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PAGE 6-C HERALD AND NEWS, Klamath Falls. Oregon Tuesday, December 24, 1963
A Child Shall Lead Them
mMh imrtmM, Jan.
, . . And righteousness shall be the girdle of his
loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The
wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard
shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young
lion and the falling together; and a little child shall
lead them Isaiah .... 11:5-6.
; On this eve of Christmas, harsh words
are outlawed and even the discord of the
; daily life appears to be in harmony as the
: spirit of Christmas rules the earth.
; While Sherman tanks and all the atomic
' . power of the West could not be brought to
bear to blast a hole in the ugly concrete pris
on wall that the Communists have erected
around East Berlin, the spirit of Christmas
has caused even the Godless-professing Reds
to make a path through the barrier that West
Germans might spend Christmas with tlteir
: captive brethren behind the wall.
In Jerusalem where the holy temples
lie and where Israel and Jordan face each
other over barricades, the spirit of Christ
has brought calm and peace as a truce of the
moment permits Christians to cross over to
honor the Christ Child on his birthday.
In these far-off places where hatred has
triumphed over brotherly love for so long
there is a peace for the season by tacit con
sent of both factions.
Overtones Of Sadness
Christmas this year is inevitably tinged
with sadness for Americans, as Indeed it is
for men of 'good will the world over.
The shock that followed the sudden,
brutal murder of President Kennedy just
over a month ago had to subside in the face
of practical affairs and daily routine. But the
sickness at heart engendered by that dread
ful event will remain with most of us for the
rest of our days.
Since we cannot unmake history, il only
remains that we try to learn from history.
If any good can come from the death of Hit's
brilliant leader, It is that his fellow country
men will put aside their petty regional and
political differences and choke off the evil
weeds of hate springing up in every part of
the country from seeds scattered carelessly
in previous years. (
I" one other November, 100 years ago,
Congress Shows A Defiant Mood
By DORIS 1TEESON
WASHINGTON - A veteran
Congressman surveyed (he
House as it sought to clean up
at least a few chines before
Christmas and revealed his con
sidered opinion that "a rattle
snake would have to light h i s
way up that center aisle."
Ho was describing a defiant
mood rather than a specific
contest. All of Congress h a s
been criticized for its no-saying,
its infinite delays, its shabby
scandals, its indifference to in
ternal reform.
The Senate Is not happy
about it, but a spirit of willing
ness to try again ami seek
change Is evident. The House,
in contrast, is bitter and ob
sessed. From tlie Speaker
to the subcommittee chairman,
it Is defensively proclaiming Its
eternal Tightness, its defiance of
critic and questioner.
A small issue shows h 0 w
harshly it is prepared to treat
the rare few of its own mem
bers who MipHn the critics.
Rep. Arnold Olsen, a Demo
crat now in his second term,
is from Montana, which is show
ing a marked conservative
trend. Both he and Senate lead
er Mike Mansfield face hard
fights there for reelection next
fall.
It was doubtless too much to
expect that Olsen could get the
House In its present temier to
approve tlie? Know les power
project w hich, lie argued, would
relieve economic sUingencies in
Montana. He did have the right
to (lunk that his fellow-Democrats,
with their 32 majority,
and their leaders wxuld help
him make a showing.
What he got was 41 votes out
of 370 present and voting. His
erimei Jle Is a member of the
Democratio study p-oup which
supports internal reform of th
House,
Such jettisoning of tlie nor
mal custom whereby members
help a fellow member of their
party to look good, or even
cross parly lines in a bow to a
well liked Congressman, may be
only a passing mood. If it is
not, the prospect for a record
President Johnson can run on
next fall is dim indeed.
Advocates of civil rights and
tax cuts are certain to return
to the arena Willi renewed en
ergy next year. Powerful voices
with convictions aliout the unsat
isfactory stato of the Presiden
tial succession and the dead
hand of seniority will not be
cured of their beliefs by mere
defiance.
President Johnson may be
able to take the House and Sen
ate along with him, but he will
be unablo by reason of his own
'We Have Seen His Star'
v9&aL
In this country the consuming spirit of
self-centered greed, envy and bitterness
drains out of each of us and is replaced with
a warm, glowing concern for our fellow men.
Unfortunates find people on every hand
quick to share with them their worldly pos
sessions. 'Tis the Christmas season and hap
piness permeates the air and takes posses
sion of our mind and hearts.
While all the earthly powers that man
can muster can do little to change his in
ward self, the spirit of a child, born this day
almost 2,000 years ago, has the power to
change everything.
Man finds a new inner peace, a new
consideration for others, a new feeling to
ward his fellow man.
Regrettably, it is only for a time.
