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RIOR RT OI C : '| while Christmas, St, Nicholas, Santa \ ppily discussed for weeks « by every child in Christendom, and wiifle every family is anticipating the tree, the hanging of stock- , decorations or holly and green- ery, putting a candle .in the window and burning a Yule log, few children know the origin of these customs. The smallest child knows that Christmas is celebrated as the birth- day of Christ. Yet there is no histori- _eal record that December 25 was the actual date of the birth of Christ. His- 'torians and astronomers agree that it was about the time of the winter sol- stice, when the days were the shortest in the year--near December 21. The early Christmas celebrations were not confined to one day. There was re Joleing from December 16 to January 6. The latter date is now known as Twelfth-night. It was not until the reign of the Christian emperor, Constantine, in the fourth century, that the observance of Christmas became an established cus- tom, since the early Christians con- - sidered the observance of birthdays a pagan S The h of Christmas gifts has come gradually, a beautiful, unselfish custom in com- memoration of the greatest gift of all time to the world--the Christ Child. The giving of gifts also has a religi- ous significance grounded on the act of the Persian Magi in laying gold, frankincense and myrrh before the Babe in the manger. A Christmas tree as part of the holi- day observance originated at the time of the conversion of the German tribes, when St. Boniface came, one Christmas Day about 1,200 years ago, upon a pagan group gathered under the great "Thunder Oak," about to sacrifice a littie boy to their god, Thor. All eyes were fixed upon a priest in white robes who held a great hammer poised over the head of the child. When it was about to fall, St. Boniface strode up to the priest, stayed his hand, and cried out to the people to cease their false worship He told them the story of the birth of the Child at Bethlehem, and felling a small fir tree, gave it to them, saying: "Take this for your Christmas tree, and each year, when the feast day ar- ives, set it up in your homes and with Joy and song celebrate 'the birthday of Christ." The tree at first was not used as a gift-bearer; but was purely symbolical --4the tree itself of Christ's grandeur and majesty, and the green of His im- mortality, The custom of placing lights on the tree is generally attributed to Martin Luther, who, on walking home one Christmas Eve, was filled with awe at the beauty of the stars, Coing home he tried to describe it to his wife by placing some lighted candles in the branches of the Christmas tree, say- 4ng: "This is like the Christmas sky." St. Nicholas of Armeon was a miser, rich in lands and flocks and herds. He came to Bethlehem dressed as a beg- gar, that he might avoid paying the full taxes demanded by the officers of Caesar. As he objected to paying for a room at the inn, he was sleeping in the table beside his donkey when there came to the stable Joseph and Mary, the Mother of Jesus. When the Chrst Child lay in the manger beside Mary and gifts were being offered unto Him, Nicholas, aroused from his sleep, joined the givers through curiosity. Then grip ~ped by some compelling force, he knelt by the side of Mary, now holding her Babe. Looking at those two, Mother and Babe Divine, grim shack- les fell from the heart of Nicholas of Armeon. "My King! My King!" he cried, "ever will I serve Thee, and Thee only." A tiny hand stretched out toward Nicholas as though in benediction, and from outside came the faint echo: #On 'earth peace, to men good will." fumbling in his robe Nicholas drew forth a gold plece and lald it among the other gifts. The next morning, instead of plead- ing poverty as he had Intended, Nich: olas was the first in the line of tax- payers waiting to make his declara- tion. The collectors marveled that one dressed so poorly should pay so richly. Straight, from tax paying, Nicholas went to the place of mer- chandise where children congregated. With arms filled and donkey laden, he fared forth to the poorer places pnd there dispensed his gifts. He was Poon the center of a throng of happy ohildren. In answer to a question, he said: "I am Nicholas of Armeon." "Hall, St. Nicholas," burst upon the "Nicholas, and