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ZURICH 2WW%zEiz NEWS
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1960
Yr
Sura ®is At Christmas
This is Christmas Eve. Christmas bells throughout all
Christendom are ringing out the most joyous proclamation of the
gospel message:
"Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in
the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." (St. Luke
2: 10-11).
Yes, 1960 years ago, the angels sang, "Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men," and those
that followed the star in the east found the Saviour, Christ the
Lord, lying in a manger, in the city of David.
But the first Christmas was a trying and painful time, despite
all the manifestation of glory. Was not Joseph summoned from
sleep to take unto himself Mary, who gave virgin birth to Christ
Jesus? And were not Mary and Joseph summonded by decree
from Caesar Augustus to go from Galilee to Bethlehem to be
taxed? And were not all men of good will summonded by the
angels to go to the manger in Bethlehem to find their King?
Mary and Joseph lived under a dictatorship in which life was
cheap. Their income was,more than likely in the lower third of
the nation. When it cane time for the Baby, they were sum-
moned to make a trip to meet the demands of the government.
Whether the Baby lived or died was of no concern to the society
in which they existed. As far as their own people were concerned,
Mary and Joseph could make out for themselves.
But because God reigned, they were not alone. The Wise Men
brought gifts of great treasure. There was great rejoicing.
And so tonight there is rejoicing and there are visible tokens
of Christmas. Most business sections have been bright with Christ-
mas decorations for days past. Holly weaths are found in many
home windows, bells on doors and gaily lit Christmas trees, if not
on the front lawn, visible in the living rooms, from the street.
Stores, in most centres, will have closed for a three-day holiday.
Everywhere about us, there seems to be a new spirit, a new life
a new hope, a new joy. Tonight children will go to bed assured
that Santa Claus is on his way and will come down the chimney, in
our respective hones, to deliver a portion of his heavy load. Most
of us will banish all thoughts of external troubles and for the next
few days concentrate on internal joys.
It is, indeed, a time of Merry Christmas.
The Sagan Santa Claus
ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS
-OE.
YEARS GONE
BY _
In his 1600 years en earth ... Santa' Claus has grown a long
white beard, moved from a small village in Asia Minor to a toy
factory at the North Pole, and changed from flowing robes into
a red and white furry suit. He's gotten shorter, rounder, and
much, much merrier.
The original Santa Claus was born in Patras, Asia Minor.
Young Nicholas — instead of being interested in games and play—
devoted himself to the study of the Scriptures. Because of his
remarkable boyhood, he was later accepted as the patron saint of
children.
Being of very rich parents, Nicholas was able to share his
wealth with others. He found particular joy in providing gifts for
children, or the dowry necessary to start a needy young woman
on the road to a happy marriage. His travels brought him to the
.large City of Myra, where he was consecrated Archbiship.
St. Nicholas died on December 6, about 341 A.D.... but not
'before he had saved a ship from a tbeatening storm with his prayer,
found a way to feed all the people of Myra during a famine, and
deposited three bags of gold upon the doorstep of a poor merchant.
Today, there is hardly a sea -coast city in any predominantly
Catholic country that does not have a chapel dedicated to him.
He is the patron saint of bankers, pawnbrokers, maidens, children
mariners, scholars .. , and even thieves!
Europe has always celebrated St. Nicholas Day on December 6,
and this is the traditional day of gift -giving. But, in the New
World, St. Nicholas gave up his own day and became a well -loved
part of the Christmas celebration.
Dutch settlers brought Santa Nikalaus to New Amsterdam
(now New York). At first he appeared to look like Father Knick-
erbocker. History researchers tell us that Thomas Nast, famous
cartoonist, periodically dressed his Santas in suits of red, white
and blue for patriotism's sake.
Washington Irving described the merry gift -giver as a tubby
little fellow with a jolly manner who sped through the air on a
reindeer sleigh.
From this interpretation came the basis for Clement Clark
Moore's beloved "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Dr. Moore, professor
at a New York theological seminary, composed the poem for his
children, who first heard it on Christmas Eve, 1822.