What a wonderful, glorious world it
would be if the spirit of the Christ Child
would prevail in our hearts and our minds
every day in every way.
For then would mankind possess the
greatest of all gifts, the one that the Angels
promised from on high that night so long
ago when Jesus Christ was born . . . the
promise of "Peace on earth and good will
toward all men."
Abraham Lincoln spoke briefly at the site of
one of the awfulcst battlefields of the then
raging Civil War. With the blood of the fal
len scarcely dry on the Gettysburg .fields,
he called for a rededication to the principles
upon which the nation had been founded.
With the death of John F. Kennedy still
fresh in our minds, perhaps the nation can
again experience a new birth of freedom
or, at'least, perhaps we the living can take
new determination to proceed toward the
realization of the American dreams of justice
and the right to a good life for all men.
What better time than Christmas to re
flect seriously on the events of the past
month and thereby resolve that it should
not all have been in vain, just as those who
followed the One whose birth is celebrated
today gained strength and purpose from the
sacrifice made for them.
political necessities to go along
with them either. Republicans,
whatever their own contribu
tions to his difficulties, can lie
expected to campaign harshly
against his failures.
Unless a very substantial
change of temper prevails fair
ly soon in the next session, the
President will need to contem
plate some changes of his own.
Jle was a masterful parliamen
tary leader wiUi a moderate
President of the opposite par
ty in office. The task of being
an effective President himseli,
with his own party heavily in
control of the legislative branch,
is something else again.
A Congress, the House par
ticularly, which docs not dare
or care to challenge its en
trenclieil leaders Is not his best
lfst omen.
Like The
By DON OAKLKV
The jolly ghost of Christmas
Present trails a pleasant cara
van in his wake: the Christmas
traditions of a score of lands
some centuries-old, some recent
which the passage of the
years has blended into that
wonderful, varicolored, bright
mosaic we call, simply, Christ
mas. It is difficult to trace some
of these traditions back to their
beginnings because of the modi
fications they have undergone
over the generations. Also, sim
ilar customs may have come
into being independently in dif
ferent countries so that it is im
possible to say which is the
"original."
Here, briefly, is what we know
about a few of them:
Santa Claus, of course, has
a long line of forebears, going
all the way back to the origi
nal St. Nicholas, Bishop of
Myra in what is now Turkey.
In the Jate 3rd and early -tth
centuries A D. he became fa
mous for his generosity and
habit of distributing presents
anonymously to the poor.
Eventually, the St. Nicholas
The
(Author of this story was a
lulled Press correspondent
In Salzburg, Austria, in 1950
w ho had occasion to do exten
sive research Into the origin
of Ihis Christmas song. Fdi
tor.) By ERIC tifcltiElt
More than 140 years ago. on
Christmas Eve of 1818. a young
Austrian village priest was on
his way from a small hut in
the mountains where he had
been called to christen a new
born infant.
Passing by rocky slopes and
ice-coated ravines, the ncwly.nr
dained priest fell strangely
moved. As the stars guided his
way tluough the night, he kept
thinking of tlie small child who
had just received his priestly
blessing.
Tliere was Utile resembl .nice
between tlie wooden hut he had
just k-ft and the manger of the
litllc Jesus, but somehow it
seemed to him as if the Christ
mas miracle had just happened
before his eves.
Back in the small .stud v. alter
solemnizing Christmas Mass. he
sat down lo put on paper what
had happened to hun
It proved an easy task. The
words kept turning into erse.
and when dawn broke, tin- priest
h.nl written a poem.
He didn't know llvn, and nov
er did in ail li is life, that this
little poem was to become one
of the most beloved Christmas
carols in (lie world
Father Joseph Moiir. a mod
est village pi lest, was the cie
ator of "Silent Night, Holv
Night."
Later in the day lie !!
tlie poem to ins friend Franz
timber, tin? grtvl-naiuicl. c.isv
going village s h o o I teacher
who also served as the church
organist.
The teaclier read it once, and
Uh'n a second lime, Greatly
moved lie said: "Fatlier. this u
just tlie Cnristmus song we need
for tonight- nuiss. Just leave
tlie tiuie to me "
So on Cliristmas Dav, mm
one of tlie greatest Christmas
hvmns oi ail time li.nl its
w-orld premiere m Die small
church of Oberndorf, near Salz
burg, Austria, sojig by a school
c'hui . accompanied bv a putar
since tlie church (Vjjan h.,d
I voKen dow n
" - W Jiff IrFmtWw
Three Kings - Yule Customs Come
legend was brought lo the New
World by the Dutch, who called
him Saint Nikolaas whence
"Santa Claus."
