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Show - THE PAYSON CHRONICLE CHRISTMAS Utah 84651 Thursday, December Payson, Mistletoe, Prescribed Now for Kissing, to Cure Illness Once Was Thought to harm her but she and to which ancient custom, ISSUE 25, 1969 An prescribed mistletoe for the prevention and cure of a wide epilepsy, variety of illnesses has given way for instance to the happier idea that mistletoe is the right prescription to assure opportunities for exchanging kisses during the season. Naturally, this makes mistletoe an object of interest as it has been for centuries. Druid priests in early Britain cut mistletoe at the winter solstice and gave sprigs of it to the people. The sprigs were hung above doorways of homes and stables. The Druids taught, and the people believed, that this vine had great holiday OVERWHELMED . . . Wow! seems to be the reaction of these two young ladies as they view the huge collection of dolls at a New York doll show. A dress a doll contest was staged to provide dolls for Christmas distribution in lonely mountain areas. Message Of Christmas Lives Anew lo, the Star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. Matthew 2:9- And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Luke 2:16. From two who became His disciples come the words that tell the story of that Holy Night, the first Christmas. And ' the tax collector the Star that shone in the east, and of wise men Matthew wrote of who followed it to find and worship Him. Luke the physician wrote of shepherds AH the Best tor CHRISTMAS The treats of the Christmas season are many and varied, and our wish for you, our customers, is that you and your families may have the good fortune to enjoy them all. Thanks for your patronage! Roy's Food Mart watching in the fields and herald angels singing in the heavens. At church services during this Christmas season the words of the tax collector and the physician will be read and studied once again, with meaning. And as the story is told anew, it is also reflected in the many observances of Christmas, both in churches and in homes. The joyful sound of carols harks back to the first of all carols, the words of the heavenly host, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. The glow of candles symbolizes the birth of Christ as the Light of the World, and it also mirrors the eternal gleam of the Star of Bethlehem. The spirit of giving takes guidance from the gifts of the Wise Men, who brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to ever-deepeni- ng ward off evil power son, pro- tect against illnesses. Despite the early interest in mistletoe for its supposed medicinal qualities, its use as a prescription for kissing had a place in the ancient world, too. Romans and other early peoples considered mistletoe as an emblem of peace. Meeting under it, enemies kissed each other and made a truce until the next day. Scandinavian myths tell the story of the "death of Balder, the sun god, who was, so mythology says, killed by an arrow of mistletoe wood. His mother the goddess Freya, had asked all living things to pledge not neg- lected to ask the lowly toe. Balders enemy, the lame god Loki, took advantage of this to make the arrow, which he persuaded Hoder, the blind god of winter, to shoot. Balder died, but through the efforts of all the other gods, he came back to life after three days, and the suns light shone at the winter solstice. Freya cried for joy, and her tears became mistletoe berries. She kissed everyone who passed under the mistletoe, and ordained that this same sign of affection should always be exchanged when people met beneath the mistletoe. Not Only Gold, but Frankincense , Myrrli Were Precious Gifts , Too And when they had opened their gold may have come their treasures, they presented from the mines of Indian Myunto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. Thus St. Matthew describes the first Christmas gifts of all, brought to the Christ Child by wise men from the East." Each of the gifts was rare and, especially in Biblical times, truly a treasure. Among the gifts, the value and beauty of gold is most readily apparent to modern readers. Then, however, its worth was even greater, for it was still more rare and precious than it is today. Archaeological diggings in ancient Troy, Crete and Egypt have revealed that articles of gold were usually royal treasures. Since St. Matthew says the wise men were from the East, sore. and Frankincense oliba-nuFrankincense, or is a gum resin which flows from a tree growing on bare rocks in the mountains of southern Asia and northeastern Africa. It was formerly used in medicine but is now chiefly employed as incense in Catholic churches and Indian and Chinese temples. Myrrh is the popular name for a gum resin obtained from tree a small which grows in Arabia and adjacent Africa. From earliest times it has been used for making incense and other perfumes, The Encyclopedia Americana says. gray-bark- ed Epiphany Cake Hel ps F rench Choose King and Queen to Rule Evening French peasants put a bean La Galette des Rois, the Kings Cake, is the French into the cake mix, and the form of Epiphany cake, ac- finder of the bean, when the cording to the editors of The cake is baked and cut, is Encyclopedia Americana. King for the evening. He Epiphany cake is baked all then chooses a Queen to over Europe, either at Christ- share his honors. mas time to eat until Twelfth In the French towns, a china doll is substituted for the Night, January 6, or on Epiphbean. any day. all, at Christmas, mankind experiences ance again the reverence, wonder and rejoicing of the wise men, Russian children hang up their stockings on New Years Eve, in anticipation of Grandfather Frosts visit. Though Communists eliminated the religious celebration of Christmas, they allowed the childrens festivities of the season to remain. THE CANDLE - I Mfif. To you , our friends and neighbors we extend In Russia our best wishes for the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of New Years and add the prayer that your homes be blessed with Peace and Good Fortune. ' No one is quite sure, but some hold that the custom of having a Christmas candle comes to us from baronial days when a huge Yule candle was prepared to furnish the light at the high table throughout the holiday myrrh, while less familiar today, have modern uses. Him. Above of whom Matthew says, And when they were come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. mistle- Celia's Conoco Service |