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This newspaper page contains 5 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Harper Herald
Location
Harper, Texas, United States of America
Date
Dec 20, 1963
Page
13
Article notes the true birth date of Jesus remains disputed with scholars proposing late August or early September. It explains December 25 was chosen by the church around 354 A.D. under Pope Junius I and suggests the date aligned with Saturnalia and European winter celebrations.
The piece notes two views on Christmas ghosts. Some see the season as safe from witchcraft and harm while others believe the dead wander the earth then. Scandinavian homes set meals for ghosts and England venerates ghost stories as a holiday pastime.
The article traces how Christmas dating varied from December 25 to January 6 and other months, noting pagan solstice links and early Christian debates. It highlights that celebrations occur in many months and places, yet share a common spirit of rejoicing and feasting.
The article explains Beth lehem meaning home of the bread and clarifies Bethlehem as home while lehem sounds like bread. It notes shepherds pipes as forerunners of the church organ and mentions the Well of the Wise Men near Bethlehem where the Star’s reflection guided the Magi to the hidden village.
A condensed look at Santa Claus from his 1822 literary origins in New York to his 100th birthday this year. It traces his 19th century visual shift by Thomas Nast, the role of Clement Clarke Moore, the 200 A.D. legends, and the Dutch origins in Nieuw Amsterdam shaping the modern jolly image.
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