Zurich Citizens News, 1969-12-23, Page 20PAGE SIX
ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS — CHRISTMAS EDITION
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1969
ACTING OUT THE STORY OF THE NATIVITY, youngsters ploy
the role of angels in the Christmas pageant at St. Croix, Virgin
Islands. Traditional wherever the holiday is celebrated, the Christ-
mas pageant has history in religious drama. Photo by Henle —
Photo Researchers; from editors of Encyclopedia Americana. •
Pageant Has History
In Medieval Dramas
As young actors and ac-
tresses of this community
rehearse their roles for their
special Christmas play or
pageant, they take part in a
custom treasured through
the ages.
Since the Christmas story
first was told, mankind has
sought and found countless
ways to create it again and
anew, in song and story, in
art and drama. The modern
Christmas pageant, a fea-
ture of church observances
in communities near and far,
may well trace its history to
early religious dramas — the
mystery, miracle and moral-
ity plays of the Middle Ages.
Where did church drama
actually begin? One possible
source is the tradition of the
Christmas crib or manger
scene, but scholarly research
indicates that medieval re-
ligious drama probably had
other, separate origins, ac-
cording to the editors of En-
cyclopedia Americana.
Easter Plays Came First
Representations of the
manger scene began with the
use of doll figures, and his-
tory offers no evidence that
people were ever substituted
for the dolls. Living "actors"
did, however, play a part in
some early elaborations of
church rituals.
In the 10th century, spe-
cial chants written to accom-
pany church music on festi-
val occasions began to take
the form of simple dialogues.
These were little more than
dramatic inserts in the
church services, but here, re-
searchers believe, religious
plays had their start.
Easter dialogues and play-
lets probably carne first, with
Christmas plays developing
as a natural result. Other re-
ligious dramas or mystery
plays soon followed, until
there were series or cycles of
plays devoted to telling the
entire story of the Scriptures.
Covered Many S II)jeets
Mystery cycles of the 16th
century included as many as
40 dramas, which might be
presented over a period of
several days. The cycles de-
veloped in virtually every
European country.
Typical plays dealt with
such subjects as "The Crea-
tion of the World and the
Fall of the Angels," "Noah
and the Flood," "The Annun-
ciation," "The Passion of
Christ," "The Death of Pi-
late," "The Resurrection and
Ascension," "The Harrowing
of Hell and the Corning of
Antichrist."
Along with the mystery
cycles were miracle and mor-
ality plays. Miracle plays re-
counted the miracles of the
saints, while the moralities
presented allegorical mes-
sages of moral instruction,
with characters personifying,
for instance, Vice, the Devil
or specific vices such as Glut-
tony, Pride, Anger, Hatred.
The picture at Christmas time
is a joyful one, and we
hope it's especially so for
you and your family. Thanks for your patronage!
ZURICH VARIETY STORE
Leeland and Anne Willert
How Many Wise Men?
Three wise men?
In New Testament stories
of the Nativity, only St. Mat-
thew tells of "wise men from
the east" — and how many
wise men followed the star
to the manger is not stated.
The tradition that there
were three probably comes
from St. Matthew's descrip-
tion of three gifts — gold,
frankimense and myrrh.
Another explanation for
the number three is the leg-
end that the wise men sym-,
bolized all humanity, in turn
represented by the races of
Shem, Ham and Japhet, ac-
cording to the editors of The
New Book of Knowledge.
Early traditions mention
varying numbers of wise
men. Twelve was the number
traditional in the Eastern
church, while in the West,
CARDS WERE GENERAL
Most of the popular Christ-
mas cards of the later 19th
century in Europe had no
particular Christmas signifi-
cance. There were some man-
ger scenes and others of re-
ligious nature, but these were
far outnumbered by land-
scapes, flowers, kittens, and
similar subjects.
Answers Are Many!
mosaics and paintings show-
ed sometimes two, sometimes
three, four or more wise men.
During the sixth century,
the idea that there were
three came to be generally
accepted. In legends, the wise
men were given names: Mel -
Treasured Today
Iin the preparation of illu-
minated manuscripts, a mas-
ter artist often set the style
for copyists and assistants to
follow, since even the deco-
ration of an initial letter
could be a major project.
A single letter might occu-
py an entire page, and a
complete scene or miniature
painting might be contained
within the boundaries of, for
instance, an initial "C" or
Some manuscripts, in fact,
represent the work not only
of more than one artist but
of more than one generation
of artists.
Today, illuminated manu-
scripts are treasures of li-
braries and museums, and •
rightly so, for throughout a
thousand years of Christian
history, the art of illumina-
tion brought an extra dimen-
sion of beauty to manu-
scripts that are, in them-
selves, precious works of art.
hipr, Gasper, Baltasar.
Although St. Mathew did
not use the name "Magi," he
implied it when he wrote of
"wise men," for "magi" was
commonly used in Palestine
to mean "great, illustrious."
Today, Nativity scenes
show three wise men or Magi
present at the manger along
with the shepherds, who
hastened to Bethlehem on
the night Christ was born.
Some historians, however,
believe that the visit of the
Magi didn't take place until
much later — perhaps a year
or even two years after the
birth of Christ.
0
How It Grew
Just as the celebration of
Christmas gathered together
many customs and rituals of
earlier holidays, so too the
monastery artists drew upon
techniques evolved by pre -
Christian craftsmen.
Influence of classic Greek
and Roman style is evident
in the early illuminated man-
uscripts of the Christian era.
This gradually gave way to
the decorative, abstract By-
zantine style.
With the approach of the
Renaissance, more natural,
realistic techniques came in-
to use, in illumination as in
other forms of art.
May the joy of the Holy Night be with you this
Christmas., bringing warm contentment and true
happiness to you and yours. We hope that the
spirit of this blessed day will fill your hearts with
inspiration. Let us hope that the true meaning
of Christmas will be revived, that there will be
peace on earth, good will to men.
• • • • • • • •
GINGERICH'S LTD.
"FURNITURE AND APPLIANCES"
Clinton ZURICH Seaforth