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Show i OA SUNDAY HERALDSUNDAI-E- 1 18S1 E ( Sqi fitly Mop's Generous Gifts Began P. GRANT Newspaper Enterprise Assn. When you took the last look around last night, you felt all the warmth that comes from a weariness brought about by bringing happiness to those you love. Everything was ready for the annual visit of Santa Claus. i Who was this person you welcomed into your home, after makplans for his short ing month-lon- g visit? From where did your guest &fart to come with the most prechildren's cious of all gifts Who is this man happy laughter? who can! wipe worry, doubt and sadness away, and sweep nations into the selfless joy of giving? He Is known by many names, travels in devious ways and keeps different time schedules in other countries, but always his visit blesses the home in which he stops because he proves again that a generous heart is a joy. Religious Significance Many feel the bouncy, redcoat-e- d figure is , far removed .from but our religious observances not so. is it , actually real beginning of our present-day Santa Claus dates from the early fourth century in Patara (then; Asia Minor, now Turkey) v with the birtb of the baby boy, Nicholas, into a wealthy family.! - From his earliest years Nicholas was a very pious child, and in early manhood undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land as was customary in those days. He By PHYLLIS ! ... is --T- ! I! - I Final Rites f j Pay Honor to Playwright PALM SPRINGS. Calif. (UPD The world of the theater paid final " public homage Friday to playwright; Moss Hart. . . 1 . Jewish funeral services were set for 1 p.m. PST at Temple Isaiah In this Southern California desert resort. Hart came here I only three weeks ago to make his home and "slow down" on orders ifrom his doctor. I Hart, 57, a man of many talents 4 whose facile mind and fluent pen produced some of the greatest hits in i stage history, dropped dead of a heart attack Wednesday fas 'he was leaving his new home here. . v j I Accompanied by his wife, the ; former Kitty Carlisle, a former singer and television panelist, j Hart was on his way to a dental j appointment when stricken. Many celebrities from show business came here to pay their ' last respects to the man who was ' a playwright, director and - . j did not return to his native town, but chose instead to settle in Myra (now known as Demre, Turkey)-- , a beautiful seaport town in Asia Minor, an important cen ter of the Christian faith--. WhenNicholas became of age and inherited his father's vast wealth most of his friends thought he had taken leave of his senses because he began giving it all away. He could not stand the sight of an ill or hungry child, and spent all his time and gold help ing the unfortunate. A Legend's Beginning tanta ciaus legend came about through the" plight of a poor nobleman's three marriageable daughters who could not wed with out a dowry. Nicholas- crept by night with bags of gold to the nobleman's house and threw them into the father's window .then silently slipped away unrecognized. Perhaps the nobleman suspected who his benefactor was just as we do on discovering presents but under the Christmas tree Nicholas had given without the gift being attached to his name, and in so doing he started a custom that has endured for over a thous and ye ars , the practice of giving in secret and surprise at Christmas. Nicholas, the good man, gave of himself as well as his gold and living in a seaport he was conHis stantly helping the seaman. ' deeds were so ' noble that many legends grew up about him, and in time he was made the patron saint of. seafaring men. Nicholas, the pious, started each day with prayer at a small church, and Was astonished one morning on arrival to be proclaimed the a mosti unusual procebishop dure since he had taken no religious training., So, it was on this spot that the first church of St. Nicholas was ' built. 1 he Santo Claus I radivion described him as a jolly little fek low who traveled by sleigh with reindeer, and cartoonist Nast, the originator of the GOP elephant and Democratic donkey, pictured him as we know him today: Rev. Clement, Moore rounded out the picture in the beloved poem of 1822, "The Visit of St. Nicholas," Time moves on and today thi3 symbolic figure of Christmas arrives not only by, sleigh but by airplane, helicopter or even guided missile. His suit, once woolen, is now nylon with plastic trim. A Religious Observance It seems well to remember as we again observe Christ's birthday and hear the wish repeated that the observance might be more religious and less commercial, that however changed the figure of Santa, Claus may be, he started out in the fourth century as the. pious and religious St. Nicholas who gave of himself and his wealti to those less fortunate. If you ever go. to Turkey to look for the church which commemorates the true