The Hershey Press 1920-12-23

              Greatest of all our holidays yet no one
knows anything definite about its origin,
nobody knows who first celebrated it, or
when or where or how. And nobody even
knows if December 25 is the right anni-versary
of Christ's nativity.
The early Christians looked upon the
celebration of birthdays as heathenish,
the birthday of the Lord himself not even
excepted. But with the triumph of
Christianity the old prejudice died out;
and then the date of the Saviour's birth
became a matter of ecclesiastical investi-gation.
The Western churches, as re-ported
by St. Cyril to Julius (Bishop or
Pope of Rome from 337 to 352) held it to
be December 25. In many Eastern
churches January 6th had been fixed on
as the date of anniversary. Other dates,
accepted by smaller minorities were April
20, May 20, March 29 and September 29.
But being so far satisfied with the report
of St. Cyril, Pope Julius established, about
the middle of the fourth century, the
festival of Rome on December 25. Before
the end of the century that date had been
accepted by all the nations of Christen-dom.
Christmas in those early days frequently
reproduced all the worst orgies, the de-baucheries
and indecencies of the Bacchan-alia
and the Saturnalia, even the clergy
themselves being whirled into the vortex.
The wild revels of the Christmas period
in olden times almost stagger belief.
Obscenity , drunkeness, blasphemy—noth-came
amiss.
In England was the soil in which Merry
Christmas took its firmest root . Christ-mas
then was not a single day of sport.
It had its preliminary novena which began
December 16, and it ended on January 6.
All this period was devoted to holiday-making.
It was a democratic festival,
all classes mixing in the merry-making
and hospitality was universal. An Eng-lish
country gentleman of the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries held open house.
With daybreak on Christmas morning the
tenants and neighbors thronged into the
hall. The ale was broached while black-jacks
and Cheshire cheese, with toast,
cordant sounds. There is music, dancing
and distribution of gifts in every house.
Strangers are sure of a hearty welcome
while all ceremony and restraint are
absent. There are services in the Cathe-drals,
feasting, games and sports of all
sorts, in which bull-fighting is the favorite.
More religious, perhaps, than other
nations, is our own observance of the
nativit y. It is the season of all the year
when the best that is within us is given
expression. As each Christmas Day
dawns there is rekindled within each of
us a spiri t of good-will towards mankind
and rin ging in truest sincerity is our
greeting,—"A Merry Christmas."
sugar and nutmeg, went plentifully
around.
But with the rise of Puritani sm the very
existence of Christmas was threatened .
Prynne complained that the England of
his day could not celebrate Christmas
"without drinking, roaring, healthing,
dicing, carding, dancing, masques and
stage plays which Turks and In-fidels
would abhor to practice." And
Puritanism brought the anti-Christmas
feelin g with it in the May flower t o New
England. The General Court , of Massa-chu
setts in 1659 ordered a non-observance
of Christmas Day and it was not until
1681 that Massachusetts repealed the
ordinance of 1659.
There are many superstitions connected
witli the coming of Christmas. From
time immemorial the cock is supposed to
have unwonted energy and sagacity at
that season. The Indians of Upper
Canada believed that on Christmas night
all deer knelt and looked up to the Great
Spirit. In the German Alps it is believed
the cattle have the gift of language on
Christmas eve . In Poland the belief was
prevalent that on Christmas night the
heavens opened and the scene of Jacob's
ladder was re-enacted but the Saints only
were permitted to see it. In certain parts
of Austria randies are put in the windows
so that the Christ-child may not stumble
in passing through the village.
From the frozen North to the South of
perpetual summer there is found no land
where the Christmas festival is not cele-brat
ed today. Each land has its peculiar
customs, but in no lan d is Christmas more
generally celebrated than in Scandinavia.
Peace and good-will is the order of the
season. The courts are closed , old
quarrels are adjusted and feuds are for-gotten.
It is especially the land of the
Yule-tog, of Christmas stories and legends
of Thor and Odin. It is the lime for
skating, sledging, dan cin g and a general
frolic. It is customary for each member
of the family to take a bath on the after-noon
preceding Christmas and often-times
It. is the only thorou gh bath that is
received durin g the year. In many
villa ges candles are left burning In the
windows nil ni ght , to give light to Kiistine,
who brin gs the gifts. The birds of the
air tiro not for gotten and a sheaf of wheat
is placed on a pole In front of each house
to provide them with food,
So in Peru , we find certain peculiar
features. Streets packed with noisy
people, while Jok e, jest , and merry prank
become the rule, Music of guitars,
clatterin g castanets and pebbles rattling
in gourds fill the air with min gled dls-
Ancient Chri stmas
Customs and as
Celebrated Today
^^2jW* Once again we now repeat "J^ar v,
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tJF HERSHEY. PA. ™
MRS. WILLIAM CAPSTICK IS HON
ORED BY LADY FRIENDS
The home of Mr. and Mrs. William A.
