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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2015-12-30, Page 44 Huron Expositor Wednesday, December 30, 2015 1 www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com Nuron Expositor PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 P.O. Box 69, 8 Main Street Seaforth Ontario NOK 1 WO phone: 519-527-0240 fax: 519-527-2858 www.seaforthhuronexpositor [p] POSTMEDIA NEIL CLIFFORD Advertising Director nei I.cl ifford@sunmedia.ca SHAUN GREGORY Multimedia Journalist shaun.garrity@sunmedia.ca DIANNE MCGRATH Front Office seaforth.classifieds@sunmedia.ca NANCY DEGANS Advertising Rep. nancy.degans@sunmedia.ca MARIE DAVID Group Advertising Director Grey Bruce Huron Division 519 376-2250 ext. 514301 or 510 364-2001 ext. 531024 SUBSCRIPTION RATES 1 YEAR $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 2 YEAR $95.00 (90.48+4.52 CST) SENIORS 60 WEEKS $50.00 (47.62+2.38 CST) 120 WEEKS $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064683 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT PA. Box 69 Seaforth ON NOK 1 WO For any non -deliveries or delivery concerns: phone: 519-527-0240 Advertising is accepted on condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error, advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to set and may be withdrawn at any time. The Huron Expositor is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes. Seaforth Huron Expositor is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For more information or to file a complaint go to www. mediacouncil.ca or call toll free 1-844-877-1163. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Canada editorial Christmas is what you make of it The idea of Christmas is buried deep within the human experience. If we didn't celebrate the birth of Christ, we'd find cause to celebrate something else this time of year. Historical evidence suggests we have always observed the winter solstice. The season calls for the use of bright candles and warm fires — and hope for the future. Early Christians saw the metaphor, as several centu- ries after Christ's birth it was decided Dec. 25 would be an appropriate date for a cele- bration — although there's little evidence in the Gospels for the date. Indeed, the holiday suggests collusion among Roman authorities seeking to make the new religion more palatable for the non-Christian commu- nity, whose members observed their own peculiar celebration on Dec. 25. Christmas was, and contin- ues to be, many different things to many different people. The idea to use an evergreen tree, of Santa Claus, of giving gifts, and a host of other tradi- tions all developed over the centuries as different cultures and peoples offered and con- tributed their own interpretation. The ancient Saxons brought to Britain the tradition of the Yule log. Twelve days before the year's longest night, an enormous log was dragged into the lord of the manor's great hall and set aflame. It was kept burning for 12 days and nights, providing warmth and hope. The tradition was origi- nally pagan, but is now part of the Christmas experience. And what of Santa Claus? We have the story of St. Nicho- las, a Turkish-bom saint who offered support for poor orphans of his parish. But Coca Cola created and marketed its own version of Santa in the 1930s; their pic- ture of a fat, white -bearded gentleman, dressed in red, has become the modem standard. Tradition says it was Martin Luther who cut an evergreen, Beating yourself up about excessive eating? Clare Lord During the holiday sea- son, those of us with a tricky relationship with food often feel a combi- nation of anticipation and dread: It's easy and fun to go nuts, even though we know that for the 17th year in a row, it will all need to change on Tan. 2. Comfortable and familiar as this mindset may be how- ever, it is unlikely to be suc- cessful. Even though depri- vation and punishment strategies (better known as dieting) fail 95 per cent of the time, we always believe the next one will work, if only we had more willpower, control or discipline. But here is the real secret to achieving a healthy weight: When we tell ourselves we must change, we resist. But when we try to understand our self, change is possible. Thus it's not a diet that will help, it is insight into why we overeat in the first place. The vast majority of us are overweight because we have blurred the line between nutrition and comfort. We learned, early on, that food will make it all better — which it does temporarily, until we are bursting at the seams. We have become dependent on certain foods in the mistaken belief that they help us manage our feelings of loneliness, bore- dom, anger, frustration and anxiety. We believe that food is love, when in reality, its misuse is an act of self -hatred. It doesn't help that food and weight loss are complex issues that require a great deal of education and thought. There isn't a "bot- tom line" or a 10 -second sound bite that we can easily digest. It cannot be explained in the space of an email win- dow, captured in 140 charac- ters nor solved through tag- ging, likes and shares. Our education begins when we realize that stress triggers our childhood image that food will relieve our dis- tress and that this "picture" will taunt us until we satisfy it with food. Worse, the more we do so, the stronger its hold on us. At this point, we are no longer blurring lines, we have crossed the line: into compulsion. We can prom- ise, swear, make deals or bully ourselves into never doing this again, but until we recognize, understand and change our compulsive behaviour, we will be unsuc- cessful in our quest for a healthy weight. Fuelling this impulsiveness is that ubiquitous Voice in Our Head, our endless and unrelenting critic that fills us with self-doubt and shame, making us believe that we are inadequate, not good enough or incapable of mak- ing aking good decisions. It is mean, harsh and punitive, but most of all, it's a false voice (even though it cleverly sounds like us.) that causes us to be "hungry" for worthi- ness, which we attempt to satiate at the nearest pantry, corner store or drive through. This holiday season, give yourself the ultimate gift: change your inner dialogue dragged it into his home and decorated it with candles to help illustrate the brilliance of Christmas. Prince Albert brought the custom to Britain, and the Victorians enthusiasti- cally adopted the practice. So have we. But Charles Dickens should get credit for much of what is accepted as Christmas tradi- tion. His novel, A Christmas Carol, provided much of the language associated with the celebration, along with a Christmas Day menu millions of families still follow. There is, perhaps, a danger of too many interpretations and too many traditions. But Christmas will always be what you make of it. to self -compassion and kind- ness. We are only human, which encompasses our strengths as well as our flaws, and most of us are doing the best we can. Next, become aware of what is really driv- ing your compulsive need to overeat. It is not too much bread, sugar and chips — it is our unshakable compulsion that bread, sugar and chips will make our problems and stress go away. We also need to switch to an internal, rather than external, locus of control: we will not feel bet- ter when we lose weight — we need to feel better about our self in order to lose weight. Finally, challenge your inner faultfinder and realize that it is NOT the real you. When you throw back that curtain and expose that booming voice for the silly little blowhard it is, its thoughtless, cowardly and heartless words shrivel and slink away. As Dorothy learned, the true answers have been inside you all along. SEAFORTH HURON EXPOSITOR - HOURS OF OPERATION MONDAY: 9:00 - 5:00 • TUESDAY: - CLOSED • WEDNESDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • THURSDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • FRIDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • SATURDAY & SUNDAY: - CLOSED ADVERTISING DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 2:00 • PHONE 519-527-0240 • FAX: 519-527-2858 www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com