Santa Claus, don't be discouraged at th shell you first see. This structure is only a protective covering built by the Turkish government to preserve the original building they have excavated and restored to much of its former simple beauty: Best of all, to renew the memory of this saintly man, try to emulate the traits of the true Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, and the celebration of Christ's holy birthday will mean a happier Christmas for all. -- ,ne . - red-coat- ed He crept by night with bags of gold Santa Claus visited in homes of the early, settlers in America. In- deed it was against the law to keep Christmas, in a religious way or otherwise, since the festival of Christmas was considered a heathenish custom, it did not become a legal holiday in Connecticut, the first state to take the action, until 1845. Observance was limited to placing; green in j. church 'windows. Patrons of New York When the Dutch had first sailed to this country in colonial days, it was the figure of Stj Nicholas that formed the prow of the ship that came to anchor at Manhattan Island, and he became the patron saint of the small settlement which today is the great city of New York. The Dutch called him Santa Nikalaus whichj became shortened to Santa Klaus and then Americanized to Santa Claus. To- J most new W oncers win De aay amazed to learn that Santa Claus is really their patron '.saint. The name was not the only change St. Nicholas underwent on arriving in America. Iri. the land of the new settlers his lean, ascetic and pale face became fat and rosy as an apple and looked more of a jolly rogue than a saint. Gone were his!, bishop's robe, miter and staff. Instead, he became gowned in red, trimmed with white fur and wore a belled cap. His grey mare had! been replaced with a team of reindeer hitched to a flying sled. ' In fact, even the day for his visit was changed, Now Santa Claus, or St. Nick as he was called, arrived on the eve of December 25. It is to Washington Irving and Thomas Nast that we owe our present-da-y appearance of Santa Nick. Irving in. 1809 or St. Claus Died About 342 A. D. . It was here , in this church that he was buried on the day of his death, December 6 about 342 A.D. Valdimir of Russia came to this church to be , baptised 660 years later and carried home with him the stories and legends of 'Nicholas which led to his being made the patron saint of Russia. When Saracens conquered Asia Minor and laid waste the city of Myra, the church of St. Nicholas, no longer in a Christain land, was damaged. Later1 it became cover ed with silt from the river bed. It was not until 1807 that religious people in Italy ,i worried that St. Nicholas was buried in an un christian land,1 brought relics from his grave to Italy arid built a great church for them. Thus did St. Nicholas, and the stories and tales about him come to the western world. His Fame Spreads The good man was soon adopted as patron saint of Bari, Freiberg, Belgium, France, Austria and The Netherlands ant soon came to be known as the patron of youth. The date of his death, December 6, was' celebrated as "Children's Day" with gay festivities and the practice of giving gifts to children as a reward for good behavior arose. St. Nicholas Day celebrations spread into all countries of the Christian faith, each adapting the estivities of t h e i r traditions. Wooden shoes were put out in Holland with hay and carrots for the visitor's horse. In Norway and Sweden the reindeer became the bearer of St. Nicholas rather than a horse, and in Switzerland a young child accompanied him to hand out gifts. And so, today, there are as many customs as there are countries. New Amsterdam's patron saint 1 However, this did hot mean that j WW r",A " -1- Mil es w Vice Figure . GE ' GE mm rf(T 4 ... post offices between Dec. 1 and 20 was estimated at. about 9.5 billion pieces. The department said this was "the largest, most successful Christmas delivery operation in its ristory with mail handling 5.7 per cent greater than during the price-fixin- g price-fixing- .. same period last year." Despite the heavy increase in mail, the department said, most of it had already been delivered with a slight drop in the use of . manpower hours. Postmaster General J. Edward Day said the Christmas mail volume reached its peak Dec. 18 and 19, several days earlier than usual. He said the new method of giving regular employes more overtime had allowed the department to reduce the number of temporary workers from 290,000 last year to about 250,000 this season. Day said the temporary personnel were already being dismissed and that with the exception of special delivery crews all postal employes will be with their families on both Christmas' Eve and Christmas. Ka-tange- q . ; . se , . . Elisa-bethvil- le t six-mon- th ; Belgian-controlle- d -- it f Prisoners Donate To Christmas Fund .to weSh (Mi .4 . JCJx At CHRISTMAS -- cf is and 225 So. State OREM AC 32 ilies. . , it - m 31 995 23" Console TV . . . . 