Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 44

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1992 THE DETROIT NEWS 5C The Star of Bethlehem is still an object of wonder -4 to long-existing pagan holidays. "The early church leaders didn't celebrate Christmas in December specifically to celebrate the birth of Christ," he says. Marsden thinks the best explanation for a Christmas star is Venus, which sometimes is among the brightest lights in the sky. One of the most intriguing suggestions that the Christmas star may be seen again came from astronomer John Parkinson and two colleagues at the Mullard Space Laboratory, in England, in 1977. They argued that the Christmas Star was a small, super-dense star, orbiting around another star and eating up its companion's hydrogen.

As the hydrogen accumulates in a whirlpool-like disc spinning around the small, dense star, the ring of debris gets squeezed tighter and tighter, eventually igniting a thermonuclear explosion. Once the nuclear event ends, the star goes dark again and begins accumulating more hydrogen for another outburst years later. there was a Christmas star at all. "I think it was more likely to have been mundane than exotic." Astronomer John Mosley, at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, says, "We may never know; What astronomers do is look for astronomical events that might have been interpreted by (ancient) astrologers as an omen. But what you find depends on when you look; you have to know when this sign appeared." According to bibliographer Ruth S.

Freitag of the Library of Congress, "Matthew is our only scriptural source, and such details as he gives do not permit of a completely satisfactory explanation." One reason attempts to tie astronomical events to Jesus' birth fail to convince is that no one knows exactly the year much less the day, week or month of his birth. Without a firm date, anything goes. "The bottom line is that in any year there are enough interesting things in the sky so you can find a plausible star," Mosley says. "We don't know when Jesus was born. 0 Some scientists speculate the Star of Bethlehem may have been a supernova like (above), discovered a few years ago.

Hollywood Santa's greatest gift is hope 5 0 ASSOCIATED PRES? to Santa and tearfully told him that she wanted her father back. He had disappeared after years of "business;" trips. "You'll find him. You'll find Santa promised. Perhaps it was her mother's prayers, more than likely it was her; own determination and threads of i love, but the young woman returned this year to Santa.

Her father was home from jail, and she thanked Santa. The word is, on the street, that Santa is OK. Last year, when gangs were a problem, Santa got kicked in the shins and a gang member ran away i with some candy. He came back a few minutes later with no apology, but returned the candy while the gang leader watched. The world still has plenty of prob lems, but Santa is OK.

And maybe, i it's the hope he gives others through his willingness to be there and listed without judgment that is Santa best gift of the season. For without this, food and beds, not to mention mansions, millions and peace are hard to come by. Vj; ft iiirniwiii snow-covered Hollywood hills and Christmas trees became a tradition, a glowing seasonal ember that helped bring back to life the Hollywood flame as businesses rebuild the Hollywood dream. So, Santa found a home in Hollywood. And people from around the world have found Santa here during the holiday season.

A truck driver who drives across country every week shows up with his family, a young man who left Somalia when the problems began, Japanese tourists, families from Russia, Australia, Mexico and nearly every country of the world have been here; and so has the working backbone of America, and the down-and-outers. "Wow, Santa, I haven't done this since I was eight," said one 200-and-some-pound young man without a home. "Let's see, I want a mansion, a two-story mansion, and and 3 million dollars "Honey, if you're going to get a mansion and 3 million dollars, you're going to have to keep me supplied with cigarettes the rest of my life," said his girlfriend. Last year, a 20-year-old girl came BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES LOS ANGELES During the 10 years he has been here on Hollywood Boulevard during the holiday seasons, Santa has placed more than 100,000 candy canes into tiny soft hands, large rough hands, hands of many colors, and he has seen a quarter of a million faces pass before his own twinkling eyes. Some of the faces have been young, some old; some have been smooth and warm, others wrinkled and cold; some have been happy, others had tears on their cheeks; some close their eyes in a warm bed, and some in cardboard for weeks.

