Volume IV
Number 29
THE STATE
A Weekly Survey of North Carolina
December 19
1936
Knurnl n. >rcODd<U» malifr, Jun« I. 1933, at lh* I’oitoflltt at Kah'iijb. North Carolina, umlir tfco Art ol Uarrh 3.
1Й70
Old Christmas at Rodanthe
FORTUNATE iiiilccd are llic* children who
live there, because they have two Christ¬
mases — one next week and the other in the
early part of January.
tty CATHERINE II. MEEKINS
I lOl! SANDS of children in nil
parts of l lie world will soon real¬
ize the day to them the happiest
of the year. Santa Claus will visit
them and fill their stockings with the
things of which they have dreamed
for so long. The gifts of which they
have talked for many months and which
they so keenly desire will at last be
theirs. Happy memories will remain
with them for years to come, because
of some particular thing which will
rejoice their hearts.
Doubly happy, then, will the chil¬
dren of Rodanthe be. For in this little
fishing village on the North Carolina
coast, Santa Claus will come twice
within two weeks, as has been the cus¬
tom for many years. The 25th of De¬
cember will be celebrated thero as
Christmas, and on the fifth of January,
twelve days later, 01<i Christmas will
lie observed.
The Nature of Old Christmas
Old Christmas, known sometimes as
I.ittlc Christmas, Twelfth Day, or
Epiphany, is a celebration taking place
on the twelfth day after Christmas,
counting Christmas as the first day, and
here, as in old England, marks the end
of the Christmas holidays. So far as
can bo ascertained, Rodanthe is the only
place in North Carolina where the cus¬
tom of celebrating Old Christmas is
continued, and this is traditional with
the inhabitants there, the custom hav¬
ing been handed down from English
ancestors who settled years ago on that
lonely strip of shore.
At Rodanthe, a tiny village of gleam¬
ing white houses on the south banks of
STREET SCENE
By MOZELLE BEAM
It happened on a recent after¬
noon on Main Street in our own
home town.
Two little tikes, neither of
whom was much bigger than a
piece of laundry soap after a
huge washing, on their way to
Santa-Claus-land in a nearby
store, paused beside a crippled
man seated on the sidewalk, ped¬
dling his pencils.
For a short space, the larger
little fellow silently and thought¬
fully studied the cripple. Then,
without a word, he dropped a
penny — a precious penny from
his carefully hoarded store of
coins intended for Christmas
gift buying — into the man’s ex¬
tended tin cup.
Then he turned to his smaller
brother and whispered earnestly
for a spell.
The little chap listened grave¬
ly. Solemnly, he, too, produced
a penny from his own wee
pocket. Without hesitation, he
wistfully dropped the coin into
the yawning cup. He had eag¬
erly planned to spend that pen¬
ny for a luscious candy bar. It
went, instead, to help the beg-
garman.
And the little tikes continued
joyously on their way.
Again, “one of the least of
these (my people),” had been
ministered unto.
Dare County, with its citizenry of up¬
right. intelligent fisherfolk. tlm old
English custom of celebrating the end
of the Christmas season on this date
continues today as it has for
generations.
The children hang up their stockings
on the 2-lth of December and again on
the 4th of January, and Santa Claus
is generous enough in that community
to visit them both times. The custom
of exchanging gifts among the grown¬
ups is also observed on both dates.
Two Neighborhoods
Rodanthe is made up of two neigh¬
borhoods, North Rodanthe and South
Rodanthe, a I tout a jnile apart. In mod¬
ern i lays, of course, it is quite easy for
the people of one neighborhood to see
people from the other neighborhood
frequently, but for many years it was
only once in a while that they bad an
opportunity to get together. Out of
this geographical separation grew the
custom of celebrating both the Christ¬
mases. On Christmas day the inhabit¬
ants of one neighborhood visited the in¬
habitants of the other, and on Old
Christmas the program was reversed.
Early in the morning of Christmas
•lav one would l>e awakened by the
sound of faint, eerie music. One visitor
who was once fortunate enough to be
then* on Old Christmas has said
“When I awoke very early that morn¬
ing I hoard music like a fairy piper.
As it drew nearer I found it to be scre-
naders with fife and drum. The early
morning atmosphere lent a peculiar
sweetness.” The serenade!* were ac¬
companied bv members of the Sunday
(Continued on page twenty-one)
