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Clinton News-Record, 1971-12-23, Page 2BY MARE pkipp CANADA hat's new at iluronview? Redifo,5 goer w9y wel0 000 d(iSiggie to all our cbsio.tnert, sincerest wishes for a Christmas that hutno with complete jay and happiness, And for the pleasure of having ,served yott, out thanks! RANDY'S SUNOCO SERVICE RANDY CLEW, Prop. 192 Huck St.- 492.866i (Hwy. tl West) m,q1E'v"•••iii•P' It's the season of fun and laughter. We wish your family the best the Yuletide can offer. Merry Christmas. , With Thanks for Your Patronage During the Past Year GARTH POSTILL RR 3 CONSTRUCTION Clinton DON'T WAIT FOR YOUR NEIGHBOUR... IF YOU SEE A STREET LIGHT IS OUT, DON'T WAIT FOR YOUR NEIGHBOUR TO REPORT IT, PHONE 482E69601 AND LET THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION KNOW; SO THAT IT MAY BE REPLACED, THE PUC IS ANXIOUS TO KEEP STREET LIGHTING AT MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY AND CAN ONLY DO THIS WITH THE CO-OPERATION OF THE PUBLIC. 101111MINNIMOM., FACTS AND FANCIES THAT HAVE GROWN WITH THE FESTIVE TREE One of the most joyous elements of the Christmas season is the Evergreen tree. Yet it is a fact that they were first brought into homes at a time of fear. And primitive man thought that they harbored beneficent spirits. • In the North, primitive man watched with mount- ing terror the decline of the life-giving sun. Lengthen- ing winter nights carried the threat of unending cold, darkness and hunger. Frozen fields held no promise of another harvest. Fruit trees stood bare, apparently lifeless, deserted by the spirits. Alone in the bitter cold and gloom, the evergreens stood as a document of faith in the revival of the sun god and the return of light and life to the frozen world. Living conifers in tubs were brought indoors to prop the householders' courage and to shelter the sylvan spirits. These earliest trees of the winter sol- stice ritual were not ornamented. They were a testa- ment of life, not mere decoration. The frivolous elements in the Social observance of the Christmas holidays came not. from the North but from the Mediterranean countries, In Rome, the cele- bration of the winter solstice was an imagined return to the simplicity and brotherly goodwill of the Golden Age.- During the week of the Saturnalia which began on Dec. 17, all class distinctions and rules of decorum were suspended. No official business was- transacted, children were released from school and truces were imposed on battlefields. Houses and public buildings were garlanded with flowers and evergreens. Gifts were exchanged, feasts were rampant and masks and mummery roamed the cobbled streets. \4' 4e..0 ettaa • t•A • euetaeota evaelated bad luck, for the robin who loves these berries was said to have plucked the thorns from Christ's brow. This was how he got his red breast, according to ancient legend. When they had heard the king, they departed; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. —St. Matthew 2:t) hristmas Orating's /14 ( We agid4 vois etiehrt Itleidisp! FEE GROCERIES ALICE, CHUCK and BRENDA FEE AND STAFF Here's wishing you a merry old-fashioned Christmas. And to you, warm thanks for your confidence and trust! It has been a pleasure to serve you. LEE'S LADIES', MEN'S AND BOY'S WEAR Victoria Street — Clinton THE MANAGEMENT AND STAFF OF TUCKEY BEVERAGES LTD. EXETER, ONTARIO You'll find KIST PRODUCTS Bottle By TUCKEY BEVERAGES LTD. Featured At YOUR FAVOURITE STORES THROUGHOUT HURON COUNTY • WISH YOU & YOURS A--- 2 04'4 :News-Record, Thursday, December 23, 1971 A Week ago Sunday, Mr, Milford Durst found a rosebud in the garden. Ike took it in hoping it would open up. We wonder how many others found roses blooming much later than usual this autumn, The cold winds of last week and the snow this weekend will certainly put an end to such unseasonal but lovely happenings, * * * We were glad to learn that the dwellers of the Senior Citizens' Apartments in Clinton were entertained recently by members of one of the Guide Companies. The girls were much enjoyed. The residents were favoured last Sunday with a religious concert in the afternoon by the Salvation Army Band of Wingham and Goderich and a song service in the evening by the Christian Women's Club from the Exeter area. The Huronview Orchestra, with Miss Della Peart — piano, Mrs. Mary Taylor — mouth organ, Norman Speir — violin and Jerry Collins — combos, provided the music'for Monday's program of old tyme music and dancing, Following the activities in the auditorium, Mr. Cecil Skinner and Mrs. Thelma King of Exeter joined the orchestra for an hour of music in the TV room. The Bayfield Brownies Fait,. Monday morning (about six a.m,) the fire department was called to the home of Mr, and Mrs. Lawrence Young on Osborne Street, There was no fire but the house was full of smoke which was caused by a burned out motor on the furnace. * * * If you are going away for Christmas or having guests let us know about it, for the New Year's issue of the paper. In the meantime we hope you all enjoy the holiday period. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL! assisted by the Senior Boys Class of Bay field United Church entertained on Family Night. The Brownies, with the help of their leaders Carol Penhale, Donnalda Sturgen, Debbie Turner and pianist Barbara Graham, presented a Christmas `pagent, a skit, piano solos, recitations and several carols by the chorus of twenty-seven girls. The boys class puppet show was very popular with the residents, especially the snowball fight with marshmallows. Mrs. Gairdner presented the girls with a candy cane and thanked all those taking part. The Bayfield Anglican Church ladies served Christmas cookies to the audience following the program. stories that. shod light on Clristinas The good St. Nicholas would often make his ap- pearance . , riding jolly among the treetops, or over the roofs of houses, now and then 'drawing forth magnificent presents from his breeches pockets, and dropping them down the chimneys of his favo- rites. Diedrich Knickerbocker's • History of New York, by Washington Irving * From a telegram by General Sherman to Presi- dent Lincoln, Christmas Day, 1864: "I beg to pre- sent to you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah." * And the angel said unto them: 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 Savior w'hich is Christ the Lord. Luke II, 10 and 11 A miner's Christmas dinner in the Rockies, 1858: pork, elk, antelope, buffalo, grizzly bear, squir- rel, prairie dog and moun- tain rat ; then swan, crane and quail. * England's Henry V lift- ed the siege of Rouen just long enough to permit food to get through for a Christmas celebration, * * There is no record of JesuS' birthdate. Some early c h u r c'h scholars urged that it be celebrated in January.. Others 'press- ed for March, April, or September. If, as Luke re- ports, shepherds were in the fields at night watch- ing over their flocks, the Nativity must have oc- curred during a warm sea- son. In winter, the sheep slept in folds. The industrial revolu- tion sharply cut back the traditional twelve days of Christmas. Massachusetts, in deference to • the Puri- tan tradition, didn't de- clare Christmas Day a le- gal holiday until 1856. But in the agricultural south, where December was a slack season, the slaves were on holiday as long as the Christmas log could be kept burning — sometimes more than a week. Hessian soldiers had in- troduced the Christmas tree to Americans during the' Revolutionary War, but it was 1856 before the first tree was put in the White House, by President Franklin Pierce. Several thousand years earlier,the Egyptians brought date palms indoors during their winter solstice rites, to demonstrate life triumph- ant over death. The Ro- mans trimmed trees with trinkets and masks of Bacchus during the Satur- nalia, Modern man is apt to take holly for granted, al- though it is much ad- mired, and used, during • the Christmas Season, Yet even before the coming of the Christchild, holly held a niche unique in the his- tory of men's relationship with plants, Writings of the Greeks and Romans record the giving of holly branches and wreaths on happy oc- casions. Wedding guests brought holly to the newly married couple as an ex- pression of their good wishes, and boughs were frequently given as gifts to friends to signify good- will. Its lustrous leaves and glossy berries enliv- ened pagan revels through- out Europe, most notably the notorious Roman fes- tival of Saturnalia. 4,4 4.1 .4k 4.1 44 tko .111644 101 • Householders from the frozen North to the Medi- terranean isles brought holly into their dwellings ,to protect themselves' from- evil spirits. They considered it a haven for friendly fairies of the for- est (hiring the winter's cold, dark days. Branches were put in the barns, too, because its cheery bright- ness was believed to make the cattle thrive despite the bleak weather. Persia's followers of Zoroaster believed the hol- ly tree casts no shadow. They made a tea of holly leaves for use in religious ceremonies. In Germany, holly was called Christ- dorn, for it was thought that the crucifixion wreath was made of holly. In Eng- land, he who trod on holly berries was cursed with tosc ofq .14 )02;Z:2 =.2P= .Wje$'10'-iOr 10;-10z* .2g:W.IP .4z iew; 10:itz OF:iv 0' VriOr.10.101.1P !&.Q4.r.04".•.00t .94i44r.0,t4I7.0.!41,&00;0'.•Xit -- .1,tor ;4 r nor *tot or of ter 0 , taro r