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---- ~ PAGE 14, WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 23, 1981, WHITBY FREE PRESS CHRISTMAS CAROL SECTION 2Ï',e < ~ rim & V X ,e Portents of The Season If the sun shines through fruit trees on Christmas Day, it is a sign that the trees will bear much fruit. A white Christmas presages a prosperous year. The number of mince pies you taste at Christ- mas indicates the num- ber of happy months you'Il have during the coming year,-according to an old English belief. In some homes, the family will gather around the wreath on the Saturday evening before the first Sunday in Advent, four weeks before Christmas. Prayers are said and one violet candle is lit. An Ad- vent hymn, such as "O Corne, O Come Emmanu- el" may be sung at this time. The ceremony is re- peated with two violet candles on the second Sat- urday; on the. third Sat- urday, two violet candles and one rose candle, a joy- ful sign of the nearness of the holiday, are lit; on the last Saturday, all four can- dies are lit. Just as music and decor- ations add to the merri- ment of the holiday sea- son, so the literature of Christmas enriches its meaning for all of us. Fortunately for readers, Christmas has inspired many a wonderful poem or story. Perhaps the most fa- mous story of all is A Christmas Carol written by England's Charles Dickens in 1843. Is there anyone among us who has not been fascinated by Old Scrooge and his miserly ways . . . or been touched by the pathetic figure of Tiny Tim? This beloved tale has inspired plays, musicals and motion pic- tures, not to mention gen- erations of readers! English poets, too, have been inspired by the nativ- ity or its celebration. Ten- nyson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and John Mil- ton are among those whose poetry sings of the season. Here in America, the most famous Christmas poem of all was written for the entertainment of some youngs.ters, the children of Dr. Clement Clarke Moore, a professor of divinity. In this poem, entitled the Visit of St. Nicholas, Dr. Moore described the activities of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve and old Santa himself. Today, our conception of Santa is de- rived to a great extent from his description: "His eyes, how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry! . . . He had a broad face and a little round belly, that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly." With such a de- lightful portrait, no won- der youngsters and adults alike took Dr. Moore's poem to heart. Marmee's Girls In her popular novel, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott gave us a charming glimpse of Christmas among impov- erished but genteel society. The March girls-Jo, Amy, Beth and Meg- have pitiful funds, yet they conspire to shower their beloved "Marmee" with thoughtful little gifts: slip- pers, a hankie, cologne and gloves. She in turn, is only able to give each of her girls a small book. Yet, the reader basks in the warmth that these beloved characters evoke. Denmark's Hans Chris- tian Andersen has written several tales with Christ- mas themes and they are justifiably cherished in world literature. Who can forget the story of The Little Match Girl... or The Little Fir Tree?.Each story has that ability to touch our heartstrings, no matter how often read. In more modern times, another American, Wil- liam Sidney Porter, was to pen a classic story that has come to epitomize the spir- it of Christmas itself: The Gift of the Magi. Writing under the name of 0. Hen- ry, Porter told the bitter- sweet tale of a young cou- ple, Della and Jim. Al- though lacking in material goods, they have an abun- dance of that most preci- ous gift of all, the gift of love. Famed Editorial Not ail the literature of Christmas is to be found in stories or poems. An edi- torial, written to a ýyoung inquirer is probably one of the best-known "works" that is quoted each holiday season. When an editor of the New York Sun pub- lished his answer to Vir- ginia O'Hanlon on Sep- tember 21, 1897, he laid to rest once and for all the question, "Is there a Santa Claus?" That editorial has been reprinted countless times since then, and it never fails to inspire. St. Matthew wrote the first account of the Wise Men bringing their gifts to the Infant; St. Luke first described the astonished shepherds in the field near Bethlehem. Of all those who have written about Christmas, these two au- thors must surely be the most widely read of all! HAPPY YULETIDE BEST OF THE SEASON TO YOU AND YOURS! Ie ~~W E 7ti