battalion of the 29th Division in World War I, was connected with the meat business in Norfolk for a number of years before moving to Washington in 1932 to work for a meat distribu tor there. He became sole owner of R. T. Adams, Inc., in 1941. He was also a member of the board of directors of a group that initiated action several years ago to build a toll highway down the Virginia-North Carolina Outer Banks from Virginia Beach to Nags Head. He bought the Whalehead Club here some 17 years ago from the estate of the late Edward Knight, former chairman of the board of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Since that time he has enter tained large numbers of business associates and high military and government officials at the lodge. Adams was a member of Almas Shrine Temple in Washington. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Eleanor W.- Adams; a sister, Mrs. Elsie Rietzinger, of Norfolk; a brother, Joseph A. Adams Jr., a Norfolk native who now makes his home in Washington; a daughter, Mrs. Phyllis Mcßur ney, of Norfolk, and three grand children. The body will be cremated fol lowing funeral services in Wash ington Friday. LOUIS WHEELER, HUSBAND HATTERAS GIRL DIES FRIDAY Louis Murrell Wheeler, 28, died Friday at 7:20 p.m. in the U. S. Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune from injuries received in an auto mobile accident near Jacksonville that afternoon. He was a native of Pender County and had been living at Swansboro since October of this year. He was stationed at Swans boro, at the U.S.C.G. Lifeboat Sta tion. He was the son of Mrs. Sally Susan Deal and the late Walter Felix Wheeler. He was a member of the Baptist Church. Besides his mother, he is sur vived by his wife, Mrs. Leia Quid ley Wheeler, a sister, Mrs. Rady King of Watha; three brothers, Thurman Wheeler of Rocky Mount, George Wheeler of Hampton, N. C. and B. D. Wheeler, U. S. Air Force, stationed in Germany. Funeral services were conducted Monday afternoon at 2 o’clock in the Hatteras Methodist Church by the Rev. Ray Sparrow, pastor. The body was taken from the Twiford Funeral Home to the church. Bur ial was in the family cemetery at Hatteras. The church choir, accompanied at the organ by Mrs. Lillie Peele, sang “Whispering Hope” and “I Shall See Him Face to Face.” The casket was covered with a pall in cluding white carnations and white glads. Military services were con ducted at the grave by the Coast Guard; pallbearers were Ellsworth W. Alford, Claude D. Adams Jr., Edward B. Veal, William C. Shoe maker, Curtis E. Scarborough, and Perley L. Farrow, Jr. MANTEO, N. C., FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 1958 BEST PERFORMANCE HONOR IS VOTED TO ANDY GRIFFITH Andy Grif fith i n “A Face in the Crowd” and Joanne Wood ward in “The . Three Faces 1 of Eve” con- i tributed the i finest per- j formances in. I starring roles ' in 1957, according to the nation’s press critics and reviewers and the film commentators of both tele vision and radio voting in the Film Daily’s annual poll. The significance of the two stars’ victory was underlined by the fact that for the first time since the inangural of the poll the winners were chosen on the basis of their first screen characteriza tion. Griffith, coming to the films from the stage, played Lonesome Rhodes, the singing, guitar-play ing vagrant transformed into a national idol through television’s “magic” in Budd Schulberg’s adaptation of his own story which Elia Kazan both produced and di receted. He is a natie of Mt Airy, and owns a home on Roanoke Is land; he began his career as a member of the cast of the Lost Colony. Miss Woodward, her spurs al ready won on Broadway as well as *in television, met an exceed ingly difficult challenge in her first Hollywood appearance by playing the “multiple personality” victim written about by two psy chiatrists. Both Griffith and Miss Wood ward, a native of Georgia, were chosen a second time by the critics to head the “find of the year” clas sifications. MANTEO BASKETBALL TEAMS TO RESUME PLAY TONIGHT The Manteo High School basket ball teams will resume play tonight in the Tidewater Athletic Confer ence when they play Moyock at the home floor. The Manteo boys J.V. team will play their first game of the season when they meet the Moyock J.V.’s at 6:15. The Manteo girls which have a 5-0 conference record and in first place, will be seeking their sixth victory against the Moyock girls whom they beat earlier in the season. The Manteo boys have a 4-1 con ference record and are currently in third place. Their loss was their opener at the beginning of the year to Moyock, and they will be out to avenge that loss tonight However, the team may be with