Room H1.

During the past year, Catholics a ll ovelJ th e world pa id special homage to Ma ry . Under t h direction of Hi s Holiness, Pope Pius XII, the Chu ch militant seized this timely opportunity to lay a t ¥ary's feet, the fruits of its love a nd gratitude. We see r ecorded th e ma n y m asses, pilgrimages, conferen ces, a nd novenas celebrated in praise of our Immacula te Mother. Looking a head, we a nticipate a deepe nin g of these devotions, for growth in Marian kn , wledge a nd love is not to be confin ed to one particu r year.

This month we share in Mary's greatest joy, th e N a tivity. The world is arraying itself f r th e com­memoration of the greatest event in th his tory of man, the Incarnation through Ma r y, Q Universe.

F ew people sent felicitations to Mary ,on th e birth of her Son. Ma ny regretted they had "no room." The testaments of homage offered to Mary nd her Son d uring the Marian year, from t h e m asterly en cycli cal, "Fulgens Corona," down to the humble t expression of love li sped by tiny tots in Sunday sc 001, indicate that man is "making room" for his Cr a tor and his Mother.

May the fruits of the Marian year Ie eviden t in Christocentric Christmas observances, in the relig ious tone of the greeti ng cards we send{ in the love with which we swing wide the doors f our h earts at "Christ's mass" a nd invite Mary and her Child to e nter in.

Vol. 6, No.3 Emmanuel College, Boston, Mass. Dece~nber 16, 1954

SANTA'S HELPER, Pat Minehane, '56, places two fascinated youngsters on Santa's knee in plenty of time to place their Christmas orders.

Santa~s Helper Explains Duties Locates St. Nicl{.~s Siraws

by PCLt MinehcLne Don't complain about your la t e hours a t t he post-office this Christmas.

Stop worrying about the fussy women you must placate over the handbag counter. Think of me, perching eager (and heavy!) youngsters on Santa Claus' spacious lap in "Santaland" at Grover Cronin, Inc., in Waltham. My job also entails sympathizing with weary mothers, removing a nd putting on babies' snowsuits, and locating straws through which Santa can sip water without his beard ad hesive giving way. B '!ing one of Santa's helpers is not so glamorous as it first appears.

P atience-tried parents, waiting wearily in the lon g line inching up to Sa nta, sigh happily at this t emporary godsend who cautions their

Committee Drafts Novel Mardi Gras

"Students, looking a head to Feb­ruary, will find something new on the Emmanuel social calendar, a fun-packed Mardi Gras weekend," says Student Government Presi­dent, Alice Fellows.

The festiviti es will open with a ball, under th e chairmanship of Barbara Mahoney, on Friday, F eb. 11, at the Hotel Somerset. Heading other committees a r e Grace Nutta ll , orchestra; Nancy Breen, publicity; Anne Lynes, tickets and invitations; a nd Beverly K erri gan, decorations.

Secret pla ns are still being made by Anne McMorrow for a surprise event to take place here on Satur- ­day evening. The weekend finale will be the Dramatic Society's presenta tion of the "The Admirable Grichton" on Sunday afternoon, at 3 p.m.

rambun cious offspring, "Now you be good and h elp Mommy around the house so Santy can remember you for Christmas."

Most children visualize Santa Claus as the donor of fire engines and B etsy-Wetsy dolls. The six blind children 'from P erkins Insti­tute, Watertown, who elase(l their way up to talk with Santa Claus last Saturday had to be content with a mental vision of the old gent.

Their joy at wiggling onto his la p, a lthough no less than that of the other ch ildren , was different. Their sensitive fingers felt their way over his chubby face a nd through his wiry white beard, as they cha ttered to Santa about the trucks and doll houses on their Christmas lists.

The tinie5t youngsters in the crowd evidence sparkling eyes and

(Contin ued on page 3)

BPL Exhibits Marian Art

As a lastin g tribute to Mary, th e J3o:ton Publi c Library is presenting [1 Marian Year Art Exhibi t Dec. 1-21.

Art masterpieces include a series of p3in t ings of t he Christmas story emphasizin g the eternal nature of Christmas as Chey a re shown agll in :;t a city of Boston back­ground.

