The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

I --.---- NS THE DAILY TIMES-GAZETTE PAGE TWENTY THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1948 » 5,00 he a ee get n-- ele oll lin 772 Gr Sem oll TREAT ume Nl a hic ne A "Hee wo Tr? 3 ing Carol," by the English artist of 100 years ago, A. Crowgquill. Below: An old engraving of Franz Gru- , composer of "In Der tnacht," or "Séent [Night" Right: she church lst Oberndorf, Austria, where Gruber was organ- ! list and where his hymn was first sung. | By CLARK KINNARD The foundations of Christmas | til about 1834, when a quartet of sisters from the vicinity, named traditions were laid nineteen ecen- | Strasser, included it in a concert at turies ago, of course. But the most prominent parts of the structure we know today were erected with- in the last century. After the ' 'midnight ~ religious service has been held and "Silent Night" has been sung, Christmas is a time for Santa Claus; "Jingle Bells"; the re-reading of Dickens' "A Christmas, Carol" and of "A Visit from St. Nicholas"; the send- ing and receipt of Christmas cards; and a dinner of turkey and mince ie. . All 'the things mentioned above after the religious service have comparatively new associations with Christmas. "In Der Christnacht," the hymn generally known in its English translaiton as "Silent Night," was composed in 1818 by Franz Xavier Gruber to words of Joseph Mohr. The latter was pastor of a Luther- an church in Oberndorf, Austria. His collaborator was organist in the church. Their song was heard only at the Oberndorf church un- Leipzig. The organist of the Leip- zig cathedral was in their audience and he invited them to sing it at the cathedral. That caused it to get a publisher, However, it was not until 1854 that it could be con- sidered a success. Then Emperor Frederich Wilhelm IV of Germany heard it and, in his enthusiasm, is- sued an imperial edict that "In Der Christnacht" be sung in all church- es-at Christmas. He also ordered honors he given to the composers. When the emperor asked the composers' names, nobody knew off- {hand. In seeking them out, his of- ficials found that Mohr had died in 1848--a century ago this year. Gru- ber lived until 1863. Meanwhile the song had started going = wherever German immigrants settled. It lives on today in churches of many de- nominations the world over. It was a German immigrant, Thomas Nast, who is responsible for the present popular concept of San- ta Claus, as told in this space yes- terday. The character he gave to Santa Claus in his drawings in the 1 di 1860's and 1870's were admittedly influenced by "A Visit From St. Nicholas," also called "Twas the Night Before Christmas," most fa- mous of Christmas poems, which begins: "Twas the night before Christ- mas And all through the house Not 3 creature was stirring ot even a mouse." The oft-published story and gen- erally-held belief is that the poem, which first appeared in the Troy, N.Y; Sentinel, December 23, 1823, was written by Clement Clarke Moore, a professor of Greek and Hebrew at the General Theological Seminary, in New York City. There is évidence suggesting that Moore wasn't the author. As a matter of fact, he never claimed to be the writer. This is explained as being due to the unwillingness of a staid professor in a ministerial school, to be known to his studénts and neigh- bors as author of Christmas jingles. Christmas festivities were still look~ ed upon as more pagan than Chris- tian (as told in earlier stories in this series.) However, the reason that he - / didn't claim authorship may have been the simple one that there was no basis for it. Descendents of one He ary Livings on of Poughkeepsie, N.Y, have been endeavouring for years to prove that their ancestor, not Moore, was the author of the beloved verses. They