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Old Pagan Traditions Still Honor English name for Feast or the Epiphany which Tails on January Just days after Christ ine anlnn appearance us ually used In reference to the appearance of a deity in visible form The earliest reference to the festival according to the editors of the Encyclo pedia Americana was In the later years of the 2nd Cen tury when Clement of Alex andria In Egypt spoke of certain Christiana observ ing the of January In memory of the baptism of Jesus The actual date seems to have been chosen In order to rival some of the popular pagan festivals of that day By the beginning of the Christians In observing the festival as a triple celebration it became ti nil Inclusive feast of the Magi In the West however the particular commemoration assigned to Epiphany was the visit of the Magi heat that an Mtufaiei Thanks far yew will EATON S ACTON the Middle Ages the Epiphany festival was wide ly observed by the perform ance of miracle plays In the churches about the Three Kings or Magi Particularly In England the day was marked by dramatic pro ductions though not neces sarily religious ones and this custom survived Into the Elizabethan period Shakespeare took the popu lar name of Twelfth Night for his play of that title which was written to be performed on that date Since Epiphany concludes the festivities and Its date coincides with many ancient pagan cus toms It was often celebrat ed with strange ceremonies Some of these old ceremo nies still exist In parts of Europe where Axed rituals may have origins often with an overlay of magic that are lost In the past Is Norse means end of the holiday Indicating that the event comes some time after Christmas actually at the end of January The ceremony Itself is very dramatic It takes place at night by torch light Men In the old wild Viking costumes complete with high horned helmets tow a huge 30foot Norse longboat through the town In a torchlight procession then the boat Is set ablaze on the beach Haxey Hood Game Is a place In Lin colnshire where they still play this famous old hood game on January Its ori gins hark back to pagan times and the hood It self is thought to represent the head of a bull In the game 13 men take part one called the fool the lord and the eleven others hoggins A twoteam scrimmage takes place the object being for each man to succeed In placing a folded canvas hood Into a particular goal one after the other The very last hood the 13th called The has to be fought towards the final goal an Inn where there are drinks tor all The Acton Free Press Wed Pec 1973 The Friendly Beasts Jesus our Brother strong and good Was humbly born In a stable rude And the friendly beasts around him stood Jesus our Brother and good said the donkey shaggy and brown I carried his mother up hill and down I carried her soely to Bethlehem town 1 said the donkey shaggy and brown I said the cow all white and red IB I said the sheep with curly horn I gave Aim my wool to keep him warm I gave Mm my coat on Christmas morn f said the sheep curly horn A linMnin by Robert font Of Ullt lift by few SHEPHERDS RECEIVE GOOD NEWS That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village guarding their flocks of sheep Suddenly an angel appeared among them and the landscape shone bright with the glory of the Lord They were badly frightened but the angel reassured them Dont be afraid he said you the most joyful news ever announced and it is for everyone The Savioryes the Messiah the Lordhas been born tonight in Bethlehem How will you recognize him You will find a baby wrapped in a blanket lying in a manger Suddenly the angel was joined by a vast host of othersthe armies of heavenpraising God Glory to God in the highest heaven they sang and peace on earth for all those pleasing him When this great army of angels had returned again to heaven the shepherds said to each other Come on Lets go to Bethlehem Lets see this wonderful thing that has happened which the Lord has told us about They ran to the village and found their way to Mary and Joseph And there was the baby lying in the manger Luke 2816 From The Living Bible I barnyard full of very merry Christmas wishes to you From ever grateful folks here MANAGEMENT STAFF MASTER FEEDS 2 GEORGETOWN Wassailing the Trees This unusual torchlight ceremony still is observed in certain parts of England on January which is the date of old Night Its another survival from very ancient times MERRY candlelight cant of Chriatmia the of daw out main the bright JB Mackenzie ft Son Ltd Scots Celebrate Hogmanay Day Of FirstFooting Whats Hogmanay Its the Scottish name tor New Years Eve and flrst toot ing Is what they call the tradition that dictates Scot tish hospitality lor the New Year celebration The first person to cross the threshold of any house on that occasion Is sup posed to do so bringing gifts to his or her host girts food or coal both tokens of warmth and friendliness In return the firstfooter re ceives a drink But that not all People used to compete vigorously for the honor of being a firstfooter and ran races from door to door Their hosts might or might not be happy to welcome the visi tors If the firstfooter were a woman It meant bad luck luck if the first person across the threshold were a man especially one known to have been born feet fore most still better If he hap pened to be dork rather than fair Why the word Hogma nay still similar words occur else where but origins are un certain at best The Donkey A Family The donkey or ass was the most valuable animal to the biblical family and also the most economical since he ate only a quarter as much barley as a horse The most menial of ani mals he was famous for his stamina and re footed Humble as his status was he would bear the cam eleer on his back and lead the long stately strings of camels across the desert Even poor families like Josephs of could afford one donkey which they trimmed with blue beads and red wool to show their pride of owner ship VflANAGEAAENT 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