Incidents in th e life of Mar y in bas-reli ef wood carv in gs depict th e Annun cia tio n, the Na tivity a nd th e Fli ght into E gyp t. These pa nels were carved by Knute Svendsen of Boston.

An unusual exhibition is th e col­ored cartoon collection from which sta ined glass windows have been made and placed in churches through.out the country. These car­toons were design ed by the m em­bers of the Charles J. Connick Association of Boston, designers of ~ tained gla ss. One beautiful car­toon shows the Rose Window of the Boston University Chapel.

The Fre nch influen ce is depicted in La. Madonne de la Blanche Erpie et Autres Contes from the illustra­t ions desi gned by Josette Boland. These simple a nd colorful illustra­tions show the Nativity, the Flight of the Three Kings, Virgin and Child a nd Our Lady at Twilight in a Fiel<1.

Class Names Nine Fur '55 Who'.~ Who

By a vote of members of th e senior class nine seniors will be included in the 1954-55 edition of "Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges a nd Universi­ties."

Chosen to represent Emma nuel are: Alice F ellows, Loeman H ayden, Rosema ry Donohue, P a tricia Mur­phy, Jea n Bresnahan, Mildred Cor­coran , Margaret Murphy, Ann Marie Kelley and J a ne Carolan.

Selection is made on the basis of "scholarship, parti cipation and leadership in a cadenlic and extra curricular activ ities, ci tizenship and service to th e school, and promise of future usefulness."

Certificates of recog nit ion will be presented to "WhO'S Who" repre­sentat ives by Sister Angela Eliza­beth, dean, at an assembly early in February.

HEROIC STEWARDESS Mary McEttrick, Emmanuel '53, recovers at Carney Hospital after 45 hour ordeal following the DC3 792 crash on Bald Cap Mt., east of Berlin, New Hampshire.

Crash Chills Air Heroine Jol~ing Lightens Tension

by Mary McEttrick - as told to P eggy Kc£vclJltagh, '56

"Gee, I hate to be dull copy but actually I didn't feel the plane goi ng down. The first t hing I wa s aware of was a form standing over m e h elping m e up from the floor. Al­thoug h the idea 'we've crash ed, this is actu ally h a ppenin g to m e' seemed unreal, th e c ircumstances were all too real. I ha d enoug h presence of mind to know tha t this was no dream.

"The first few hours went by swiftly. W e crashed about 11 a .m. a nd by the time 4 p.m came, it seemed like only fifteen minutes h ad ela psed.

"But the night seemed intermin­ably long. '['he fi)'st night the cap­tain talked about the possible lo­cation of th.e plane. I kidded quite a bit to lighten the atmosphere. I looked at my Emannuel ring and thought, 'Emmanuel, God with us.' Yes, He sUI'ely was.

"Sometimes I wondered what Sis-ter Mar y of t he Immaculate Con­cept ion would say if she kn ew I was stuck on top of a mountain. Of course I said prayers in termittently, but not co ntinually. The excessive cold proved too much of a distrac­tion for prolonged prayers.

Heavenly Cotillion Stars Marshard

Cha irman Pat Murphy, '55, promi­ses no "Strangers in Paradise" when t he ma in ballroom of t he Hotel Statler takes on a celes ti a l a ir Dec. 27, for t h e annual Christma s dance. The Cotillion , Emmanuel's major winter formal, will be sponsored by the Student Government Associ a­tion.

Dancing will be from 9-1 to th e smooth strains of Marsha rd's Music. A waltz contest to determin e th e

Patricia Murphy

"glidingest" couple will be the feature attrac tion.

Chairmen and members of the various committes are: Orchestra­Jea n Bresnahan, Rosemary Dono­hue, Loema n Hayden, Jane Carolan; Tickets and Invitations- Anne Mc­Morrow, Anne Kelley, Barbara Ma honey, Anne O'Connor; Decora­tions- N a ncy Breen, Joan O'Connell, Joan Sprague, Grace Nuttall; Pub­liCity- Doris Kenney, Martha Collins, Claire Murphy, Mary Lou Mahoney, Anne Lynes, Beve rly K e rrigan.

"Wh en we thought of walking to t he a irport I wondered if I would m ake it. Not only wa s it biting cold but ever yone was weak from lack of food . If Emma nuel girls want a slimm in g die t, let them try four cook ies and one-fourth cup of tepid tea for two days.

