Zurich Citizens News, 1968-12-23, Page 2I'AGE TWO
ZURICH CITIZONS NEWS
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Christmas Everywhere
In our day, and we refer to the
present, not the past, we have our
own way of observing Christmas.
We are all prone to the pressures of
the season, the hustle and bustle to
buy and mail cards, prepare for and
take part in the rush of business, and
generally run ourselves ragged.
When the special day arrives, it is
a genuine temptation to spend the
day in bed, fatigued as we are after
the hectic preceding weeks.
This is no way to observe Christ-
mas, and we all know it. Even though
it is Christmas for everyone, we as
humans usually only worry about our
own Christmas.
Yes, it is Christmas for everyone.
Christmas for the merchant in Re-
gina, the industrialist in Toronto, the
No Place For Novelties
After receiving the last of expect-
ed Christmas catalogues and adver-
tising sheets, it is possible to predict
that Canadians will live next year
largely on a diet of fondues, equip-
ment for which is pictured promi-
nently and in great variety.
For anyone who prefers it, there
is in a New York store a trivet with
insulated feet, or "important" jewels
may be bought by mail order from
.an emporium of general merchandise.
In the midst of all this, no improve-
ments or novelties are noted in the
good olcl wish for a Merry Christmas
.and a Happy New Year.
policeman hi Montreal, the lumber-
man in B.C., the oil driller in Alberta,
and the fisherman in the Maritimes.
Have we forgotten anyone?
Undoubtedly we have. There is
the child in Viet -Nam who is be-
wildered by the noise and flame of
battle which he does not understand.
There is the young Hindu who has
known little of life other than starva-
tion. There is a young married cou-
ple in Greece whose problem is not
how much to spend for their small
child at Christmas, but rather where
to go for safety. There is a family
in the deep jingle of South America
who has never heard the wonderful
message of Christmas.
There can be a list of such people,
millions of them whose problems are
much different than ours, and for
whom we do little.
The needed help is mostly a long-
range nature, but it must start some-
where. Where better can it be start-
ed than in our own hearts at Christ-
mas? As we enjoy Christmas in our
own way, in the affluence of our
modern homes, could we spare a
prayer for those who would be grate-
ful for the crumbs from our table?
Such a start certainly must be
made, and perhaps with it we can
begin a more active concern for
others. •
In extending sincere good Christ-
mas wishes to our readers we also
pass along these thoughts. It's
Christmas for everyone, and let's do
all we can to make it so.
Guards Fall At Christmas
At this time of giving and getting,
the best gift of all is Christmas itself.
For a few brief days we shed the
coat of cynicism and dare to be our-
selves. What is deep in our hearts,
comes to the surface.
Perhaps the world of steel girders,
roaring traffic, flashing lights and
pushbutton controls accounts for our
fear of any sort of sentiment. Though
we come in constant contact with
masses of people, and can summon
every corner of the globe with a turn
of the television knob, psychiatrists
see our core personal problem is a
sense of isolation and loneliness. We
.are afraid to open the barriers we
•erect about ourselves and let others
in.
Witness how, on those occasions
when we do give voice to faith or
trust or affection, we preface them
with dodgy phrases. "I don't want
to seem maudlin, Maybe it's old -age
creeping up, I know this sounds
square."
At Christmas we can drop the
guards as we let our hands, lips and
pens communicate the goodwill and
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empathy that usually struggle below
the surface, strangely muzzled.
In this short season of beauty, we
listen to the carols, send out greet-
ing cards winged with grateful mem-
ories, dwell again on the age-old
story of. earth's renewal through a
Babe whose advent brings a breath
of hope and healing to a hard-boiled,
ailing world.
Just a Word
Accidents are unwanted at any
time of year but during the Christ-
mas season, accidents can rob inno-
cent families and friends of all the
joy and warmth of the holiday.
Just "one for the road" can turn
a "Merry Christmas" in to "Bury
Christm as".
A moment of haste to a New Year's
Eve party on an icy road can mean
years of waste to an orphaned family
on a foster home basis.
Celebrations are fun but funerals
are not. Make Christmas a Red Let-
ter Day not a Dead Debtor Day.
MERT £HPdSTMA3
'Tis the season for joy, thoughtfulness and
thank yous. So we're taking time to say just
that, and wish you a very Happy Holiday.
MOUSSEAU & PARKINS GARAGE
II ERB MOUSSEAU JIM PARKINS
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MONDAY, DBCI MBER 23, 1963
From
My Window
When Christmas rolls round
each year I just can't use this
spot to make jokes concerning
the way people rush about,
shopping and baking and clean-
ing and decorating.