Capstick, was the scene, on last Wednes-day
evening, of a very delightfu l affair.
Ladies of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church ,
to the number of about t hirty, sprang a
complete surprise when they descended
upon the Capstick domicile to do honor
to Mrs. Capstick , who will within the
near futur e sever relations here. The
evening was complete with wholesome fun
and merriment , as numerous interestin g
games and music, vocal and instrumental ,
were employed to make it memorable in
the heart and mind of each one present.
A very delicious list of refreshments was
served by the ladies.
Mrs. Capstick , who, with her husband
will soon move to Lebanon , was a member
of Hol y Trinit y Lut heran Church , of the
Diakonia Ladies' Bi ble Class and also of
the Ladies' Missionary Society. She was
active and loyal in each of these bodies,
sincere of purpose, and conscientious in
.ill things She was held in warm esteem
by the ladies with whom she came in con-tact
and it was in fitting form that they
so impressively gathered on this occasion
to make known their appreciation for a
friendship, so pure and true , and to express
their legists that circumstances must re-move
from their circles here, one whose
presence was inspiration and whose mem-bership
and personality was so greatly
valued.
Present were : Mrs. Phoebe Whittle ,
Mrs. E. L, Bomgardner , Mrs. John Leese,
Mrs. Robert Slahley, Mrs. A. M. Hinkle ,
Mrs. John Hummer, Mrs. All en ilflchins ,
Mrs. John Shay, Mrs. H . G. Mumma, Mrs.
J, E. Kelnoelil , Mrs. George Kline, Mrs,
Julius Uelsor , Mrs. James Putt , Mrs.
John Hersliey, Mrs. Warren Allen , Mrs.
Irvin Gordon, Mrs. George Dechert, Mrs.
Norman Stahlcy, Mrs. Jacob Ebersole,
Mrs. Wilson Rhodes, Mrs. Grover Sheck-art
, Mrs. Daniel Yost , Mrs. N. W.
Wolfin ger, Mrs. Frank Christ , Mrs.
Admiral Trum p, Mrs. George Adams, Mrs.
W, A, Capstick , Miss Jean Capstick , Miss
Louise Shay and John Shay,
ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCED
Mr." and Mrs. Rohrcr Suavely announce
the engagement of their daughter, Kathar-ine
Mary, to John J. Daniel , of Iiershoy,
Two of the greatest factors in life, today ,
heredity and environment, have been
used by Douglas Fairbanks in supplying
the theme for his third United Artists
Corporation production , "The Molly-coddle,"
which will be the feature attrac-tion
at the Centra l theatre on Christmas
Day, December 25.
In "The Mollycoddle" Douglas Fair-banks,
as Richard Marshall , the Fift h, is
an offspring of many generations of fear-less
fighters. His ancestors fought all
the way through the Revolution ; all across
the plains and all down the coast of the
western country.
In the title role, Fairbanks is trans-planted
in England at an early age. He
arrives at his youth through the so-called
hot house cultiv ati on wi th the resu l t that
his early manhood found him gentle in
manner; quiet of voice ; fastidious in dress
and addicted to such affectations as
monocl e, perfume and cigarette holders.
There is no question but that he went
very well with his environment; but
everything about him grated on the rul -
bloodcd Americans with whom he came
in contact , for their knowledge of English-men
had been gained from fiction. He
wtts considered just a plain "Mollycoddle. "
But something happens in his life and
he gets back to America. A girl is the
cause and for her he tries to crack the
shell of his English exterior. He is not
much of a success at the start for he had
been too thoroughly saddled with en-vironment.
Conditions were different then. Many
obstacles crossed his path and he was
called ujxj ii in numerous emergencies.
Then his ancestry took hold. He forged
to the front and scouted as his plainsman
grandfather might hiwvs scouted ; stood
u p under fire as his Revolutionary grand-father
must have; rescued beauty in
distress as his cavalier father surely did
and fought as till four of his grandfathers
would have if rolled into one.