"We coulcl hear a DC-3 warm up and take off from the Berlin air­fie ld, but we heard only a few planes fly overhead. We could see no planes because of the fog. While we were thinking no one cared about us the airiines had every available plane searChing for us. ThUI'sday morn­ing around 8:30 we h eard a plane and looked out. When it circled and blinked landing lights, we knew we had ben sighted. The airplane looked wonderful, almost beyond expression.

"Riding back to Logan I doubted I 'd fly a gain but the next day came a letter from F ather Doyle, myoId theology prof, written before the accide nt. When I read, 'Anyone who is afr a id to fly doubts God's Provi­dence. Bishop Shee n call s flying like traveling w ith the a n gels,' then I m ade up m y mind.

"Certainly I'll f:Iy aga in. "I'm grateful to all the sisters,

teachers, a nd students who prayed for m y safe t y. I'll be over to Em­m a nuel soon to thank ever yone per­sonally."

Seniors Prepare January Ski Trip

Sun Valley Inn, North Conway, New H ampshire will be t h e site for the Senior Ski Trip, Janua ry 28-30, according to Alice Wadden, chair­ma n.

Seniors will embark Friday after­noon by train, buses, and cars, with thoughts of the skiing, skating, and tobogganing parties planned by committee m embers Ann Drennan, P eggy Lagasse, Mary Pustorino, Ma ureen Kennedy, Terry Endyke, Marie Sullivan, Ann e Marie Sulliva n.