"He was dressed all in furs from his head to his foot,
and his clothes ware all tarnished with ashes and soot .. .
he was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, and 1
laughted when I saw him in spite of myself."
This was how Dr. Moore saw Santa Claus, and, thanks to his
vivid characterization, this is how children all over North America
have pictured him ever since.
The laughing man with the big heart adds to the joy of Christ=
mas for children everywhere . . . but what happens to the child
who huddles on the stairway watching for Santa till his eyelids
drop. Or the child who doesn't see footprints in the snow on
Christmas morning? Or the child who has been told, there is no
Santa Claus?
For him, Christmas becomes a sad time. A little girl named
Virginia once wrote to a newspaper editor, asking him to help solve
the puzzling uroblem of Santa's existence. Virginia received an
answer that has become `a classic in journalism.
The Saga of Santa has acquired many satellites through the
years. Some people believe that, in addition to his gifts, the an-
cient Bishop carries a bundle of birch rods in order to punish the
naughty children as well as reward the virtuous.
The youngsters of }Tolland are taught that Santa travels with
a sinster demon who does Old Saint Nick's "ditry work."
The French remember his as Pere Noel, the Germans as Saint
Nicolas who fills shoes with goodies, and the Norwegians as Kriss
Kringle, To children ... he is excitement, generosity, surprise
and fun, all wrapped up in one jolly. package. The Saga of Santa
is on they never will tire of hearing.
40 YEARS AGO
DECEMBER 1920
Mr. Henry Either and son, 11.
K. Eilber, of Crediton, attended the
Ilay Fire insurance meeting here
on Saturday.
Mr. George Douglas and gr. Wil-
liam Beaver, of Hensall, called in
the village last Saturday.
Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Manson, of
Blake, spent a few days with
friends at Brucefield and Seaforth.
Mrs. Amos Gascho spent a few
days with friends in the village.
Mr. Reuben Goetz, of Dashwood,
was in Zurich, last Monday.
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Druar
visted relatives and friends, at St.
Clements, and Waterloo, during
the past week.
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Consitt and
Mr. and Mrs. Fairbairn, of Tucker -
smith, spent Sunday at the home
of Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Zaphe.
Miss Alice Schroeder,. of Dash-
wood, is in St. Joseph's Hospital,
London, where she underwent a
serious operation.
Mr. F. L. Preeter is attending
the UFO convention in Toronto,
this week.
0
25 YEARS AGO
1 S YEARS AGO
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1960
SUGAR and SP
(By W. (BILL) B. T. SMILEY)
• Another Christmas is "upon us".
And we're acting as though it were
a fearsome monster, advancing to
engulf us. From all sides come
the annual lamentations and lach-
rymations of the spoil -sports. Most
of them are in, or near, middle
age, At every turn, they bewail
the "paganism" and the "commer-
eialization" of our modern Christ-
mas, and wonder plaintively
"what's happened to the good, old-
fashioned Christmas,"
I can tell them. The same thing
has happened to the good old-
fashioned Christmas that has hap-
pened to the good old horse and
DECEMBER 1945
Miss Pearl Wurtz, has returned
to her home after spending a week
at the home of her sister, Dr. and
Mrs. IL H. Cowen, of Exeter.
Miss Mildred Haberer, RN, of
London, was a weekend viistor at
the home of her parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Fred Haberer.
Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Willert, of
Hamilton, are spending some time
at the home of the former's par-
ents, Mr. and Mrs. George Hess.
Mr. and Mrs. Mervyn Stelk, of
Bradford, recently spent a week
at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Gor-
don Johnston and Sadie, and also
called on other Johnston famil-
ies while in Northern Ontario. The
weather up there was very cold
with the thermometer being as
low as 12 degrees below zero.
Mrs. James Masse, of St. Joseph,
was taken to Clinton Hospital, for
treatment.
Mrs. William Hay and children,
attended the visit of Santa Claus,
at the McCormick factory, at Lon-
don, last week.
Reeve and Mrs. William H.
