rut: GUARDIAN. CHARLOTTETOWN l-Acs“ THREE DECEMBER 11, 1949 s ' YES. VIRGINIA, THERE IS A SANTA CIAUS I , l _<- 93,521 w tr) iilé Flu . sands iiligihamous editorial: m; EDITORIAL E “kg pie and Chi-L‘! Ill nothing iuiiiii>. All <1...» tin-y be f: Intellect, m, an all‘. Iii hi5 ....I kuoi-xlcdgc. Ihci .- bmtv rum wuiid hi’ ' s: Ii there awf- mpoetry. no r0 tolerable PM PS1‘ lure iin c. and 5i!“- whlqh clifidhcawtl il-Eiitiflfi To Bethlehem an far is It to Beth- lshciii town? Not vcrv far-- it] ai.;.1\hci~ that Christ coma: (iLY-Vll . . . 1h road to Bethlehem rum right through the homes ot folks like ml and you. inn time. clierr . Miiry was "Hr could pidi: the rniu herself. Mrs and Slovaks irtmas time. filling the New Ycnr. but htilc nut.» of Bethlehem, ~ -~'~ Hilly Ruins o! kings, fiiihronctl ilpou a manger-bod Whte lirniruly choirs sing. swcet Nil zuorc, servo Thee day by dam film? ‘ills dev “two me. m!» Icourxl within my 50p], m) my rtvriini Q0111] Christmas Candles \\\\\\\II/////// /. -Ihi .- tiii- “Mflitliidowdnear h c roa ‘s turning rce ifrrlttirlztnggg’ cum“, mtill ' " rom their glow ~...,’_'.“"‘°-wintw bath- " “To burning (10,. ' \ i“ “It”? Durcncss . “i llic snow [EL m ' y mmllhis go tipdqg m“ “litre-ii; brightness that ‘u’? “e ‘he lov n, ‘auihisrs Iitilsilde. .1 n nrelletftrggg _a th mflry lightness can“ 1" hearts when risi and love abide, nts. Claus? Millions . ~ that uestlon. iiuiiirtr"“.lm‘enaiskgg Niclilolas be- ' i ' - utcd with the ob- Chrlstmas. In 1897. one editor of the asking him about m‘; next clay an editorial W“ “' ,,, l-ditorial that has been ' ‘ of times since: asura In answering at m prominently‘ the . below. express n5 l mmlmgmrsfiél n“; great gratificat- W m“ llliiiilli author is num- ivtlmt "U the friends of The wad anioi-S W? ,1 am a years old. sglflrofgllinirqtig friends say there C no 5311i u Us, Spam’ U, v it you see it in The "QQ; kiwi. iiie the truth. 55 the" I Santa 9W", vIRGINIA OHANLON. w. \\'c.~-t. Ninety-filth Street. friends are affected by eptical age. u-licvc uiilcss the’? s86 _ can be comprehensible by minds, Vir~ men's or aw, u litilc. lri this S???" m ‘_ or ours mau Is a more m- ‘ as \\.'.Ii in» boundless world .. measured by the In- ' Ham.- ot grasping the _ Is a Santa w r us certainly as love 3v and devotion 6X15» . that they abound l. life its hiilhesi Alas. how dreary " _,. “qflid it there were no -,~_ si it ivould be as dreary w“ C’ 1 no vlrglnias. Tlfiere ! , llldlike faith t en. m“ b!‘ N c‘ mance to make ' teuce. We should sucut cxcept in 5on5? ‘i ils eternal light with fills the world Cherry Tree Carol The old Cherry Tree carol. or Ills legend upon which It is based, liiindciibtcdly the reason for the datum ul placing a branch of chev- I] main water to bud for Christ- Aevidng to this legend. Mary udfiaepli on their way to Beth- lehem passed a tree loaded with hungry for lento! the fruit. and asked Joseph “burl; some cherries for her. The 3N K-‘aclously bowod down so that It his been customary among tho _ to take the 4mm of a chcrry tree and place it ntrr in ilic late fall so that the dc reach the blossoming stage at. i Th: belief was current that i; m; I blossomed by Christmas Eve. e girl who tended it. would marry éChristmas Prayer little Child “l "is in." Thy light. Divine would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get. your papa to hire mcu to watch in all the clilniuegvs Ull Christmas Evc to catch Suutu Chills, but. even if they did not sec Santa Claus coming down, wliat would that prove? Nobody sccs Santa Cliius. but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things In the world are those that neither children or man can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not. But that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive all the wonders there are unseen and unsecalble in the world. You tear apart the baby's rattle Mistletoe Distinct Yule Decoration Mistletoe, that distinctive Christ- MLS [FEED SO COflTlIlOil In many parts of America, is usually thought of as merely good holiday decoration or as a. creator of open season on Indies fair for otherwise bashful swains. Mistletoe did not always hold this position iii our lives. The Druids called it "all-heal." Mid thought it held many miraculous virtues. The Scandinavians dedic- ated it to their goddess of love. Friga. Probably this goddess cf love is responsible for the custom of kissing under the mistletoe. The power to heal, to protect against sickness, to perform mag- io deeds - all these and more are tho qualities ascribed to this plant Iii ancient histories and it’.