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A Joyous Christmas
Take these flowers, gemm d with dew-drops.
As a loving ^tft from tnc:
May thy heart reflect their brightness
And thy Christmas joyous lx!
Flowers Speak Language of Love
4n Modern or Victorian Era
Like holly, ivy and mistle
toe, flowers share in the leg
end and lore of Christmas. In
terms of the Victorian era,
the floral legend is an espe
cially meaningful one.
A Victorian lady who re
ceived a bouquet from her
admirer could either smell It
or read it as if It were a let
ter. Often, it was a letter.
Young engaged couples,
strictly chaperoned, found a
way to communicate words
of affection via flowers. Each
flower had a special meaning.
Flowers in sequence could
be used to spell out a fervent
pledge of love. To help in
composing and translat
ing — these messages, there
were numerous tiny diction
aries listing flowers and their
meanings.
The flowering honeysuckle,
for instance, spoke of "bonds
LABLY CHRISTMAS GBEETINGS WERE sometimes devoted to themes other than the Yule
seat son —- witness this excerpt from an antique card, showing a portrait of Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow and lines from his poem, “The Hanging of the Crane.” Longfellow’s “The Village
Blacksmith” appeared on the same card. The card is from the Hallmark Historical Collection.
| Wishing you a |
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o We would like to thank you, our loyal I , H B
g friends, for your patronage this year. ^L_ ,\ ,/, g
g 1 It has been a real pleasure serving all of you. g
| OGEECHEE RESTAURANT and SERVICE STATION B
g Where 280 and Route 80 Joins at Blitchton, Georgia Telephone 653-2315 o
‘Bhßwa’rwaHmamimmmewQHHßHHßamHePHßHHsH
of love,” A red rosebud told
a lady that she was "pure and
lovely." Red double pink
meant "woman’s love.” And
heliotrope carried a bold
message, "I love you.”
This Victorian language of
flowers greatly influenced
the design of Christ mas cards
of the time — witness the
card illustrated here, from
the Norcross Historical Col
lection of antique cards.
The lush summer blooms
are typical of the Victorian
admiration of flowers, re
gardless of the season.
Though sentiments may be
expressed differently, flowers
still bloom on modern Christ
mas cards. A current card
offers one example. Polnset
tias flower on a background
of mistletoe, and the message
reads, “Just for you, honey,
all my love at Christmas."
WISHING EACH AND EVERYONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS - AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR
Sending Greetings
The custom of exchanging
greetings at holiday time is
older than Christmas. The
custom of the Christmas
greeting card, however, is a
relatively new one.
Christmas cards originat
ed about 125 years ago, in
England. Despite this re
cent start, printed greetings
; quickly caught the public
fancy and are today one of
the most popular forms of
' Christmas holiday traditions.
* • ♦
Decorating Trees
The gaily decorated tree so
much a part of Christmas
has its counterpart in trees
adorned with colorful trin
kets during the ancient feasts
of the winter equinox.
This pagan custom of dec
orating evergreens became
, associated with Christmas
observances, and legends link
it to the birth of Jesus. One
such story says that on the
I night of the Nativity, all the
। woodland trees burst into
: bloom and bore fruit.
i• • •
1 Singing Carols
, With voices lifted in har
. mony for "Silent Night,” "The
First Noel" and other beloved
J songs, today's carolers carry
on a Christmas custom that
' originated centuries ago.
In the fourth century A.D.,
St. Basil was praised with a
> musical poem in honor of the
1 fight for Christianity over
the Byzantine emperor Jul
ian. Later in Greece, legends
of St. Basil were set to music
; and sung at Christmas and
the New Year.
St. Francis of Assisi led the
villagers of Grecchio in slng-
I ing hymns of praise to the
Christ Child when in the 13th
, century he created a manger
scene in this Italian town.
-pan^in^ of tl?e (-rane
O fortunate, O happy day!
When a new household finds its place
Among the myriad homes of earth,
Like a new star just sprung to birth
And rolled on its harmonius way
Into the boundless realms of space!
So said the guests in speech and song,
As in the chimney burning bright,
We hung the iron crane to-night,
And merry was the feast and long.
Tracing Santa
Santa’s source, legend says,
goes back to the fourth cen
tury, when St. Nicholas, a
bishop of Asia Minor, was
noted for his generosity and
gift-giving.
In some countries, St. Nich
olas still-retains his role as
gift-bearer. His day is, tra
ditionally, December 6th, and
European children await him
on St. Nicholas Eve, Decem
ber sth.
A gray horse and a white
donkey have each been cred
ited with the honor of trans
porting him on his gift-giv
ing journeys.
♦ ♦ ♦
Giving Gifts
Like greetings, gifts are
synonymous with Christmas,
as part of a custom that
probably has Its beginning in
the Wise Men's presentation
of gold, frankincense and
myrrh to the Christ Child.
Some researchers trace the
gift-giving tradition to even
earlier, pre-Christian times.
During pagan holidays ob
served at about the same time
as the modern Christmas,
ancient Romans and Britons
exchanged gifts in token of
the season.
♦ • •
Lighting the Way-
Light and Christmas go
together, for the deepest
meaning of the holiday rep
resents Christ, the Light of
the world. From the bonfires
and candles of yesteryear to
the twinkling electric orna
ments or today, light symbol
izes Ch: istmas.
According to Irish legend,
a candle should always be
placed in the window on
Christmas Eve. Each Christ
mas, it was said. Christ wan
ders the earth In search of a
welcome, and a candle should
light the way.
Beat OOukcA
J,
May the beauty Ute AeaA&K, be
*// ’ neglected, in the hea^U all men.
PEMBROKE MANUFACTURING CO. INC.
Pembroke, Georgia
