Southern Oregon miner., December 25, 1947, Image 9

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NEWS REVIEW
SECOND SECTION
MERRY CHRISTMAS
ÇfaÛAÎniaA fci/ioià (play SjnfwÀiani fia/d
9n Holiday Olà Mi: a iucca fili ÖvM Irfofitd
A '¡ A U I N n i thin Y u h tid e s c iis m i
•* * Ih«- stra in » iif C h ris tm a s enrol»
are lim itin g lu to thè hearts nnd
home» of mtUions n i people, e u iry -
InC the s p irit of f l u ì trm is, It i» nf
t i l l s h o li d a y sc • ' n that the im pulse
t<> sing g ili
every ne, fro m the
cro o n in g in fim i to the oldest and
m ost ro m b i, > i| "m o n o to n e ."
T here a i e m any kind» o f e n ro l,.
io n ie fo r e ve ry mood and t i n t e .
H ym n s or chants c e le b ra tin g the
N a tiv ity have been sung «Ince the
e a r lle it days of the C h ris tia n church.
Some of the carol«, lik e "D e c k the
H a ll w ith Boughs of H o lly ," "G ood
K in g W enceslus” and the w a ssu lim it
songs, have no d ire c t re la tio n to the
N a tiv ity , ye t they are fu lly expres­
sive o f va rio u s phases u f the C h ris t­
m as s p irit
B e it loved and m ost fre q u e n tly
■unjj ot the carols is "S ile n t N ight."
It was C h ristm a s tim e In the h a m ­
le t of O bernsdorf. South G e rm a n y,
In 1818 th a t th is b e a u tifu l lo n g was
florid
1 w o rld , wag w ritte n by P h illip s
' Brooks, a Boston m in is te r. Ori a
i tr ip to the H oly Land. Brook« stood
I on the s ta r lit h ills on C h ristm a s
liv e and 1<»>kc<| down upon the little
e ity of B ethlehem ly in g s till and
peaceful In the n ig h t
On the next
C h ris tin a s , back in A m e ric a , he
w ro te the song th a t was to become
fam ous:
» (¡ftridnias
©nee'
l «'/!
L
. We are told that the Hr tie e goes
back to Eve, but it was not u n til the
tim e o f M a rtin L u ­
th e r th a t the e v e r­
green was used as
an indoor d e co ra ­
tion in ce le b ra tio n
o f C hristm as.
It is said that L u ­
"() U n it to n n nl lle l hlehem
th e r one C h ristm a s
H o w s till ice ice thee lie . .
Eve w a n d e r e d
through the woods
W ritte n fo r Sunday school singing,
and
became en a m ­
the song at firs t uus anonymous
but, when the h ym n gained im ­ oured w ith the won­
m e diate fa v o r, B lo c k s a d m itte d au­ der o f the night.
He cut a sm a ll
thorship.
M a n y m u sica l settings
of this b e a u tifu l poem have been snow-laden fir tree, and set it up in
He i l ­
made, the tw o most co m m o n ly used his home fo r his ch ild re n
being by the E n g lish com poser, Jo- , lu m in a te d it w ith candles to re p ­
»«ph B a rn b y, nnd the A m e rica n resent the stars.
It was not u n til 1604 that, in Strass
com poser. L o u is H Redner.
C harles Wesley, younger b ro th e r burg, the firs t C h ristm a s tree up
o f John W esley, founder o f the peared in lite ra tu re .
M e th o d ist denom ination, shares w ith
'JW
.iM B K
'The Messiah ’ Ranks
A s Yuletide Favorite
Best known o f a ll o ra to rio s is
H a n d el’s "T h e M e ssia h ," a fa vo rite
presentation o f the C h ristm a s sea­
son. In alm ost e ve ry c o m m u n ity in
the c iv iliz e d w o rld a c h o ir w ill sing
p a rt o r a ll of the o ra to rio d u rin g
the Y u le tid e People in places too
rem ote to boast a s u fllc ie n tly skille d
c h o ir o r soloists w ill hear "T h e |
M essiah's” message by radio.