Haugh and daughters, and Mr. and
Mrs. Urban Pfile, of the 14th con-
cession, spent a day in London,
last week.
DECEMBER 1935
Mr. and Mrs. John B. Laporte,
of the Bluewater Highway, left last
week for Chicago, where they will
visit with their children and
friends for some time.
Mr. Irvin D. Smith, of Hamilton,
called on his father and brothers
here on Wednesday.
Mr. Albert Smith, of Croswell,
Michigan, and Mrs. Van Atta, of
Applegate, Michigan, who have
been visiting with Mr. and Mrs.
William O'Brien, have returned to
their homes.
Edwin Steckle and Joe Martin,
of Stanley, attended the Royal Win-
ter Fair, in Toronto recently.
Mr. and Mrs. Gideon Koehler
visited in Bayfield last Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Martin
and Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence.,
of Kitchener, were weekend visit
ors at the home of Mr. and Mrs.
John Bremner.
Dr. and Mrs. A. J. MacKinnon
and son Archie, motored to Lon-
don, on Tuesday.
Miss Vera Decker, of Hensall,
spent Sunday at the home of her
mother, Mrs. J. Decker, Jr.
0
10 YEARS AGO
as my son covets a tape recorder.
And if my eyes were shining when
the new skates turned out to be a
new suit of long underwear, it was
because there were tears in them.
* ,g 8:
Another hallucination about the
good, old-fashioned Christmas is
that gift -giving was much more
simple for parents in those clays.
I disagree. One Christmas I eaves-
dropped on my parents as they
talked about presents for their five
children. It was during the depres-
sion, and the conversation was
heart -breaking, even for a fairly
tough 10 -year-old. They were deep
buggy and the good old Saturday in dispair because there was no
night bath in a tin tub in the kit-
chen and the good old two-hour
sermon on Sunday morning. •
Most of the people who do the
wailing about our manner of cel-
ebrating the occasion today would
have to be tied, hand and foot, be-
fore they could be dragged back
through the years to their good
old-fashioned Christmas. Because
it wasn't all that good.
DECEMBER 1950
Mr. Josiah Geiger had his right
arm fractured at the Kalbfleisch
planning mill.
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Gemming
and family, of Rochester, New,
York, enjoyed the past weekend
at the home of their parents, Mr.
and Mrs. Wellington Johnston and
brother, Mr. and Mrs. Ross John-
ston.
Mr. Herb Neeb, and son Jack,
while driving on the Bronson Line,
came upon a deer caught by one
hind leg in a fence. They releas-
ed the animal and took it ,home.
Mr. Melvin Brown has returned
from Seaforth hospital, and is able
to be out on the streets again. -
Mr. and Mrs. Howard Weber, of
Gurnsey, Saskatchewan, and Mr.
and Mrs. Willis Weber, of Kitch-
ener, spent a few days at the home
-of Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Gingerich.
Mr. and Mrs. Jack McClinchey,
and family, were weekend visitors
at the home of their mother, Mrs.
Roland Geiger.
®antero Hel
° hip Crea.
With the festive season so close,
many homemakers will be planning
desserts using whipped cream,
For best results chill the cream,
bowl and heaters thoroughly be-
fore whipping, advises the Food
and Nutrition Department of
MacDonald Institute, Guelph. Also
keep in mind that cream doubles
in volume when whipped. Add
any sugar near the end of the whip
ping period and beat lightly dur-
ing its addition. For flavour, 1/3
teaspoon vanilla may be added for
each cup of whipping cream.
If whipped cream becomes
slightly over -beaten, it may be re-
covered by adding a little unwhip-
ped cream and beating lightly to
obtain the desired consistency.
To hold whipped cream or to pre-
vent it breaking down before ser-
ving, it may be stabilized. For
each cup of whipping cream al-
low IA teaspoon unflavored gela-
tin and 1 tablespoon cold water.
Soften the gelatin in the cold wa-
ter and dissolve over hot water in
a double boiler. Add 1/4 cup whip-
ping cream; blend well and cool in
the refrigerator until the mixture
begins to gel. Whip the remaining
cream, add the gelatin mixture and
combine, beating until the desired
consistency is obtained. Chill un-
til needed.