The fee of $10 includes two meals a day a nd lodging.

~~~~~~~

Epilogue Request In its pre-Christmas appeal the

business staff of the EPILOGUE ::Jsl[s students, especially seniors, to contact patrons for subscrip­tions. Joan Mahoney, business manager, stated last week that $2,000 must be raised before the EPILOGUE goes to IJress.

Students are urged to solicit from business men as well as friends. Advertisement slips and patron letters may be obtained from the EPILOGUE office, third floor, or from business staff mem­bers Eleanor Hinchey, Marie Deignan and Alice Wadden.

Gadfly Comes Again Continues Criticism

Editor's note : As h e promised, our new staff m em­

ber is back criti c izin g and viewing us with dismay.

After a . thoroughly exasper a ting three weeks, our

research m a nager ha s finally unearthed his identity

a nd even obtained a h a ndsome portrait.

dear m f if this isnt the dustiest college ive ever had the misfortune to choose for a domicile

i guess you people really need a home economics course here period could i oblige question mark

many things greatly disturb me miss feloney period that building called quote marian hall unquote is so small and unimpressive but those men seem proud of it

at last i hear a stamp machine is in the offing period my correspondence will 'undoubtedly improve now i think my initial epistle will be to the glee club period i heard them recently at symphony hall period i found them quote high and mighty unquote

i heaT your court is issuing parking tickets peTiod tell me what is illegal parking question mark

by the way m.f when do i get my invitation to that christmas cotillion eveTyone is talking about do i need a date question mark i hope not peTiod funds are low peTiod

you know deaT editoT my ancesters knew just about everylhing but they didnt know about christmas but i guess fTom all the excitement i see around here comma its a pTetty good idea and as they are all saying colon merTY chTistmas m f and good luck in the exams period '

sincerely comma

gadf.ly

Poinsettias to the Dean for the excellent assembly speakers who have kept us informed on international, philosophical, cul­tural, and collegiate topics.

Dr. Charles de Koninck of Laval University, in his discussion of Fortune, made philosophy live with his tales of Socrates.

On the international level, Mr. Raymond Miller of the U.N. Food and Agricultural Division, spoke on the future of Europe in an atomic age.

In the collegiate field, Msgr. Edward Murray, regional moder­ator of NFCCS, and T. Paul Tremont, New England president of NFCCS, spoke on the spiritual and practical benefits of the organ­ization.

Father Herbert A. de Souza, S.J., explained the disparities between East and West. He declared that Westerners tend to forget the tremendous cultural background of India.

These assemblies have be€'n both informative and entertain­ing. We eagerly await the schedule for second semester.

TRIBUTES TO MARY-Sister Clare Francis, librarian, and Miss Mary Clark, assistant librarian, arrange display of literature in observance of the Marian year.

Library Displays Books, Art In Final Marian Year Tribute

The college library observed, Dec. 5-10, the close of the Marian year with a n attractive display of books and pictures arran ged by Sister Cl r e F rancis, librarian, a nd her as­s istant, Miss Mary Clark.

Highlighting the exhibi t were sev­eral new additions to the library'S Mariology collection. Our Lady S1Jeaks, by P er e Leo n Bonnet, treats the si g­nificance of the varied titles in her lita ny. William J. Doheny, C.S.C. and Joseph P. Kelley, S.T.D., in Pa.1)al DoculIl ent on Ma.ry offer a n histCTic pa norama of defi nitive Maria n dog­m as. Th e Story of th e ROSM)', by J . G.

Shaw, has been designed to increase devotion t o the rosar y by a n exposi­tion of t he development of the prac­ti ce.

Beth :Vl a r )' a.nd J f o e/ern ft{(lfl. b y

Thtl ffl uS J. M . Burke, S. J. , a nd l\Jary ill 0111' Life by William G. Most, stress Mary's role in r ed irectin g civiliza­tion's values. A scholarly exegesis of

I Ma r y's f un ctions a nd privileges as I the Mother of God is MCllY in Doc·

t'rille, written by the well-known doc­tor of Mariology, Very Reverend Emil N eubert, S.M.

Truly, her e is liter a ture worthy of the name Ma riology.

----Disc Doings ------------------- - - - From the Editor's desk ---

Jazz Devotees Primp Dynamic Onslaught by Pat Minehane

With an ever-growing arm of influence jazz is snatching enthusiasts from all walks . The Sauter-Finegan team h as joined the Chicago Symphony in pushing an LP diSC, "Concerto For Jazzband and Symphony Orchestra," to be released by

