THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 26, 1995 TAG: 9512260043
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
A century-old tradition of Christmas Day weddings continued for the McCarty family on Monday, complete with a flower girl who looked as if she and her golden wings could have glided down from any Christmas-tree top.
And four granddaughters are waiting in the wings for their turns, said a beaming Betty A. McCarty, minutes after her daughter, Sharon Lynn McCarty, wed John Raymond Topper.
``We hope we can carry on the tradition,'' Betty McCarty said.
The tradition dates to Christmas 1890, when Louise Anna Jones married Thomas Robert Jackson in Lebanon, Va. Such holiday weddings were not so unusual at a time when it was harder to bring a family together except for the holidays.
But the McCarty kin kept the date for nuptials. In 1912, Ethel Sarah Jackson wed Arthur Edgar Whitt in Honaker, Va. In 1934, Louise Elizabeth Whitt married William Girard Adkins in Vaughn, W.Va.; and in 1954, Betty Adkins married Robert Allen McCarty in Norfolk.
About 50 relatives and friends gathered at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church for this generation's ceremony.
It was little different from any other wedding until near the end, when the Rev. William E. Amon said the newlyweds wanted people to remember that the day should be celebrated for an event even greater than their union.
``They want you to know and remember what day this is,'' Amon said. ``This is Christmas Day . . . celebrating the birth of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.''
The couple and guests then held candles and sang ``Silent Night.''
Claudia Hill took a week to make her 8-year-old daughter Jordan's gown, complete with angel wings.
``The wings are made of feathers and sheer fabric,'' Hill said. ``And a lot of sparkly things. But we can't tell you all the secrets.''
As for the bride and groom, they were too preoccupied Monday for any extensive discussion of whether they liked getting married on Christmas. But both did say, ``I do.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by HUY NGUYEN, The Virginian-Pilot
Jordan Hill, the 8-year-old flower girl for the Christmas Day
wedding, awaits the start of the ceremony in Wesley Memorial United
Methodist Church. Jordan's mother, Claudia, spent a week making her
daughter's gown.
The newlyweds, Sharon Lynn McCarty and John Raymond Topper, continue
a family tradition started on Christmas Day in 1890.
by CNB