I serve my King," he| repeated, "Caesar?" asked a furfous mother, "Nay, not Caesar, but the new-born ng of Love." And so came the first] - 'Nicholas at Christmastide. '* "Phe Santa Claus that all Canadian 'ghildren know and who travelled into ~other lands during the past century is only 100 years old. He is the des- -eendaut of the good St. Nicholas, who Was the gift-hearer for the little Dutch ~hildren originally, and was borrowed » In turn by the Belgians, French, Span- _ #5h and English as the patron saint at © Christmas. But St. Nicholas was not © the Jolly old fellow we know, with "sleizh and reindeer and jingling bells, { 3 2 ¥ Ea who travel but a dignified gent ra - rse and with ite, on a white t. It was the poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas" that gave Canadian children the Santa Claus we know to- day. This famous poem, Which has been printed and reprinted the world over with every recurring Christmas, has become one of the most familiar and best-loved poems in the language. It was written by Clement Clarke Moore for his two daughters, and first read to them on the evening of De- cember 23, 1822, A year later it was published in the Troy (N.Y.) Sentinel, and has since become immortal. Moore was born July 6, 1779, in a big white house above the Hudson, then situated in a suburb known as Chelsea, now in the neighborhood of Greenwich Village, There he spent his childhood, married, and ralsed a large family of children, All around the neighborhood were scattered the farms of the descendants of the early Dutch settlers, and as a boy young Moore became famillar with the le- gend of St. Nicholas, which he trans- formed into 'the American Santa Claus. He called the poem the "Visit of St. Nicholas," but its lovers changed it to "'Twas the Night Before Christ- mas." In this poem Santa Claus was for the first time introduced to the child- ren of America with the form and the features and the characteristics by which he is known to-day. Here for the first time they were told exactly how he looked and what kind of a chap he was: "His eyes--how they twinkled; dimples, how 'merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow, Since then every child has been able to picture in his mind the folly old fellow who comes clattering over the roof with his eight tiny reindeer, scat- tering joy and gladness and gifts. Though the author of the poem gave his life to books and learning and lit- erary work, he fs remembered only by the lines which gave us Santa Claus. It is told that once upon a time St. Nicholas wanted to help a poor but proud nobleman, and climbing to the roof of the man's home dropped some coins down the chimney. The coins happened to light in the man's stock- ings, which he had hung by the fire- place to dry. The gift was considered by the nobleman to be of superna- tural origin, and, naturally, others took up the custom of hanging stock- ings by the fireplace. From this, sup- posedly, developed the tradition that Santa Claus comes down the chimney to bring his gifts to the inmates of the house, Holly has been popular for decora- tions since the time of the Druids. It is regarded as the special tree of the fairies, but there is a superstition that it 1s unlucky to take holly into the house before Christmas. The cradles of Italian children are often decorated with holly to ward off evil. The faces of babies in India and Persia are sometimes washed in a liquid in which holly bark has been soaked, as a charm against wicked spirits. The use of holly at Christmas 1s thought to bring good luck to the house in which it is used. The mistletoe is a parasite which grows not only on oaks, but is found on pecan, hickory, locust, osage, sas- safras, persimmon, ash, and various fruit trees, notably apple, cherry and pear trees. But it prefers the oak trees, and the superstitious and mys- terious Druids, the priests of the pa- gans of'the British Isles and the lands on the south side of the English Chan- nel, got the idea that the mistletoe was the soul of the oak and that, as it had lost its foliage, it was an im- mortal thing and was a symbol of everlasting life. Wonderful powers and properties were attributed to the mistletoe, and when paganism passed, the early Christians clung to many of the pagan ideas about the plant. There was good luck in mistletos, so at