Walla ce Beery as the "villain " has
considerable to do in developing Ihe
ancestry of "The Mollycoddle " over his
environment and Ruth Renick , as the
pretty girl who starts the turning point of
it nil , is responsible for many of the
thrillin g situations.
It 's "Dong 's" latest and best produc-tion.
You will surely and richly enjoy it.
"The Mollycoddle " at
Central Theatre on
Christmas Evening
CENTRAL THEATRE
Saturday, December 25—Christmas
Night— Douglas Fairbanks in "The Molly-coddle,"
considered the best of all Fair-bank's
pictures, Also u special comedy,
Larry Semon, In "The Stage-Hand. "
Monday, December 27-—Tom Mix in
"Prtiirio Trails, " Also "Bride 1,'i."
Wednesday, December 29—Jack Pick-ford
In "The Double Dyed Deceiver. "
To Bell Telephone subscribers, of the
Hershey Exchange, the local management-and
its staff of ever-faithful operators,
desire to extend in heartiest tones, a
Merry Christmas and best wishes for the
New Year.
Likewise, since the new year, with its
resolutions and pledges, is about to be
ushered in, they feel it would be not amiss
to call to the attention of the good people
of the community, a certain practice which
must be eliminated if the Company is not
to be restricted in its earnest desire to
render at all times first class service.
The board at the local Exchange is
filled , every circuit being taken , which
means a quantit y of combinations so
great that to expect an operator to mem-orize
correctl y each one would be equiva-lent
to assigning an impossible task
Now you want to enter a call and ask
for John Doe—what must the opera tor
patiently do? And while she is hurriedly
trying to locate John Doe's number to
complete your call , another call is entered ,
"Give me Sam Smith, please,"---and so
on, and on. It has actuall y occurred that
in thi s manner as many as a dozen calls
have been received in rapid succession.
The resul t ant confu sion , long delays and
poor service can well be imagined. And
upon whom does the responsibility lie?
It is obviously nec essary that (n assist
the local telephone management in their
manifest desire to assure good and quick
service, at all times, we must acquire the
practice of ascer t ainin g th e number of
our respective calls and then to enter the
call in accordance with this plan which is
un deniably the bett er and whi ch will
mean more efficient and satisfactory tele-phone
service every day.
MERRY XMAS TO TELEPHONE
SUBSCRIBERS
HAND MADE CHRI STMAS GIFTS
The Always Shining Class of the United
Brethren Sunday School wants to an-nounce
that they have beautiful hand-made
Christmas gift suggestions on sale
at the Hershey Department Store, These
vari ous articles were made by members of
Ihe class and , thr ough the rare courtesy
extended them by the Store management ,
they may be brought to the people in this
splendid manner. The articles are on
sale in the Ladi es' Ready-to-Wear De-partment
, second floor , close t o the top
of the stairway,
DIAKONIA CLASS MEETING
The Diakonia Bible Class, of Holy
Trinity Lutheran Sunday School, mot at
the home of Mrs. Daniel Yost , on Trinidad
Ave,, on Thursday evening, December 16.
Following a regular session of business,
the class indul ged in a delightful social
period , featured by Interesting games and
music, which made every heart glad. A
very pleasing course of refreshments,
served by the hostess of the evening, came
as a fitting climax to an evening of Interest
and en joyment. •
The Christmas season will be appro-priately
observed in each of the churches
here. In each instance the Sunday school
department has been busily preparing the
young folks and no matter which church
you may attend, an interesting and in-spiring
service is assured. Following is
the outline of each of these special pro-grams:
Christmas at Trinity Lutheran
Processional, "The Newborn King,"
Page 85; Devotional Exercises, Superin-tendent
of Sunday School; Address of
Welcome, John Hummer; Song by Pri-mary
Department, "As Each Happy
Christmas," Page 88; Exercise, "Peace on
Earth," by Evelyn Slesser, Lester Zim-merman,
David Cowan, Richard Zeigler
and Helen Gerth; Exercise, "Christmas
Bells," by Lloyd Harkins and Stanley
King; Song by School , "Come Hither Ye
Faithful ," Page 82: Exercise, "The name
of the Christ Child," by Mae Dresher,
Dorothy Bucher, Fern Kottler, Mildred
Zimmerman and Catherine Shay, Exer-cise,
"How to make the World Glad," by
Herbert Harkins, Geor.ge...Boyer._Clair
Jones and Mary Hummer; Song,~
"The
Manger Lullaby," by class of girls and
boys; Exercise, "The Sweetest Story," by
Harry Zimmerman, Glenn Hummer, Merle
Kieffer, Richard Mumma, John Shay and
Louise Shay; Song by School, "It Came
upon the Midnight Clear," Page 847
Exerdse, "Peace, Good Will to Men," by
Beatrice Wirth, William Graeff , Betty
Hershey, Bruce Stark, Clara Terry and
Richard Field : Solo, Mrs. John Shay;
Exercise, "Christmas Choices," by Alma
Gerlach, Paul Hummer. Anna Brinker,
Harold Hummer*,. Charles Hummer, Wal-ter
Wiley and Miriam Snavely; Primary
Song, "Away in a Manger;" Address, by
the pastor ; Exercise, "What can little
Hands do?" by John Hummer, George
Gerth, David Cowan and Mary Jones;
Selection by orchestra and offering; Choir
Selection ; Recitation, "Two Little Stock-ings,"
by Mildred Edwards; Exercise,
"Visions of the Christ mas Star," by
Mildred Miller, Ellen Leithiser, James
Bobb, Louise Shay and Glenn Kieffer ;
Song by School, "Silent Night; " Bene-diction
; Selection by the Orchestra.