In 1822, Clement Moore took
out a poet's license and in his
"A Visil from St. Nicholas"
added a number of character
istics to tlie elf. No one has
ever complained about what he
did. Later, the famous cartoon
ist Thomas Nast helped fashion
the picture of Santa as we en
vision him today.
Every girl knows what must
follow from her proximity to a
piece of hanging misllcloc. But
to the primitive Britons and
their Druid priests, mistletoe
was believed to have the magi
cal power to heal disease, neu
tralize poisons, protect from
witchcraft and bestow fertility.
If a couple plighted their
froth and sealed it with a kiss
under tlie mistletoe, they would
have good luck and live happily
ever alter.
The exchanging of Christ
mas cards is the most recent
of our customs, and the only
one to have grown into a year
round industry only incidentally
connected with Christmas.
Story Of
out several years were to
pass liefore the song became
known outside Austria. For
Father Mohr and his friend
Franz timber, this was of little
importance. They were plain
and humble men who never in
tended to, and never did, earn
even one penny from their song.
One day a visiting organ
builder from the neighboring
Tyrol, who had come to repair
their ailing instrument, heard
ti ruber playing the new Christ
mas melody. lie listened quiet
ly and then asked "Where did
you gel that song? I have nev
er heard it."
Tile teacher smiled, but said
nothing.
In the valley where the old
instrument-maker lived, word of
the new Christmas song spread
quickly, the children learning it
first.
And because none of them
knew who had written it, they
called it "Song from Heaven."
A glove-making family lived
in the valley, who once every
year, toured various (airs to ex
hibit their wares. They also dou
bled as minstrel singers, and of
ten gave impromptu concerts of
Tyrolean folk songs in front of
llioir stand.
At one of these informal con
certs at tlie famed Leipzig
fair they King tlie "Song from
Heaven." introducing it as a
"Tyrolean folk song of unknown
origin."
A local concert impresario in
tlie crowi invited tlie Tyrolean
group to appear as special guesl
artists at a concert lie was ar
ranging. "I am particularly interested
in that Christmas song of
yours." he told them. ,
When the glovemakers ar
rued at the concert hall, they
discovered tlie king and queen
of Saxony were in tlie audience.
The Tyroleans sang their gay.
happy songs and earned consid
erable applause. At the end of
the program (hey joined in the
unknown folk song "Silen t
Night."
Vt hen they had (unshed, (here
was a hush in tlie bail, (lien
liHukierous applause broke loose.
They Iwd lo give an encore
Tlwn a courtier arrived back
stage to inform them the king
ami queen wotiM receive them
m ihe royal box.
The first Christmas card was
devised and posted in London in
1846 by one Sir Henry Cole,
public spirited gentleman. His
first card was a crude litho
graphed affair, sent out lo 1,000
recipients. The custom spread,
and in a few years quite elab
orate cards were all the rage.
In the 117 years since that
first card, though, no one has
improved upon Sir Henry's in
scription: "A Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year."
The Yule log is remembered
only symbolically today, for
mother wouldn't abide dragging
in a log over her wall-to-wall
carpeting, even if she had a
fireplace.
The custom originated in
Scandinavia, where a huge log
was set afire to honor Thor and
to mark the time of the winter
solstice. In many parts of Eu
rope, bringing in the Yule log
is still a big event of the year.
Traditionally, it is set alight by
a fragment from the previous
year's log.
According to one s t o r y,
Christmas stockings go all the
way hack to St. Nicholas of
Creation Of 'Silent N
From that day on the "Song
of Heaven" struck out on its
own and spread all over the
land. Soon people everywhere in
Northern Europe sang the song
of Father .Mohr and Franz Gru
ber at their Christmas celebra
tions. The soag continued to travel
across oceans and continents.
No, Virginia, tliere is no San
la Claus.
Tliere is no ruddy fat man
with merry eyes and a white
beard, who comes dow n t h e
chimney at night to reward lit
tle boys and girls for being
good.f
Because, you see. Virginia, all
over tlie world there are m i 1
lions of little boys and girls who
have been as good as good can
he but they get no lovs and
sometimes they awake on
Christmas morning without
enough food to eat.
Tliere 'arc fathers and moth
ers. Virginia, who have been
appointed by God to love their
children and they give them
love, althouch they cannot al
ways give them presents.
And these mothers and fa
tilers, Virginia, arc more won
derful and magical and myste
rious than Santa Claus could
ever be
They bring something infinite
ly more precious than dolls and
trains to their children thev
bring the mark of Cod s love
down to every boy and girl.
And. sometimes, even tliese
fathers and motliers are taken
away. But there are others in
Ihe world, divinely touched, who
look after these chiklren and
share with them their meager
possessions.
