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In Holiday Mood, Carols Tell
Story Of Reverence and Joy
“O come, all ye faithful,
joyful and triumphant,
O conie ye, O come ye
to Bethlehem!
Come and behold Him, born
the Kinjc of angels!’’
“Adeste Fideles” or “Jingle,
Bells,” “Silent Night” or “White
Christmas”—across the years,
hymns, carols and songs have
been mankind's way of expressing
the joy of Christmas.
From simple melodies sung in
the family circle to the majesty
of Handel’s oratorio, “The Mes
siah,” music and song seem to be
the natural way to celebrate
Christmas.
Singing First Carol
Singing of the first Christmas
carol is attributed to St. Francis
of Assisi and his followers, in the
13th century.
St. Francis arranged a Nativity
scene and led the singing of songs
of praise to the Christ Child.
About Many Things
Subjects and themes for early
carols were many and varied.
English people sang of the
holly and the ivy and the wassail
bowl. More religious in theme
were the English songs tradition
ally sung between scenes of mys
tery and miracle plays.
In Germany, France and Bel
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GRIFFIN FEDERAL
SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION
120 S. Hill St., Griffin, Ga.
228-2786
IgreetoS
A v this festive time of year it is =j K
i.*. our tradition to express the gratitude j
we feel for the privilege of . ■
■ serving our fine customers and friends. )
T. E. ROBISON, AGENT
STANDARD OIL CO.- BUTTS COUNTY
gium, the visit of the Magi was
a popular theme for carols. Other
•arols told stories from the Bible
i or legends from nature.
Luther Led Way
From the 15th to the 18th cen
tury, Christmas music found a
particularly eager audience in
Germany. Martin Luther, who be
l'eved music was a form of wor
ship, helped to encourage the
composition and performance of
Christmas hymns.
Luther himself wrote the words
for “Away in a Manger,” and
the music for “Unto Us a Boy Is
Born” and “Good News from
Heaven.” Grouped into a choir,
his children sang these songs.
Christmas Outlawed
The joyous songs of Christmas
fell upon hard times in 17th Cen
tury England. An act of Parlia
ment, in 1644, forbade the ob
servance of Christmas as a feast
day.
Long after the custom of
Christmas was revived, the art of
carol singing languished.
A happy change occurred when,
in 1719, Dr. Isaac Watts wrote
and introduced to his congrega
tion the carol, “Joy to the
World.” This was the forerunner
of modern Christmas carols.
For Concert Halls
Christmas music for the con-
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA
cert halls began to be created
after the Reformation.
Italy introduced the Christmas
concerto, during the 17th and
18th centuries. Corelli’s “Christ
mas Concerto” is perhaps the
best known of this kind of Christ
mas music.
In Puritan England, the ora
torio became a popular form of
music, thought to represent the
righteousness in man. Handel’s
“Messiah” was performed and
admired for this expression of
pious sentiment, with little con
sideration for its relationship to
the story of the Nativity.
It was not until about 1900
that “The Messiah” began to be
performed primarily at Christmas
time.
In America
In America, the composition of
carols began to flourish during
the 1800’s, and three favorite
carols sung today are from that
period.
“It Came upon a Midnight
Clear,” one of the earliest Amer
ican carols, was written by the
Rev. Edmund H. Sears (1810-
1876) as a poem. It was later set
to music.
“We Three Kings of Orient
Are,” was first published in 1859.
The Rev. John Henry Hopkins
Jr. wrote both the words and the
music.
“O Little Town of Bethlehem”
was written by Bishop Phillips
Brooks in 1868, as an expression
of his feelings after a visit to
Bethlehem.
Music for the carol has been
attributed to Lewis H. Redner, an
American organist, and also to a
tune from early English hymnals.
PERSONAL.
Mr. and Mrs. William Mack
Davis and son, Martin, will spend
the Christmas holidays with Mr,,
and Mrs. Norman Davis in Chapel
Hill, Tennessee, and with Mr. and
Mrs. Ed Martin in Lynchburg,
Tennessee.
Mr. Dan Blake of Macon was a
visitor in Jackson on Thursday.
Mr. and Mrs. T. L. Stevenson
are spending the Yule holidays
in East Point with Mr. and Mrs.
John Fowler and family and with
Mr. and Mrs. Jon Powell and fam
ily.
Mr. and Mrs. James E. Cornell
Jr. and Mr. J. Edward Cornell
will be Christmas Day dinner
guests of Mr. and Mrs. Billy
Baker and family in Atlanta.
■WHITE a
LmiL
The first Christinas in the
White House was celebrated by
President and Mrs. John Ad
ams, in the year 1800. The
mansion was incomplete, the
walls were still damp and the
rooms were cold. Shivering
guests remained only briefly.
Five years later, things were
merrier and Thomas Jefferson
entertained guests with lively
violin tunes. Young relatives of
Andrew Jackson made Christ
mas of 1835 memorable for him
when they filled his stocking
with a corncob pipe, tobacco
and trinkets.
Young Tad Lincoln invited
street children into the White
House to share his Christmas
dinner and his father allowed
them to stay. Benjamin Har
rison ordered the first Christ
mas tree set up in the White
House. Calvin Coolidge started
the practice of lighting a deco
rated spruce on the White
House lawn as the Nation’s
Christmas tree. Franklin D.
Roosevelt and his large family
celebrated Christmas with a
series of White House parties
and gatherings for family,
friends and staff. Mrs. Eisen
hower usually wore a bright-red
dress while presiding at holiday
parties for her grandchildren.
C#JsSlM3s
Santa has a message for his reindeer...
“Be quick, step lively, it’s Christmas!” And
because it's Christmas, we have a message for you,
and for all our wonderful customers and
friends. We’d like to wish you every joy of the
season, with much thanks for the joy of serving you.
EDWARDS DEPT. STORE
Medicare
Recipients
Need To File
There are some Medicare bene
ficiaries in Butts County who will
lose money if they don’t file a
claim before the beginning of the
New Year. “We hope these will
file their claims before January
1, 1970,” said Miss Kate M. Mc-
Laurin, Branch Manager of the
Griffin Social Security Office.
There are time limits for the
payment of Medical insurance
claims (Part B of Medicare) un
der the Social Security Act. The
time limit for payment of medical
services received between Octo
ber 1, 1967 and September 30,
1968 is December 31, 1969.
Some Butts countians haven’t
filed for these payments because
they think the bills for medical
services must be paid before they
can receive any payments from
the Medicare insurance. “This is
not true,” Miss McLaurin said,
“A claim should be filed right
away to avoid any loss of money.”
For more information or help
in completing a claim visit or call
the Social Security Office at 435
W. Solomon Street in Griffin,
Georgia. The telephone number
is 227-0183.
KEEPING GREENERY
Want your greenery to last for
four to six weeks? Home econ
omists with the Cooperative Ex
tension Service suggest that you
Jackson Moving
& Storage
113 NORTH OAK STREET
IF YOU’RE GOING TO MOVE
OR WANT TO PUT YOUR FUR
NITURE IN STORAGE, CALL US
AT
775-7571 or 775-2358
THURSDAY, DEC. 25, i 969
soak the fresh flowers i n one
cup of sugar and one quart of
warm water for two to three
days. To keep flowers and green
ery longer, follow these simple
directions.