.- ... --.. --.. --.. ---.. --~.--.. --.. ---..~.--.. --.. --. The Emmanuel Focus

Thul's(lay, December 16, 1954

PRESS

1953 All-American 1954 Published monthly during the college

year , with the exce ption of vacation a nd examination weeks, by the students of Emmanuel College, Boston 15, Mass.

Subscription $2.00 per year ---.. --.. ... -. ... --. .,--.. --.. --... --.. .. --. .. --.. -... .. --.. --.. .. --.

RCA Victor in February. Their record rival, Columbia, reports that Dave Bru-beck's "Jazz Goes to College" album is out-selling even the dimpled E flats of Liberace.

With these two aces up their sleeves, jazz fa ns can sni cker a littl e a t Victor, now primping a n album titled "Jazz for People Who Hate Jazz" (shades of Roger Price!) featurin g the talents of Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw a nd Sauter-Finegan . Devotees will delight in

a forthcoming LP disc of a taped jam

session done by a group of Woody H erm an

sidemen in the days of jazz infa n cy, 1946.

One gem this month from the

now-they've-done-everything department:

"Stardust," commercialized in m a mbo beat

by Richa rd Maltby's orchestra.

Editor's note: In a nswer to the letter received from Ruth Kenney, '55, regard­ing the seniors' Ca p and Gown Day song, written by Joa n O'Sulliva n and N a n cy Sheehan, we publish it in r ecog nition of their time, effort, a nd t a lent.

I

H eTe on the threshold of old and new,

Hands joined forever in fTiendship t1'ue,

L ip vainly wish for the w01'ds to tell

All that OUT hearts f eel faT Em­manuel. ,

H ere is the promise we pledge to d~ee,

To hold thy teachings eteTnaZZy, H ere is the prayeT that OUT dTeams

f l!JTetell, God with us always, our Emman­

uel.

"Tea will be served in the lounge." How many t imes have we heard it and how many times have we found ourselves sta ring not into the rich warm­ness of an invit ing cup of tea, but ever a nd ano n into that expensive, a roma tic liquid called coffee? And how humiliat in g it was recently when the newspaper of a brother college, mentioning the recent Focus dance, a dded by way of a p.s. "No tea - sorry." This could h ave been catastrophic.

To make ma tters even worse, it seems that we have tha t sly impostor, punch, a t our a nnual Frosh T ea Dance. Now this is serious, the reputa tions of all incoming freshmen are at stake here. What could be more honest, advantageous and novel than to introduce tea at the Freshma n Tea Dance?

We of the Focus staff challen ge any brave uninhi­bited club on campus to serve tea after their meetings. The time has come when Chinese tea leaves and English tradition must be avenged. Enough of coffee, punch, and all sundry artificial stumulants. Tea bags, tea leaves, it makes no difference - but tea we must have.

---Browsing through Boston.---

Theatre Lights Glow

For Odets~ Espanols with Mary Feloney

Weath er r eporters claim that Boston is in for a cold, snowy winter, one that will provide "just the night for the theatre." But, according to this month's browser, a ny night is theatre night. * Clifford Odets goes back to the Bible for the theme of his new play, "The Flowering Peach," now nearin g the end of its two week engagement at the Colonial. In this, his first play since "The Country Girl," h e tells with warmth and humor the story of Noah and his fa mily threatened by the flood. * Monday, th e Schubert welcomed the Ballet Espanols, a Spanish dance company. Besides a host of accomplished dancers, the troupe features singing comedi enne, Mario Vivo, and the famous Gypsy s in ger , EI Nino de Almaden. * "Plain and F1ancy" opens for two weeks at the Shubert, Dec. 20. This new musical comedy is about two sophisticated N ew Yorkers who get mixed up in a real esta te deal in the Amish (Pennsylva nia Dutch) country. Musi c a nd lyrics are by Albert H ague and Arnold B. Horwitt. * Toe Christmas holiday attractio n at the Beacon H ill Theatre, star tin g Dec. 23, is "Romeo and Juliet," w inner of t he gra nd prize award of this year's Venice Film Festival. Filmed in color, it stars L aurence Harvey a nd Susan Shentall.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas rroo Expensive? Pins Solve Gift Problems

Make pins the motif for your Christma s giving a nd living this year. Wheth er of the bobby, clothes, or safe ty variety, a ll h ave a definite contribution to make.

