Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1910-12-28

s33 Nowhere on earth does Christmas
& have such a deep significance as In
the tiny Syrian city of Bethlehem
for 1T was here that Jesus was born.
In Bethlehem the festival has retain
1 ed its purely religious character, and
the customs and ceremonies asso-
ciated with Its celebration are dis
tinctiyely Christian and Oriental. In
America the religious ceremonial OBJ
servance Of Christmas Is overshad-
owed by holiday customs which are
the lineal descendants Of Teutonic
myths. The Christmas spirit is q
Christian spirit, and there Is no need
to expel Santa Claus on the ground
that he was once a pagan. Never
theless It Is interesting to observe
4 how the birthday OF Jesus Is cele-
s brated In His native town
n The day will be Christmas but to
/ few Of the people OF Bethleht for
a majority Of the Bethlehemit.s are
commandments Of the Greek orthodox
church, which holds to the Julian cal
endar and which will celebrate
Christmas twelve days later.
Rnt December 25th is Christmas
wherever the Gregorian calendar is
in SSe, and 1t Is Chrisfmas to the
Roman Catholics and to the Protest
ants OF Bethlehem. There are per-
iaps 1000 Catholics and 100 Prot
estants among the natives Of the
town. To them Christmas is day
OF rest and enjoyment, celebrated by
the consumption Of liberal quantities
of the peculiar wine for which Beth
lehem is famous among Syrians and
infamous among Europeans and
Americans. 1t is a gala day and the
truly beautiful girl of Bethlehem
wears her tiara of gold coins, her
necklaces Of silver five-franc pieces
and her bracelets Of bronze money;
for every girl wears her dowry in
money most plainly to be seen From
the top Of her jaunty little bonnet
falls veil, not over her face as the
Moslem women would wear it, but
over her shoulder, which veil pro-
claims that Bethlehem Is the town.
Of her nativity 1t was such a veil
that R1tGh wore when she won the
heartSMf Boaz, who was mayor Of
BetDhehems something over 1000
!, years ago.
1.-THE celebration which on Christ
mas day engrosses the Latin church
population of Bethlehem will on
the Greek ChristlSas be extended to
the entire city, TO Latins as well as
Greeks join in the popular obsorv-
ance Of old Christmas. The Latin
Christmas which we, observe in
America is however, the occasion of
the most beautiful ceremonial cele-
bration Of all the year in Bethlehem,
a city where cermonials never cease
and where religious alteration Is lit
orally perpetual. AS in all the Cath
Ollie world Christmas is ushered in
. blythe solemn and inspiring midnight
mass. On the day before Christmas
the Latin patriarch Of Jerusalem,
who Is the head Of the Franciscan
order In Palestine, the order which
has charge Of all the sacred Latin
shrines In the Holy Land, escorted
by the consul general OF France,
leads the professional from Jerusa-
lem over the six-mile roadway, by
the Convent OF st. Elijah and the
tomb Of Rachel, to Bethlehem. The
procession Is made up OF all the
. Latin priests and monks from the va
flous churches and converts of Jeru
salem. 1t Is met in the market place
OF Bethlehem by the Franciscan
monks who guard the Latin inter-
ests In the Church Of the Nativity
and who are the priests OF the par-
ish church of ST. Catherine, which is
under the roof Of the great Church
Of the Nativity.
There Is a boys choir made up of
sturdy, ruddy-faced boys Of Bethle-
hem who are the worthy successors
OF David himself In psalmody. The
bands play and the choir chants as
the solemn professional forms at 0
O'Clock at night and marches into
the Latin chapel of the church. Here
are gathered all OF the native Cath
! olics of the city, most OF whom are
women. The women chatter and
gossip and laugh and seemingly have
none Of that sense of propriety
which Western Catholics possess to
so marked a degree. The chatter is
permitted to PO on for n ubi1o ona