have built up a case that does make doubt of Mocre's authorship of the jingles as substantial as the question of the authorship of Shakespeare's plays. However, regardless of the auth- orship, the poem has made its con- tribution to Christmas tradition in little' more than a century. This is true alsc of the now immortal short story by Charles Dickens, "A Christma. Carol' An English historian wrote, "The forties of the last century 'saw Christmas reborn in Zngland. The first vogue of Christmas trees was in 1041; the first Christmas cards were on sale--a thousand of them-- in 1846; and 1843 saw the issue of | the greatest of Christmas books, Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol.' "The idea came to him in Man- chester, and he began work on it during the second week of October. He had alwa§s been fond of wand- ering about in poor neighborhoods on Christmas Day. watching the diners preparing and all the bustl- ing excitement. "He put all that he knew of Christmas into his book, writing in a state of mental incandescence. He wept over it and laughed, and wept again as he wrote, and walk- ed at night for fifteen or twenty miles about the London streets thinking of his book. "It was completed by the end of November and published a few days before Christmas. Six thous- and copies--the complete edition-- were sold on/the first day." It is odd that the best-known Christmas Carol, Dickens', is in- tended to be read, not sung. For no other Christmas tradition in old- er than caroling. The songs of re- ligious joy over the birth of a Sav- jour were the first association with Christmas observance upon which the churches looked with favor. As far back as the 2nd century, AD, St. Telesphorus 'urged his flock to sing "Angels' Hymn" (Gloria in Excelsis Deo) on the eve of the day the Nativity was observed. The word "carol" came into the English lang- uage from Latin i nthe Middle Ages. aq'lau ghed t > pePdh:: * "The 'founder of the Church of England, Henry VIII, gave special encouragement to carol-singing, and the custom of singers touring the towns at the Christmas season was well-established in his time. Great composers, such as Handel and Bach composed Christmas carols, but simple tunes with simple words (such as the Mohr-Gruber "In Der Christnacht"), sung by the wander- ing corolers and church choirs, be- came most popular. Next to the Mohr-Gruber carol, those perhaps most often sung at Christmas in the United States are all of American origin. "O Little Town of Bethlehem" was written by Phillips Brooks in Philadelphia in 1868. "It Came Upon the Mid- night Clear" was composed by Ed- mund Sears in 1850. "Jingle Bells," which is !.eard-as much as any car- ol, was written by John Pierpont, of Litchfield, Conn., in 1857. There are fewer wandering groups of Christmas carolers now. A more popular form of spreading Christ- mas tidings now is the Christmas card, Its history and that of some other common Christmas customs will be told in this space tomorrow. (Copyright, 1°28, King Features Syndicate. ) . This is the third in a series of stories about Christmas traditions written for Central Press and The Times-Gazette by a well-known his- torian. The fourth will appear to- Morrow. Total of Steel Output Rises Ottawa _-- cP) -- The Dominion Bureau of Statistics reports Octo- ber production of steel ingots and castings combined was 281,866 tons, compared with 257,865 in the pre- ceding month and 256,461 tons a year ago.. The month's output was the third highest: this year, being exceeded in May and March. Cum- ulative output for -the 10 months was 2,643,263, compared with 2,440% 025 tons in the corresponding 1047 period. Output of pig iron amounted to 186,424 tons, compared with 182,- 465 tons in September and 163,335 tons in October last year. Cumula- tive total