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Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
It's Rob Houghton here.
And just to preface this Part 3 of Carols & Customs with a little bit of news going on at our end.
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to those programs Just do a bit of sniffing around and see what what you find
that may interest you So here we go ladies and gentlemen with part three of Carols
and Customs Thank you for tuning into the hour of the time here on
Radio Free Vermont Good evening
You're listening to the Hour of the Time, and I'm Michelle.
I hope you have been enjoying this special holiday presentation of the Carols and Customs of Christmas.
This is part three in our series and tonight we will be feasting.
This is part four in our series and tonight we will be feasting.
At the early Saxon feasts it was custom to drink a Wassail or a toast to health to the gods.
The word Wassail means be thou whole or to your health.
The drink itself consisted of a combination of mulled ale, eggs, curdles cream, roasted apples, nuts, and spices.
It was later called lamb's wool, a corruption of a Celtic word which pertained to any drink in which apples were used.
It was the custom to salute the apple trees, themselves temples of Celtic gods, on the eve of the winter solstice so that they would be more fruitful in the coming year.
This was called worseling, or waffling, them.
A similar custom is still observed in Denmark, when rural farmers who own fruit trees go out to the orchard at midnight and strike each tree, asking it to rejoice and be fruitful during the coming year.
This is the history and origin of wassailing.
As England gradually became more Christianized, the custom changed gods, and the wassail toasts were made to the Christian God.
Later, the ritual lost most of its religious significance, and the wassail toasts became more of a hear-hear to the health of all present.
An interesting medieval legend concerning the origin of the wassail bowl Relates that at one of the dinners, a bowl of wine was presented to the king with the words, Lord King, Vaisaya, or be in health.
Later, it was the custom of the stewards, upon entering the banquet hall, to call, Vaisaya, Vaisaya, and this was answered by the diners with a song or carol.
Thus, the Vaisaya bowl has become a feature of all British Christmas celebrations, and its drinking is always accompanied by songs.
The wassail bowl is found even today in all the great country houses of England, and is always kept filled from Christmas Eve to Twelfth Night.
In some country places, the young people carry the bowl as they go about caroling, offering drinks in exchange for alms.
Knowing about the history of the use of greenery, caroling, and wassailing, it throws a new light on our understanding of such Christmas carols as, Here we come a-wassailing, Among the leaves so green.
Here is a much older, more traditional English wassail song.
We've been so by the wandering among the fields so free, And now we come along to bring some angry to be seen.
For this great time I think of all I'm near, May God bless you and send you a happy new year.
We are the Lady Beggars that go from door to door.
We are the little children whom you have seen before.
For we'll take our time and we travel far and wide.
May God bless you and send you a happy new year.
Come then, come then, to London House for Mr. Thorpe.
When early English carolers went about asking for alms, they were often asked to sing a
song.
They sometimes carried the wassail bowl and sometimes the yule baby.
An elaborately dressed doll in a decorated box, which was supposed to be symbolic of the Christ child in the cradle.
And they always sang carols, both secular and religious.
In middle Europe, the band of singing children carried a doll in a small cradle in place of the Yule baby or the Wassail bowl.
This was supposed to be left in the care of the most virtuous maiden in the village, who was supposed to guard it throughout the ensuing year.
After making the rounds of their neighbors' homes and those in the surrounding villages, carolers wandered home through the winter snow to the warmth of their own hearths or to the comfort of the village pub for a late night tankard of warm ale.
There they would raise their mugs, hailing one another with affection, and sing the old, familiar songs which over the years gradually adopted lyrics appropriate to the season, as demonstrated in this Irish song, always sung during the winter holidays with a tankard of ale in hand.
I'm going to play a little bit of it.
And well, at least I've heard she's a good girl.
If we're only packed for Percy, then there's sure to be room for more.
Who did I ever call a loser?
