10THE MICHIGAN DAILY
STEARNS COLLECTION:
'U' Given Instrument Display
By LORA KRAPOHL
If all fifteen hundred musical
instruments in the display cases
of the Stearns collection in Hill
Aud. joined together in a concert
on Christmas Eve, University stu-
dents would hear the concert of
the centuries.
Wind instruments from all over
the world. one dating back to
about the time of Christ's birth
would make up one part of the
orchestra. Trumpets, trombones,
tubas, clarinets, flutes and fifes
are Just a few of the wide variety
of brass and woodwinds.
The University received this
collection from Frederick Stearns,
a Detroit pharmaceutical manu-
facturer, who after collecting the
instruments over a period of sev-
enteen years, presented the col-
lection to the University in 1898.
The Regents accepted the gift
in 1899
Made Additions
The initial donation consisted
of 1,358 instruments, but Stearns
continually added to the collec-
tion until his death in 1907.
One Roman bronze flute dates
back to about 40 B.C. There is the
El II
Ophicleide which has the head
of a widely yawning dragon
through which the music would
come.
Musin for the Ophicleide, the
forerunner of the present day
tuba, was written by Mendelssohn
in the score for Shakespeare's
"Midsummer Night's Dream."
Includes Drums
Primitive drums would make up
the percussionnsection. The old-
est drum shown is a hollowed out
log in which a stick is placed. The
drummer banged the stick against
the sides of the slot and produced
a loud primitive beat.
Perfectly tuned sleigh bells, 13
golden bells of different sizes, and
sculptured mass bells would chime
in with the music. A 17th century
spinet, a harpsichord made in
1702, and a clavichord all decor-
ated with intricate carvings would
tinkle softly in the background.
Rolling chords would come forth
under the gentle touch of the
2arpsts, for delicately carved Per-
sian, Burman and Irish harps are
a part of the Stearns collection.
String Section
String instruments ranging from
a. copy of a Stradivarus to a
small pocket violin which is about
a foot long and one-and-a-half
inches wide would provide a soar-
ing background in this Christmas1
concert.
Once a positive organ, made in
Germany during the 17th century
probably played part of an early
Christmas service written in a
medieval Catholic Missal on dis-
play.
The Chant Book is made of
heavy parchment and is about
three feet high and when opened
is about five feet wide.
Windy City's
Celebrations
Begin Early
BY JUDITH BLEIER
The Christmas spirit arrives full
force in the Windy City even be-
fore turkey is slaughtered for the
Thanksgiving table.
Evidence of the holiday season
crops up almost overnight as the
commercial world takes the lead
in welcoming Santa and his help-
ers. The Loop, or downtown area
of Chicago, becomes the primary
marketplace for the Christmas
shopper. The department store is
seen as a fairy wonderland to the
young child, an immense bazaar
of presents for everyone to his
mother, and a dent in the family
account to his father.
Outside, window-shoppers and
passers-by steam up the huge dis-
play windows as they watch the
animated elfs in Santa's workshop
and Rudolph leading the team of
reindeer through the starlit sky.
Within, not only Santa, but Mrs.
Claus as well, are present to greet
hundreds of wide-eyed children
per hour,
As one approaches the more
residential areas of the city in-
dications of the holidays persist.
Certain sections in the suburbs
as well as in the city proper are
famous for their house decora-
tions. Mazes of colored lights
sparkle from the trees while San-
ta and his sleigh or the Nativity
scene bedecks many a lawn.
The Museum of Science and In-
dustry displays exhibits of Christ-
imas in foreign lands and draws
crowds of both joung and old.
With the advent of the first
snowfall the busy pace of traffic
is slowed down. Husbands and fa-
thers leaving their offices down-
town are warned to drive home
cautiously on streets which may
be covered with a thin, slick layer
of ice. Many a city driver seem to
have momentarily lost the spirit
of the season as he complains
about "Winter Weather." But one
can not long escape the Christmas
atmosphere as he drives north and
looks up to see the tallest building
in Chicago, the Prudential Build-
ing, with its lights automatically
turned on in offices from the
ground floor to "The Top of the
Rock" to form an enormous cross.
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CHANUKAH CANDLES-University students take part in the candle lighting ceremony at Hillel
during Chanukah. The candles in the Menorrah or holder are lit from right to left.
Chanukah Celebrates Jews' Victory
11Z8
By RALPH KAPLAN
Chanukah, the Festival of Lights,
is the only important Jewish fes-r
tival not mentioned in the Bible.
Celebrated for eight days, be-
ginning on the twenty-fifth of
Kislev (December), it commemo-f
rates the victory of Judah the
Macabee and his followers over
the forces of the Syrian king, An-t
tiochus IV, and their rededication
of the temple in Jerusalem in 165
B. C.
The historical basis of Chanu-
kah begins with the death of Alex-
ander the Great in 323 B.C. and3
the division of his empire amongj
his generals. As a result of that
division Palestine remained a bone
of contention between the king-
doms of Syria in the north and
Egypt in the south.
Conquered by Antiochus '
It was finally conquered by the
Syrian monarch Antiochus in 198
B. C.
Antiochus was angered by the
Jews in his newly conquered land
because they maintained a culture
and way of life distinct from that
of their conquerors.
His first move was to depose the
Jews' high priest, Onias, and to
replace him with his brother, Josh-
ua, who was more sympathetic
to Greece. Joshua immediately
changed his name to Jason and be-
gan his program to spread Greek
culture in Palestine.
Creates New Church
In 169 B.C. matters came to a
head. Antiochus decided to estab-
lish a state church whose god
would be the Greek god Zeus. He
also issued a decree prohibiting, on
pain of death, any expression of
Jewishness and ordered temple
services to be adapted to the new
national religion.
When the Greek officers went to
the small town of Modin to en-
force the new laws they met their
first resistance from an aged Jew-
ish priest, Mattathias.
After the death of Mattathias,
the Jews united under his third
son, Judah, surnamed the Maca-
bee; ,and after several small vic-
tories the partisans eventually
stormed the temple hill, took the
garrison, cleansed the Temple and
re-established the traditional serv-
ices.
Macabees Celebrate
The Maccabees celebrated their
triumph with. an eight-day festi-
val, and with the consent of the
ecclesiastical' authorities ordered
that it be perpetuated in Palestine
as the Feast of Dedication.
Traditionally, the central theme
of Chanukah is believed to be the
victory of Jewish over Greek val-
ues. Chanukah also commemorates
and celebrates the first serious at-
tempt in history to proclaim and
champion the principle of religio-
cultural diversity in the nation.
The religious ceremony attached
to the observance of Chanukah is
the kindling of the lights each
eveningdat sundown. The usual
practice is to start with one light
and to increase the number by one
on each successive evening, the
flames being lit from right to left,
as dictated by Hebrew writings.
Holder is Menorrah
The candle which is used for the
actual kindling is called the sham-
mas and the candle holder is
named the Menorrah.
To fulfill the commandment not
to use the lamps for mere "func-
tional" purposes, it is customary
to pass the time while they are
burning in spinning small tops,
called dredels.
Like the other Jewish holidays
of Purim and Passover Chanukah
is regarded as the commemoration
of a miracle. But, unlike the other
two events, the miracle is be-
lieved to be man-made.
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