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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1986-12-24, Page 43Pace 18A—CI.INTON NEWS -RECORD. WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 24, 1986 eaNiairegalni According to legend, remnants of the manger at Bethlehem were brought to Italy by early Christians. So it is not surprising that some 1,300 years later,. St. Francis of Assisi should have chosen to renew its spirit and meaning in the hermitage of Greccio in the Umbrian mountains. "I desire to represent the birth of that Child in Bethlehem in such a way that with our bodily eyes we may see all that He suf- fered for lack of the necessities for a newborn babe, and how he lay in the manger between the ox and ass." His friend, Giovanni Vellita, proceeded to carry out these instructions, setting up a life-size manger with straw and a live ox and ass. Members of the community posed as Mary, Joseph and the shepherds and a wax figure of the Christ Child was placed in the manger. A great throng assembled to worship at the site on Christmas Eve 1223. Many songs and hymns were sung, and so impressive and awe-inspiring was the ceremony, that Greccio assumed the fame of a second Bethlehem as the news spread far and wide. Inspired by St. Francis, artisans and craftsmen began to make miniature manger scenes for their homes, and the creches spread all over Europe. Whole families fashioned the little figures from wood or clay and created replicas of Christmas facts ENIMireiMaini Bethlehem, as they imagined it would look. Often these scenes looked more like their own villages than the Holy Land. In Naples, these creches developed into a fashionable art because of the interest of the Bourbon King Carlo III, who set the pace by the elaborate settings of the Nativity scene, which he had set up in his castle every Christmas Eve. The members of the court took up the hob- by of their king and soon all the great Neapolitan families were vying with each other to produce brilliant and lavish creche displays. They employed the talents of the best sculptors and the ladies of the great houses frequently made elaborate clothes of velvets and satins for the figures. The most outstanding of these figures were produced in the workshops of Naples during the second half of the eighteenth cen- tury. The Metropolitan Museum has a largo collection of them, which are usually on display during the Christmas season. Most of these are from the famous collection own- ed by the great Neapolitan Catello family. The figures, an average of 12 to 18 inches in height, have pliable bodies of woven twine and wire, expressive faces. The limbs are of finely carved wood. The figures are dressed in 18th century costumes, enriched with jewels and embroidery. The heads and shoulders of the figures, modeled in ter- racotta and painted in flesh tones, are credited to some of 18th -century Naples' finest sculptors: Giuseppe Sammartino and his pupils, Salvatore de Franco, Giuseppe Gori and Angelo Viva. Creches are also popular in other parts of Europe notably Provence in France, and in Spain. But none has reached the high degree of artistic elegance of those of 18th century Naples. KNWS KM= The turkey has formed a Christmas dish, in England ever since its introduction in 1524. The Christmas pantomime was first in- troduced into England in 1702 by a dancing master of Shrewsbury. Holly is a curruption of the word holy. In Germany it is called Christdorn, and in Den- mark and Sweden it is called Christtorn. Mnirain Plum pudding was originally a sort of thick porridge with plum in it, and was used in the sense of force meat or stuffing. Christmas and Epiphany. were celebrated as one and the same feast. separation took place at the Council of in 325. once The Nice People celebrated long before Christ People were celebrating Christmas long before Christ was born. That may sound like an anomaly, but it's not. Traditional Christmas customs have evolved from several sources, according to religion scholars like E.O. James. Many of the customs have resulted from the coin- idence of Christ's birth with pagan mid- vinter agricultural and solar observances. From the beginning of recorded history, the turn of the year in mid -winter was con- sidered an oocasion to mark as a precaution against supernatural forces thought to be rampant and to ensure renewal of the sun's waning power. In Scandinavia, Iceland and Germany, the Yule feast extended from the middle of November to the beginning of January. German and Celtic Yule rights were add- ed to these observances when Teutonic tribes penetrated into Gaul, Britain arid Central Europe. Food and fellowship, gifts and greetings, commemorated various aspects of this festive season. Since the Middle Ages, evergreens, as symbols of survival, have been associated with Christmas. Fire and light — symbols of warmth and everlasting light during the darkest and col- dest time of year — have always been con- nected with pagan and Christian winter festivals. Many customs have stood the test of,time. On the Roman New Year, January 1, houses were adorned with greenery and lights and gifts were bestowed on children and the poor. Sound familiar? Christmas was not associated until toward the end of the fourth century. By then, the church was confronted with some firmly established and highly developed rituals. In the Roman world, the feast of Satur- nalia, originally held on December 13 and later extended for seven more days, was a time of merrymaking and exchange of gifts. December 25 was also regarded as the bir- thdate of the Iranian mystery god Mithra — the son of Righteousness. Saturnalia was observed in honor of the god Saturnus, who watched over the sowing and seeding of corn. He was honored after completion of the fall planting, when the col- dest season was beginning. Saturnus was also regarded as the first king of Latium and credited with introducing agriculture in the was born Golden Age. Social distinctions and public business were suspended during the feast, of Satur- nalia. Courts and schools were closed and the community immersed itself in feasting, gambling with dice and reversal of society's established order. Slaves were served by their masters. They donned their masters' clothes, sat at tables with them, mocked their bosses and wore the pilleus — the badge of freedom. Soldiers also got in on the fun. No war was declared during the festival, just as all com- mercial activities, legal business and household chores ground to a halt. On the first day of the feast, a young pig was sacrificed in the temple of Saturn in the Forum. A public feast followed. Senators shed their togas and pranced around in undergarments in observance of the peasant origins of the Saturnalis. Presents were exchanged. Among them were wax tapers and terracotta dolls — possibly remnants of an earlier festival of light at the darkest season of the year, like the yule log tradition in Northern Europe. Some scholars have suggested a sinister side to the pagan midwinter festivals — human sacrifices. For one thing, Saturnus' cult -partner Lua Mater, was connected with destructive in- fluences, and weapons were offered to her. In Rome's eastern provinces, lots were cast for a mock king, who was to exercise his..X'ule in the role of Saturnus during the festival. He performed his functions by issuing comic commands and behaving in a ludicrous manner, like carrying a flute girl around on his back. Conjecture has it that this strange episode represented the last relic of an annual per- sonification of the god by a virile young man. Some believe that at the end of .his brief reign, the young fellow was destined to have his throat cut on the altar to renew the life of nature at the winter solstice. This custom even survived into the Chris- tian era. A young Christian soldier was put to death in 303 A.D. for refusing to play the role of Saturnus at the festival. Scholars have not firmly established, however, that the bizarre mock king rites were an integral part of the Saturnalia. GLASS / ALUMINUM i See us for your building projects •Glass and Mirrors •Energy Efficient Replacement Windows •Seamless Eavestroughing \•Complete Range of Aluminum or Vinyl Siding and Building Products •Window and Screen Repairs `` •Door Service and Repairs 4. 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Frank and Isabel To Candi Jo Flynn, Nancy Shropshall, Clinton Alison Grigg, Clinton Jonathan Wallis, R.R. 1 Bayfield Christopher Merrill, Vancouver, B.C. Heather Steenstra, Ciintan Holly Ostler, Brampton Lance Anderson canton William East, Gunton Timothy Lyons, Ionde.boro Jennifer Van Baaren, Londesboro Danny Wildfong, R.R. No. 1 Clinton On December 23 December 23 December 23 December 24 December 25 December 25 December 25 December 25 December 26 December 27 December 29 December 29