19" Portable TV , Regular $209.95 GE i 21" Early Amer. TV 2499Jt 17995 95100 LOTS OF REAL GOOD USED TV 61D L(i iiriairfeiimei op also ' Reno. ; Both were booked on vagrancy " Conforte was released earlier on $25 ball. Detectives said Conforte was was arrested .while sitting in a ! car and he had $1,200 oh his ' person. They said the basis of ; Vnr Ik rim GE IHO ret. 245.SJ... GE Custom Auto Washer GE 3 07 Custom Range GE GE PLUfnlBING GE NO CASS! f j REPAIR WORK , ' DOWN! ' . 1st Payment March 62 INSTALLATION 30" Standard Range ti 12-f- t. Refrig.-Frcoz- 1 3-- f 1 3-f- t. Freezcr-Rcfri- g. Combination. Model BJ13 iQC0 wt t. Deluxe Ref rig. 939 wt QJflOD wt . . 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Reg. $359.95 28, 55 NO. 2ND WEST and incoming mail funneled through the nation's ! i . O " Total 19995 Custom cherry wood. Reg: $389.95 " , Stereo Stereo GE currently is appealing for. a re- , 4 , hearing. Coninto Taken custody with forte were Michael A. Wentworth, 23, a taxi driver from Reno, and charges. Radio Picas Come Out of Katanga For Troop Aid . , 171095 Demonstrator. Reg. $249.93 Conforte, 35, was arrested in the parking lot of a strip 'hotel Satur- day and charged with failure to ap '. pear in court on a charge con cerning prostitution and for in vestigation of burglary. : Conforte, who gave his address ' as Wadsworth, was convicted of extortion " and sentenced to from t' three to five years in prison. He ' Console Stereo GE Console S, Nev. (UPD Former Nevada vice figure Joe Jan L. Johnson, . Demonstrator. Reg. $169.93 ; . record-shatterin- , j FURNITURE "Third South On The Avenue Provo Just a Few Examples of how you SAVE In Las Vegas LAS VEGA a APPLIAMCE Arrested i WCE1II - U.S. (UPI). g delivered a postmen load of more than 5 billion Christmas cards, letters and packages during the last few weeks. But the Post Office Department reported today that , everything was under control. ........ Clement Moore and his poem They included publisher Ben-Jne- tt Cerf, composer Ira Gershwin, j and two men who wrote the music . that would forbid General Electric Co. to fix prices or commit Philadelphia to broaden its civil other antitrust violations in hand- antitrust suit against GE to cover all products manufactured by the ling any of its products. ; giant firm. The government previous- ly brought 18 civil actions against GE seeking court orders to bar it from and other monopolistic practices in connection with heavy electrical equip ment only. These suits followed ' the criminal antitrust convictions BRUSSELS, Belgium (UPD The Union Miniere firm" claimed of last February. At that time GE today that amateur radio opera- and 28 other firms; and 45 of their tors in Katanga have broadcast officers were convicted of rigging pleqs for military reinforcements contract bids and to combat mutinous Ethiopian Today's action would broaden U.N. troops. the 18 suits to cover all GE prodIt was not clear whether the ucts. aid was being sought from The Justice Department said it or U.N. forces. took the sweeping measure beIn a communique released early cause GE has been a defendant today, the company which oper- in more federal antitrust cases ates mines in embattled than any other single U.S. comsaid the broadcasts oriGE was described as the ginated'' Friday from the Katanga pany, manufacturer of electrical .largest cities of Jadotville and Kolwezi. The communique charged that equipment in the nation, the Ethiopians"ave joined Baluba refugees from a U.N. control camp In one experiment, after a on the outskirts of Elisabethville period calves receiving trace to form "pillaging gangs." mineralized salt averaged 56 The company pounds heavier than ones in a conis opposed to U.N intervention in trol group, Kansas researchers Katanga Province; have reported. WASHINGTON yi t . " WASHINGTON (UPI) The The Justice Department, ' in! a regovernment, highly unusual nounced that it had filed a move, today sought a court order quest in U.S. District Court ; t groceries, a turkey for each fam-Uand individual gifts. The collection was taken with out the knowledge of Clarence Barker:, who is in charge of the camp. K Baker said the men have also been working on their own time repainting and repairing toys for the children of other nnedy fam- -- of-tim- GOVERNMENT SEEKS PRICE RESTRICTIONS AGAINST GE TERRA BELLA, Calif. (UPD This Christmas will be a bright one for three needy Tulare County families because "of the savings of men who make 20 cents a day. The men are prisoners at the county road camp at Terra Bella. They donated about $55 from their earnings to buy boxes of 17"IT7T and lyrics for Hart's last hit "Camelot," Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner. 1 fflW m A linn prb-duc- er. f Christmas MailVoIurne Sets Record Utah County. Utah FR 50 V Am |