Use bent bobby pins to hold glittering balls on a tree which you have hung with shining safety pin cha ins. You don't have a fireplace? Use clothes pins to h a ng th e stockings on the tree.

That's fine for decorating, you say, but how can you g ive pins to people? E a sy - paint a bobby pin gold and give it as a money clip. Current fashion demands collar pins. What could be more chic and have more Simple elegan ce than a safety pin ?

As for clothes pins, mothers will find innumerable uses for them: to hold blankets in a crib, to keep childre n'S rubbers in pa irs, and mimble dictu, to hang clothes!

Want to have distinctive gift wrappings? Pins are the a nswer. Spell out festive greetings on the packages with bobby pins painted red and green. If you have a la r ge package to tie, and several pieces of ribbon too short to do the trick, just pin them together for an orig inal effect. Use clothes pins dressed as Santa for decora ting gifts or as favors at parties.

One fina l bit of a dvice - if you are tired of hinting about Christmas presents, just write little notes and pin them on people's clothes.

Gobel's Gags Amuse Fans

by J oan Mailloux

B etwee n 3 a n d 5 on t h e d ial W h en t h e acts are b egin ning to

sou r Com es a pause in t h e ni gh t's

recreation T hat is k nown a s t he Gobel

hour. T V's newest sen sation comes to

Sa tur day nigh t v iewers in t he b rief form of soft-spoken m onolog ist, George L . Gobel. The 'L' h e informs u s is for t he benefit of h is la undry­so tha t h is belongings won't get mixed up wi th Greta Ga rbo's.

The su ccess of the thirty-four­year-old comedian h as been phe­nomenal, a stounding everyone, in­cluding himself. On his firs t show h e sa id calmly, "I'm ver y glad to be back. I was h er e yest erday for the r eh ear sal . . . Oh! My name is George Gobel." Later h e annota t ed , "We'r e about to st art the Geor ge Gobel sh ow of which I am a partic­ipant in as the star of ."

Gobel's r ise in popularity is at­tributed to his uniq ue deliverance. In a word, h e 'di gr esses.' Gobel is master of t he unexpected twist to t h e average sen tence. H e m assacres th e Engli sh la ng uage by su ch phrases as "You ca n ' t hardly get t h em no m ore."

T hen in a com pletely di ffere n t vein h e says to an unwant ed in­terior decorator in alli te ra tive gran deur, "I didn' t inv it e yo u here to wr eak havoc in m y humble hovel."

In t his day of fast-ris ing and quick-lialling commedians, it's any­body's g uess as to how long this innova tor will last. But while h e lasts and t he nation appla uds the slow w it of Geo rge Gobel, t h e re w ill be many la ughs for the public aml sa t isfied sponsors for NBC.

I kn ow t hat. You know tha t . Everybody knows t h a t . Su r-r e you do.

W orl{~ Initiative~ E xper ience Vital to Personnel Director

by Sheila Cc£rroll "The satisfac t ion of helping people fi n d t he r igh t job for t h eir t a len ts

is one of th e ma in g ratificat ions of pe rsonnel work," expla ined Mrs. P a tricia McDermott McCloud , perso nn el co nSUltan t a t Jorda n Ma rsh, Boston. "The perso nnel consul tan t ," she con t inued , "must be able to assist employees w ho a r e unha ppy in t h e ir jobs eit her by placing them in other positions or by r e medying t he cause of the ir u nha ppiness. Both of t hese t asks r equire psychology a nd j ust pla in common se nse."

Students AsI{

For Odd Gifts As E mma nueli te s struggle across

campus, overtired a n d un der-rested, t h e one q u estion tha t bring s li g h t to t ir ed eyes, t ha t stra ig h ten s sag­g ing shoulders, a nd pu ts a g low in sa d faces is "What would you l ike for Chr istm as ?"

Ma rilyn Dohe rty, '55- A solid gold Ca d illac !

Ruth H ession , '5 All I wan t is a doodli e-bug.

Virginia F orb es, '57- An atom bomb set so I 'll be t h e first one on my block to r ule t h e world.

Tere~'lt E ndyke, '55-Eight feet of snow so t he tra in s ca n't go.

Mercedes Ing lenooke, '56- A note­book w ith buil t -in t erm pa pe r s.

Cathe r ine Geog ha n , '55-The abo­Ii tion of all m icroscopes !

Rut h L a lly, '55-An eskimo, so I'll have t he consola t ion of k n owi ng t ha t th e re is a nothe r blubberi n g in­d ivid ua l in t he world .

F ra n Wells, '56-An eig h t-d ay week - t wo Sa t u rday n ig h ts!

Nancy Breen , '56-A bou nd vol­ume of Pogo !

Ma rtha Leona rd, '57- An elig ible bachelor.

"The tra ining a nd experi e nce t hat m ust be ga ined for such a job is ex­ten sive," Mrs. McCCloud revealed. Al t houg h she m a jored in sociology, a fter g ra duat ing f rom E mmanuel in '51, she deci ded not to con ti nue her stud ies in g radua te school.