Compared with this miracle
of care and tenderness, Santa
Claus is a pale figure of fan
tasy. For he. you see. only re
wards boys and girls who have
been 'good." But in the eyes
Myra. The good bishop was de
livering some gold to three
worthy but penniless maidens
in need of dowries.
That night, the girls, coming
in from the rain, hung their
stockings over the fireplace to
dry. Quite by chance, Nicholas'
bag of gold, tossed into the
room, fell into one of the stock
ings. By such fortuitous juxtaposi
tions of events is t r a d i t i o n
made.
"Wassail" meant, loosely.
"Here's to you." and it was
how (hey greeted one another in
iMorric Olde England prefer
ably with strong and heady
brew.
Kor some obscure reason,
the custom, and the strong and
heady brew, are still popular.
Anthropologists would trace
the Christmas tree back to an
cient, pagan Europe, when
trees were worshiped. The
Egyptians, Jews and Romans
also employed trees as festive
decoration.
More recent legend has it that
Martin Luther originated the
first lighted parlor Christmas
nee. it remained almost e.xclus-
Today "Silent Night" is at home
in the vast jungle of the Ama
zon as much as in New York
City or some small French vil
lage. I t was first translated into
English by an Irish priest. Rev.
Stepford Augustus Brooke. Since
then "Silent Night" has become
one of the most popular and
STRICTLY PERSONAL
of God, and parents, all boys
and girls are truly good at
heart.
Presents at Christmas are
fun, of course, but do you imag
ine. Virginia, that the children
Al
manac
By I'nitcd Press International
Today is Tuesday, Dec. 24.
the 338th day of 13 with seven
lo follow.
' The moon is approaching its
full phase.
Tlie evening stars are Jupiter
Saturn and Venus.
On this day in history:
In 1814. a treaty of peace was
signed between the I'nitcd
States and Great Britain, at
Ghent, Belgium, bringing an
end lo the War of 1812.
In 1871. Verdi's opera "Aida"
was premiered in Cairo. Egypt.
In 11M3, President Franklin
Roosevelt announced the ap
pointment of Gen. Dvvight Ei
senhower as the commander-in-chief
of Allied forces in the
planned invasion of Europe.
In 1S3I. the I'nitcd Nations
proclaimed the North African
nation of Libya free and inde
pendent. A thought for the day The
Prophet Isaiah foresaw tlie
birth of Christ and predicted:
"Behold, a virgin shall coi
ceive. and bear a son. And shall
call His nam Jesus."
From Afar
ively a German custom until
the 19th century. Since then it
has completely conquered the
. Western world and is. perhaps,
our must cherished Christmas
tradition.
A related custom, decking
the halls with boughs of holly,
conies from England. In olden
times, unmarried women were
wont to fasten a sprig to their
beds for luck.
It is to Italy that we turn
for the origin of the Christmas
creche, first fashioned in 1223
by St. Francis of Assisi to dra
matize the Christmas story to
illiterate peasants.
St. Francis, too. is consid
ered to be the father of (he
Christmas carol. The word it
self gives an idea of the cir
cumstances of its origin. It
comes from the Old French
and means "to dance and sing."
Gifts, of course, have been
given by all peoples in all times.
Sentiment, however, ascribes
Christmas giving to the first
Christmas in Bethlehem, when
wise men from the cast brought
rare presents of gold and frank
incense and myrrh and laid
them at the feet of the new.
born Christ child.
Moved Christmas carols in all
English-speaking countries. And
this year again the song will be
sung.
The simple melody will sound
as beautiful sung by the rough,
untrained voices of Oregon lum
berjacks as it will chanted by
the elfin voices of little Chinese
girls.
with the most presents are tlie
happiest
When there is little love in a
home, there is little merriment
and without merriment, the
doll is dust and the train is tin.
All over the world, on Christ
mas morning, children will be
waking up without a visit from
Santa Claus or with a gift you
would hardly look at, an orange,
an extra slice of bread, a frayed
piece of string.
Yet if there is someone who
loves them, who frolics with
them and heals them, thov have
a greater gift than any fat man
in a light red suit could pos
sibly bring them.
Tliere are fathers who work
for their children, mothers who
sing to their children, and God
who gives fathers the strength
to work when they are weak,
and mothers the spirit to sing
when they are sad. No. Vir
ginia, there is no Santa Claus
-there does not need lo be.
QUESTIONS
AND
ANSWERS
Q How long do sponges
live?
A-Some spe, ies live only for
a year or even less, but some
live to :o to 50 years.
ft In whit year did Gener.
al John J. Pershing recelva
be PuNizw Bine too History?
iqht'
1V2.