The fam ous o ra to rio was w ritte n
by George F re d e ric k H andel in Lon­
don between A ugust 22 and Septem­
ber 14, 1741. The firs t presentation
com posed
A you, ; p rie st, F a th e r
Josef M ohr, was r< tu rn in g fro m the
bedside o f a p a ris h io n e r when he
looked down upon the sleeping h am ­
le t surrounded by snow. It lay there
sile n t in the d a rk night, lig h te d only
b y the b rig h t stars and a few g lim ­
m e rin g candles
T l i, firs t C h ris t­
mas, he thought, n u:,t {»nvc bpen
lik e th is and there cam e to h im these
w ords:
"S ilen! N ig h t, H o ly N ig h t!
AU i t calm, a ll it b rig h t . . . ”
In his study he finished the verses,
then took them to F ranz G ru b e r, the
o rg a n ist, who ca u g h t the s p irit of
a hym n. "S ile n t N ig h ," was sung
fo r the firs t tim e in the little w ’oden
ch u rch In O b e rn sd o rf that C h ris t­
m a s Eve.
E a te r a group of Aus­
tr ia n T y ro l m o u n ta in folksong sing­
ers in tro d u ce d the ca ro l to other
p a rts o f the w orld, in c lu d in g A m e r­
ica . P ublished in 184(1. it has been
tra n s la te d in to alm ost e v e ry lan­
guage and is a fa v o rite through­
o u t the w orld.
Isaac W atts the honor of being the
greatest p roducer o f hym ns.
His
" H a r k ! The H erald Angels S in g ."
firs , published in 1739, is am ong the
most popular. C hristm as carols a l­
though it has undergone m any
chnnges.
ri
N o rw egian fa rm e rs give th e ir
ca ttle tubs o f hom e-brewed ale on
C h ristm a s Eve.
The sile n t skies are fu ll o f speech
A , m id n ig h t o f C h ristm a s Eve
Surrounded by m y th by p rim itiv e
F o r who hath ear* to h ear;
people
in M a d rid eat 12 grapes fo r
peoples, the m istle to e was taken
The w inds are w hispering each to good luck in the com ing year.
o ver by C h ristia n s who also wove
each.
There are 175 d iffe re n t kin d s o f
fa n c ifu l legends around it.
The moon is c a llin g to the beach.
holly.
In ancient m yth o lo g y, the m is ­
And stars th e ir sacred w isdom teach
C h ristm a s has been celebrated on
tletoe was the in stru m e n t o f evil.
O f F a ith , and I<ove, and F ear.
m ore than 100 d iffe re n t days in v a r i­
The D ruids of B rita in believed the
ous p a rts o f the w orld.
p la n t possessed healing powers O th­
B ut once the sky its silence broke
C h risto p h e r Colum bus and his
e r p rim itiv e people thought that m is ­
And song o ’erflow ed the e a rth .
men landed on the coast of Cuba on
tletoe found gro w in g on oaks had
The m id n ig h t a ir w ith g lo ry shook
D ecem ber 25, 1492, n a m in g the
m A gical powers
And Angels m o rta l language spoke, p o in t N avidad.
Taken over into C h ristia n tr a d i­
When God o u r hum an n a ture took
George W ashington crossed the
tion, the m istletoe was dedicated to
In C h ris t the S aviour's b irth .
D elaw are and m ade a successful
the C h ris, C hild. Adopted as sym ­
a tta ck on the Hessian troops at
b o lica l of the heaLng pow er of
And C h ristm a s once is C h ristm a s T renton, N. J., on C h ristm a s Day,
our Lord, i t was used to adorn the
still;
1778.
a lta rs a, C hristm as. Monks o f the
The »ales th ro igh w hich He
O liv e r C ro m w e ll and his Puritan
m onasteries called it the "w ood of
c i me.
fo llo w e rs abolished C h ristm a s D ay
•he cross ’ and a ttrib u te d su pernat­
And fore , w ild a id m u rm u rin g r ill.
in E ngland, banning a ll fe a stin g
u ra l powers to it. The w hite berries
And fr u itfu l fi« d and breezy h ill.
and fun The ban lasted fo r seven
were said to reflect the' radiance
And a ll th a t else the wide w o rld fill years and was lifte d when C harles
caught fro m the g u id in g s ta r when
A re vocal w ith His Name.