We're held in song and cheer as we gather here together For a soul of you
And here's your M4 fighter, here's your M1 car Here's your M3 laughter, and your M1 way through your arms
Here's your M4 laughter, and your M1 way through your arms Here you pray the night is over, here you raise the toast
to spread Here we pass the night from hand to hand, the chance that
never ends We'll forget about tomorrow, we're both active from your
tears As we ring our bell together, in the same bird of new
And here's your M4 fighter, here's your M1 car Here's your M3 laughter, and your M1 way through your arms
Here's your M4 fighter, here's your M1 way through your arms
Drop the seal above the bottom.
Light the fire beneath the steel.
But it's so custodian, though gently mitigated.
Oh, the whiskey is for living.
It will wash away your fear.
And as we all get back together, you'll feel greater love in you.
And here's your amaranth-worn spiker.
Here's a friend for all Here's a friend who's made of laughter
And you are my hidden one Here's a friend for a driver
Here's a friend for all Here's a friend who's made of laughter
And you are my hidden one In the large country estates of Great Britain,
the holiday festivities were elaborate and grandiose as the homes were magnificent.
On Christmas Day, the manor homes of the nobility were opened to all of the people in the villages nearby.
Christmas morning dawned brightly on the preparations being made for the warmth of the multitudes of kinsmen, guests, and stray folk of every description.
None were allowed to go away empty.
The halls were full to overflowing with goodly companions of gentle folks, yet still room was found for the minstrels and peasants who on this day dined with the lord of the manor.
Rustic sports whiled away the hours before the great feast was served.
While hunting owls and squirrels was popular with the peasants, hunting of all kinds was a Christmas activity for many centuries.
In older days, even the clergy came booted and spurred to Mass with a hawk at wrist ready for falconry and hunting the moment Mass was said and breakfast over.
In his work entitled Ancient Mysteries, Written in 1823, the British historian Hone states, quote, Not long ago, in the metropolis of London itself, it was usual to bring up a fat buck to the altar of St.
Paul's, with hunter's horns blowing in the middle of divine service.
For on this very spot, or near it, there formerly stood a temple of Diana.
End quote.
From Huntingfield Private chapels and parochial church, the people trooped towards the great feast to be served by the Lord of the Manor which had been in preparation for weeks, always singing as they went.
Master in the tall, in the news today, brought from overseas, a letter I could play.
Yo-la-la-la-la-la, some of the things we did, most of our woes, the murder for which I've done so dear.
We all know a lower, so I think we all ought to take a course for greater man and that's the gospel song.
Lower, lower, we all are here through the milk I pour. I am seated by the window.
Lower, lower, lower we all are here through the milk I pour.
I am seated by the window.
Ten come at the top, and three when loose I kneel. The man that I hate hurts me up some more.
Lower, lower, lower we all are here through the milk I pour.
Lower, lower, lower we all are here through the milk I pour.
It's the fight of all, and we see it's right. The tips come in, and no one's hurt in fight.
Lower, lower, lower we all are here through the milk I pour.
I am seated by the window.
Lower, lower, lower we all are here through the milk I pour.
Old time custom never neglected so important a matter as the appetite.
In England, in 1415, A glutton mass was actually celebrated during the five days of the festival of the Virgin Mary.
The people rose early and attended mass during which they ate and drank with the most furious zeal and rapidity.
The very altar itself was a receptacle for rich puddings and other victuals placed there for the purposes of the festivity.
A book of English history written in 1823 describes the most incredible Christmas dish which, in our discussion of Christmas feasting, deserves mention.
Monday last was brought from Howick to Berwick to be shipped for London for Sir Henry Grey, Baron, a pie.
The contents whereof are as follows.
Two bushels of flour, twenty pounds of butter, four geese, four turkeys, two rabbits, Four wild ducks, two woodcocks, six snipes and four partridges, two neat tongues, two curlews, seven blackbirds, and six pigeons.
It is supposed of very great curiosity and was made by Mrs. Dorothy Patterson, housekeeper at Howick.
It was near nine feet in circumference at the bottom, weighs about twelve stones, We'll take two men to present it to table and is neatly fitted with a case and four small wheels to facilitate its use to every guest that inclines to partake of its contents at table."
In England, the principal dish of the Christmas feast was the boar's head.