Christ. = his x -- Ban on Love Bird And Parrots Lifted Dominion Decides Danger From Psittacosis is Thing of the Past Ottawa--Love birds may now be, imported into Canada. So also may | parrots, parrakdets, cockatoos, ma- saws, lories and lorikeets. The ban| placed on their {importation some months ago has been removed. Love birds, as might be expected from their name, sometimes make people sick. The same Is ths case with parrots and the other pets men- tioned above. They are subject to a disease termed psittacosis and they are likely to give it to humans. The mortality {8 very high among humans! who contract it. Some time ago a number of cases were reported from Europe, officials of the Agricultural Department be- came alarmed and put & ban on birds subject to such an ailment. Since that, however, the disease seems to have disappeared. A circular inform- ing customs collectors of the removal of the ban went 'forward recently. Tornado Ravaged Abyssinian throne (left) and Earl of Duke of Gloucester as he appeared at recent coronallon of Ras Tafari at Addis Ababa, with heir apparent to Alrlie (right) in procession to throne. mas our northern ancestors would hang a branch of mistletoe over the front door as a sign of good luck and welcome. People entering under it exchanged kisses with the host and his family, and in this way kissing and the mistletos became assoclated, The Scandinavians used to kindle great fires in honor of their god, Thor. In some parts of old England, bring. ing in the Yule log was the principal ceremony of Ohristmas Eve. The custom was for the serfs 'to bring in a load of wood with them when they came for the Christmas feast, which was to last as long as it took to "burn away a wet wheel"--a section of green wood. Naturally the "wet wheel' would not be a thin slice, but a log. In later times the cere- mony was attached to the bringing in of the log. It was drawn into the hall by the servants and each member of the family in turn, sitting down on the log, sang a Yule song and drank a glass of ale. The log was then cast into the fire with prayers for the safe- ty of the house and the happiness of its inmates until next Yuletide. Part of the Yule log was preserved to light the log of next year. The Yule log was nearly always an ash log, because a legend avers that it was before an ash fire that the Holy Babe was first washed and dressed by His motlr, Still anotMpr legend is responsible for the custo of placing a thick, lighted candle in the window Christ- mas Eve, which is supposed to be lighted at dusk and to remain through the night: "On every Christmas Eve the little Christ-Child wanders all over the world, bearing on His shoulders a bundle of evergreens. Through city streets and country roads, up and down hills, to the proudest castle and lowliest hovel, through cold and storm and sleet and ice, the Holy Child travels to be welcomed or rejected at the door at which He pleads for suc- cor. Those who would welcome Him and long for His coming, set a lighted candle in the' window to guide Him on His way." British Woman Flier Reaches Osaka, Japan Osaka, Japan--Hon. Mrs. Victor Bruce, British motorist and aviator, arrived here on Nov. 21st after a lone flight from London, which she left September 25. She was welcomed by Japanese and British residents and was given a banquet. .. Newspapers here lauded her dogged flight across two contin- ents to, Japan, commenting that she wag the first woman to attempt the dangerous journey. after 45-years service. Commodore Says "Goodbye' § | ing alr produces hearty appetites, The 3 < Festive Dishes For Holidays When December appears on the calendar, everyone thinks of some- thing good to eat. Winter's invigorat- for those who must resist the tempta- tion of pies and puddings If you are planning on serving wild fowl, be sure to make the dressing rich in fat to relieve the patural dry- ness of the meat. 