- eraturc. The power to heal. to protect against sickness, to perform magic deeds _ nll these and more are the qualities ascribed to this plant; in lcgcutis, traditions and cven in ancient histories aiid literature. Mistletoe is a parasite, which in- fests branches of various trecs of both hardwood and conifers, but mainly on hardwoods. One species is found exclusively, however, on conifers. Among the Celts and others mis~ tletos which grew from the oak was considered to have peculiar magical virtues not possessed ti, that. from any other trees. Sonic even considered it so rare as to be only cut with a gold knife. Another old tradition ts that the mistletoe supplied the wood for the holy cross as previous to that time It was n. forest tree but aftci‘ the crucifixion was con- demned to exist only as a dwarf parasite. ' Mistletoe was taken over into the Christian tradition in due course and dedicated to the Christ Child. Au old rhyme roads: 'l‘lio mistletoe bough Atiour Christmas hoard Shall hang to the honor 0f Christ our Lord. The Qlclest 1. And it came to puss In tliosc from Cucsiir Augustus, that all tho of Syria.» 5. To be tnxcti with Mary, his child. plishod that shc 7. And she room for them in the inn. 8. And there were in tho same which is Christ the Lord. ward men. 15. And It came to pass, as the lnio heaven, the shepherds said to unin Bethlehem. mid see this thing Lord hnih made known unto us. i6. And ihry cnmc with husic, the habc lying In a manger. i7. And when they had seen it, told them by the shepherds. heart. 19. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered nbml ~ and see what iiirikcs tlic noise Iri- sltle, but. there is a, veil covering the uiisccu world which not the strongest. mun. iior t-vcu ilic united strength oi all tho KTYOIILZPSI men that cvcr livctl could tc; " apart. Oirly iltliii, Tailor, yiurrlijv, luvv. roinuucc, can pu>li u~idc that curt- alii and view niui ])lI'i\ll'l' the Slip- erndi beauty mid glory licliillll it. L lt all real? Ali, Virginia, in nll this the heart of childhood. ‘Christmas lleld Twice Yearly If children instead ents wcrc allowed to choose family homeslte. tIw tiny a place they TilRSCS PYPT)’ year. Sarita Claus. his reindeer ' scam perlng over the sands December 24. Hardly have the chil dren recovered from their ovcrsup Santa. returns In tiirie for lug ogre, known whila Santa. administers good. a throwback to the Gregorian calen dar or It may tile a day. Elsewhere iill‘ Night. is celebrated on January G scrvanoe of December :5. Christmas Bells iii the churches ivcrc ruug. At. ex- actly midnight the toiling changed to s joyful peal. announcing the birth of the Christ. in the dark chambers hlizli abovr- the tumioll and strife of iiumaii mo. (iwcli the Apostles of Peace. ivuose saluatioiis wcrc never so urclcoino as at the limo of the great winter feasts of Christmas. so Wil- liam Auld tells in his traditions. Christmas Story Of Them All days, that tiirre ueut nut a decrcc wisi-lrl should ho iaxctl. '1. (Ami this taxing was first made whcu Qvrenlus was governor .1. And nll went to be taxed, every one lnln his own city. 4, And Joseph also went up from Gulllec. nut of the city of Na:- areth, into Judiieu, unto the city of David which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of Dnvldzi espoused wife, being great with 6. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accom- sliould be delivered. brought forth her firstborn son. and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because thcrc was no country shepherds abiding In tho field. keeping watch over their flocks by night. 9. And. lo, the angel of the Lord come upon them, and tho glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sol-c afraid. 10. And the angel said unto them, Fcnr not: for, behold, I bring 3'0“ Rood tidings of great joy, which shall ho tn all peoplc. 