On these festal occasions, the entire company would sing the boar's head carol as the procession of cooks and their assistants led by the chief cook marched through the dining hall
carrying dishes for the feast.
The boar's head, which lay on the chief cook's platter, was wreathed in bay leaves and decked with rosemary,
with a bright red apple in its mouth.
Records show that this custom dates back to the 12th century, and is still preserved at King's College, Oxford,
where the procession of cooks is preceded by the choir led by a fellow of the college.
There is a legend connected with the ceremony of serving the boar's head at King's College.
It is said that many years ago a student was walking on a hill near Oxford studying his Aristotle.
Suddenly a wild boar rushed out of the forest and attacked him.
Having no weapon for defense The student crammed the book down the boar's throat and thus saved himself from the beast.
The boar's head was then prepared and served to all the students amidst much rejoicing over their friend's miraculous escape.
The boar's head carol is one of the oldest of secular carols.
It was found in printed form as early as 1521.
The poor friends and their wives are sick with pain and woe.
The poor fed and their eyes are sick with pain and woe, Mary, and I pray you, my master, be merry, for then it is
inconceivable.
Ah, for the pain they bear no, Mary, how it all becomes.
The poor fed and their youngers' heads is a prayer of dignity, all its vampires must be decked with a gain of land, and
thus never be they gone before.
Ah, for the pain they bear no, Mary, how it all becomes.
But to our humble island, we hold her cold, the kingdom, let's wish on this day we stand, we know where we stand,
and beyond we know.
Ah, for the priest and their home, where now and all we know.
The Boar's Head is mentioned as being bedecked with vase and rosemary.
Up until Victorian times, rosemary was a popular Christmas decoration.
Legend says it was named after Mary, the mother of Jesus, and symbolized the purple cloak she was said to have worn on the flight to Egypt, although no such fashion records exist in the Bible concerning this journey.
The legend states that the rosemary was formerly white, but as Mary, Joseph, and Jesus rested by the wayside, Mary placed her cloak over a rosemary bush and the color was changed to purple.
In virtually every nation where Christmas is celebrated, the event is marked by some kind of special food.
In Greece, special loaves of bread are baked in which coins are concealed.
The person who finds the coin is supposed to have good fortune through the following year.
In the Ukraine, people at one time observed a 39-day fast, which ended on Christmas Eve with a 12-course dinner, one course for each of the 12 apostles.
This feast of Christmas took three days to eat.
The Polish oplatek, or friendship wafer, is shared at the close of the special Christmas meal.
In Sweden, Christmas Day is celebrated with special coffees and cakes.
This tradition of baking and cooking in honor of the holiday is observed everywhere.
But the true history behind our feasting, baking, partying, and toasting at the time of the winter solstice is ancient indeed, and goes back to the dawning of history.
Even in the days of the Old Testament, Jeremiah addressed the pagan customs being practiced by the children of Israel in chapter 7, verses 17 and 18.
Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the Queen of Heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods."
Obviously, as Jeremiah predates the birth of Christ by at least six centuries, He was not referring to Mary when he spoke of the Queen of Heaven, a title erroneously bestowed upon her by the Catholic Church.
The Queen of Heaven, or the Mother of God, was a title owned first by Isis in reference to the child Horus.
It was also the title of Semiramis with the child Tammuz.
The Queen of Heaven was known in all pagan cultures.
The Chinese mother goddess Xingmu The German Virgin Goddess Hertha, the Scandinavian Goddess Disa, the Etruscan Goddess Nutria, the Druidical Goddess Virgo Pachytura, the Indian Indrani, the Greek Aphrodite, the Sumerian Nana, the Roman Venus, and so forth and so on.
Festival days honoring this Queen of Heaven, the Mother of God, regardless of which pagan god you might care to reference, We're always accompanied by much cooking, feasting, drinking, gifts giving, and the preparation of special cakes to honor the goddess and invoke her favor, fertility, and blessing of prosperity.
The baking of special desserts in honor of the Christmas season harks back to the most ancient of pagan feasts and festivals.
