Show L I. I y 1 Jf I IS i I Irr l I a T T J rr I I r R i 8 W R 1 Aw 3 C Da D. Day on OD th th b. Delaware Delaw 1778 1776 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON T fi Y ARTICLE about A f would be In In- J complete without mention mention of ot the first first and and most historic his Ill torte Christmas of ot all aU For had bad It not been for tor certain v events In the little town of Bethlehem In Palestine some deen centuries ago ogo there would ve re been no Christmas to be cele cele- ted led each year hence no Christes Christ Christ- sea ses es to be characterized as historic What those events were have best besl besten besta en a 11 recorded by y the beloved ii n n. n St St. Luke who more than ban on any ony onye anye e of ot the tour four apostles apostle who have Itten the story of ot Christ has haa given ven vene e historic background of those cuts And this Is the story of that st t historic Christmas as a. St. St Luke Lake Is It And It came cam to pati pa In tD tho those days day Bat at there went out a s decree from esar Au that all the th world be he taxed And thia taxing tailing was wee drat made when wa was governor of Syria And all went to tobe be taxed tailed every one oneto oneto to ito his own city And Joseph also aleo went up from dalee dal- dal ee out of the city of Into Inlo des dea unto the city of David which Ii I. lied tiled Bethlehem because he was of ofle le e house and lineage of David To b be taxed with Mary his espoused II Ire Ife being great with child And so It was that whole while they were ere the days day were accomplished that he e should be delivered And she brought forth her first born an n nand and wrapped him In swaddling lothes an and laid bid him In a manger beuse be be- use there was waa no room for them In Ine e Inn And there were In the same ame country abiding In In the field neld keeping atch over oer their flock by night And lo 10 the angel angelof of the Lord came camer pon them and the he glory of the Lord r Lu un n A and hon nun IU round about themi lucin C they ere rere sore bore afraid And the tte angel said Bald unto thorn them Fear FearoL I oL ot for behold I t bring brine you rOll good Id- Id I nr nye ny of It great great- joy jor which shall be to 11 II people For unto you Is born this day In the Ity of ot David a Saviour which Is Ihrl Christ t the Lord i And this shall ahall be assign unto you Te Ye hall find and the babe wrapped In swaddling awad swaddling clothes lying In Ina a manger And suddenly t ther was with the angel a multitude of he t heavenly host hoat praising God and saying Glory to God In the highest and on onearth onearth onearth earth peace good will toward men And Ind nd It came to pass pace as aa the angels angel were gone away from them Into heaven the shepherds said one to an another another an an- other Let us now go even unto Bethlehem Beth Deth- lehem and see lee this thing which Is le lecome I come cone to pies pass which the Lord hath bath mode made known unto us ua nd ind nd they came ame with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manner manger And when they had bad seen Been It h they ther made known abroad the saying which win wn told them concerning this child And all ell they that heard It wondered at those these things which were told them by the shepherds nut But Mary kept all ail these things and andre re n d d t h h Ln h nn p u ere u 11 mem m in er a tart And the shepherds returned glorifyIng glorify glorify- Ins Ing and praising God for nil all the things thine thit they had heard and seen lIeen as a. asIt It It w told unto them hinge were the events vents then which wore acre rl to bring about the world wide celebration of ot December 2 M of ot each Inch year year However er this ob ob- I or did not begin nt ot once for the I very try first evidence of a having been n held In honor of ot the birth ol ot Christ was In Egypt about he the year ayl Al though the regular observance of ot Christmas began sometime In the fourth century U was not until the Thirteenth century that the celebration celebration tion became a general custom It Is Interesting to note that the first Christmas celebration In the New world took place only a 0 Attie more moret t than an two months after that even event which is Is usually referred to as the IIII discovery of America Soon after atler Columbus set foot toot upon I Ithe the soil of at the New world he started upon IIron an on exploration of the group of ot Islands blands which