out the services of Gary Meekins center, who has been sick most of this week. Both games next week are on the home floor. Manteo plays Weeksville Tuesday and unbeaten Sunbury Friday night. DRINKWATER WATCH PARTY ATTENDED BY LARGE CROWD The annual New Year’s Eve watch party given by Miss Doro thy Drinkwater in honor of her father, A. W. Drinkwater, at their home ig Manteo, drew a crowd of about 90 guests Tuesday evening. Mr. Drinkwater’s other daughter, Mrs. John Booth, Mr. Booth and their two sons, came down from Norfolk to attend the affair. Mr. Booth presided at the punch bowl and Mrs. Booth assisted in serving, hors d’oeuvres. Among out-of-town guests were Dr. Fletcher Bailey, Miss Virginia Hall, Mr. and Mrs. Fentress Hor ner and W. H. Weatherly, Jr., of Elizabeth City; Dr. and Mrs. Orin Sample of Henderson; Major and Mrs. Jack Kory, recently of Berlin, Germany; Mrs. Henry Twiford of Norfolk; Mr. and Mrs. Elmo Wil liams of Newport News; and Mrs. Augusta Pennystone of Ports mouth; Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Lindsey and Walter Lakin of Norfolk. Mr. and Mrs. Andy Griffith, who re cently returned from Hollywood, Cal., and more recently from a visit in Mount Airy and Troy, were among the guests present INSTALLATION TO BE ON TUESDAY, NOT MONDAY The installation of nfew officers of the Virginia Dare Lodge No. 3, International Order of Odd Fel lows, at Manteo is to be made at the lodge meeting on Tuesday night January 7, instead of Mon day night January 6, as announced last week. The meeting will be at the Lodge Hall above the Manteo Town Hall as previously an nounced, and members of the Elisabeth City lodge will be in charge of the installation. - A » 1 * . u. i * ■ it *• ' BEARD GROWING BEGINS, PIECES OF EIGHT APPEAR FOR PIRATES JAMBOREE Many males of the Dare Coast land failed to shave on New Year’s morning and silver dollars were being handed out as change by many of the merchants. It all marked the preliminaries of the fourth annual Dare Coast Pirates Jamboree, the vacation season launcher which will be held on the Dare Coast during a four day period beginning April 24. Neglecting to shave each morn ing marks the beginning of a beard-growing contest Many males of the area grow beards to place in competition along with the colorful costumes they will wear hoping to win the title of “pirate king” when the Jamboree is staged. Some of the most luxurious beards of the 20th Century have been produced by Dare Coast pi rates since the Jamboree began four years ago. ' Patterson J. M. Bayne of Nags Head was selected as king of the pirates last year. Still in that royal role, he will be traveling over the county learning why males may be failing to grow beards. He will urge them to start' beards, and immediately, because it takes sev eral weeks to produce one that can be considered in the winning class. In addition to beards, many of the merchants of the area will be passing out “pieces of eight” in the form of silver dollars as change during the coming weeks. The Bank of Manteo has stocked plenty of silver dollars so it is no problem for the merchants to have them on hand. For those who want genuine “pieces of eight,” same may be obtained from various sources. See BEARDS,, Page Four OTHO C. WARD, 79. OF MANTEO DIES ON HUNT Otho Cartwright Ward, 79, died Wednesday at 11:45 a.m. as a re sult of a heart attack while hunt ing at Milltail Creek at East Lake. . He was one of the most highly regarded citizens of the Manteo area. He was a veteran of World War I. He was a lifelong resident of Dare County and the son of John and Mrs. Bethany E. Ward and the husband of the late Mrs. Lovie L. Ward. He was retired from the U. S. Coast Guard and a member of the Manteo Baptist Church. He is survived by two daugh ters, Mrs. Lessie Biggs and Mrs. Carrie Louise King, both of Man teo; three sons, Kenneth, Charlie and John Ward, all of Manteo; a sister, Mrs. Lovie Taylor of Bel haven, 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren." Funeral services were conducted Thursday at 3 p.m. in the Manteo Baptist Church by the Rev. W. E. Cholerton, pastor, assisted by the Rev. Louis A. Aitken, pastor of the Mount Olivet Methodist Church. Burial was in Mount Olivet Cemetery, in Manteo. MARCELLUS PAYNE DIES IN NORFOLK HOSPITAL WED. Marcellus Payne, 58, died in a Norfolk hospital Wednesday at 2 p.m. after a short illness. He was born at Rodanthe, had lived for many years at Wanchese, and in Norfolk for over 30 years, residing at 3809 Nansemond Circle. He was the son of the late Mrs. Josephine Midgett Payne and Nathan Payne. He was a member of the Meth odist church, the Pipefitters Union Local 684, AFL-CIO, and was a pipefitter at the Norfolk Shipbuild ing and Drydock Corporation. Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Laura Midgett Payne; a daughter, Mrs. Norma Kirby of Norfolk; two sons, Aubrey 0. Payne, U.S.A.F. of San Antonio, Texas and Rdhald L. Payne of Norfolk; a brother, W. C. Payne of Wanchese, and a grandchild. The body will be taken from the Derry-Twiford Funeral Home Fri day morning to the Wanchese Methodist Church, where services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Burial will be in Tillett Cemetery. WATCH PARTY AT BASNIGHT HOME ON AIRPORT ROAD Mr. and Mrs. Fred Basnight en tertained at a New Year’s Eve watch party Tuesday evening at their home on the airport road near Manteo. Decorations in keep ing with the season included a mantel arrangement of a madonna scene, evergreens and golden orna ments. The refreshment table was covered with a dark green cloth and held an arrangement of red and white camellias and red and white candles. Among those calling during ,the evening were Mr. and Mrs. Henry Evans, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Ether idge, Mrs. O. J. Jones, Mr. and Mrs. Dan Cannady and Mr. aikd Mrs. D. V. Meekins. S&x - -set I ■tot** i 3 Christ Was Not Born on December 25th— Read This And See If You Can Tell If Anyone Is Wrong About Old Christmas Many Dates Have Been Observed, and Our Christinas Customs Are Composites From Many Lands and Many Religious Leaders. Here Are Some of the Facts in The Case. By TOM McKNIGHT in the Mooresville Tribune. Editor’* Note: Oiw of tho molt limoly and interesting artlclw on the wbioct of Chriotmao hat been brevaht to our attention by the brilliant editor of the Mooresville, N. C. Tribune. We hone all our readers will road this article now since the Old Christmas festival will be held at Kodonthe Saturday night of this week, the last community on the Coastland which annually observes this event, so uni versally revered by all in earlier days. CHRISTMAS—Did you know that Christ was not bom on De cember 25? Did you know that at one time the celebration of Christ mas in this country was forbid den by law? Did you know that its cele bration in England was once prohibited under severe penalty by law? Did you know that the term “Santa Claus” is simply the mis spelling of another word? The scientists and astronom ers connected with the planetar ium at Chapel Hill have prepar ed an interesting story about Christmas, the result of many months of research work. We think you will find it in teresting, are printing it below. History of Christmas In the first few centuries of Christianity, there was no uniform celebration of Christmas, because the exact date of the birth of I Christ was unknown. Churches variously celebrated I the event on January 2, March 25 or 28, April 18 or 19 and May 20. The adoption of December 25 was decreed by Bishop Liberius of Rome in 354. This date was probably chosen because it coincided with the pagan festival of the winter solstice. The Romans observed Saturnalia, the feast of the god Saturn, between December 17 and December 24. The Germans, Gauls and Britons celebrated on December 25. The Norsemen held Yule feasts between December 25 and January 6. In the eastern part of the Chris tian world, festivities similar to those of Christmas were observed on January 6 or Epiphany, which commemorates the baptism of the Christ child. In the Middle Ages the Church opposed the traces of paganism surviving in the popular Christmas customs, and created special Christmas masses, to be performed at midnight, daybreak and morn ing. The Church also introduced na tivity plays, Christmas carols and manger songs. During the Restoration period in England, the Puritans were so op posed to merrymaking that they passed a law in 1659 forbidding the observance of Christmas. The Puritans of New England al so forbade' the celebration of Christmas. But these repressive measures didn’t last long. The spir it of Christmas as now celebrated in English-speaking countries may! partly be ascribed to Charles Dick-I ens. Several of his writings, par-' ticularly “A Christmas Carol," popularized the festival and gave it increased jollity. Origin of Christmas Customs With the exception of Christmas greeting cards, which were first used in 1846, nearly all the Christ mas holiday customs can be traced to a non-Christian origin, accord ing to researchers for “Star of Bethlehem,” now being presented at the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill. The Christmas tree, usually an evergreen, is derived from the Ro man Saturnalia and the Norse wor ship of trees. It was in Germany in the 16th Century that the tree was first used as a symbol of Christmas. The custom was brought to England and