In Great Britain, mince pie became one of the chief delicacies at the Christmas feast It symbolized the gifts of the wise men and was supposed to be made of the choicest things from the East.
At one time the pie was made in an oblong shape to represent the manger in which Christ was born.
Plum pudding was and still is an important part of the English Christmas.
The story goes that centuries ago an English king and his party of hunters were lost in the woods on Christmas Eve.
the poor cook, faced with scanty provisions for a Christmas Eve dinner, put everything
he had together in the cooking pot and thus made the first plum pudding.
It is said that the ingredients which he used formed the basis for the recipe of the plum
pudding as we know it today, which isn't a pudding at all, but rather is a very heavy,
dense, baked cake.
In America, we know a slightly enhanced version of the plum pudding as fruitcake.
While many people feel that fruitcakes improve greatly with age, there are just as many who feel that they are more appropriately used as heavy doorstops or paperweights.
Regardless of how you may feel about eating fruitcake, the fact remains that this represents yet one more Christmas tradition that predates the birth of Christ and harks back to the pagan custom of baking of cakes in
honor to the goddess of fertility and prosperity.
And on that note, let's take a break for an antacid.
As I sat at my window last evening, the lettermen brought them to me. A little guilt-test invitation saying you'll
make up all the mistakes.
Sure I knew that the forfeits were set, so I went to for old friendship's sake. And the first thing they gave me to
tackle was a slice of Miss Forfeits cake.
Now there were plums and fruits and cherries.
There were citrus and raisins and cinnamon too.
There was nutmeg, cloves and berries.
And the crust it was made of was blue.
There were caraway seeds in a fondant.
Sugar till the mouth, white stomach ache.
It would kill a man's wife after eating a slice of his poverty's Christmas cake.
Miss Mulligan, what a society.
But really there was of no use.
They worked a bit over an hour.
Goofy and he came in with a hacket, and Bertie came in with a saw.
That cake was enough for the powers to paralyze any half-jaws.
Now there was stuff to cook and carry.
There was kittens and raisins and cinnamon too.
There was stuff to cook and carry.
And the carpet was nailed down with glue.
There were caraway seeds and no pumpkin.
George would build up a fight on a cake.
He could tell a man's words after reading his life of Miss Fawgerty's Christmas cake
Miss Fawgerty found it a peacock, kept whining and blinking away
Tipsy fell on the planet and broke it, and spilled from the hole through her teeth
Oh good holly she cried, you're not eaten, try a little bit more for my sake
No thanks, Miss Fawgerty, says I, but I'd like to refuse of that cake
Now there were plums and prunes and berries There were chickens and ravens and gentlemen too
There was nutmeg, cloves and berries, and Miss Fawgerty could tell them with glue
Tell her I had a right season of London, sure to tell them a fine summer cake
He could tell a man's words after reading the life of Miss Fawgerty's Christmas cake
Maloney was tough with the colic, Miss Fawgerty complained of his head
Miss Fawgert laid down on the sofa, and Miss Fawgert wished she was dead
Miss Daly fell down in hysterics, and there she did wriggle and shake
For every man swore he was poisoned, for eating Miss Fawgerty's cake
Now there were plums and prunes and berries There were chickens and ravens and gentlemen too
There was nutmeg, cloves and berries, and Miss Fawgert could tell them with glue
Tell her I had a right season of London, sure to tell them a fine summer cake
He could tell a man's words after reading the life of Miss Fawgerty's Christmas cake
Hey!
In all legendary folk songs, the influence of the climate, customs, religions and racial characteristics of the people
are to be seen And so it is with Christmas carols
In the South lands, the carols tell of birds and flowers that guard the sleeping babe, and in the countries farther north, they describe the fir trees and snow.
In the hill towns, there are many songs of the shepherds and the manger, And in the lands facing the sea there are carols of the Christmas ships.
From Greece comes one of the most interesting of the legends pertaining to the Christmas ship.
The Christianized version of the legend associates the ship with Saint Basil, who is to the Greeks as Saint Nicholas is to other nations.
