HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-11-30, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2017.
Story behind the shortening of Christmas is a long one
PEOPLE AROUND
LONDESBORO
By BRENDA
RADFORD
Call
523-4296
November 26 was the first Sunday
of Advent in the Christian calendar.
At Londesborough United Church
the Sunday School presented their
White Gift Service to the interest
and enjoyment of the congregation.
The pageant was titled "Would It
Still Be Christmas?" The following
is the explanation of the pageant
from the morning's order of service,
"As Erin and Morgan walk home
from work and school in the weeks
leading up to Christmas each day
they pass a life-sized Nativity scene
in front of the church near their
house. What they don't realize is that
sometimes the nativity comes to
life! They ponder the question if it
would still be Christmas without all
the things we associate with the
holiday."
The Sunday School choir began
End of an era
Rev. Roger Bitner led the final service of the Blyth Church
of God. The church held a special final ceremony at the
Blyth Christian Reformed Church on Nov. 24, marking the
end of a 67 -year run in the community. (Denny Scott photo)
the service with the song, "The
Virgin Mary had a Baby Boy."
Throughout the play a variety of
familiar carols were sung by the
congregation. A number of white
gifts were received to be donated to
the Huron County Christmas
Bureau.
The sacrament of communion will
be observed during the morning
service on Sunday, Dec. 3.
As the Christmas season
approaches there will again be some
grumbling over seeing
"Christmas"written as "Xmas".
Folks seem to feel the shortened
form of the word "takes Christ out of
Christmas" or removes the religious
roots of the holiday. I consulted with
Rev. Fletcher about the issue and
learned the "X" in Xmas literally
means Christ. Dissenters seem to be
concerned the shortened version is
indicative of the trend against
organized religion.
In Greek, the language of the New
Testament, the word Christos
[Christ] begins with the letter "X",
or "chi". It's believed that the
abbreviation for Christmas dates to
1021. Parchment paper was quite
expensive and techniques were
found to save space. An Anglo-
Saxon scribe wrote XPmas.
Eventually the 'p' was dropped.
Perhaps objectors to the shortened
word are concerned things ancient
and beautiful are being cheapened.
Actually the word Christmas is
already shorthand for "Christ's
mass". It will remain a personal
choice for folk but either means the
same. Personally I prefer Xmas or
Christmas to happy holidays - Christ
seems to be missing from that phrase
for sure.
FROM LONDESBORO
Council looks to help hospice
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Huron East is now investigating
ways to assist the Huron Residential
Hospice Steering Committee as it
builds towards being operational
next year.
Jay McFarlan from the committee
spoke to Huron East Council at its
Nov. 21 meeting regarding the
hospice's Moments Matter
campaign and the quest to raise
$400,000 per year to keep the
structure running once it's open.
The location, which is just west of
Clinton on Hwy. 8, is part of a
Huron and Perth Counties unified
solution that was supported by the
Ministry of Health earlier this year.
The Clinton -area hospice will be
home to four hospice beds, while
Stratford will be home to the
region's other six.
McFarlan updated council on the
committee's actions and its plan to
raise $530 per day, per patient every
day of the year to keep the hospice
running He told council that
compared to the cost to run a
hospice, it costs $1,100 per day to
service a patient at a hospital.
He asked council to consider
contributing to the cause over the
Village prepares for Christmas
Nature's Nest wants to get
villagers and area folk too, into the
Christmas mood. So to start
December on a festive note they are
inviting everyone to "Christmas at
the Nest" on Saturday, Dec. 2.
During special hours from 5-8 p.m.,
people will be able to enjoy wagon
rides and giddy up 'n go ponies while
enjoying hot chocolate. The young at
heart can visit with Santa. The senior
choir from Londesborough United
will be touring the village carolling
with stops at the Nest.
The Londesborough Lions Club
will be glad to help you choose a
fresh tree for your celebrations
as well.
oi!l us...
For our Annual Christmas Program
Sunday, December 3rd at 4 pm with a turkey dinner to follow
A Special Week of Learning the
True Meaning of Christmas
from Christmas Carols
December 4th - 8th,
Monday - Friday at 7:30 pm
Christmas baking and coffee served each evening
Joseph Street Gospel Hall
143 Joseph Street, Clinton ON
course of the coming year, whether
it be in the form of a monetary
donation or in-kind services Huron
East could provide. As an example
of an in-kind service, McFarlan
suggested stuffing a flyer in the
municipality's next tax bill
encouraging people to donate to the
hospice.
While Councillor John Lowe was
enthusiastic about the idea of
providing an in-kind service,
specifically stuffing flyers in the
next tax bill, not all councillors were
thrilled by the prospect of the
hospice and its future.
Councillor Larry McGrath said
that while council was supportive of
a hospice in Huron County,
councillors felt the cost shouldn't
come off of the tax bill.
McFarlan said that communities
have shown the ability to pull
together for projects they feel are
important, using examples of
local arenas and family health
teams.
However, McGrath said he felt the
demand would be too great on the
small communities of Huron County
to sustain the hospice going forward.
He also said that while the current
funding level is $400,000 per year,
he would expect that provincial
funding would dry up over the years
and the community would be left
having to pay far more than
$400,000 per year to keep the
hospice in business.
Councillor Ray Chartrand also
raised the issue of Jessica's House in
Exeter. The second hospice was
created by eager volunteers who,
when informed that their hospice
was not being recommended by the
Ministry of Health, went ahead
anyway.
Having a second hospice to
support, with similar funding
requirements and requests, he said,
would make fundraising even harder
in the already -difficult fundraising
climate.
Lowe directed staff to prepare a
report on the logistics surrounding
sending a flyer for the hospice in the
next tax bill and the costs included
in that.
For more information, visit
huronresidentialhospice.com.
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