HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-11-15, Page 14PAGE 4B—GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, 't HUHSDAY, NOV'MBER 15, 1973
he history of
Christmas time
Christmas, on December 25,
is „first known to have been
celebrated in Rome in the
second quarter of the 4th cen-
tury when it commemorated
the birth of Christ..
In the eastern part of the em-
pire a festival on January 6
commemorated the
manifestation of God in both
the birth and the baptism of
Jesus. In Jerusalem, only the
birth was remembered and
there was as vet no. Christmas.
During the fourth century,
the celebration on December 25
was adopted in the east (except
in Jerusalem), and became the
day when the birth was
celebrated, January 6 retaining
its connection with the baptism.
In 'the west, Epiphany
became a kind of. doublet of
Christmas, commemorating the
visit of the Magi to the infant
Christrid__ t, -baptism,
December 25in Rome was
the date of a pagan festival
chosen in A.D. 274 by Emperor
Aurelian as the birthday of the
unconquered sun which at the
winter solstice begins again .to
show an increase of light.
At some point before A.D.
336, the church at Rome
established the com-
memoration of the birthday of
Christ and the ,sun of
righteousness on this same
date.
The evidence is contained in
the chronographv of A.D. 354,
which includes a Christian
•--- ---martyrology beginning with an
entry for December 25 stating'
"Christ born .in Bethlehem of
Judea".
It can be shown however,
from another part of this
ch'ronography that Christmas
was celebrated in Rorae as
early as :3:36 A.D. and that it
stood" at the beginning of the
church year.
In Jerusalem, opposition to
Christmas lasted long. It was
not until the sixth century that
the Nativity was finally
detached from January 6 and
celebrated on December 25.
The traditional customs con-
nected. with Christmas have
been derived from several sour-
ces as a result of the coin-
cidence of the .feast of -the
-.Nativity .of -Christ and the
pagan agricultural and solar
observances at midwinter.
In the Roman world, the
Saturnalia (December 17-24t,
was a time of merry -making
and exchange of presents.
Though Christmas
festivities were indirectly in-
fluenced by these customs, the
fact that Christmas was
celebrated on the birthday of
the unconquered sun gave the
season a solar background, con-
nected to the kalends of
January (January 1, the
Roman New Year) when
houses were decorated with
greenery and lights and
presents were given to children
and the poor.
Yuletide brought its own
'tradition of feasting and mor-
tuary -custom's. Special food and
good fellowship, the Yule log
and- Yule cakes, greenery and
fir trees, wassailing, gifts and
. greetings, -all commemorated
different aspects of the "festive,
season.
Fires and lights; symbols of
warmth and lasting life have
ways been associated with
the winter festival, both pagan
and Christian.
Evergreens, as symbols of
survival, have a long
association with Christmas
festivities probably dating back
•to the 8th cenurs when St.
Boniface coppleted the
Christianization ut Germany
and dedicated the fir tree to the
Holy Child t -u replace the
sacred oak of Odin
Christmas is traditionally
regarded aZ the testtyal of the
family and of "children under
the name of whose patron. St.
Nicholas, presents are given.
Canadian .artists design UNICEF car
UNICEF card designs are
freely contributed by some of
the world's leading artists.
This year there are four
Canadian cards in the inter-
national collection which will
be sold in .132 countries. Two
are contributed by Canadian
When the first leaves begin enable you to get close and fill
to turn, Christmas still seems a the frame, and giving each face
long way off, but there are two its own "level" will keep the
details of preparation for the • picture from lucking like a
coming holiday season that you standard group ph(Tto. A good
should do early — planning rule is that if there is enough
and ordering your photo space between two adjacent
greeting cards. heads to fit a third head, they
First, look through your are too far apart,.
collected pictures. Vacation pic- Or, for a holiday mood, try a
tures, for example, make won- shot of the children making
'derful cards. Photographs of Christmas decorations, hanging
your family with scenic tip stockings, or icing rookies,
background or action pictures or anything else your
of your family at play (the imagination comes up with.
season's first time out on skis, As with the family portrait,
perhaps) make Personal
greeting cards that are very at-
tractive. A phi►tograph of
scenery — for example, a snow-
covered farm or mountain•c is
scenic and personal.
A ' shot of your • home,
especially one --taken last win-
ter, will convey a "from our
house to your house" message
of greeting. A photo greeting
card, in 'any one of a variety of
designs, can he made` from a
snapshot, negative, or slide.
The picture can be printed on
the card or inserted into one of
an extensive line of attractive
folders. .
The advantage of planning
now, however, is that yOu have,
time to take a picture specially
for,greeting purposes. This can
be a photo of vour whole family
or of just the children.
In taking your special
photograph, photo experts
suggest these basic rules for
good snapshoot ing, which are
good the year around: -
1. Make .s.ure your camera
Tens is clean. If necessary, clean
it with" photographic lens
cleaning paper or a soft, lintless
cloth.
2. Move in close, so that
your subject fills the viewfin-
der.
3. Watch the background.
Keep it simple and uncluttered.
A few simple Christmas props
are sufficient.
4. Keep your camera level.
5. Hold your camera steady,
and gently squeeze the shutter
release.
A good place to- shoot a
family portrait 'is in the living
room, or family room, although
the September -October sun-
shine- makes an outdoor shot
equally possible. Inside or out,
Mother can perhaps he seated
in a `chair next to Father, with
the children around them. The
arrangement doesn't have to he
summetrica1 — in fact, it
shouldn't he. The posing
should look natural, however.