Legend claims that Saint Basil was provided with a ship to aid him in delivering gifts to the children.
Just as St.
Nicholas is represented as using the reindeer sled of the Northlands.
And the early legends tell us that in the sea-going lands the three ships, instead of
three camels, were the vehicles of the wise men who followed the star.
The Star-Spangled Banner The Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner the
the the
But the feasibility of the wise men using ships as their method of transport in the customs of a seafaring country does not really explain the origin or the significance of the Christmas ship.
In ancient days, a ship was always carried in the processions that honored Dionysus, the god of wine.
Dionysus was the son of Zeus and a Theban princess, Semele.
He was the only god whose parents were not both divine, being conceived by the divine seed of Zeus, but born by a human woman.
In the mixing of paganism and early Christianity, this Dionysian legend served well to parallel the biblical account of Jesus being conceived by the divine seed of God, but born of Mary, a human woman.
Mythology teaches that Dionysus taught men everywhere the culture of the vine, the planting of vineyards, and the fermenting of wine, believed to bring gladness to the hearts of men.
Early Christians of the Greek Isles, remembering the words of Jesus in the Gospels, I am the vine, ye are the branches, would already be familiar with the concept.
According to classical mythology, During his life, Dionysus was captured by pirates who forced him aboard their ship.
But when the pirates tried to bind him with ropes, the ropes would not hold together.
They fell apart when they touched his hands or feet.
The helmsman of the ship believed this meant that Dionysus was a god and he should be set free at once.
But the helmsman was mocked by the ship's captain.
The captain ordered that the pirates raise the sails, and this they did.
But the ship would not move.
Then, suddenly, fragrant wine ran in streams down the deck.
A vine with many clusters spread out over the sail.
A dark green ivy plant twined around the mast like a garland with flowers in it and lovely fruits.
At this point, Dionysus is said to have turned into a lion and the pirates, fearing for their lives, leaped overboard, turning into dolphins.
All except for the faithful and perceptive helmsman on whom Dionysus had mercy.
The miracle of the ship was seen as a rescue from death, the guarantee of mercy from the gods at the moment of death, and the promise of life eternal in the heavenlies.
The ship was ever thereafter associated with ancient Greek festivals in honor of Dionysus, many of whose ritual worship customs became associated with our Christmas observances.
The archetypical connection between traversing bodies of water and attaining eternal life dates back to the Egyptians.
Ancient Egypt's funerary texts are strewn with references to boats, notably the various solar and divine vessels on which the deceased hoped to voyage into the cosmic afterlife.
The idea was that the majestic vessels, many of which have been excavated from the Geothan
Necropolis and most notably from beside the south face of the Great Pyramid in 1954, were
intended in some way to serve as symbolic vehicles on which the souls of the dead pharaohs
could sail into heaven.
In these solar barks, the soul of the pharaoh, the Horus King, would cross the Milky Way
to enter the Egyptian Duat or heavenly kingdom of Osiris, thus attaining life eternal in
the stars.
One can trace mystical ships throughout the mythology of all countries.
Over the years, the purpose of these ships changed in the stories associated with them,
but their presence and connection with the concepts of life eternal after death continues
to this day, even in the observances of customs of Christmas.
Thank you.
Having, in a rather side-long manner, brought up the subject of the Wise Men by way of the three ships, it is time to discuss these participants in Christmas Legend and to investigate the custom of the giving of gifts during the holiday.
This exchanging of gifts at Christmas was definitely influenced by the celebrations of the Roman Saturnalia Festival, as Tertullian records in his writings.
There is, of course, nothing wrong with the giving of gifts, in celebration of some event, or just because you want to give one.
But in the mixing of paganism and Christianity, some have sought to link Christmas gifts with those presented to Jesus by the wise men.
This fit very well with the concept of the celebration of the birth of the S-U-N, Sun God, and so it came to be accepted that the gifts of the wise men must have been birthday gifts, that they were presented at the manger on the night Christ was born, and that this is the real meaning behind the exchanging of gifts at Christmas.
