The Hilltopper (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 49, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, December 11, 1964 Page: 8 of 8
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HILLTOPPER
A
r
“O Come all ye faithful . .
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• . 6
One of the most recent of the
popular Christmas customs is the
Christmas card. The first one was
sent in 1845 by W. C. Dobson, one
of Queen Victoria’s favorite paint-
ers. Louis Prang of Boston made
the first American Christmas
cards in 1875, but only during the
last 50 years has the practice of
sending Yuletide cards become
widespread.
About those Christmas stock-
ings: one legend says that the
original St. Nicholas—who was
a charitable Turkish bishop—
taking pity on a man too poor to
provide a dowiy for his daught-
ers, dropped gold pieces into a
stocking hung up by the fire to
dry.
having a thrilling comeback in
thousands of homes across the
country.
The combination of lively feet
and music, continuing today as
people play and sing around their
player-pianos all over the coun-
try, began with early “carols.”
The word “carol” means to dance
in a ring, and the man who popu-
larized the practice was the be-
loved St. Francis of Assisi. To
bring the Christmas message
vividly and directly to his 13th
century villagers, most of whom
could not read, he arranged a
manger scene using real people
and animals. When the villagers
came to see it, St. Francis led
them in joyous celebration—
“caroling.”
accomplished, the custom
History records many other
Christmas customs, but in all
lands which celebrate this ancient
holiday, the feelings of reverence
and joy are the same.
MONTOOMERY
WARD
ing the Christmas tree didn't
originate in America, the practice
of playing Christmas music with
the feet did begin here—less than
half a century ago. Player-piano
enthusiasts pumped out such
favorites as “Silent Night” and
“Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem.”
Today, with the help of modern
players that can be foot powered
or used as a regular piano by the
When you raise your glass and ।
shout “Happy New Year!” at mid-
night, December 31, how will
citizens of other countries be
welcoming in the New Year? Will
they boil Indian rice? Toast with
Spanish sherry? Exchange Irani-
an eggs?
Russian families usually cele-
brate New Year’s as a quiet
household holiday. There are New
Year’s trees, decorated with toys
and lights, and parties for the
children. At midnight, in observ-
ance of an old Russian custom,
celebrants douse all the lights.
Many teenagers go about the
streets festively throwing peas
and wheat grains at passers-by—
much in the same way as we
throw confetti.
If you’re anywhere in Italy on
New Year’s Eve, don’t walk close
to the buildings, because at the
stroke of midnight, people stand
at their windows and heave out
old glass, kitchenware and chairs.
This symbolizes the cleaning out
of the old and the beginning of
the new.
Italians also get a bang out of
New Year’s fireworks displays.
Here the understanding is that
the noise will frighten away all
bad things that happened during
the old year and so assure good
luck in the year to come.
Luck also dominates the scene
in Spain. In Jerez and other areas,
it’s customary for families to
gather on New Year’s Eve and
celebrate the coming of the new
year with music and a special
kind of amusement.
When the clock begins to strike
midnight, each person starts to
eat twelve grapes. The entire
dozen must be eaten before the
twelfth stroke of the bell to be
sure that the new year will be a
happy one.
Legend has it that this Spanish
custom was begun by men who
raised grapes for the making of
sherry. Spanish sherry from the
grapes of Jerez vineyards would
be perfect in the coming year,
they believed, if everyone ate one
grape with each stroke of the
New Year’s bell.
In France and Scotland, New
Year’s Day is a more important
holiday than Christmas. At
Christmas, a French peasant
child puts his wooden shoes on
the hearth for a gift, but it’s on
New Year’s Day that adults ex-
change presents.
Scottish tradition has it that the
While the exact origin of the
practice of kissing under the
mistletoe is not known, there are
several popular stories about it.
The Druids of ancient Britain
paid it more than lip service—
they thought it could heal disease,
neutralize poisons, and protect
against witchcraft! They wore
charm bracelets and rings made
of mistletoe, and fastened the
plant over their doorways to ward
off evil spirits.
A Scandinavian tale involves
Frigga, the goddess of love an
beauty. Researchers report that
Frigga first made mistletoe an
emblem of love and granted some
lucky man a kiss beneath its
branches—beginning a smacking
good custom.
Of course, the Christmas tree
is a center of attraction in most
homes during the Yule season—a
place of honor, incidently, solidly
rooted in history. For thousands
of years before Christ’s birth,
evergreen trees were revered by
German tribesmen as symbols of
immortality. When the pagans
were converted to Christianity,
they transferred their feelings for
the evergreen to the new religion.
The first person to put lights
on a Christmas tree was Martin
Luther. Walking home one night
shortly before Christmas, the Re-
formation leader felt a strong tie
between the starry night and the
love of God. At home, he placed
candles on a little evergreen tree
to help his children experience
the same wonder of God’s heav-
ens. The custom grew and spread
through northern Europe, then
to America.
Although the custom of decorat-
Shelafs
( )) fine jewelry
first one in a house on New Year’s
Day brings good luck.
New Year’s in India is an ex-
tremely solemn festival. Flower-
bedecked cattle are followed
through the streets to the sacred
Ganges river, where pilgrims
gather to worship. In the south-
ern part of the country, the boil-
ing of new rice is an appeal for
good luck during the new year.
In contrast, the Japanese New
Year’s celebration is a razzle-
dazzle affair. Everyone takes three
days off from work to visit with
friends and join in the many
colorful parades. Homes are
decked out with green pine
branches, and bamboo stalks are
hung on gate posts along with
tangerines—indicative of long life.
December 31 — called “Grand
Last Day”—is truly a happy time,
and the merrymaking culminates
in the Joya-no-kane, the 108 peals
of the temple bells at midnight.
And the ushering in of the new
year has an extra-special meaning
in Japan—for the-stroke of mid-
night means it’s everyone’s birth-
day!
Those who get the biggest bang
out of New Year’s, though, are
probably the people of Geneva,
Switzerland. There, every piece of
artillery in town goes off at 12
o’clock in 22 salvos in a holiday
salute and a commemoration of
the city’s liberation from Napole-
on.
Page 8 December 11, 1964
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The Hilltopper (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 49, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, December 11, 1964, newspaper, December 11, 1964; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1491839/m1/8/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting St. Edward’s University.