"But I soon found out tha t t he inter v iewing I h ad done in sociol­ogy courses w as not enoug h. The reply w as usually, 'Sorry, bu t you ha ve no experie nce.'

" I ha d sta rted n~y search in t h e industr ial fi eld - t he most difficult one to brea k in to. F ortunately, how­ever, one of t he m en w ho h ad inter­v iewed m e r ecommended m e for a pos ition a t Jorda n 's as a h iri ng assista n t. My car ee r b egan .

"La ter I becam e counsellor a nd concerned m yself m ostly with h elp­ing our e m ployees a djust t h em­selves. N ow, as personnel consultant, I take car e of most of the decisions t hat have to be made, and execu te pla ns of t he counsellors.

"The young w om a n w ho w ants to enter t hi s fi eld should take as many psychology a nd logic courses as poss ible. If she can, she should tak e a post-g r adua te course in personnel ma nagemen t . When she get s a posi­tion, she must r emember th at ini tia­tive a nd personal industry a r e m ost importa nt asse ts."

Council t o Revise Point System Plan

Chr istmas Tree Descendent Of Medieval P ageallt ~Prop'

by R ev . Frcmcis X. W eiser, S .J.

Poi n t system or gan ization was the topi c of mos t inte r es t to r::;mllla ll uel d legates a tte n ding th e Hew Engla n d regional m eeti ng of the N a t iona l Studen t Associa tion a t t he Universi ty of Bridgeport, Dec. 4. Sophomore, jun ior, a nd senior dele­gates Irma Crocetti, Ma ry J eanne Collin s, a nd J ean B r esna ha n were presen t at the confe r en ce.

W ha t is t he orig in of t h e Chr istmas tree? Books and magazines g ive many diverse a n sw ers to the q uestion . Some of t hem do not even pretend to give a factual expla na tion but r esort t o charm in g fai r y tales or legends in tracing its origin.

An "h istorical" expla na tion w hich is g ive n in most accounts traces t he ori gin of t he Chr istmas tree from the a nci ent pre-Christi a n custom, common am ong Germani c na tio ns, of putting up little trees called "Yule" trees in homes or fi elds a t t he time of t he winter solstice. Today th is p r actice is s t ill observed in sections of Cen tra l E urope w h ere Yule trees a r e seen a t Christm as t ime, side by s ide with ou r moder n Christmas tree. To E uropean s the differ ence between t he two is obviou s (Yule trees h ave n o ligh ts, no apples, no glass balls, n o connection with Chris t ia n sym bolism), bu t most Am erica n s seek a det a iled proof of h ow, w here, when and why the m odern Christmas tree developed f rom the a ncient Yule tree.

This expla n a t ion h a s n ever been g iven. In fact , it cannot be g ive n, for t he Ch ristm as tree has no d ir ect connection with th e Yule tree. The Chr is t ma s tree is totally Christia n in origin ; its true a n cestor is no t th e Yule tree, bu t th e "Paradise t r ee" of t he m edieval m ystery p lays.

on December 24 in m emory of ou r first pa r en ts, Ada m a nd Eve. At th e sa m e t im e, t he people set up the a ncient Christmas light, a la r ge candle r epresen t in g Ch r ist a s the "Li ght of the world ." In Germa ny t hey placed t his can dle on a pyr a m id-shaped woode n sta n d deco­r a ted with glass ba lls, tin sel, and holly t wi gs.

E ventua lly, in the sixteenth cen­t ury in Wester n Ge rma ny, the two zym bols w er e combined into one.

Th u s prig inated our moder n Chris tmas tree w ith a ll its fa milia r trad it iona l features.

Experimental work on the point system w ill be done a t Skidmore College in N ew York. Delegates a t th e confe r en ce agr eed that t he p ur­pose of th e poin t sys te m is to pro­vide fo r academic democr acy in t h e d istri bution of extra-curricula r acti­v iti e::;, a nd to m a ke stude n ts a wa r e of t he r esponsibility accompa nyin g participa tion in school activit ies.

At t he presen t time, Emm a nuel 's Stu dent Council is r e-eva lua t ing its point syste m in order to bri ng it up to da t e a n d m a ke it function more effectively.

(Continued f rom page 1)

Santa's Helper glib tong ues right up to the mom­e n t of m eeting. B ut upon approach­ing Santa's bulk, t h ey see only a mountainous r ed form from which they must see k r efuge in clutch ing mothe r's skirt.

P erha ps t he happi est fe eling all of us had in Santaland on e day last week came from a tiny brun­ette, age five, w h o instructed Sa n ta Cla us solemnly in t he fact t ha t she k new who he l' a lly was, "On Ch ri stmas morning you 'r e really t he ba by J esus."