'While the cranberry season is on, don't neglect to can some sauce and make some jelly for other occasions. This acid berry combines well with summer menus. Christmas isn't Christmas unless there's candy for the kiddies. The New recipes are born and christen-, grown-ups too, coms in for their share. | ed every day in Canadian households, | Perhaps if it is homemads, it will be It is this adventuring with food com- a bit more inviting and unusual You, binations that makes (0: "rogress in can make up any of tha following re- cooking. Withon! periments in! cipes now and they will be just right kitchens, cookery wo bo in a fixed for the 25th if wrapped In wax paper, state, No variety wouii ba found in Coffee Fondant meals, 1 cup water, 1 tbs. What are soma of hie recently born white corn syrup, 3 ozs. coffee, pul- dishes? Well, hero are a few erfa. f verized. Tie coffea loosely in cheese- tions that have been tried with much' ¢joth, and cook with fondant to 241F., success: i | without stirring, but wiping the sides | of the saucepan Pour onto cold plat- ter, and when lukewarm, beat with butter paddle. Then knead well, Mold into shape with butternuts, or press into a buttered tin, frost with boiled frosting and sprinkle with nuts, then cut into squares, Baked Fudge eggs, 1 cup sugar, 4 cup flour, 1-3 cup butter, 4 squares chocolate, 4 cup nut meats, 1 tsp. vanilla, Break nut meats into pieces and crisp in oven, Melt chocolate and butter in dbuble boiler, add sugar and eggs beaten light, then flour mixed with nuts. Add vanilla. Pour into greased tin 14 inch thick and bake at 350 . until a toothpick comes clean. Do not have the oven hot as you would for cookies, since the fudge must he soft, not erisp. Cut into squares with sharp knife while warm. spirit of hospitality which always is stimulated by the approach of the winter holidays, gives every woman the desire to entertain her friends, * 3 cups sugar, Cranberry Pudding 14 cup fat, 1 cup sugar, 24 cup milk, 114 cups cranberries, 2 eggs, 314 cups flour, 4 tsps. baking powder, 13 tsps. salt. Cream fat, add sugar and sift the rest of the dry ingredients with the flour. Beat eggs and add to first mixture, Add the dry ingredients al- ternately with the milk. Stir in ber-| o ries, Pour in buttered molds, cover, and steam three hours for a large mold and one hour for small ones. Nut Bread 2 5-8 cups flour, 4 tsps. baking pow- der, 1 tsp. salt, 5-8 cup sugar, 114. cups milk, 2 eggs, 1 cup nut meats, 4 ths. flour, Sift 2 5-8 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Add sugar, milk, and eggs slightly beaten and the broken nut meats which have been thoroughly mixed with the four table- spoonfuls flour. Bake in a slow ovén | for 15 minutes; then increase the heat and bake in a moderate over one hour, 2 cups sugar, 4 cup white Apple Salad syrup, 4 cup water, 1-8 tsp. salt, 14 Mix together 1 cup shredded cabbage, | ths. vinegar, Cook to 260 F., without 1 cup apple, cut id strips, 34 cap each | stirring, but wiping sides of saucepan ralsing and nutmeats and sufficient | to prevent crystallization. Pour hot salad dressing to moisten Serve in| syrup slowly into stiffly beaten whites cabbage shells or in red apples, hol-| of two eggs. Sit In a low chair, pour lowed out to make cup. Garnish with | With left hand, and beat with right finely cut strips of apple with red | hand, using large bow! and wire whip. skin left on. Add % teaspoonful each lemon and Baked Oysters almond extract. When quite thick, drop by spoonfuls on heavily waxed Beat 1 egg, and add one cup oysters paper, and serve. If to be kept, pour and - thelr liquid, 23 cup cracker crumbs, 14 teaspoon salt and a little into square buttered tin, mark into squares, pepper. Butter a pie plate and turn mixture into this. Sprinkle with 1-3 cup cracker crumbs, dot with butter and bake until crumbs are crisp and brown, Serve hot with cranberry sauce, Celery and olives also make a pleasing accompaniment for this fes- tive dish. Divinity udge corn Maple Fudge 1 1b. maple sugar (24 cups), % cup water, 1 tbs, light corn syrup, % cup thin cream, 23 cup nut meats. Let maple sugar and liquids stand to- gether until sugar is dissolved, cook to 236 F., a soft ball, stirring to keep the maple sugar from curdling the milk. Set saucepan into basin of cold water, and when lukewarm, beat until creamy, add nuts. Beat just as long Stuffed Fruits Use dried prunes, apricots, figs, or dates. Steam 16 minutes. Make an Sir Arthur Rostron, (right), noted commodore of Cunard fleet, bids good- bye to his chief officer, Capt. Bissett, on bridge of Berengaria as he retires 'ple, drained from the syrup and cook Incision in each piece of fruit with a sharp-pointed paring knife, Stuff with fondant and cover with a nut meat. Roll in sugar, If not to be eaten