First United Brethren, Sunday Even-ing,
December 26, at 7:00
Music, Orchestra , Selected ; Scripture
Reading and Invocation, Rev. R. R.
Butterwick; Welcome, Ruth Frehn ; Exer-cise,
"Christmas Presents for Mother ," by
Charles Buser. Levere Spawn and Clarence
Hess; Song, "Lit tle Snowbirds," by Anna
Butterwick , Doroth y Habecker, Bertha
Habeck er and Helen Butterwick; Recita-tion
, Merle Hartman ; Doll Drill , Gene-vi
eve Smith, Anna Butterwick , Mary
Zoll , Charlotte Walmer , Leona Hu tchin-son,
Emil y Weidler , Helen Butterwick ,
Gertrude WeigeJ t , Mari e Ma ys, Miriam
Gingri ch and Bertha Habecker ; Reading,
Trcva Disc; Song by the School ; Exercise,
"Christmas Wishes, " Mary Gin grich ,
Phylis Gingrich , Kathr yn Weidler , Doris
Brubaker , Esmeralda Gordon and Doro-thy
Imboden; Recitation , "A Bed for
Little Jesus," Dorothy Habecker; Exer-cise,
"Christmas Soldiers," by Earl Christ,
Carl Hess, Lloyd Seltzer , Klein Seltzer.
David Gilman, Daniel Brubaker, Marlin
Brandt and Addison Rice ; Children 's
Chorus; Recitation , "That 's Sanly, " Mary
Carpen ter ; Exercise, "Christmas Scenes,"
by Ruth Detweiler , Clara 1 less, Lois Gil-man
, Elda Hutchinson and Mary Aungst;
Recitation , "Santa on the Phone," Howard
Lloyd; Scarf Drill , by Helen Smith, Verna
Deets, Mary Carpenter , Mary Aungst ,
Ruth Detweiler, Grace Lloyd, Mary
Phylis Gingrich and Eloise Gingrich ;
Readin g, Alcesta Slichtcr; Anthem by the
choir ; Recitati on , Chri stine Gruber ; Reci-tation
, "Gimcraeks, " Earl Stauf'f er; Song
by the School ; Recitation , "When Christ-mas
Comes," Grace Lloyd; Dialogue,
"Christmas Cheer " by Gladys Christ ,
Esther Walmer and Grace Smith; An-nouncements;
Offering for Orphanage ; A
Double Pantomime, by Clara Hess,
Mildred Palmer, Josephine Gelling, Elsie
Lehn , Kathr yn Carpenter , Lois Gilman ,
Marion Von Neida , Al oesta Slichtcr ,
Viola IStlri s, Eth el Grubb and Elda
Hutchinson ; Benediction.
Appropriate Service
in Churches Mark
Xmas Season Here
O
ji'uio Prelude; Marching Song, Pri-mary
Department; Hymn (by school)
"This Is Merry Christmas Day;" Scripture
Reading and Prayer ; Recitation , Ruth
Taylor ; Reduction, Alice Woomor ; Reci-tation
, Ruth Marks; Exercise, Five Be-ginners;
Primary Song, "RocU-n-byc-
(Continned on page 8)
Dorry Pronbytoriun , Thumdny evening
December 23, nt 7i30