I I became king.
the Wise Men w ere le d to the
The re e d y are considered in Hun­
Shall we not listen w hile they sing
g a ry at C h ris tm a s tim e , a le v y being
This latest C h ristm a s m orn.
assessed ag a inst ric h e r citizens so
And m u sic hear in e ve ryth in g .
the poor m a y have su fficie n t to eat
And fa ith fu l lives in trib u te b rin g and d rin k .
To the g re a t song w hich greets the
K ing
Who comes when C h ris t is born?
—P h illip s Brooks
Christmas £ ttll
ra t
I I (.1 V I)
Santa Claus ia the A m e rica n v e r­
sion o f St. Nicholaa. the beard­
ed S aint o f Europe who. on C h ris t­
m as Eve. c a rrie d a basket o f g ifts
fo r good children, and a bunch of
b irc h rods fo r the naughty ones.
St. N icholas was tra n sfo rm e d in to
Santa Claus by the D utch settlers
in New A m ste rd a m , and he be­
cam e the fat. jo lly , roay-cbf eked old
fe llo w he is today.
A d e p a rtm e n t store Santa Claus
listened to a long re c ita l o f requests
by a tot. assuring her he w ould do
his best to m eet her requirem ents.
B efore she le ft, Santa handed her
a b rig h t red apple. "W h a t do you
w a n t Santa to do now ?” h e r m o th ­
e r asked.
The m oppet p ro m p tly snapped-
"Peel i t ! "
. Watkins Products .
and
Variety Store
Next to Phoenix Post Office
‘
<4 N ew s R n ieu . Classified Pays
Wishes Y ou A ll
A MERRY XMAS
and
HAPPY NEW YEAR
T r y It!
r~
.»■ ïl'V -
H a rk! the herald angelt ting,
C lo ry to the neu-horn K in g . . ,”
The m u sic is by tiia t distinguished
composer. F e lix Mendelssohn-Bar-
th o ld y and hence was w ritte n long
a fte r Wesley died.
W atts’ p rin c ip a l c o n trib u tio n to
the w o rld ’ s h o lid a y Joy is the carol,
Joy to the W o rld ." The tune. " A n ­
tio c h ." is an a daptation of Handel s
o ra to rio , "M e s s ia h .”
"Joy to the w o rld , the L ord it
come;
l e t earth receive her K in g . . .”
was in E ish a m b le S treet M usic hall,
D ublin, on A p r il 13, 1742, under
d ire c tio n o f the com poser.
Ladies w ere requested to " r e fr a in
fro m w e a rin g hoops" and gentle­
W atts, too. was a m in is te r W hilp
men to "le a v e th e ir swords at
o ffic ia tin g as pastor o f M a rk e t Lane
h o m e ," in o rd e r th a t a ca p a city
church in E ngland his health fa ile d
audience m ig h t sw ell the proceeds
although he was s till a young man.
He turned to w ritin g verse and be­ to re lie ve needy c h ild re n and the
inm ates of d e b to rs' prisons.
“ Oh, Come A ll Ye F a ith fu l" or cam e a g re a t poet.
"T h e F irs , N o e l," m eaning the
"T h e M essiah” was given its
"A d e ste F id e lc s " is another hym n
E n g lish p re m ie re before the co u rt
o f the ages w hich a p p a re n tly is des­ firs t C h ristm a s, is one of the oldest
at Covent G arden in M a rch . 1743,
tin e d to liv e fo r centuries. It has songs about the com ing of C hrist.
One o f the an cie nt m e d ie va l carols,
George I I was so overpow ered by
been tra n sla te d in to 76 languages.
it p robably is about 400 years old
th - g ra n d e u r o f the m usic p o rtra y ­
The w ords are som etim es as­
The po e try is crude, m e re ly a peas­ ing the K in g o f K in g s th a t he sprang
crib e d to St. B onaventura, bishop
a n t's a tte m p t to present the New
to his feet in re v e re n t a c c la im at
o f Alba-no, in the th irte e n th century.
