HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-12-21, Page 24PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1988.
St. Francis credited with beginning carols
As it has been the birthplace of so
many other important aspects of
Christmas celebration, so Italy also
seems to have been the land which
first heard the melodious strains of
the Christmas carol.
The words and tune of that first
song honoring Christ’s birth - and
meanttobe sung by the common
people - are long forgotten. How
ever, the occasion is remembered.
Several theories
about what
Bethlehem
star was
St. Francis, the originator of the
manger scene in the early 13th
century, devised a way to bring the
circumstances of Christ’s birth
home to even the most humble
peasant.
Most people are familiar with the
ancient legend: Almost 2,000 years
ago three wise men were guided to a
stable in Bethlehem by a bright star.
All we know about the Star of
Bethlehem comes from a brief
mention in the Gospel of Matthew,
but the star has become enshrined in
Christmas tradition.
We will probably never know what
celestial event inspired the legend of
the Star of Bethlehem, but that has
not stopped astronomers from gues
sing. Under the assumption that the
star was an actual physical object,
theorists have put forward dozens of
candidates.
These include everything from
comets, supernovae and planetary
conjunctions to meteor showers and
zodiacal light, an over-the-horizon
glow caused by the scattering of the
sun’s rays by interplanetary dust
particles.
The current leading theory is that
the star was a conjunction of the
planets Jupiterand Saturn in 7 B.C.,
which is generally accepted as the
year of Jesus’ birth.
A conjunction between the two
planets occurs about every 20 years
as Jupiter, travelling on a faster
orbit, overtakes Saturn. When this
happens, the two planets may - on
rare occasions - look like one bright
star to observers on Earth.
Grade Three students at Hallett Central School made a clean sweep of things
as they prepared for Christmas in “Something to Ring About”, the
presentation at the school’s Christmas concert Wednesday night.
The manger scene he created was
peopled by life-size statues of the
Holy Family, whose realism was
enhanced by the presence of living
animals, such as would have looked
on at the scene of the Nativity.
The meaning of the tableau was
reinforced by songs retelling
Christ’s message, with newly writt
en religious words set to the tune of
long-popular secular carols - songs
which were meantto inspire dancing
(the word “carol” is probably
derived from the Greek choros,
“dance”).
Following St. Francis, a body of
carols was accumulated, consisting
partly of songs specifically written
•for that purpose as well as traditional
folk hymns, which were passed
down through the years and genera
tions orally, thus changing along the
way.
How many of these became the
carols we enjoy today is not known.
However, their successors bring joy
and gladness to the hearts of many,
as harmonious voices join together
in the rendition of such perennial
favorites as “Silent Night,” “God
RestYeMerry Gentlemen,” and “O
Come, All Ye Faithful,” honoring
Christ, celebrating his birth and
praising God.
PEACE
Voices ring out throughout
the world heralding in the
season of good cheer.
May joy abound for you.
JIM & MARG ANDERSON
a FAMILY
Greg students
present
concert
by Dennis Terpstra and
Johnnie Miners
For the past two weeks Grey
Central has been preparing for their
Christmas Concert on December 14.
The whole school took part in the
concert.
The concert started off with the
senior choir singing an arrangement
of songs. The choir is made up of
grades seven and eight. Then next
part of the play consisted of the
grade Kindergarten, grade 1 - 2,
Grade 2-3, and grade 3-4. Each
grade did a small play which is part of
the “Christmas Orange.”
It started off with grade one which
did a play called Christmas Dolls.
The next part was grade 2-3 doing a
play called Hockey. Then it was
grade 4-5 doing a play called Fashion
Parade. Then grade 1-2 did a play
called “That Spells Christmas”.
Grade 2-3 reappeared in “The
Christmas Pig”. Grade3-4 did a play
called “The Three Brothers”. Then
gr^ le 4-5 did another play called
* S.O.S. From Santa”. Kindergar-
tn did a play called “Nativity
Scene”. The Christmas Orange was
then ended with the junior choir.
The last play was called ‘ * Santa on
Trial”, performed by Grade 8. It has
been a hard two weeks but it paid off
Wednesday, Dec. 14.
May your holiday be joyous
in every way.
Grant, G. R. Steven, Pat & Staff
HWY. 4 SOUTH, BLYTH
523-4256