for the 10 months this year rose to 1,779,905 tons, against 1,630,149 tons in 1947. The October' output consisted of 164,184 tons of basic iron, 15,760 tons of foundry iron and 6,480 tons of malleable iron. © Ferro-alloy production jumped sharply in October to 19,489 tons from 12,318 tons in September and was well above last year's Oc- tober figure of 14,691 tons. Previ- ous 'monthly peak was 18,426 tons in May this year. During the 10 months ending October, production aggregated 147,099 tons, compared with 127,393 tons last year, STILL GOING STRONG St. John's, Nfld. -- (CP) -- The freighter Dione, refloated after be- ing sunk by R.A.F. rocket bombs in Phone 3344 iid Oshawa Upholstering Co. Have our consultant call on you without obligation, or-visit our store, conveniently located at 8 Church St. FREE ESTIMATES WE MEAN REBUILT We can restore all the comfort with more modern beauty than it had before to your old furniture, at big savings over what new -- probably inferior furniture would "cost! You'll think it new. It's not. It's RENEWED ° =" 5280W Nights Norway during the war, arrived here recently. Norwegian engineers sal- vaged the vessel. The only man aboard when the Dione was sunk was chief engineer Oscar Anderson, who is now back at his job. Reiman: | "Where Smart Young Women: Shop" 23} Simcoe St. S. Telephone 5303 Christmas Shopping Hours * / EVERY EVENING til 9.00 -- starting -- This FRI. DEC. 17th -- until -- THURS., DEC. 23rd We FRIDAY, DEC. 24th--Ciose 6 P.M. JACK AND JUDY IN BIBLELAND The Star = = =e LJ T BEFORE | LEAVE FOR H THE PALACE, MIRIAM, | \ el (Rea THIS IS THE PALACE OF ne EMPEROR AUGUSTUS. NOW THAT I'VE FOUND MIRIAM, , HOPE | Son GET SENT AWAY ° 3 d the Bible story of "The Star" in 5 Luke) 'By Robert Acomb & 1 HAVE ISSUED A DECREE THAT THE WHOLE WORLD SHALL BE TAVED. YOU, HORATIUS, ARE IN CHARGE OF JUPEA. GO THERE IMMEDIATELY. SEE THAT MY COMMAND 1S \CARRIED OUT/ b XC DID YOU SAY f JUDEA, EXCELLENCY? "1 SAW THE PREVIEW LAST NIGHT, AND IT WAS UH-S'CUSE M I WANTID Ton OBE, 1 WISH YOU ALL HANG TH' EXPENSE" GIVE EM TTAKE A RIDE WITH * WHATCHACALLIT. SE ACK PER TE, 7 Nice Beginning EIGHT DOLLAHS I -- THis ENTITLES YO' TO A PERFORMANCE WHICH AH MAY NEVER RECOVER" FUST, AH STRIPS T' TH' WAIST AN' RASSLES TH FOUR BIGGEST Q GUESTS 77-AH FOLLYS THET BY J PLAVYIN'"TH' MINSTRELS RETURN FUM TH' WAR" ON MAH MOOSICAL. COMB, WIFOUT REMOVIN' MY UPPERS 77 FUM FOLLYED BY FOUR MAHSELF AF HAID 2 ~ BUT-THASS ONLY TH' BEGINNIN, FOLKS Z7-A VZ#/4 EIGHT: DOLLAH WEDDIN' ENTITLES YO'T PLENTY MORE. #7" NEXT- A FAST DEMONSTRATION © HOW T'CHEAT YORE FRIENDS AT CARDS -- N COMES TH REAL. ACTION /Z--AH 1 CLIMBS UP THET TREE, POURS GASOLINE ON MAH HAID, , AN' JUMPS ~ WHISTLIN TH' id WHILE AH IS IN MID-AIR, SHOOTS A APPLE OFFA By Tinmy Murphy MR PLUNKER--WAIT! I KNOW CASPER ONLY TOOK MISS DARBB OUT I'M MAD AT HIM, TO GET HIM TO BUY ME A NICE GIFT TO pra UP WITH RUT THE BEE ON I THINK FLL GET A NEW DRESS OUT OF THIS, BUT UR COAT, ; AND ILL - HELP You, TOOTS ope 170% Kane Latur IM FOR A / HOW'S THE STREET- CORNER WOLF TODAY. ? DO You WHISTLE AT EVERY &IRL YOU PASS ? I'M WISE TO QUIET HM GQUYS LIKE You, C ! SSTILL WATER da By Brandon Walsh I STILLTHINK YOU SHOULD WEAR OLD CLOTHESAN' NICE WORK, BUNK--YOU LOOK JUST LIKE A DOCTOR- NOBODY KIN IF ANY OF THE GANG DOES MEET ME, I'LL START SN IMMEDIATELY-, T WONDER W WHAT HAPPENED ) AGNES = IT MAKES ME TO YOUR FATHER -) SHIVER TO THINK ANY. Ay ZEN THI 1 FE PLEASE DON'T SAY THAT, NG WOULD HAPPEN BLONDIE HAVE SOME MORE CANDY BEFORE YOU GO, KAYO. NOhiANSS. WELL, PUT FILLED UP SOME IN POLRET I CAN'T THEY'RE ALL By Chic Young Sa FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETY- NINE DOLLARS FOR A HAT-- THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS / [IT SAYS > 54 2440s JI | 1] 1 oo nor! MY EYESIGHT TI A A ------