Evening star., 1935-12-22

dAl IllC CAleADlC ouAtOAoa AAAAo ANH'ANN
word takes on a special significance
when the story of the all-night vigil
| before the altar is told. Each man
deemed worthy of being aflanced to
this maiden of the Temple" was
required to lay upon the altar rod.
To be the possessor of the rod that
/ blossomed was to be revealed as the
suitor chosen to be espoused to Mary.
| At the conclusion of the vigil it was
| found that the owner of the blossom
ing rod was the elderly kinsman Of
Mary, Joseph of the town of Nazareth,
Nazareth is first mentioned in the
/ Bible in st. Matthew, ii.23. The name
means verdant. The village now oc-
Cupying the site Of this home Of
Jesus is en-Nazi-rah. The sacred spot
upon which it is thought the home
| of Joachim and Anna stood is today
marked by beautiful church.
Galnee, the province in which
Nazareth was situated, takes its name
from word meaning circuit.
Bethlehem was originally called
GRIll aLAA VI GR4AA q bcAAA A44 AAtAOAJs w
Hebrew words, beth Chouse) and
lekhem (food) are the source from
which is derived the place-name
Bethlehem. The present-day spelling
is Bite-Lahm.
Common nouns, as we'll as proper,
have their significant place in the
story of the miracle wrought in Beth
lehem.
Khan is derived from a Persian
word which is carried over into Eng
lish in the word inn for caravansary,
The khan in which Joseph and Mary
sought shelter in Bethlehem is thought
to have been built against a hillside
Tradition says that the inn was built
upon property owned by David and
that khan had been upon this site
for more than thousand years. Man
gers in use in David's day were still
in place along the We
r EADERS familiar with "Ben-Hur"
will recall the vivid description
of the inn at Bethlehem. In few
paragraphs Gen. Wallace re-creates
the setting of the first Christmas. He
tells of the quadrangular building, one
story high. The outer wall of this
typical caravansary was unbroken by
window. At the eastern side there
was a gateway, the only entrance to
the inn. Close at hand was safe
shelter for the animals of travellers
| who tarried there. Nearby was
grotto which the author describes as
being probably 40 feet long, 8 or 10
feet high and IL to IS feet wide. Here
the innkeeper permitted Joseph and
Mary to rest because there was no
room for them in the inn."
Manger is mentioned by st. Luke
only in connection with the birth of
our Lord. The word is used in ref
erence to crib or trough for feeding
animals. 1t was customary to build
the manger of small stones and NOR
tar, in the shape Of a box. Along
the sides of the cave or grotto the
managers were placed sufficiently low
for sheep.
Shepherds in Palestine led a life OF
hardship. Wild beasts, the extremes
of temperature, the depradations of
robbers, the meager quantity of food
available were among the factors
which tended to make their task diff
ficult. A shepherd carried a scrip,
a sling and a staff. He also carried
sheepSkin mantle, small amount
of food and a light tent, If he was
far from home.
The morning duty of the shepherd
was to lead his flock to pasture. He
watched the sheep, guarding them and
himself against attacks by such ami
mails as bears, panthers, wolves, lions.
He was obligated to hunt for q lost
sheep until he found it. At nightfan
the shepherd returned his flock to the
fold. Upon arrival he checked each
sheep. His duty was to watch tAe