to Amer ica in the early 1800’s. The was the sacred plant of the Druids, who were the priests of ancient Britain and Gaul (France). Holly and the symboliz ed protection against evil spirits in the Norse festivals. The cus toms of exchanging gifts can also be traced to the Roman Saturnalia. The early Christians of Rome hung boxes in their churches to be filled with offerings and distributed to the needy at Christmas. Th most popular Christmas leg end is that of Santa Claus, who comes down the chimney on Christ mas Eve to fill children’s stockings with gifts. The name “Santa Claus” is a Dutch corruption of “Saint Nicholas,” the patron saint of Children. about 326 A; D. Single Copy 7# He was regarded as the patron saint of the seafaring, of scholars, of virgins and of children. And he was a very charitable person, ac cording to research for the 1957 “Star of Bethlehem” program at the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill. On one occasion St. Nicholas learned that a certain poor man needed a dowry in order to marry his three daughters properly. So he is said to have thrown a bag of coin through the window on three successive evenings, thus providing a dowry for each child. When he was detected, he beg ged the poor man not to reveal his identity. In this way St. Nich olas became the man of gifts, the St. Nicholas who on Christmas Eve provides bags of presents for ev ery child. The word “Santa Claus” comes to us from the early erroneous spelling of St. Nicholas’ name by the Dutch. Who Were the Magi? The name “magi” was given U> the learned and priestly class of ancient Media and Persia, who originally worshipped a god of evil. But Zoroaster, founder of the Per so-Iranian national Religion, for ■ bade devil worship, and the magi changed their worship to a god of good. They were teachers and phil- J osophers as well as priests. The Wise Men of the East, who ■ were guided by the Star to the manger where Jesus was born, were magi. It is popularly supposed that there were three of them, although | the number is not mentioned in the Bible. Their names have been given as Caspar, Mejchoir .amJJfaJfcwar.. , During the Middle Agw/it was claimed that their bones had been preserved in the Cathedral of Co logne, and they became celebrated as the “Three Kings of Cologne.” Gradually in Media and Persia, the Magi degenerated from being, the highest caste to the rank jugglers and fortune tellers and' quacks. And that is where the word .J. magician comes from. Mistletoe And Holly The mistletoe is actually a para- , site but has long been held in re spect as a traditional Christmas decoration. Researchers for “Star of Bethle hem” at the Morehead Planetar ium in Chapel Hill have found a ' tradition, long current in England that the mistletoe was once a fair tree in the forest. But from its wood was made the cross upon which Christ was crucified. In con sequence of its having been put to such a use, the mistletoe was curs- 1 ed and thenceforth lived as an in significant and parasitic plant. Hoily, however, was found to have little, if any, legendary con nection with Christmas. It’s possi ! ble that some people have seen the word holy in the word holly. Yet, . the bright green leaves and red berries make it wonderful for dec oration. Early References To Christmas The significant silence of the Scripture has left us without even the slightest date for fixing the day of our Lord’s birth. It is not at all remarkable that in this, as in many other instances, the ingenui ty of man has essayed to supple ment the oversight on the part of Divine Wisdom. But isn’t it strange that, while authorities on such mat ters differ greatly as to the date, with great unanimity they agree that it is NOT December 25? And yet, nearly the whole world has settled upon that date. Researchers for “Star of Bethle hem,” now being presented at the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill have found that the earliest reference to Christmas was made by Clement of Alexandria, in the 400’s A.D. About that time Christ mas, was not generally observed and among those who did observe it, there was already a difference of date, some observing May 20 'W others April 20th. ClCment disan-’ proved of the observance and even rebuked those who inquired into the year and day of Christ’s birth. Chrysostom, whose name trans lated means the “golden mouthed” and is a memorial of his eloquence stated in a sermon preached De’ cember 25, 386 A.D. that Christ mas was introduced into Syria only 10 years before. When the festival was fir t
The Coastland Times (Manteo, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 3, 1958, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75