Bethlehem from
'7 -INICA DEIIN J-rusalem. Israel.
The Star of Bethlehem hangs every Christmas like the lamp of God over the little white, stone houses of the town where Jesus was born-And those who see it. 88 they make their Pilgrimage on Christmas Eve to the church built on the site of the in that had no room, cannot help lowering their eyes in shame after the first ex- alted glance. Its vivid brilliance pierces the heart with its ignored message - peace on earth and goodwill towards men. y
In the lifetime of most of us, there has been little peace on earth and little goodwill towards Only at Christmas, for
at best, temporary. lti
after her travail.
,Crowding Christmas are Britons lprus, Americans from the oil-fields" men. lof Arabia and Iraq. org a n i s e d a brief1Church groups from I-”raiicc, twentyfour hours. have hatreds and and Spain, Christian Arabs from all suspicions faded into a bonhomie ovcr Jordan-held Palestine. which one look at the Star has Damascus and from Jordan's capi- forced honest men to recognise as, .tal of Amman. About 2.00!) ('.hris-
By MONICA DEHN
Christmas Of Hope
sprawling donkeys and camels. Those lucky enough to have a roof over their heads will find their new homes primitive, but in keep- ing with the Christmas spirit. The mattresses are stuffed with straw and are as prickly and sweet- smelllng as that on which Mary laid the Infant two thousand years ago. Washing is done at an outside pump which draws water from the
But the pilgrims uun'i
into Bctliicliciii fi'oni Cy-
Italy
from
ans are coming from the State of
But this year there is a diffe- Israel. where the barbed wire and
rence: this year the hatreds and suspicions really are less. Those;v who have been preparing for;a
Middle East but from Europe and the United States as well - all' eager to give thanks to the Son ofib
Peace. ,.
to lot over the Christmas holidays.l Until the Great Powers began their l talks in the quiet Geneva setting,
pilgrimage. Afterwards. the Bethle- hem nostman's sack b e c a m e heavier. By late slimmer, there was not even stable space to spare.
Now tourists are seeking shelter in .K('llMll!i. convents, hospices and private houses. Many Bethlehem familiiw are sharing rooms to make um tor them, but some of the
i
the miihlczl stones of
liuri-mi-it carpets or with their;
Ctiiiler llThSCMisileToe
iim-i- is a story with a touch of (Yliristmas about it. What the well hrcd young lady was supposed to do in years gone by is set forth in an old book on etiquette published one hundred years ago. In the rliaplcr on Christmas festivities the- Ediior found the following "Girls although they be ladies. are kissed under the mistletoe." According to" the author, this was an old Druidic, custom. and it is still happily in Vogue. This green plant. with ital waxen white berries. when hung over a doorway is supposed to per mit only happiness to enter. hence the tradition of the kiss. It grows only as a parasite and in Europe hi found most frequently on oak and apple trees, but it is not averse to living on poplars. willows. lime mountolnaah and maples. The white berries are delicacies to some birds. and through their agency the plant is propagated. the sowing is, effected by the bird rn beak. to which the seeds adhere against the bark of the which it has allghted. alferdhg
lthe dragon's teeth tank traps di-
faniiiiv-. too. will have to sleep ;olive shades of the malnihiiddlc East. y x'lIllitl(' They will lie restlcssly onlAfrica and the maliognny nl India. 2”
iding Jew from liioslcm have. gain been tcniporzirily pit-rci-ii inl
Christmas expect a flood of pil- the spirit of the faith they both T grims not only from all over the r
aspect.
in the evening. as llittiiiglit iloss eizlns in the simple Church of the
Poace for the long-delayed hope of Nativity, the i-oiigrogation uill re- ipresent the millions of the world's
itizens who. if they could. would
Bethlchcm has not a single room have come to pray for peace.
Black-hooded nuns from (V.arist
Russia - very old and frail nowl - knccl side by side nith ihc wo- there were signs of just the normalimen of Bethlehem in their white coils - dating from the days of
he (Trusailcrs. Thcrc arc men in
lounge suits; diplomats in full ce- remonial dress with silvcr swords at their side: consular officials in morning coats. labourers in worn work clothes. The light of a thou- sand tapers flickers on thi-
pale
those the black
the skins of
from
As the service Dl'(igr('Sscs. with
custom of using holly for (fhrist mas decorations dates back to an- cient iimcs, and is generally re- garded as a survival of the usage: of the Roman Saturnalia or per haps of an old tcutoiiic l'lI'8('Ii1't' iii hanging the interior of dwellings with evcrgrccns as a refuge for sylvan spirits from winter cold -n old-country irirtlcr pi'oi'(-Ni ow fines an habitual story-teller as one that l'lees never hut when the hol- len is green." Several popular sup- erstitions exist with respect to hol- ly. In some parts of England it is deemed unlucky to introduce it in- to a house before Christmas Eve.
