Weymouth High School - Campus / Reflector Yearbook (Weymouth, MA)

Page 13 text:

11 Christmas From the early centuries of Christianity, people have celebrated the anniversary of Christ ' s birth with special church services and festivals. The English, in early times, called these services Christes messe, mean- ing Christ ' s mass. This is the way we ob- tained our word Christmas. At first the date of the celebration varied in different places. The Armenians still hold their celebration on January 6. The reason for establishing the festival on December 25 was that this day marked the beginning of the great solstice festival of the pagan Gauls, Germans, and Britons. As in other instances when Christian festivals replaced pagan, many of the pagan symbols are kept. Good examples of this are the yule log, holly, and mistletoe. Christmas became a popular fete during the middle ages. Even at that time, they decorated their churches with flowers and gave short plays relating to the birth of Jesus. The English were the greatest celebrators of this day. In Shakespeare ' s time the fes- tivities lasted for twelve days. Everyone left his work to give himself up to enjoyment dur- ing this time. During the regime of the Puritans, all merriment on Christmas day was prohibited. After the Restoration some of these customs, much subdued, came into effect again. The Dutch settlers of New York brought across the ocean the joyous custom of ob- serving Christmas with merriment. We owe the origin of our Santa Claus to them also. Today the observance of Christmas is wide- spread. In both England and America the lit- tle children hang up their stockings in a row before the fireplace, and Santa Claus, we are told, with a big pack of toys, comes to fill the little stockings. In some of the Baltic States, Kris Kringle, the Christ Child, brings the presents. In France the children place wooden shoes on the hearth in readiness for the gifts, which Bonhomme Noel (Father Christ- mas) brings. The Norwegian children hunt gaily for their toys, which have been hidden in different places. In Italy the presents are drawn from the Urn of Fate — an old Roman custom. Every land has its own Christmas Carols and way of singing them. In England waits sing under the windows. In the United States some boys and girls often go about singing carols to shut-ins or unfortu- nates. The Christmas tree with its pretty orna- ments and lights, which is closely connected with the celebration, appeared first along the Rhine sometime in the sixteenth century. Our practice of preparing a birds ' Christ- mas tree with choice bits of suet, apple, nuts, and seeds, originated from the Scandinavian custom of placing a sheaf of grain in the dooryard, on a tall pole for the birds on Christmas morning. The elaborate street festivals of Italy and Spain are replaced in the United States by the Community Tree. It is a custom for a large crowd to gather around the tree and sing the familiar carols. Hazel Morrison ' 31 Our First Snowstorm One night as it was getting dark, I went riding down to Nantasket Beach. The clouds were hanging low over sea and land, and the white capped waves were beating high on the shore. Upon the rocks, which are far over on the right side of the beach, the waves were breaking. In the distance Boston Light could be plainly seen flashing every few minutes. The huge schooner Nancy made a dismal and lonely outline against the black sky. All of a sudden, the street lights at Pem- berton were hidden from view, as if they had been put out, and Boston Light and the other lighthouses far out could be just barely seen through the distance. I never saw the ocean look greener than it did at that time. We saw what we thought was a thick fog rolling in from the ocean. It spread over Pemberton and Hull, and was rapidly approaching in our direction. It was upon us in no time, but it was not fog as we soon found out — it was rapidly, and the wind was blowing them in all snow. The large flakes were coming down directions. But, after about fifteen minutes, the snow stopped, as quickly as it had started and the wind calmed down. We could see Boston Light, now flashing as brightly as ever. The low clouds disappeared revealing the moon and a sky full of stars. There was no evidence left of the storm except the little piles of snow that the wind had blown intc sheltered places. Margaret Young ' 31

Page 12 text:

in (ThrtctmaB Urfif rtor most fearsome of snakes in all of India. It was at least 15 feet long, and had the thickness of a man ' s arm. It was a specimen of snake now almost extinct — the Hamadryad. There was no known antidote for its poison. The poor littie dog had sensed that something was threatening, and had gone to investigate. He must have put up a gallant fight against the giant reptile, but was out-classed from the start. For his loyalty to his master, he had received death ! Telling the Sahib was the hardest thing which I had ever undertaken. The Sahib took the news quietly. I left him alone with the remains of his faithful dog un- til he called for me. His face had aged in those ten minutes, and his eyes were glassy. Sahib, I stumbled, I am so sorry for you. It was all my fault — No, he replied, laying his hand on my shoulder, you have just proved to me that there is loyalty in this world that will last even to death! Then he smiled, this brave Sahib, and handed me something. I could not at first make out what it was because of the moisture clouding my eyes. Then, my vision clearing, I recognized— the little jew- eled collar. But, Sahib, I protested, you must keep that to remember your little dog. ' ' Gripping my arms tightly, he said quiet- ly, Do you think that I shall ever forget? I need nothing to remember him. I shall al- ways carry his picture in my heart. He then forced the collar into my hands and strode away. He did not wait for me, but shouldered his pack and plunged into the jungle. Although I hunted for hours, I could find no trace of him. To this day, I do not know whether the Sahib who loved a little white dog ever reached civilization. As the Hindu finished, Jean was sobbing audibly, and the other children were mak- ing suspicious little noises. Getting up from his chair, the old Hindu noiselessly went over to a cabinet, took something out, and returned to his seat. The children gazed at a jewel- studded dog ' s collar, greatly dimmed with age. The fire crackled and the wind moaned outside the eaves; but all was silent in the cottage. Doris Monks ' 33 Introducing Sam Roan ' s Toy Shop was one of the busiest shops in town, so Jerry Anderson thought, as she swiftly made change, wrapped toys in bright paper, and waited on new customers. The rush and bustle at Christmas time always made Jerry happy; and a pleasant smile went with every sale that she made. One afternoon, as Jerry was preparing to close the store for the night, she saw a group of small boys going down the street. On a second glance, she recognized one and called loudly to him: Sam, Sam, come back here and wait for me. It is almost closing time now. Then she turned to wait on a customer. Looking up a few minutes later, she saw Sam sitting on a stool waiting for her. Later, she and Sam made their way through the door to the snow-laden street. I beg your pardon, a kind looking Santa who was in front of the store said, but did I hear you call me a few minutes ago ? ' ' Why-er-no, answered a puzzled Jerry, you must be mistaken. I was calling Sam, my little brother, a few moments ago. Oh, my name is Sam too. Well, I must say that is too bad, I was hoping that some- body would need my company and call to me sometime. It would be a mistake, he said. ' ' Maybe you won ' t be disappointed. ' ' And then she whispered, so that little Sam could not hear, You take off that outfit and I ' ll wait for you here, so that we can introduce ourselves. You must hurry, though. A few minutes later he was with them, but not as Santa this time. After the introductions were over, he walked home with them. In the days that followed Sam was a fre- quent visitor at the Anderson home. One bright day little Sam was sitting near big Sam when suddenly he said : ' ' Say, Sam, what ever became of the Santa that we met in front of the store that night ? ' ' Oh, that Santa ju mped in his sleigh and rode up to the north pole, after he met you and Jerry. He sure was a nice Santa, answered Sam. I bet he was, agreed big Sam with a sly smile. Maryellen Morse ' 33

Page 14 text:

12 (Chrtatmaa SUfUrtor Destiny Margaret Pendleton ran breathlessly up the gangplank, and paused only a few min- utes at the rail to wave good-bye to her friends before going to her stateroom. She had hardly reached the rail before the whistle blew for the last time, and the boat pushed off for America. For America,. How wonderful that sounded after four years away from home ! Of course she ' d miss the girls at the academy, but then — to be going home! With a happy sigh, she ran joyfully to find her room. Margaret shared her stateroom with an ac- quaintance, Mary Cronnan, a young girl of her own age whom she had met in London, and who also was on her way home after study- ing in that city. The girls became fond of each other, and were usually together. The evening proved to be gay as the girls dressed for dinner, and later went into the social salon to listen to the orchestra. A group of boisterous, laughing, happy young people, rushed to meet them, and carried them off to a far table. After a while, Margaret, unlike Mary, tired of the chattering and joking, wished that times were not quite so modern, and that a handsome, young prince would come to her rescue. A young man at the other end of the room, detaching himself from a group, walked across to her table. He was not a prince, and could scarcely be called hand- some, but he was young and gentlemanly, and a way by which she could leave the crowd ; so when he stood before her and asked : ' ' Would you care to take a turn on deck ? ' ' she answ T ered simply: Let ' s! Unnoticed by the rest of the group, she arose, and they went out into the cold, night air. After the second turn, they met Mary, with an escort, who had come in search of them. John, she cried at sight of them, how did you know her? Why, I told you I ' d know her anywhere. How could I help it after that description you gave me in London ? ' ' He turned to Margaret. You see, Cousin Mary told me all about you after she made your acquaintance. She was so enthusiastic in describing you, T knew I ' d know you in a minute! I didn ' t know that you and Mary were on this boat, but when I saw you through the crowd looking so bored, I just had to come over although we hadn ' t been properly introduced. You understand? Yes was all she said, but she might have added that she had already known him, having been introduced at a tea when she had first come over. Everyone knew that she had changed greatly since then; so it was little wonder that he had forgotten it. The following days were happy ones and full ones. When they weren ' t playing shufiie- board, they were playing ping-pong. In tt e evening they danced or walked, and all the while their friendship increased. Then came the night when John told her he loved her. Somehow she had always known it, but it was rather wonderful to hear it from his own lips. Absorbed as they were in their new-found happiness, they were unconscious of the changing in the weather. A heavy fog had en- veloped the ship. Suddenly, from seemingly nowhere, a huge gray wall loomed up like some destructive giant of old. There was a crash, and the ship ran straight into another ocean steamer. People were thrown to the floor. In the mad rush that followed John and Margaret were sepai ' ated. Women screamed. Men yelled. The captain shouted orders. The life boats were lowered, and there was a mad scramble of a terror-stricken mob for them. ' ' Women and children first ! Here, you lub- ber, get back there! Boat after boat was lowered. The crowd on deck seemed hardly to diminish, and the ship was sinking fast. Men, bellowed the captain over the roar of the sea, you ' ll have to take the life- belts and jump, and pray that you ' ll be picked up. This is the last boat, and there ' s still a dozen women left. God be with you! Margaret ran back and forth through the fighting mass of men. John! John! Oh, God help me to find him, she prayed. At last she saw him, and fighting her way to him, threw her arms about his neck. My dear, my dear, at last! she sobbed and fainted.