Santa's home on the Boulevard during the jolly season is L. Ron Hubbard's Winter Wonderland. He sits in a rocking chair on the porch to his candy cane cottage nestled beneath the tallest Christmas tree in the United States and listens with care to the wishes whispered in his ear. L. Ron Hubbard donated the first giant Christmas tree to Hollywood in 1983, and a classic white Christmas panorama with a 75-foot backdrop of By Robert Cook clues are, at best, tantalizing-ly vague, leaving room for specula- tion and imagination.

As chronicled in the Gospel of Matthew: "And lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was." For those who take this sole Biblical account of the wise men pursuing the Christmas Star on faith, of course, there is no argument. But for others, including astronomers trying to decide what kind of light in the sky might have been seen as an omen, a Christmas Star, no proposed answer quite fits. Was it actually a star? Or perhaps a nova? A supernova? Planet? Con- junction of planets? A comet? "We don't know the answer," says astronomer Brian Marsden of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for As- trophysics, in Cambridge, Mass. He favors Venus as the best candidate, if Sepulveda-Steffes i Katherine Sepulveda of Detroit and Ruben Sepulveda II of Warren announce the engagement of their daughter, Karen, to Robert Steffes, of Helen Steffes of Harper Woods and the late Donald Steffes. An April wedding is planned at Cal-J vary Assembly of God.

1 Mr. and Mrs. Edward Smith of announce the marriage of daughter, Kimberly, to Thomas Nacker, son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard iNacker of Sterling Heights.

The November wedding took place in Reno, Nev. jYeager-Greaves Mr. and Mrs. Donald Yeager of Dearborn announce the marriage of Itheir daughter, Dee, to Brian Greaves, son of Margaret Greaves of Waterford. The early November wedding was held at the Little Wedding Chapel of Taylor.

r- A tt S' mm And although we can calculate the positions of the planets with extreme precision, we don't know when to set our clocks." Still, he says, for purposes of his observatory program for the public, "we make the assumption that it was an actual astronomical event, and we search for the most plausible one." Based on that idea, "we look in the years 3 and 2 B.C." and plot the planets' positions from there. The results, he says, indicate the Christmas star could have been a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus. But, Mosley adds, some have profound doubts about the star story. In fact, "most historians believe this is a story invented later to add to the pageantry of Christ's birth." Mosley, who studied the question closely for his book, The Christmas Star, says that much of what occurs at Christmas seems to exploit older pagan traditions. He notes that Christmas "is celebrated at the time of the winter solstice" and was perhaps a deliberate attempt by the early church "to give Christian meaning Chastang-Myers Mr.

and Mrs. Andrew Chastang announce the marriage of their daughter, Darlene, to Israel Myers III, son of Pearl Myers and Israel Myers II. The late November wedding was held at the Little Wedding Chapel of Taylor. Mitchell-Lockett Mr. and Mrs.

Benny Mitchell of Detroit announce the marriage of their daughter, Kimberly, to Demi-trius Lockett, son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Lockett, also of Detroit. The late November wedding was held at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit. How to submit announcements Engagement and wedding announcements will appear in the Accent section on the last Friday of each month.

They will go into special zones pages, distributed to either Wayne, Oakland or Macomb counties. Please let us know which county you wish your announcement to appear in. To place an announcement send us: The name and city of the bride and groom. Name and city of the parents on each side. Date of the wedding (for our files only).

Also include a sentence or two on how and where you met. We must receive engagement announcements at least three months before the wedding. Wedding announcements must be mailed within a month after the wedding. The Detroit News Accent Department 615 W.Lafayette Detroit, MI 48226 7 p.m.: Bisexual Women's Support Group. Affirmations.

7 p.m.: March on Washington '93 Committee. Affirmations. 7:30 p.m.: Great Lakes Men Chorus, St. Luke's Episcopal. Call 399-SING.