immediately wrap in oiled paper and pack in tins, The fruits improve in flavor if allowed'to stand a few weeks. Pineapple fondant is fine to use in stuffing these fruits. Pineapple Fondant 2 cups sugar, % cup water, 4 Ibs, crushed pineapple. Put sugar and water in pan and stir until dissolved. Cook to 266 degrees . without stir ring, keeping sides of pan washed down with a soft cloth moistened in cool water and tied over the tines of 8 sliver fork. Add crushed pineap and cut into squares. ! | i | to 240 deg. F., which is just beyond the soft ball stage. Turn on a platter wet with cold water, When cool, work with a spatula or knife. Use this fondant as the centers for bon- bons, roll the pleces in nuts or stuff in dried fruits. It is almost essential | here" have started to rebuild their Village Rebuilds 24 Were Killed In Oklahoma Suburb, and Over 100 Injured Oklahoma City -- Residents of the storm wrecked village of Bethany near crushed homes and bury their dead For the first time since a cyclone struck the village at noon Nov. 20, killing 24, injuring more than 100 and wrecking 100 homes and business es- tablishments, order was restored in the settlement of 2,000 inhabitants. Rehabilitation was started with al- most every charitable organization in the state lending aid. Doctors, treating injured in Oklaho- ma (ity ho<pitais, announced eight morg of the Injured may die. More | than 40 still are being treated. Fun-| aro) arrangements had not been com- pleted except for the four Camel Creek | students who were killed when the! little rural school was destroyed by the wind. They will be buried a. their school house. | Damage done to the little village. reach $600,000 officials agreed. | Winter's Here Now- | Keep Your Health| A Few Hints on How to Be] Healthy Though Hiber- nating | | Not by bread alone doth man live but by a well-balanced diet he may best protect himself against the rig ors of winter, | The rules of right eating, a recent New York State department of health radio broadcast tells, tively simple. Daily diet should be constructed around the so-called pro- tective foods, pure milk, fruits, especially green leafy vegetables. 1 If these necessary and compara tively inexpensive foodds form the basis of diet natural appetite will likely take care of other bodily needs. Every child should drink one quart, every adult at least one pint of pure milk----the nearly-perfect food--every day. Fr such as oranges, lemons, | berries, feaches, apples, and green! vegetables as lettuce, spinach, celery, ! cabbage kale, beet greens and tur nip greens are ood. v | Eggs, cereals, meats and fish help, and winter. Cod liver oll 1s a protactor,| being rich In vitamin D, the summer sunshing vitamin, and vitamin A which is found in butter and ml!lk. | SE en Quake in Albania Takes 30 Lies Vienna--A Government despatch from Tirana reported that a violent! earthquake on Nov. 21st had caused; 30 deaths in the Albanlan dis*"ict of Va'ona. The despatch added that great num- bers were injured in the collapse of numerous houses, with heavy material and Dermi, The entire population of Telgac was made homeless. The Valona district of Albania is a mountainous region in the Southern part of the country along the Adrlatic Sea, It is directly across the Strait of Otranto from the heel of tha Ital- fan boot. mr gpm rn Flying Ships Are Bi g Hope of Aviation Toronto. -- The future of aviation does not lle in lighter-than-alr craft, Captain Stafford Lusk told members of the Canadian Progress Club at their recent luncheon here. Rather, he said, it lies in ships like the great German plane, the DO-X. Captaln Lusk endeavored to im- press the safety of fiylng. Aviation, he declared, is past the day of ex- perimentation. to employ a candy thermometer in making fondants successfully. Apple sherbet or mint ice served 3 in red apple shells, from which the \ "A sparkling solita're will usnally pulp has been removed, 1s a dessert! catch your sweetie's aye." | reason.--Cicero, / ---- nn. Co There are two ways of ending a djs- pute--~discussion and force; the latter is simply that of brute beast; the for- mer {is proper to beings gifted with are compara-| but the protective foods do actually, e protect aainst the chills and {lls of; | tions, --1s gx i) » . Guinance of Child Urged by Experts Old-Time Adult Standards No Longer Sought Washington.