The wood of the holly is very often hard and white like ivory and so it is popula with turners who will often in a contrary man- ner. dye it black in imitation of ebony and then use it for inlying and for ” 4' of metal t t
l and walking sticks. etc. A curious
habit noticed in the holly is that it will leave the upper part of the
tree without protection, giving pric- klea only to those leaves which are
near the ground. It no doubt con- sider: it quite unnecessary. as well as a waste of energy. to give pro- tectlon to bianches which are be-
It yond the reach of rabbits and cat-
tle. ,
Among the flames, holly was re-
'arded as an omen of peace and north goodwill. but in the ' of
flowers it means foresight. In old
ldngiand the laurel. once in pop-
ular use for Christmas window de corationa. has been replaced by the holly and the ivy. An old English to closer: with more words. The 3:3: and the Ivy.
the Bell Tower of the Church of the Nativity heads on the bellies of their tired, the Latin Patriarch, resplendent in
purple robes glittering with jewels, and the fresh-faced young choir boys leading the congregation in the grand liturgy of Christmas- music. worshippers feel the inten- sity of the ceremony surge through them on this special night.
Midnight approaches and the Pa- triarch holds aloft the figure of Jesus before carrying it to the
same well from WliIt'Il J o s c p hiizmtto and placing it reverently in doubtless brought water to Mai-ylihe tmangeri The packed congre-
gation hold their breath. Even the mind-ccandles seem to stop spluttering t his and for a moment there is a great silence.
Then, with a crashing clarion the
bells of Bethlehem peal out the joyful news that another Christmas lhas begun. In Jerusalem and Na- zareth and by the Sea of Galillee jand on the Mount of Olives - lwherever ;preached and men have built a
Christ w al k e d and
Church to commemorate Him - the notes of 0 come all ye faithful break the quietness of the night.
But it is in Bethlehem, where the Star hangs low - vivid as a warn- ing of danger or a beacon of hope --that Christmas means most.
And this year the pilgrims be- lieve that the spirit of Christmas will live a little longer thi- ughout the world than it has in recent IIIIICS.
NOTABLE DATE7
December 27th, 1904. is a notable date in the Christmas records of the theatre. It was the first night of the initial production of Sir James Barrie's immortal ”Pi-tor Fan." The title part was
nlflycd by Nina Boucicutt. Wendy Christmas Day a happy time for
' by.
t By Nancy Plyler)
The small boy pressed his face closer to the window. Outside the snow lay a white blanket over the community, and darkness had drawn its curtain upon the day's activities. Johnny had been stand- ing there since dinner.
His mother and father sat near- ”He hardly touched his din- ner!" his mother explained.
"ltls too bad! He was very fond of that dog," his father said ssriously.
"I'm so sorry this happened. It's just two weeks until Christmas and there's so much to do. Scour- ing the neighborhood for the dog at this time will interfere with our other plans," the mother said.
While they were talking, the doorbell rang. The wife went to answer it and found two teen-age boys on the porch.
”Yes?" the wife questioned-
The boys seemed to be out of breath from running. "Mrs. Porter, we saw two m:n take your dog into their car. They drove away
with him." one of the boys ex- plained. ”What'.' When?” the wife was
beside herself.
”About two hours ago. We were taking the groceries to Mrs. Jane; we couldn't turn back to tell you. Besides the car was gone before we knew what had happened. I think we'd know them if we saw them again," the boys finished.
"Don. will you come here?" Mrs. Porter called to her husband-
"Now, will you please tell my husband what you have just told me?" she turned to the boys.
They reiterated the same facts to Mr. Porter.
His first statement was, "Don't say anything about this to John- ny ..
He questioned the boys further, thought for a time. then asked the boys if they would agree to go around the neighborhood with him
lto see if he could trace the men.
Agreeing to this. the two boys left with Mr. Porter.
Mrs. Porter was sitting in the living-room when Mr. Porter re- turned. Her eyes questioned what her lips could not say.
"No luckl" he sunk into a chair- "I didn't really think there would be any use to go out and look for them. There just wasn't anything else to do. Poor kid! With Christ- mas coming on and everything". Mr. Porter was very solemn.
On Christmas morning Mrs. Porter was up very early. The Christmas tree was trimmed to perfection. The wreaths were hung. The living-room was very pictur- esque. Johnny's stocking was hung over the mantle; it was brimming to the top. All kinds of toys that would delight the heart of a five- year-old boy were under the tree- His mother took one last look be- fore she called to her husband to awaken Johnny.
