The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1875-01-29
Observance of Christmas.

Down to the period of Luther (1n. the
beginning of the sixteenth century, the
observanceof Christmas Day as asacred
festival was universal throughout the
Christian Church. The Greek ritual,
though differing in some points from
less zealously commemorated the birth
of the Savior, though it does not appear
to have been adopted throughout the
East generally before the time of st.
Chrysostom CA. D. 400). And then
came q dispute as to the exact day on
which the birth of Jesus occurred.
This, of course, was owing to the con-
fusion which had crept into the popu-
lar chronology through the use of the
different eras by which nations chron-
icled their annals. There was the era
of the building of Rome; the era of the
SelucidR; the era of Dioclesian the
Jewish era of the creation of the world
the era of the indications of Constan-
tine the Great; the era of the Olym-
piads-most of them fixed arbitrarily.
It was when the great bulk of the ma
tions of Europe, Western Asia and
Northern Africa, had become converted
to Christianity, that the want of a
Christian era was felt, and it fell to the
lot of Roman monk, Scythian by
birth, named Dionysius Exiguus, to
supply the want. The practical neces-
sites of the church called forth work
in which the civil laws were arranged in
harmony with the ecclesiastical. This
was done by o learned monk named
Scholasticus and Dionysius revised
and rearranged the old Roman code,
between the years 49S and 514. This
revised code having been approved by
the Popes, became q standard legal
~, on% IN fhn oh l,rT\
throughout. the west of Europe. Dion
ysius endeavored to rectify the chro-
nology of the Western World as far
back as the advent of the Savior, and
he adopted the birth of Sc the heaven
born child as his point of departure;
perhaps it would be more correct to say
the point of his arresting his Sc progress
backward" His system was adopted
into general use in the year SGT, and
has superseded every other in the West
ern World, as the Hegira, or flight of
Mohammed from Mecca to Medina, "A.
d. 622, has superseded every other
standard of chronology among Moham-
medan nations. Yet the labersof Dion
ysius produced only an approximation
to the truth for to this day it is mat
chronologers what year Christ was born
in. Tradition fixes the day, the 25th
of December. but those who have not
read up the subject will probably be
surprised at the discrepancies between
the authorities " as to the gear of the
Savior's birth. Thus, according to the
Benedictine authors, L'Art Ge Veri-
fer les dates, it took place in the year
before our era. According to Kepler
Pagi and Dodwell, it took place in the
year before the era. Chrysostom,
Hales, Blair and Clinton place it five
years before. Sulpicius and Usher
place it four years before. Clement OF
Alexandria, Iren8us, and Cassiodorus
place it three years before. Eusebius,
Jerome, Epiphanius, Orosius and Scali-
ger place 1.-two years before. Tertull-
ian, Dionysius and Luther place it in
the year 1 before. Narisius and Her
wart place it in the year after. Paul OF
Middilburg places it in the year after,
and LSdlat In the year after. So that
between the extremes there is O differ
ence of ten years.
DoN A. PARDEE, whom the President
has just appointed Judge Of the District
Court of Louisiana in the place OF
Durell, resigned, is said by those who
know him best to be well fitted for the
position. both by character and ednca-
tion. He is native Of Ohio. about 3s
years of age, and is o member of {
family of large influence in his native
State.
FROM Florida comes the romantic
story of Della Jones, q full l-blooded ne
gress, 40 years OF age. She fell des
| perakely in love with young white