The subject of who were the wise men, or Magi, what was the star that they followed, and exactly when all this occurred, involves incredibly detailed research that we just cannot adequately cover in the time left in tonight's episode of the Hour of the Time.
Perhaps in some other context this material can be related to you so you can duplicate the research for yourself.
But suffice it to say for now, that there is very strong scriptural and astronomical documentation to indicate that Jesus Christ was born on September 11, 3 B.C.
as we now reckon the calendar, between 619 and 739 P.M.
Palestine time.
The Magi do not even enter the story until well after this birth occurred.
Briefly, according to the Gospel of Matthew, The wise men, whose numbers are never specified, traveled to see Herod in Jerusalem, and said, Where is he that is born king of the Jews?
For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
In the verses referencing this star that the Magi followed, the term, in the east, is a translation of the Greek word, Anatoli, which means, in the rising.
Many people believe that the star seen by the Magi was exceptionally bright.
However, the Bible makes no mention of the brilliance of the star, only that the Magi took special note of it.
Whatever this star was, was important to them for its meaning, significance, and heliacal rising, not its brightness.
Another popular misconception is that, after first seeing the star, The Magi immediately followed the star from their eastern homeland to Jerusalem.
Tradition also depicts the Magi arriving in Bethlehem on the night of Christ's birth, finding the newborn Christ child in the manger while the shepherds stood by.
Yet Biblical accounts clearly demonstrate that the Magi arrived in Bethlehem over one year and three months after Jesus' birth.
In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 2, verse 11, we read, And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him.
And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
The first thing that should catch our eye about this verse is that the Magi found the young child in the house, not in a stable.
But of even greater significance is that the young child they found is described by the Greek word Paidon and the Aramaic word Talia.
These words are never used to describe a newborn baby.
When the shepherds arrived at the manger on the night of Christ's birth, according to the Gospel of Luke, they found the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
The word babe in Luke is the Greek word brephos and the Aramaic word ula, both always and exclusively used when describing a very newly born baby.
Also, the shepherds were able to identify this child by the fact that he was wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Many people believe that these swaddling clothes were old tattered rags that Mary and Joseph wrapped around the baby because they were so poor and had nothing else to put on him.
This, too, is not true.
Even to this day, the sons of kings and princes in the East are salted and swaddled immediately after birth.
The covenant of salt is one of the oldest known covenants and is mentioned several times in the Old Testament.
In Eastern lands The taking of salt is a pledge, a promise of fidelity.
According to this ancient custom, if someone comes to your house and eats with you food which has been seasoned with salt, they can never betray you or do you harm, nor will you betray or harm them.
Christ made reference to this ancient and respected custom, as did St.
Paul to the Colossians when he wrote, quote, Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt.
With regard to the salt and swaddling customs associated with childbirth in Eastern cultures, a tiny bit of salt is rubbed on the baby to indicate that the parents intend to teach the child to be truthful.
The baby is then wrapped in swaddling clothes.
These are very fine linen strips, about two inches wide, which are wrapped round and round the baby's body to straighten him out.
Arms and legs are all made as straight as a ramrod.
This ceremony is a sign to God that the parents will rear the child to be straightforward before the Lord and free from crookedness.
The child is left in this position from 15 minutes to 2 hours while the parents pray, meditate, and make their vows to God concerning their sacred trust which was given them when they received the child.
The Gospel of Luke concerning the birth of Christ records, And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger."
We know that Mary was told by the angel that her son would be called the Son of the Highest.
Therefore, she rightly treated him as royalty and used swaddling clothes.
Understanding this ancient custom also explains why the Bible says that the shepherds, when they heard the angel's announcement of the birth, came with haste.
They understood these cultural customs, and knew that the swaddling ceremony didn't last too long.
This put them under some time constraints to get to the manger.
If they delayed too long, they would miss the entire thing.
Thus, they came with haste to the manger.
In the same way that the Gospel of Luke makes no mention of any wise men present at the manger to see the newborn babe on the night of Christ's birth, The Gospel of Matthew makes no mention of the presence of shepherds visiting the house to see the young child.