WEDNESDAYS: 7 p.m.: Support for LesbiansWomen with HIV. 543-8311. 7 p.m.: Mixed Rap Group. Affirmations. 7 p.m.: Coming Out Group.

Affirmations. 8:45 p.m.: Ballroom Dancing lessons. Affirmations. 1 1 :30 p.m.: Open Gay Alcoholics Anonymous. Affirmations.

THURSDAYS: 7 p.m.: Women's Rap Group. Affirmations. 7 p.m. Women In Touch, Women in Touch II. Affirmations.

Look for this calendar on the last Friday of each month in Accent. A L-d. I Lisa THOUSANDS REDUCED Goodreau-Edwards Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Goodreau of Detroit announce the marriage of their daughter, Suzanne, to Scott Edwards, son of Cheryl Hakl of Gould City, Mich.

The mid-November wedding was held at the Little Wedding Chapel of Farmington Hills. Hobbs-DeWitt Mr. and Mrs. A. James Hobbs of Gasport, N.Y., announce the marriage of their daughter, Sheila Hobbs, to Joseph DeWitt, son of Mr.

and Mrs. William DeWitt of Taylor. The fall wedding took place at Scio Community Alliance Church in Ann Arbor. Phillips-Slaven Deborah Jane Phillips and Frank Phillips, both of Southgate, announce the marriage of their daughter, Lisa Michelle, to Joseph David Slaven, son of Gayle Louise Slaven and Ira Sherman Slaven, both of Taylor. The mid-November wedding was held at the Little Wedding Chapel of Taylor.

Penny-Ridge Mr. and Mrs. Keith Penny of Alton, announce the engagement of their daughter, Sharen Penny, to Bryan Ridge, son of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Ridge of Southgate.

No wedding date has been set. LesbianGay Concerns. Ann Arbor. 475-3684. 7 p.m.

Studs 30. Affirmations. Jan. 21: 7:30 p.m. Men's Book Club.

Affirmations. Jan. 22: 7:30 p.m. Act-Up. Detroit-MAPP.

Affirmations. Jan 31: Girth and Mirth Social. NOW THRU SUNDAY JANUARY 3 TAKE AN ADDITIONAL 0 cJUoFF ALL WOMEN'S RED DOT SHOES, BOOTS, BOOTIES CALENDAR OF EVENTS SALE SHOES, PRICES $7 to $23 VALUES TO $60 NOW SALE BOOT BOOTIES PRICES 12 TO 30. VALUES TO 80 Here follows a list of events taking 'place in Detroit's gay community for January. Information on most activi-ties, where a phone number isn't "listed, can be obtained by calling I Affirmations at 398-7105 during the day, or 398-GAYS at night for the switchboard.

Jan. 1: 2-11 p.m. Projects Holiday Center open. Affirmations. Jan.

4: 7 p.m. Detroit Area GayLes-; bian Council Board (DAGLC). Affir- mations. 7:30 p.m. Team Great Lakes.

Affir- mations. I Jan. 7: 7:30 p.m. HIV Negative 'Urt Group MAPP. 545-1 435.

Jb. 9: 7 p.m. Potluck Sing-Along for and Lesbian Educators of (GLEAM). Affirmations. Jiru.10: 2 p.m.

Parents and Friends i'gt Lesbians and Gays General Meet-wog. Lutheran Church of the Master, 213333 Coolidge, Troy. 478-8408. Jan. 16: 6:30 p.m: Presbyterians for LARGE SELECTIONS OF BRANDS, STYLES AND COLORS MONDAYS: 7 p.m.: CODA.

Affirmations. 7:30 p.m.: Recoveries Anonymous. Call 862-1951. 7:30 p.m.: Co-Dependents Anonymous. Affirmations.

TUESDAYS: 11 a.m.: B.Y.O. Lunch Bunch. Affirmations. 6 p.m.: Men of Color Rap Group. Community Health Awareness Group.

Call 691-1486..