A seepy, tousied-haired boy crept down the steps to behold the wonders of another Christmas day. ,After viewing the scene, he gave one leap to the hobby-horse that waited for him. By now he was -no longer sleepy. but had muster- ed enough energy to open all his gifts without" any help from his lparents.
E And for a time Johnny seemed lso engrossed in the many toys lthat he never mentioned about his ,dog. But their hopes were short- llived! For while they were plan- ning for the day, they noticed that
dow. Mr. and.Mrs. Porter looked
lllaylat each other and knew that they
had lost in their endeavor to make
hy Hilda Trcvelyan, and Gerald their boy,
y Du Maurier doubled the characters ,of Captain Hook and Mr. Darling the verge of tears. Johnny gave Tacos Or Eumpcansv on NW dmykpn .: Tnilny, fifty years later, Peter Pan one scream from the window. They
is still a universal Christmas fav- (llll'llP with young and old alike.
I F I A i
GENERAL
When Mrs. Porter was nearly on
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T. By J AME! WICKINDIN
The jungle behind was a fret- work of green and black shadow and the sea "in front was a gray- blue lake. A small wavelet dia- creetly curled over on the sand. It was quiet, the air hung heavy for early morning, and it was Christ- mas Day.
The three of us, Mary and the lboy and myself. were the only white family in a Chinese village on the coast of Singapore island.
I lay in bed looking through the open door of the bungalow - it
was only one large room partition- ed into three - and waited for the morning breeze. The fishing fleet would catch it and come over the bar at the mouth of the creek a few hundred yards away.
The boy was already on the and chasing hermit crabs. He stopped ocasionally to pick some coral and put it in the bucket he carried.
Then faintly we heard the hanging .
of sweeps and the Chinese prawn fishermen brought in their flat- bottomed boat. -
They swept up the creek, stand-
Singapore Christmas
I! JAKE WICIENDIN
ad Colonel Bllmpa.
They stood round the door. whis- pering. Then Chew Fatt produced a gold-toothed smile. and a pink invitatilon card the size of a chain- store menu. Would we come to a para that evening at e coffee shop! The Jurong welfare Society. the local Chinese organisation. was holding its annual opera.
This. I knew, would be a three day affair. the village transformed into a babel of screams and hangs from a travelling theatrical com- pany complete with orchestra and.
mo-4 'rii'. Gminui. Mondarbec. is, 1955
K
the shouts of medicine peddle:-i. We ecepted gratefully. here were more smiles and they went. Ahmat then came to the door to say that his father w going to slip the moorings on yacht and pole it out to the chorage beyond the creek mouth readiness for an afternoon call. The meal was a auceas and evening drew on we heard opera start. When we reached the village we saw that over the jetty had been built a high. rickety stop Continued on page Hi
-
It was in o Malayan Village like this that K. James Wickenden spent his strange Island Christmas.
t.
man.
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mg and pushing the sweeps. their faces gaunt and their clothes flap- ping, like a row of spectree. But there was money in prawns; enough to buy a bottle of good French brandy now and then for cold nights beyond the kelongs. or fish traps. I. ding in the shallows beyond the low tide mark.
Mary had bought a turkey at the cold store eighteen miles away in Singapore. There were nuts, rai-
Johnny was watching at the win-
sins, stuffing for the bird and a box of crackers. We had the basis of a feast. There might even be some more cards if we could be energetic enough to walk the half mile to the fortified police station overlooking the jetty, where the mail was delivered.
The meal was the main thing. We would cook it in a portable tin oven over the primus stove. I got up to put the bottles of wine to cool in the water tank when three figures came splashing through the shallows which at high tide sepa- rated the but and its sand - bar from the mainland. One I recog- nised as Chew Fatt. a rotund deal- er in wire netting, corrugated iron sheets and fishing lines.
Following them was Ahmat, a small, naked Malay boy from the village, throwing stones at the water snakes. As they approached, the mud-crabs popped into their holes and withdrew their bulbous red claws, like a series of disturb-
path- Mr. Porter never opened I door more gleefully and the dog dashed into the room, into the arms of his master. Johnny was laughing and crying at the same time. "Did Santa Claus send him back to me, Mommy?" was all he asked.
"Yes, dear," she whispered.
"The dog either broke away; or the spirit of Christmas must have worked in those men's hearts,"
ran to it and looking out. saw a Mrs. Porter smiled to her hus- small white dog scurrying up the band.
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311 the Betment Jitiuuti of
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