1. For uiiio you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, 12. And this Iiilil be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the bsbc wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13. And suddenly flicro was with the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will io- sngcl a multitude of the angels were zone away from fhcm one another, Lot us now go cvcn vrlilcli has come to pass, which the and found Mary. and Joseph, and they made known abroad the lay- ing which was told them concerning this child. l8. And all they that heard lt wondered at those things which were tltem in her Th/Gospel According to Si. Luke, Chapter ‘J. lives, and he lives forovcr. luthous- and years from inw. bdrginla. nay. icn times ten liitillsllllii years front now. he will coutiuuc in iuukc glad of their par- the fishing village of Rotimithc. NC. would bo- conie u metropolis civcriiizht. Here's celebrate two Uirlst- oi.' North Carolinas outer banks, makes his first stop Iii Rotlaiiiiio during his aiiiiunl world tour on the night of ply of candy and wild duck when “Old Christmas," which for hundreds of years Rxidautlioaiis have celebrated m1 January 5. This time, however, Sarita is accompanied by a menace- as “Old Buck." who ta/kes care of the bad children to the _ The historical background of ‘Did Christmas" Is tiucertniu. It may be have started as a celebration of the Twelfth Night- when the wise mcn cn-mc to Bethle- ham bearing gifts for the Christ child-that somehow got off sclicd- Twelfth But those celebrations are for dif- . fcrcnt from Rodarithcls “Old Chrisi- ' mas," which only in recent years has been supplemented by the ob- ‘ Iagmd has It that when Christ was boru and Satan tlivcl. the bells Once upon a tune-according lo llarz mountain legend-a poor miner's wife was gathering plno cones in the forest. 1t was just be- fore Christmas, her husband was ill, and there was no money In the house for food. Sn, she gathered the cones and sold them to the villagers for kindling-obtaining enough for ‘the day’: necessities. ' One morning while she was look- ing for stich cones, a little Imp jumped out of a huge flr tree. ‘ "Here, hcre are the biggest, {driest cones of alll Take these,” The shricked, jumping up and clown Iexcitediyz Suddenly, there was such a show- er of cones that the poor woman was frightened. She trlcd to run away, but could not move until the little Imp had filled her basket. And, hav- ling started home, the basket grew heavier and hcavicr—she wished the elf harln‘t disappeared, ha might have helped her. Wbcn she finally reached her hut, lshc called the children to help car- ry the basket inside. Emptying the ‘basket, they found that every cone was made of solid silver. | Commemorating these legendary ‘silver cones, gilded pine cones are sold in modern stores, to decorate our homes-to bum and crackle gaily in our Christmas fires. Pagan Rites Basis Of Many Customs Strange as it may seem, most world tlicrc is nothing “Se real American Christmas customs stem and abiding. largely from Pagan rites practiced No Sarita Claus! ‘Fhnrik God. he long before the birth of Christ. The custom of exchanging gifts ls one of the few that springs from the Christian ern. Christmas can- dles, bonfire: and Yule logs arise from the heathen festivals observ- ing the winter solstice, December 2i, when the days begin to lengthen. That was a time of great rejoicing for ancient sun worshippers who built bonfires to give strength to tbs "winter sun-god." PreChrlstlan Romans drnamcnied their homes with green bougha and flowers for the Feast of Saiumalia which began December l9. Druids gathered mistletoe for that season, while ancient Saxons used holly, ivy and bay. Modern mistletoe and holly wreaths come from those peo- pies. Christmas trees, too, spring from the ancient German days when Ger-i manic tribes made sacrifices to the sacred oak tree of Odin. When tho missionary St. Boniface traveled to‘ Germany In the Eighth Century and, saw these celebrations he persuaded- the natives to substitute a flr tree for the oak and to adorn It in a tribute to the Christ. Child. » During the Middle Ages the entire Christmas season was celebrated in equal fervor with that now shown on Christmas day. In some lands the ‘celebration lasfcd from December 24 to January ti-Twclfth Night- and In others from December 21 i0 February 2. By the year 1644, Christmas in England had become such a wild orgy that the Puritan! Jorbada its celebration by law. The bell, the world's oldest and lslmplest ualcai instrument, is tho ,world‘s most universal Yuletide ‘symbol. Each nation has its Individ- ual symbols of Christmas, but the, ibell will be found somewhere In tho traditions of every one. 1 Bell authorities claim that Pops‘ Sabinian gave us the first church bells In 604. The custom has grown’ until there Is no use of church bells' so widely known as the ringing of the chimes to herald tho advent of the birth of Christ. I In recent years the ancient bell has "grown up" into the carillon,‘ a highly sensitive instrument 0I'l which Christmas carols seem to find] their molt perfect expression.