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en es ies ues ce e El PCAE C mmmmmmmmg s â€" 11 Third Avenue F. W. WOOEWORTH CO., LIMITED )'w;‘ ‘ (1 se ts friends a Ver Merry Christ» mas and the Happiest of: New We wish all our customers and a ar Timmins Christians "wanered in deserts, ‘*‘and in mountains, and in‘ dens and caves of the earth" and their celebrations were ~"in secret. What are probably the earlkiâ€" est reli¢s which give evidence of "the festive jpy with which they commemâ€" orkted the Nativity of Christ" are found in the Catacombs at Rome. On the rockâ€"hewn tombs of these ancient underground â€" cemeteries the . early ~Christians painted the piatures of * n-,thfifi'.old Roman feasis of Bac ‘Biblical events, among others the Adorâ€" ation of the Magi. The earliest record of the ‘Nativity celebrations daites from about 180 AD. Some churches held the festival in spring, others in Januâ€" ary. Finally December 25 was decidâ€" ed upon as the most appropriate date, as almost all nations regarded the winâ€" ter solstice as the turning point of the yearâ€"-the beginmng ‘of the renewed life and acti of the powers of nature. A the winter soistice, also, the Norse« men held their Yuleâ€"feast in commemâ€" oration of the fiery sun-wheel. : Many of the usages of the‘ Romans: and . Germans were adapted from. piâ€" ism to ch.flstia,nty. For Ainstance, j alig. Saturnalia were modified., and made to â€"serve in honour of Christign events. Warnings were issued, howâ€" ever, by church authorities "against feasting to excess, dancing. and crownâ€" ing the door," (the latter practice deâ€" rived. from. the heathens) and the peoâ€" ple were urged to celebrate the festiâ€" val "after the heavenly a.nd not an ea.rthly manner"’ : glft-laden Christmas tree, the Yule log, holly, mistletoe and the wasâ€" sailâ€"bow! were adopted from p¢@zan usages. In ancient Britain, before the advent of, Christianity, the pagans held their festivals of rejoicing during Deâ€" «eember in honour of Woden, Thor and Saturn, and many of their customs may be traced. toâ€"day in our Ohrfstmas celeâ€" brations. Some of the quaintest of these. are found toâ€"day in ‘Tcelandic it has. been customary to nresent eaeh â€" _~_"°~ *~*" *"** member of a family with a candle on 21_“ ::mz m Christmas eve.. ‘The gift is small, but Chrt I.y will be it has a real significance, for. It is to ing and jollity a symbolize the light and joy that the . "./0_~ ns Christmas message is to bring. ryra’ce h % It is the ambition of the Lcelandie ‘CUZ P ce housewife to have every nook and corâ€" P ner of her home ablaze with lights on _: Ant Cl throng! Christmas eve. Now, when oil lamps ' and gas lights are everywhere, and mwlf’:‘nt‘: many country / homes. are even lighted ; Some Iay on th by electricity, this is not so much of . ... ail'mk problem,butwhentheleemm-, "As he chamns thit tmnhadtca,dqpenupanoandhsm es small iron lamps in which fioating e t Loh wicks burned in codâ€"liver oll, the light» _ .)_â€" â€" _ _ ing: of a home was no slight task. The Just Imagine outstanding characteristic of an Iceâ€" â€" Mt‘ landic Christmas, however, is religious .‘ § Apore reverence.. It colours everything. Beâ€" Without doubt fore and during Christmas the children MW festi hmoverandoveragamthemryot the time when, c the Christ Thild. : j fflflfl! cirele mal Nature seems to eo-cpeute m thfo effort to complete sacred festival of light, for outside the © of pesce and good norther:: lights in ther full glory at "Yet there is actt this time of year shust !t mtedn sh hist : ,strm of m tm the De m bwcmum w may be of interest at this ts to. look back to those early days of Christianity when aaristma? festivities were beginning to take form. The ‘origin of celéebrations <of the Feast of the Nativity is necessarily lost in obscurity. ‘The early persecuted Christmas customs. In this land of ‘Thor the Yule or Jol is celebrated as a festival of light, particularly in the rural districts. The housewife. makes a large. number of candles, using candle forms 't.hat have been in the family for the joys of friendly fellowship and hearty»greetings,. and all ‘the ‘other things which make of Chiistmas the most. wonderful birthday in the whole wide world: And although, as the years glide on, Christmas comes upon us, seemingly, with increasing rapidity the day of days is welcomed with all the old time zest and heartiness.‘> It is in truth a magic season. The latchâ€" string is out for every friendly hand. Nok Wt ‘un > Te s CR M o i mm:m, ba? wah,mud anod.; wine. © MW‘!M'!M .mmmmwwafi M was M w diu\‘u b tbau s To _. L. B Pss * = *‘ cae . J}r L . i £ w C Y â€" F w P Te riy 3 , b i " 3 P ? ® | the Years. A friend of The Advance, who originâ€" ally came from the United States, sends in the following as a Christmas rhyme that he imagines will be humorâ€" ously appropriate as to what some peoâ€"‘ ple think Christmas will be like this year in the "land of the free and the home of the brave." Of course, it is not a true picture of the United States or any other land. In most places Christmas will be observed with feastâ€" in every land there will be the occasâ€" tonal. place where it will be true:â€"~ Jmt Imagme' Onee it:â€"was â€" ; / Megal to Observe Yule New York Sun when aâ€"little girl wrote to him asking the perenmiai question. "Is. there a Santa Claus!" That is theâ€" question. the â€"little girlâ€" asked the : "Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, roâ€" mance,. can push aside that curtain and ~view and picture the supernail beautyahdglorybehdnd. It is real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing as real and abiding! ioh "No.~Santa . Claus? Thank Gid! he lives. and lives forever. A:thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten: times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of most popular festival of the year. It is the time when, Wedlowers the family eirele makes an extra special The New York Sun edworptblisbed the little :girl‘s letter, "and then he "Virgima, your: : friends are . wrong « They ‘have been affected by the'akeptwal age. +They do not. be«= Heve, except they see. ‘They think that nothing can be which is not compreâ€" * branch, as plaatseftbeevflome every Christmas,... It has been answerâ€" edâ€"every Christuu since Dickens: died Yetmmaetmuyapertomm- Hmhisfiwywhenthestnmamcfthe mkmned ‘to put down what was ~as "muperstitious= festivai,‘‘ mfimmm forh bidden. The holly and mistlistos were ';‘heymeallonbhesome * Some lay on the table, ' Some. Iaymthefloor "Fwas a heck for sight for Santa As he came through the door. flmnightbeforechristmas And uthromthehouse Time and again the â€"question is askâ€" It was a Wet Christmas « * Sfe. s ”"f‘v e o 3 y y ‘l r % ts t Â¥ ) e 2 JOHN F ‘ : ‘ ; bus HEAD OFFICE AND YARD s Bmcil omcn Timmins, Ont.â€"Phone 117 _ Kirkland Lakeâ€"-Phone 393 . LADIES‘ AND CHILDREN‘S WEAR 25%%, Pine Street North With sincere thanks for the patronage given us during the _past’;fgrleaf we wish to all our customers and friends A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and , .. Prosperous New Year. The beauties of life be jicurs,éâ€" . The hardships of life be forgotten,â€" This is our Christmas wish to all. es