Keep the faces as close
together as, possible, but not all
in the same plane_ This will.
painters, one by a well-known
Canadian photographer, and
the fourth is a depictioq of a
carved group of a Holy Fancily
from the Montreal Museum of
Fine Arts. Proceeds from the
sale of all these cards help
UNICEF children of the
developing countries to a better
life.
Henri Masson's 'Snowy Win-
ter' has a delightfully
Canadian feel to its sun -lit
colours as arwup of skiers en -
toy the stillness of a Canadian
snowscape. Largely self-taught,
Masson was born in Namur,
Belgium, emigrating to Canada
in 1921. Since 1934 he has had a
shoot several different poses, or number of one-man exhibitions
even several different ideas, in Canada, and has exhibited
and choose the best for yolir in a series of international
greeting cards. shows. His paintings are in -
As soon as you've decided chided in private collections in
which photograph will make --Canada and .the United States,
the best greeting card, take the and .are in the permanent
negative, slide, or snapshot to collection of the National
your local film processor and Gallery of Canada and in other
order your cards from the many galleries round the world. Mr.
styles available. It's as easy as Masson was one of the artists
taking 'and ordering regular featured in the National Film
prints, but it has to be done Board's 'Painters of Quebec'.
soon. M - The beauties of the Gatineau
Even today isn't too soon. Valley landscape inspire much.
Merry Christmas! of his .present Painting. He has
taught at Queen's University,
First. artist was girl
UNICEF's first card artist
was a seven year old little girl'
who painted •her picture on
glass because there was no
paper.
It was. , 1949 when '"Czech
schoolchildren sent their
thanks in the of paintings
to UNICEF for. providing milk
to replace-"l't Sses•caused by Nazi
slaughter of village dairy cattle.
Mrs. Jitka Samkova Vejdova,
now 33, lives Ceske
.,Budejovice, ('ze('hoslovakia.
Describing her cheerful _pain-
ting of children dancing" round •
a maypole, she said, ''The pic-
ture expresses joy, by going
round and round, and the
wreath at the top of the
maypole is to show that the line
to help is endless."
'The line of children ▪ which
began in a Europe shattered by
World War -II now ,•ircles the
world: Haiti and Jamaica and
Latin America, Africa, India,
Pakistan...thereare 780 million
children in the developing
countries.
UNICEF, the United .Nations
Children's Fund still provides
emergency aid, but today its
main function is 'to assist' • 1 1.1
governments in Tong -range
,programmes in health,
edtycation, nutrition and family
and child welfare. -
Your UNICEF greeting is a
child's future.
the Banff School of Fine Arts
and the :Doors School of Fine
Arts. As well he has taught
children's classes at the
National Gallery of Canada.
Mr. Masson presently lives in
,Ottawa.
Canada has long been known
for its outstanding nature poets
and -painters, and French -
Ca nadian
renchCanadian artist Jean -Marc
Forest, who has contributed a
handsome watercolour,
'Monarchs of the Forest' to
UNICEF, is in that tradition.
klis paintings, sketches,
photographs and carvings ex-
E►ress. his deep feeling for the
preservation_ ,of Canada's
natural beauty.
"I find the indifferent at-
.ritude of most authorities con-
erning the problems of
pollution abominable,"• says
Forest. He believes that the
education of the public not only
to nature's beauty but to
nature's plight is of vital im-
portance.
Born in 19:35 in I3onaventure,
a small village on the
Gaspesien ('oast facing the Bay
F4'Z53 ; 5 5v -At" .,5 r y.%5 )`r.,,�." 3=3 ;3 =-1 '3;:.-1S 3153 3tcs Al =3 =3)1:5.‘ =3=3,
of Chaleurs in the Province of
Quebec, Jean -Marc Forest
studied photog aphy and had
his own stud.) for five years,
then worke
with enamel on
leather, and wood engravings.
Painting and sketching remain
his favourite forms of ex-
pression. In leisure hours Jean-
' Marc Forest, who makes his
home in Montral, pursues the
studies of botany and en-
tomology.
The works of art of the wood
carvers of an earlier 'Quebec
have been widely acclaimed.
This year, through the courtesy
'of the Montreal Museum of
Fine Arts, a -UNICEF Greeting
Card features an exquisite car-
ved wood. group of 'The Holy
Family'. Each of the three pine
figues, with a maximum height
of 46", can stand alone, and
the Christ Child, when ap-
pearing as a solo figure, seems
to be bestowing His blessing. As
a group, however, His hands
join those of the Virgin. and St.
Joseph.
This 19th century work by an
unknown Quebec master was
for many years housed in the
Convent of the Sisters of the
Congregation of Notre Dame in
Pont Rouge, Quebec.
For the first time, UNICEF
Greeting Cards will include a
photocard, the work of a highly
acclaimed French-Canadian
photographer, Antoine Desilets.
The photograph, 'Reaching'
shows three children silhouet-
ted against the sky, their young
bodies jumping toward the sun.
Antoine Desilets is a veteran
in his field - his personal photo
file contains over 12,000 pic-
tures. As a photojournalist for
Mont-real'.s La Presse each
week he filled a
amusing photos,
feature .which
popular.
page with
creat ing a
was very
Receiving hi
photographic trainirfg wit
Royal Canadian Air
Desilets upon discharge
from job to job, unable t.
work as a photogra
Finally, he showed
a duz
his photographs
to a Can,
industrial firer, was hir•
the spot as an indu,
photographer.
"I take pictures con
sta
admits the 46–year
photographer, ..not only
nine to five hut at night, o
way home from work,
morning coming to wor,
we.•kencls and even durin
vacat in Desilets has more th
dozen exhibitions to his c
including one at the Mo
Museum of Fine Arts,
the author to two b
Photography with An
Desilets and • Techniqu.
raphe.
Photog
0
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