‘ Some Safety Rules For Holiday Season ". It only takes a small amount of carelessness to tum the joyful Christmas holiday into a tragic event. The Christmas free is the danger IDOL Theta are a few 51m?“ precautions that will assura a safe and marry Christmas. Never burn real candles on your. tree. 1 Don't risk using frayed cords and broken plugs. Avoid placing powerful lamp‘ bulbs near fancy ornaments, ayn-' thetic materials, paper or cotton. l Don't go away and leave your free lighted. I Be very careful when smoking around Christmas package wrap- ping material. ' Secure tho tree by wires to the wall so that tiny tots will not b0 able to bump o ull ‘t over. ' i: __ F D 1 (llamas. the Book of Daniel, was born in Bethlehem on ivednes- do)’. December 25_ in the 42nd year of the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus. In the Middle Ages .\t‘i‘llifll‘,C€i€- ‘brution of Christmas was not; con- fined to one dny but. sometimes extended to Epiphany and. occasion- l_v. from Si. Thomas‘ Day Io Cali- Hippolytus, Iii his oomnientary on says Christ Christmas Visit To The 1 Fountains In 1540 when a plague was rag- In! in Switzerland. 12 pious men of Rheinfelden formed a. brotherhood to pray for St. Sfibastiairs aid, and to nurse the sick and bury the dead. Pestilence in medieval times was ascribed to evil spirits in water. so the Brotherhood u! St. Swastlan visited each of the town's seven fountains. praying and singing hymns at each stop. They still cun- tinue tlils custom. but only on Christmas Eve. For this ritual the 12 Brothers are dressed in black, with black silk top hats. At every fountain they gather around the song. The march begins at. iltc Fvoschwelde fountain, where tho plague is supposed t0 have started church for midnight Ina-ha, and are. mouiously place their lantern on the altar bf St. Sebastian. REPAIR OLD ORGAN MONTREAL -— tCP) experts from London, England. will rebuild the QO-ycar-oltl organ in Christ Church Anglican Cathe- dral this winter. 'l‘tic cathedral is being redecorated for its ccnicii- uial next ycai". IJUKGI! " Travel Robes ' Hostess Robes * Wrap-Arounds r Zip-Ins * Princess Styles ' Flowing or Snug * Wool Flannel ‘F Corduroy lantern-beam and sing a medieval ‘ three centuries ago. Wlienthey have , passed the seventh, they enter the. -- Organ ‘ And there are so many wonderful styles and fabrics to choose from . splendid Christmas-gift robe collcctlonl s. a. uenouann t Treating Tree To Preserve Needles Dropping needles m- leaves oi Christmas trees, which strip tho trees of color and litter the floor, lung have been a Yuletide bane. Therefore, the discovery of tho New York State College of Fores- try that waterglass spray will pro- veiit the spruce leaves from falling comes as welcome new: to family and housewife alike. Besides preserving the foliage, the waterglass spray adds w the decorative effect. of the spruce by leaving a slight silver sheen to the green of the needle-like leaves. 'i‘hc watorginss also has been found to i!!! a good tire retardant. 'l‘lic college found that the shed- ding of spruce loaves also can, be I retarded by placing the base of the . tree in a bucket of moist earth, I pcat moss or ivatei‘. Users have re- . ported the success of this treat- inciit. lll l0. the Itlr, which dug lain In the talhtunt infer: theimtill it um: snb stub aha balm: it: your; will: bu. Qlun they us: the mt. tiny trinlub amt; zxzttbing great icy. fins when tbtp time mm into the bflitscihtp uiu ti): young iliilb tnitii Qtisrp his mother. snh fill bolnn. lnb morsiyivpzb him: anti lubcn they hub npzntb their mu- um’, lhrp prmntzb unto liim gifts: quilt. snb frsniinttnsr, ant mprrl). flnb bring inarnzh olfinb in s brram that tiny lbsulb not return In Quota, tiny bqiartzb into their otnn iountry snntbrr Imp n nuns- CONUNDRUMS What is the grandest verse fl jexlstencc? -- The universe. Ilst fl s little boy in anions- rlle of s dcep river like? — Llkl Lu be drowned. rlinQsggwflflfQ III aNW-EWIUEWWWWPIRWaQK ' Rayon s s t I n quilted clasli o robs. [herds warmth and comfort . ., . ls well as {rug glamour ln our precious new holiday selection of gift robes. Come in today-choose a robe for Her, . . . in her favorite style, fabric and color. Budget- keycd prices 14-95 .. .. in on! “arm, t my wool f l a n a o s wrap robs, . _. Iii-L. ns:_-..é..»s,._-.~s-==as