he tie had found During this time he anchored his dupe In a harbor of ot Haiti Valli to which he hI gave the name of a 0 paint whose day f Is celebrated celebrated cele cele- on December 0 and anti who In the minds of ot children Is Ins Inseparably connected con d wilb Christmas day day SL SL Nicholas f T- T Tt t iV 5 r wY 1 V s t 4 t kr The Battle BoUle of 01 Trenton t JN IN day In i I f Our d troops with bayonet fixed filed I IFor f For Trenton marched away wy I t Th Delaware Delaw as 1 th th boat boats below I IThe I The Th light lIet obscured by has hall and nd enow cowl wl I f i But no DO signs ol ot ditty f t Our object w. w was th the b. H. H bead band I That Thet dared dred invade Inda lair air freedom ltd land And quarter quart hi In that pla pi plan I f f t Great Gnat he ha led u us on on I f I Whose Whoa n. n flag Bag In Ia storm or cr eun am Had Hd never Den knows known dI fL f I f In is march w we th lb be night Each Earl sold panting far tor farbe th be th fight ht f Thou Though quite quit benumbed Dum with frt frt- to Green en on os th the be left halt at t it iii began Th Tb ne right war waa led lad by II I f I Who neer ne'er ar n a moment at lost Joel I t Th Then Their h- h t stoned th tb be alarm elan was wae f f I That net rebels Ia risen Iran from th the be deal dead Wr Wen marching Into town ton II I f I Some Sam scampered here her MOM s. scampered camper d then t And souse acme far arl or action did prepare f But Sut soon their arms arm laid down dews f t Tale hundred servile u j I II I With all tU their colors color guns gun UD and tent tut Were Wm W. W trophies ol of th the tb day dy f fI I Th frolic oer o'er the tb th bright cant canteen If j I is Ie center front and nd rear ear wu wea sirs een D f Driving Ct w away 1 II INow I f I 1 Now brother bothe of ci th the tb patriot bands bandi It I f t Lets Let sing deliverance from 1 th th bands handa Of arbitrary sway away I i And And a as our 1 III lit I I. I but a span pan pan f 1 ti tf Lot Lets touch th th tb tankard who while w we can can j 1 t In memo memory of that day i I Old Ba Ballad Iad j If L L I The first Christmas In the New world d- d n n rl 1 ti c-ti sur rol tuli 1 It It was wasa 1 n a blare hl r 1 c gun ey u gov one one was was an 00 eventful an-eventful day y for Columbus Colum- Colum bus and his men They spent It In a avain avain vain effort tl to save Bave the flagship the Santa Maria Marin which had hod been beached benched on Christmas eve Finding that their efforts were doomed to tall fall they took what goods they could from the ship and carried them on board the Nina Nino Since this vessel was too small to carry all th those se who had hod been on board boord the flagship Columbus found It necessary necessary I sary Iary to leave some Borne of his men In a fort tort which was built on an Island and which In honor of ot the season was called roller Le Nn The Nativity Although Christmas was no doubt celebrated by the early Spanish and French settlers In the New world worM there Is no record of ot any outstanding events on that day connected with these settlements which would m make ke I their Christmas celebration worthy of ot the characterization of ot historic Christmas must also have been a joy ful occasion for the settlers of ot the first English colony at Jamestown Va even cen amidst the privations and ond troubles of ot the early days of ot that colony For they doubtless brought with them the English h tradition of ot the theOld theOld Old country Yuletide with all of Its feasting and merrymaking Quite different was the first Christmas Christ Christ- Christmas mas of ot that other English colony founded on the stern and rock bound c coast ast of ot New England The Pilgrim fathers landed from the Mayflower J at ot Plymouth on December 21 31 1020 1030 Rut nut Christmas day that year brought with It nl no thought of revelry elry or gayety Rayet to these Englishmen This first Christmas Christ mas inns day found them without shelter from the piercing winds since the day before was Sunday and ond no one was allowed to labor and disturb the sanctity of ot the Sabbath even een for the purpose of ot building some Borne sort of ot shelter shel shel- shelter ter from the Icy blasts of ot a New England England England Eng Eng- land winter So Instead of ot observing Christmas In any such manner as their descendants do do these pioneers celebrated the day with time the swinging of ot axes the felling of ot trees and the clearing of ot ground