,, ,: 4 •
What they think they remember
as "good old-fashioned Christmas"
is a nostalgic dream they have con-
cocted out of vague and distorted
memories, stories they have read
and heard, and the tendency of hu-
mans to deplore today and see
yesterday through a rosy haze.
The trouble is they try to con-
vince their children that this phan-
tasy they're describing was infin-
itely superior to the crass mater-
ialistic Christmas of today. I know
the story pretty well. Perhaps be-
cause I have told it quite a few
times.
money for gifts.
It's true today's Christmas has
attracted some undesirable feat-
ures: too much advertising, too
many phony Santas, too many
Christmas songs, dinned at us for
too many hours each day, too much
eating and drinking. But it's
equally true that today's Christmas
retains the best things of the old
spirit of Christmas.
*It goes something like this.
"Christmas was a much happier
occasion when we were children.
You kids, all you can think of is
what you're going to get. You
don't have any real fun out of
Christmas. The tree, for example.
Nowadays we just buy a tree. Why,
when we were young we'd all go
out to the bush with Dad, and cut
our own tree. And when we came
home Mom would have hot soup
and home-made bread for us, and
we'd have a jolly time decorating
the tree," And. so on.
:R 8+ 4
This little story is typical of the
rest of it, half fact, half fancy. My
father, for one, had more sense
than to go floundering around in
the bush, up to his waist in snow.
He had a much better system. He
simply told me to go and get a tree.
And I cut it and dragged it three
miles home and arrived exhausted
and half frozen. And My another
decorated it, as mothers have been
doing since the first Christmas tree
was cut.
Parents of today say they are ap-
palled at the sophisticated greed
of their children when it comes to
Christmas presents. The kids are-
n't satisfied with a pair of skates,
or a big doll. They want a porta-
ble TV set, or bongo drums, or a
tranistor raidio. According to the
"good, old-fashioned Christmas"
fairy tale, when we were children
we accepted with, shining eyes and
little sqeals of appreciation any-
thing that we found under the tree,
* *, *
Well, I am here to tell you that
this is pure piffle and poppycock.
Greed is relative. I coveted a pair
of real hockey skates as furiously
a * *
Our ears throb and our stomachs
heave at such musical abortions as
Jingle Bell Rock, but Good King
Wenceslas is still with us, and I'm
Dreaming of a White Christmas
shows no signs of pushing Silent
Night into oblivion.
S: * 8'
We spend far too much on gifts
and cards. But we still shop with
the idea that it is more blessed, as
well as more fun, to give than to
receive. And every time we send
a card, we are sending a little piece
of ourselves, and there is a mom-
ent of warmth and pleasure for the
recipient, when he opens it.
Our children are just as excited
about Santa Claus, and the Christ-
mas tree, and the mysteriously
wrapped parcels, as ever we were.
And they know and love the story
of the Christ -child as well as ever
we did. And they sing and enjoy
the lovely old carols as much as
ever we did.
For those crabs who can't enjoy
the Christmas of today because
they never stop talking about the
`good, old-fashioned Christmas," I
have a suggestion. Wake up. For-
get the dream. It never was like
that, really. Stop throwing cold
water, and start dispensing warn -i
love. For underneath the ballyhoo
and the bad taste, Christmas is
still a time for joy and love, for
giving, for sentimentality, for re-
newing our faith in the miracle at
Bethlehem.
Out with the gloom and carping.
I'm going to do my very best to
have a Merry Christmas. And for
all the readers of Sugar and Spice,
I want the same. Even the crabs.
0
-,•••
'9 • ; 0•••
4 '
THE DE WEERD-MULDER
Family wish all their friends in
the Zurich District, a
Blessed Christmas
AND A
Happy New Year
WITN THIS PoPULATIot
:JUMP THEY TALK
AFolir wave 'or
To MoVg FASTaR-
.. . . ...... .
WISHING YOU AN OLD- FASHIONED CHRISTMAS