Testam ent s to ry in rh y m e (thus
the opening bars o f the H a lle lu ja h
I , is m ost co m m o n ly believed, how­
m a k in g it easy to re m e m b e r) bu,
chorus, an action w h ic h led to the
e ve r, th a t it was not w ritte n u n til
tho ro u g h ly sincere and devout. The
m odern custom .
th e seventeenth o r eighteenth cen­
m usic like w ise is sim ple, being p ra c ­
tu ry . The h ym n often Is called the
tic a lly one lit tle s tra in sung three
Portuguese h ym n because it was
tim es, but i t is vigorous, joyous,
sung in the P ortuguese chapbl In
fresh and v irile .
London about 1785 to the tune now
in se p ara b le fro m it:
’ I he first N o e l the A ngel d id say,
Was to certain poor shepherds in
"O h come, a ll ye la ith fu l, io y ju l
fields as they lay , .
and triu m p h a n t;
Oh come ye, oh come ye to Helh-
C a ro lin g o r w a ssa ilin g Is an old
lehem . .
E nglish custom . The o rig in a l words
An A m e ric a n song w hich ca rrie s o f this tra d itio n a l E nglish C hristm as
the s p irit o f C h ristm a s is the sweet song began "H e re we come a-was-
and b e a u tifu l ca ro l, " I t Cam e Upon s a ilin g " and continued in the cho­
the M id n ig h t C le a r." The poem was rus, "L o v e and jo y come to you.
w ritte n by E dm und H. Sears, a New and to y o u r w assail to o ."
The old song co m m o n ly was sung
E n g la n d m in is te r, in a religious
Journal. The m u sic is by the A n te r- i by groups of revelers, p a rtic u la rly
lean com poser. R ich a rd S. W illis , j young women, who wen, about of-
who was s tru c k by the unusual fe rin g a ho, d rin k , a m e rry song
beauty o f the poem nnd "Just set and a p re tty curtsey in exchange fo r
down the notes th a t fit the w ords” : a sm a ll g ift. The w ord "w a ssa il"
comes fro m the Anglo-Saxon "Waes-
h a e l," m eaning
Bp in h e a lth .”
" I t came upon the m id n ig h t clear
And A
1 hat g lo rio u t song o f old . .
And. of course. M e rry C h ristm a s
wopld be less m e rry to both ch ild re n
One o f the m ost p o p u la r Y uletide
hym n s, " I t Cam e Upon the M id n ig h t and adults w ith o u t th a t little jin g le ,
C le a r ’ fo llo w s the tra d itio n a l ca ro l "J in g le B e lls ," to Jingle a ll the way
through the Y u le tid e season w ith its
style . The firs , tw o stanzas d epict
th e angels h o ve rin g o ver the earth m y th ic a l one-horse sleigh—w hich in
and sin g in g th e ir Joyous song, the most p a rts o f A m e rica belongs to
th ir d b rin g s w ords o f c o m fo rt to the another day. But, sans the sleigh
bells and the sleigh, who Is there,
w e a ry and the fo u rth prophesies the
happy days when a ll the w orld • ch ild or adult, who does not love
that gay and ro llic k in g C h ristm a s
sh a ll Join In the angel's song.
d itty to w hich dear old Santa claus
Mr. and Mrs. Larkin Grubb
"O Little Town of Bethlehem,” comes s k im m in g Into town or to iso­
John and Milo
another American contribution to lated co u n try homes behind his eig h t
Merry Christmas
Happy
New Year
GRUBB GARDENS
the f«mou» Christmas songs of the
CHRISTMAS
reindeer.
Wilh all the cordiality that is in our
hearts, and with all the appreciation of the
kindnesses you have bestowed upon us, we
extend this Christmas message to you.
May the Holiday be one of abundant
happiness.
NEWBRY
ORCHARDS