Tárogató, 1950 (13. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1950-12-01 / 6. szám
*14 TÁROGATÓ many for fostering this custom, especially Queen Caroline at Munich, and a German immigrant for bringing the first Christmas Tree to this country. England had not observed this custom until Queen Victoria married a German prince. v As we look at our tree sparkling with defcorations we can hardly help sensing the spirit of reverence, a tradition of holiness in the star of Bethlehem among its green branches. As we place gifts on ist evergreen branches we are also aware of God’s promise of eternal life to mankind through the medium of the Christ Child born over 1900 years ago in a lowly manger. It reminds us of our unity with God. We should realize that we may be like Him by using His gifts of love, peace and brotherhood, and by spreading these virtues among our fellowmen. MARKING TIME By Nan Shipley Although the names of the days and months are as familiar to us as our own names, the origin of these words dating back long before the birth of Christ, are not so well-known as they deserve to be. Until 710 B.C., the Roman calendar contained only ten months. But Mark Antony inserted an extra thirty days when he named a month in honour of Judius Caesar, and when Juno was remembered this made the twelfth month. That is why September ranks now as the ninth month instead of the seventh as was the original order. It was logical that Janus, a deity in Greek mythology who presided over the beginning of all things, should take first place when it came to naming the months. Febru, a Latin word meaning to purify, became 'the second month while only such a war-like word as Mars was suitable for the stormy, blustery third place. April was taken from “aperio”, meaning to open, as buds; and when everything was in blossom sacrifices were made to the mother of Mercury, the beautiful goddess Maia. The queen goddess Juno naturally was allotted the most choice four weeks of the year, followed by July for Julius Caesar. August, first known as Sextilis, or six, then became Aust, meaning “harvest.” But Augustus Caesar boldly claimed the month to perpetuate his own memory. September, October, November, December. These are simple Latin derivations of the rank these months held before the introduction of the extra summer months. The lesser gods, also worshipped by the Romans, were not forgotten, and some days of the week are honoured by their names, others by the names of Norse gods and goddesses. The sun, which ranked first in importance, was prayed to and bowed to on the first day of the week. Monday, the same devotions were given to the moon or Luna. Tuesday, one of the lesser gods of war —Tiw—was honoured. Woden, the Norse king of gods and inventor of ,the arts, came into his own next. Thursday, the Norse god of thunder Thor, was recognized. Frigga, the Norse goddess of marriage, was worshipped the next day. Saturday belonged to Roman Saturn. The world has progressed since paganworship but the people of that era knew the value of time and the importance of having their hours of daylight and dark tabulated and well-defined. No matter how dim the period of history seems before the birth of Christ, we must bow in gratitude to the scholars of that period who worked out a calendar so complete that mathematicians who have followed have been unable to improve upon it. CHRISTMAS BRIEF A genuine Christmas must have Christ in it. The Christmas which centres around self is no Christmas at all. The church which forgets the children can not well remember the Christ. The value of a gift should never be measured by dollars and cents alone. “Remember the poor” at Christmas does not mean to forget them at all other times.