Sure, there are more 'amusing
aspects to Christmas like the
roly-poly Santa Claus in the car
accessories store who looks like
a remnant of Hallowe'en in his
mask and false whiskers, But
for the most part Christmas is
a holy season which imparts
feelings of brotherhood and
goodwill to all people.
I suppose I could be called
"old-fashioned" about the way
I view Christmas. For instance,
I hate to see the word spelled
"Xmas" for it is Christ that
gives Christmas its meaning.
I wonder about the thousands
and thousands of dollars spent
in December for tinsel and
presents and booze and food,
in relation to the number of
dollars deposited •on the church
altar Christmas morning.
I question the updating of
century -old carols, the signifi-
cance of Rudolph, the beauty
of purple and orange trees, the
sentiments of some celebrations.
I dislike the deceit of Christ-
mas when parents stuff their
children's heads full of idiotic
stories about a magical old man
who grants every wish at Christ-
mas time; when toy manufac-
turers use Christmas to bleed
every last cent from the public;
when adults make Christmas
By Shirley Keller
the excuse for a long drunken
orgy.
But most of all, I abhor the
way the Baby Jesus is left for-
gotten under tons of gaudy
wrapping paper.
No wonder the world is be-
ginning to shout, "God is dead".
What else is there to believe
when His greatest miracle is
spurned in favor of glittery
commercialism?
For me, Christmas is a sea-
son to savour anew God's un-
dying compassion for sinners.
It is a time to rejoice as the
shepherds did—not because we
are artifically boosted by
whiskied egg -nog and ruin sauce
but because we are thrilled that
God chose to save us from our-
selves.
I want my children to know
the glorious sensation of being
lifted out of the despair of a
cruel, unfeeling existence into
a happy, peaceful life of faith.
I want them to be certain that
God is NOT dead, but only
pushed out of the lives of some
unbelievers who demand visi-
ble proof for every single thing.
Christmas reminds me that I
am nothing more than a human
being, a creature •of flesh and
blood without power to shape
a seedling or change the sea-
sons. The birthday of a tiny
child convinces me that God is
still very much in His heaven,
and all is right with the world.
A blessed Christmas to each
one of you.
The international Scene
(By
Raymond R. Canon)
Christmas time is here again,
or, judging from the appear-
ance of the stores, has been
here for about a month already.
The other day4,walked through
one of the larger stores in our
city and the thing I heard most
often was not "Merry Christ-
mas" but "Charge or Cash?", all
of which makes me believe that
we are in the credit card age.
For some people, Christmas may
be a year round proposition —
two months getting ready and
10 months paying for it.
In many parts of the world,
and especially in affluent North
America, the cry is heard that
Christmas is becoming more and
more materialistic and less
Christian. That may be so, but
I am of the belief that Christ-
mas these days is just about
what you want to make it, and
you can emphasize whatever
aspect you want. I know that
I think the stress should be on
the Christian aspect, but I am
drowned out by the ring of cash
registers so I try my best to
make it what I want, and pretty
well ignore what anybody else
is doing.
Whatever we make of Christ-
mas, there are several things
which we all can do. One of
the main ones is to take a little
bit of time out to be thankful,
because most of us have every
reason to be just that. In a
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AN OLD DASH ONED
ZURICH VARIETY STORE
Leeland and Anne Willert
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world where more than 50 per
cent of the population will go
to bed hungry on Christmas
eve, those of us who don't are
extremely fortunate.
We can also be thankful that
in spite of tensions of almost
every magnitude in world poli-
tics, Canadians have known rel-
ative peace now for 23 years.
Do you realize that is longer
than either the time from the
turn of the century to the be-
ginning of World War I or the
!entire time between the two
world wars? This means that
all the kids that I grew up with
were too young to serve in the
last war, and are now too old
to serve in any fighting capac-
ity in any other war. In effect
we have escaped, we have had
(continued from page 6)
reetiflOs to
Santo's joining
with us
. to top your
Christmas
with a
bright "thank
you" for
being such loyal
customers.
4
STARE HARDWARE
Harold Stade Doug Stade
ZURICH
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To you and your family ... may this
be your happiest Christmas ever.
ROBERT F. WESTLARE
Insurance
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May all the traditional joys
of Christmas be yours ... good
friends and good times,
gifts and greetings: And
know that our greetings are
warmly sincere, with
grateful thanks for
your loyal patronage.
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