upon which their r rude de log cabins were to stand When the second Christmas In New Nev England came around there was no joyous celebration for tor still sUll another reason During the preceding year an an- other ship had brought a load of emigrants end emi grants and ond of this colony William Bradford a stern Puritan was governor gov artier lie Ue formally outlawed Christman Christmas Christ mas man as the Puritans of ot England had done when they had gained control of parliament because It was looked upon upon upon-at at least BO so far as aa the Old English English Eng Eng- lish celebrations with their their strange mixture of ancient Druid customs and Christian as ceremonies ceremonies-as as a godless and pagan rite More than that the General Court of Massachusetts frowning upon the Idea of making the Christmas season Beason a time of enjoyment enjoyment enjoy enjoy- ment passed an Len enactment which stated staled that who Is I. found observing by bl i abstinence from labor feasting or orIn orIn orin In any other way shall pay for every offense five live shillings For more than a century the stern tern Puritan Influence prevented anything but a most joyless observance of ot Christmas until the gradual growth of Episcopal Influence In sets nod and Its association with om official lal power when the colony came under the direct control of the crown crow brought about a relaxation of the Christmas anti sentiment nt of the Purl Purl- tans In contrast to time the Massachusetts Massachusetts Massachusetts type typo of ot Christmas was that celebrated celebrated celebrated cele cele- In the great manor houses bouses In Virginia the Carolinas Carolines Georgia and ond Maryland especially In those days when George Washington was unknown unknown un un- known to fame except as a prosperous prosper ous Virginia planter And It was this same George WashIngton Washington Wash Wash- Ington who was the central figure In what Is perhaps the tl he most historic Christmas In the annals of America On the evening of Dec December 25 1770 1776 the Continental army led lel by this former Virginia planter was drawn up for evening parade near Newtown Penn nine miles above Trenton on the Delaware river r. r Int Instead of ot returning return ing lag to their quarters they thel were marched toward ferry where Colonel Glovers Glover's fishermen from Massachusetts bay were manning boats and ond trying to launch them In the river It was a cold raw evening and a snow storm had set In The wind wind was from the northeast and b beat at In the faces of ot the ragged raged bare barefooted tooted soldiers sol sol- soldiers diers who were about to embark upon pon ono orp of ot the most desperate enterprises In history For Washington was plan plan- ni g to cross th the Delaware that night and lead them on a nine-mile nine march over snowy roads to Trenton where the Hessian troops ot of Colonel Rahl wee weve celebrating Christmas with feastIng toast feast Ing lag and ond merrymaking crossing had begun at six Washington had bad planned to have his entire army on the Jersey by midnight begin the march to Trenton by one o'clock so that he could cOt ld make his hia attack just at day day- light But nut the river Ice lee threatened to spoil his whole program and Gates Gatea and other generals declared that the whole Ii scheme was Impossible The TheIron TheIron Iron will of Washington was not to be daunted however and although the crossing took no less than ten hours It was finally accomplished Then he set out for Trenton and after lifter a terrible march with some of his men leaving tracks ot of blood In the snow and ond others struggling along with their guns wet and useless h he arrived In Trenton and Immediately attacked A As I he be had anticipated the appearance appearance appear appear- ance once of ot his hla army wasa was a complete sur sur- prise Although the Hessians rallied sad nod put up a stubborn resistance for forI I il II short time the determination of ot the Continentals could not be denied dented the commander and seventy athis of at his men were killed and 1000 of the Ue surrendered So Christmas day 1770 1776 Is a red letter day dal In American Amer Amerlean ican lean history because on that day a e great commander gave to his country one of the finest Onest Christmas gifts that thaI has Mil ever been bestowed o a brilliant victory at ot a time when the cause ol of freedom seemed all out Dut 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