Newspaper Page Text
—The Pembroke Journal, Thursday, December 21, 1967
Page 4
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We welcome
the opportunity to wish you and
yours a very merry Christmas!
V P. BOWERS INSURANCE
AGENCY
The Magi Symbolized
Ancient Priestly Caste
In New Testament history
according to Matthew, the
narrative of the three Magi
who followed a star to Beth
lehem in search of the In
fant Jesus describes them
simply as three “wise men
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T o you. our good A ^.B
friendw nod cuatonirrn.
we’rr extending
warm wlnlivn for 11 bright
nod merry holiday aeaNon abounding
with good cheer, fellow whip and joy. And.
with deep appreciation, we wend along
our many Ihanka for your thoughtful conaideralion all year.
Serving von haw indeed been our deepeM pleaNiire and privih*ge.
Molly Moo
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Todav The
CITY DAIRY / wv\
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FZwe out... to say "Happy, healthy CITY DAIRY
holidays to you!" Phone 764-6131
from the east”. It was not
until the 2nd century, ac
cording to the Book of
Knowledge, that they were
known as “kings” in a
charming legend that traces
its origin to that time..
CliTistmaißlessmgs
Joys of the
Yuletide season to
each and everyone we know.
The Magi originally rep
resented the priestly caste
of the ancient Persian Zoro
astrian religion. As this re
ligion moved westward, it
came into contact with Bab
ylonian beliefs and prac
tices, and thus derived a
strong interest in astrology,
demonology, and magic.
By the time it had reach
ed the Graedb-Roman world,
Zoroastrianism was almost
identical with astrology and
magic in the popular view.
This explains the use of the
term “wise men” in Mat
thew’s New Testament ac
count, for the three men
described therein were ac
tually astrologers and not
kings.
The Empress Helena is
credited with having
brought the bones of the
Wise Men to Constantin-
ople; from there they were ;
removed to Milan and after
ward to Cologne. This ex
plains why the Wise Men
were often referred to as
the Three Kings of Cologne.
Their crowns are exhibited
in the Chapel of the Three
Kings in Cologne Cathedral,
which is supposed to con
tain their relics.
QdJlien fyJaA
OltSuAimaA?
Three men ride their cam
els over a sea of sand; a
dazzling star hangs above a
town huddled in sleep. On
the hillsides, sheep stir and
fires of shepherds twinkle.
A single light burns in the
town.
Everyone will recognize
this word-picture of the
first Christmas. But when
was it, exactly ?
St. Matthew tells us that
Jesus was born when Herod
was king of Judea and re
lates the story of Herod’s
plan to kill the Infant King.
He writes that Herod called
for the death of all boys
“from two years old and
under, according to the time
which he had diligently in
quired of the Wise Men.”
They had told Herod of
seeing the Star of Bethle
hem two years before the
tyrant had ordered the
“slaughter of the inno
cents.”
Scholars have established
that Herod reigned from 37
B.C. until his death in 4
B.C. Since we know that
Herod died in 4 8.C., Jesus
must have been born at
least two years earlier.
The great German astron
omer, John Kepler, sug
gested that Christ had been
born in 78. C., during a con
junction of the planets
Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
However, it has been learn
ed that Mars, Jupiter and
Saturn could not have been
bright enough to be visible
in 7 B.C.
And yet, 7 B.C. is regarded
by many to have been the
year of Christ’s birth. Ac
cording to the Bible, Christ
was born during one of the
great census takings of the
Roman Empire. In addition,
Rome’s history records that
an empire-wide taxation
was begun in 8 B.C. It is not
unlikely that the census and
taxing were held at the
same time since one could
serve as a check on the
other.
Since Judea was on the
frontier of the Roman Em
pire, it must have taken the
tax and census takers about
two years to work their way
there. We know that Jesus
was at least two years old
at the time of Herod’s death
in 4 B.C. Allowing a year
and a half or two years for
the Roman'officials to reach
Bethlehen?, and subtracting
at least two yeafs from 4
8.C., we can narrow the
Nativity to 7 or 6 B.C.
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I.ITTLE FOLK PRANCE
For Icelanders, Christmas
Eve is the holiest night of the
the holiday season.
Tradition says, however, that
many years ago elves, dwarfs
and other little folks pranced
and danced about the streets
on the night before Christmas.
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WE’RE ALWAYS GLAD TO I
GREET OUR MANY FRIENDS-
! THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND ?
PATRONAGE IN THE PAST f
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MERRY CHRISTMAS —FIRST SECTTOM
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We're sending you a bouquet
of good wishes and cheer for the holiday season.
May your Christmas be bright.
floral g^liop
FLOWERS FOR EVERY OCCASION
GIFTS FOR EVERY EVENT
Cfetnw
A special thanks to you .
our good friends through
out the community . for
, i your faithful patronage and
’ continued good will.
P
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Johnnie and
^ie Mell