Upon finding the young child in the house, the Magi fell down before him as a sign of utmost reference to a king, the king of Israel born in Judea.
The Magi themselves opened the gifts that they had brought before presenting them to the king, which was the custom whenever gifts were presented to royalty.
The Magi's gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh were very precious and costly indeed, suitable for giving to royalty.
Also, that there were three gifts given is no indication whatsoever that there were three Magi.
Although modern tradition consistently depicts three Magi, this is guesswork and has no scriptural verification.
There were many more Magi than three, Because this was a great moment in history and in the lives of these religious men.
Also, when traveling long distances, men of the Eastern culture normally moved in a large group or caravan for security purposes.
The Company of Magi was not mistaken for a band of charlatan magicians or astrologers, but rather as their ambassadorial retinue.
This group of wise men and their entourage represented the astronomical elite and the courts of the East, and were so impressive that King Herod and the people of Jerusalem were astonished and amazed.
The traditional belief of only three wise men arriving at the manger with the shepherds on the night of Christ's birth, whether they traveled by camel, ship, or UFO, is simply not substantiated by anything scriptural.
Nor is the custom of giving gifts at Christmas a custom of Christian origin.
Nor were the gifts of the Magi birthday presents.
The gift-giving at the time of the winter solstice was an ancient pagan tradition based on the celebration of the birth of the F.U.N.
sun god.
The Romans gave presents during the celebrations of Saturnalia and of Calends.
Early religious leaders denounced the New Year's gift-giving and Christmas gift-giving took its place.
In the mixing of paganism and Christianity, some would have us believe that the exchanging of gifts grew out of the desire to emulate the unselfishness of Christ.
Regardless of its pagan origin, the practice has become universal.
How this tradition developed into the commercialized Santa Claus worship by which we are now-a-days inundated will be part of our next program on this subject.
But back to the Magi.
Traditions with no scriptural basis at all have set the number of the Magi at three, and they have been named Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar.
The naming of the Magi is believed to have originated in medieval France, where they were called the Three Kings of Cologne.
Melchior, said to be the king of Arabia, was supposed to be an aged man with a long beard who offered gold.
and acknowledgment of the royal lineage of the king of Israel.
The second was Jasper, or Gaspar, the king of Tarsus, a beardless youth whose offering was frankincense, significant of the great physician.
And Balthazar the third was a dark-visaged Moor, king of Ethiopia, whose offering was myrrh, signifying high priesthood.
The same naming and numbering of the wise men was later adopted by most of the other European nations including Italy, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Spain.
Ecuador, Puerto Rico and Mexico and other Central American countries also have their versions of the Magi named and numbered a custom that reflects their Spanish cultural heritage.
In 1731 at the Chapel Royal of St.
James The King and Queen of England, then George II and Queen Caroline, made offerings at the altar of gold, frankincense and myrrh, according to custom.
The Golden Carol of the Wise Men dates to the 18th century and was most assuredly sung
in the chapel during such gift-giving rituals as those observed by King George II and his Queen.
The Golden Carol of the Wise Men is sung in the chapel during the Christmas season.
The Golden Carol of the Wise Men is sung in the chapel during the Christmas season.
morning.
Then did we fall unbendedly on Christmas in the morning And praise the Lord who let us be His glory and His joy.
O ever was the office made on Christmas in the morning To pour for us both sleep and faith a picture-sharp and
story And may we die when death shall come on Christmas in the
morning And he who has a glorious hope
That star of Christmas is shining Around 1857, Dr. John Henry Hopkins, rector of Christ
Church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, wrote the music and lyrics of the famous carol, We Three
Kings of Orient Are.
Nothing imaginable could have more permanently engraved in stone the unscriptural traditions we hold concerning the wise men than this carol.
And with this carol, we must close for tonight.
Tomorrow we will continue with our investigation into the carols and customs of Christmas and bring this series to its end.
Until then, good night and God bless each and every one of you.
God bless you.
Box 940, Eager, spelled E-A-G-A-R, in the state of Arizona, 85925.