One of t he most popula r "mys­t eries" performed in churches was t h e P a r a d ise play, r epresenti ng t he crea t ion of m a n, t he sin of Ada m a nd E ve, a n d t he ir expulsion from P a r a dise. It closed with t he promise of Christ's incarna t ion. T h is m ade t he P a radise p lay a favorite pageant for Adven t, a n d its la st scene used to lead directly into the story of Bethlehem.

In the fourtee n t h cen t ury, when Church a u t horiti es s uppressed mys­tery plays, in Germa ny the custom developed of t aking the "P a r adise t r ee" in to the h orne, since it could no longer be see n in t h e church. T h e tree beca m e a symbol of t h e whole story of t h e P a r adise p lay.

Favorite o f the College Group

P eople a n nually se t up the apple­ladp.n P a r adi se tree in the ir homes

HAL DONEHEY'S ORCHESTRA 61 Reser voir Stree t Tel. KI 7-433 7

Cambridge, Mass.

L

MAGICAL

MUSICIAN,

ther eminist

H . Whipple

Abbott calls

his concerts

"Music in

t he Air", h e

plays with-

out touching

instrument.

Music of Rare Theremin Duplicates Human Voice

by K athryn NI. Fc£irbctnks Lit tle short of incred ible is a n electronic m u sical instrument called t h e

t her emin. The soulful v ib ra nce of its tone is sta rtin gly like the human voice, yet th e t her emin employs no w ind, str ings, or m ovi ng parts. The a rtist's h and s do not even touch t he t he remin w hile playing it!

Black magic? No, mode r n magic! R adi o waves a r e broa dcast from the t her e m in's two aerials; m eeti ng t he ha nds of t h e player , these impulses a r e r e flect ed to t he aeria ls aga in and are h ea rd as sound.

Squirrel Food Pleases Four

by Bar bara Derby The D erby fa mily must ha ve a

good r a tin g wi t h t he squir r el s' D uncan Hines ! For over a year we 've been ser vi ng lunch in our backya rd to a ll comers.

T r a nsien t di ners come a nd go, bu t fo ur sq uirrels have been steady customers. Hubert, lookin g l ike a cartoonist's idea of a bloa t ed cap i­ta li st, is by fa r t he boldest. Da ily he has led hi s t h ree fri e nds in to d ine: J ack , of t he buck t eeth a nd r a k ish grin, a nd the Jo nes boys, identical twi n s, who ca n ' t even tell them selves apart.

Wa n t Se r vice W hile J ack a nd the J ones boys

wa it in t h e yard, Hubert jumps on to th e back porch a nd k nocks im peri­ously on t h e dc'Or. T hi s m eans dinner m ust be served a t once!

T hey have definite tastes, t hese panha n dlers. T hey tolerate pla in bread, det est r a isin bread (they eat a round th e r a isins), a nd w ave t he ir ta ils in appla u se for peanut bu tter sandwiches.

Busy Season T hese h appy t imes a r e no more!

N ot only h ave ou r sta r boa rders d isappear ed, bu t eve n ou r tou ri st trade h as falle n off. F a ll, you see, is a sq uirrel 's busy season ; he must salt a way e noug h n u ts to carry h is family t h rough the w int er .

Any day n ow w e h ope t he four m u ske t eers, a li t tle t hinn e r, per ­ha ps, w ill r eappear to w ish us a Merry Ch ristma s a n d again accept gr aciously ou r hospitali ty.

KEnmore 6-5010

Thursday, D ece mbe r 16, 1954

Pi t ch, t em po, a nd vibnato a re con­t rolled by t he ri g h t h a nd ; volume a nd su sta ining by t he lef t . The closer t he ri g h t hand t o t h e upright aer ia l, t h e h igh er t h e p itch . The

th er emi n is capa ble of deep, m a scu­line bass ton es, a s well as b rillia n t, ether eal trebles.

Invented in 1929 by Leon There­m in, the "Thomas Edison of Ru ssia," the the rem in is so difficult to p lay t h a t it discourages m ass production. Today, fou r m en in t h is country can pla y it. One of these artists is H. Whipple Abbott of Brookline

who gave an unforgettable the remin concer t r ecently at the Woo(lburne V/oma n 's Club in F orest Hills.

"Th natura l sound of the instru­m ent is fl at a nd hor nlike," Mr. Abbott expla in ed . "The a rtis t molds t hi s tone in to a n exq ui site 'voice ' by consta nt v ibra tion of the right ha nd as it moves in the a ir a bove t h e set."

Un fortunately, many people today h ear t he t h e remin only as sound­e ffect::; fo r "g hostly noises" on radio :lnd TV. Mr. Abbott believes it was des igned fo r bet ter things. It gives classica l and semi-classical music a r!ew b a ut y. Schuber t's AVE MARIA shimme rs w it h an almost unearthly ra diance w hen played on this ·n strument.

"Our a im," sta t ed H. Whipple Ab­bott, "is to make the ther emin k nown a nd loved as a n instrume nt ca pa ble of ver y beau tiful m usic.

BENZIGER BROTI-I ERS,

INC.

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