--The White House con= ference on child health and protec tion convened here recently to com- sider the case of the modern baby, born and reared in a period greatly dissimilar to that of the "decade of don'ts." ? The 1930 child, in the opinion of these experts, must be taught to think anfl act independently in a changing era of speed, small apartments and traffic signals. "Our attitude to-day is to remove the 'don't'," explained Dr. Mary Dab- ney Davis, specialist in nursery, prim- ary and kindergarten education at the United States Office of Education. "Instead of placing attention on un- desirable things, we place it in the constructive realm of using fully the elementary drive to do. "A decade ago we tried to make the child conform to adult standard, but the whole idea at present is to'get a | line on the child's attitude and thea guide it, "We must educate him positively through celebrating his successes, In brief, if a two-year-old learns to call his shots well in transferring food froin plate to palate, the family cheer- section must get itno action promptly. A few days of cheering may develop and extreme interest in the accuracy of manners." Life of a baby a generation ago, Dr. Dabuey said, was a simple thing com- pared to the complex business of be- ing a child to-day. "They didn't have to dodge speed nor overcome handicaps of congestion, Thera were no automob'les or elevat- ors. A doorknob was the most intrl- cate mechanism that the babies of 1900 had to master." Three thousand delegates convened at the conference liere, summoned by President Hoover to consider how the nation can better its task of building citizenship from the ranks of its 45,- 000,000 children, including 10,000,000 deficients Storing Apples For Winter Use Only Sound Specimens Should Be Utilized for this Purpose Apples to be kept for use during the winter months should be carefully selected for that purpose. Early ma- turing sorts like. Wealthy and Graven. stein can hardly be kept past Christ- mas, so that later keeping varieties, like McIntosh, Northern Spy, Russet and Baldwin, should ba selected for this purpose, All bruised frult, should be discarded and only perfect- ly sound speeimens utilized. If these are wrapped in oiled tissue or In or- 1 ue paper, keeping is great- ited. Storing in bushel boxes referable to large containers and these should be kept in a cellar where the temperature not go much above 40 deg. I", and does not fall The average cement fruit, or scabby does below is not sat. The best y dirt floor heat. In v cellar bot ¢ J and moisture cellar isfac type cellar such In the isfactory for good event of a cement cellar being the only availab it would be wise to cover the with several inches of sawdust, iich should be kept well ned down to provide the neces- damp sary humidity, Such a procedure, ac panied by wrapping and a tempera- F., should storage condi- ued by M. B, Davis, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa Land Plowing Falls Off Ll a--kall plowing was not se 3 last. A crop re- by the Dominion 3 states: "For all ion of land fin- 's crops that had er 31, 1030, Is ent, as com- . in 1929 and 29 2 By Provinces, the ture of from result in 10 to 45 deg satisfactory good thi year Canada tended for \nex plowell at 38 per" § per co been estimated ¢ pared with per cent, in as possible, then turn Into ofled tin losses in Messaplik, Palase, Terkoof| Proportions for 1930 are as follows, corresponding figures for 1920 within brackets: Prince Edward Island, 60 (75); Nova Scotia, 32 (48); New Brunswick, 72 (58); Quebec, Td (78); Ontario, 60 (58); Manitoba, 60 (84); Saskatchewan, 21 (19); Alberta, 8, (43); British Columbia, 43 (48)." piss ir isd Father of 150 Foxes Shown at Winter Fair Toronto.~~One hundred and forty three black and silver foxes, valued at more than $250,000, or more tham $1,700 apiece, were shown at the Royal Winter Fair here, travelling from Prince Edward Island in an ex- press car. One of the animals, a strapping four-year-old stud, which has sired 150 pups in his life time, is valued alone at $5.000. [EER CS Hunting in Canada The provinces of Ontario and Que- bee include within their boundaries with the . 1 some of the finest hunting territory fa North America. The claim is made for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick that they harbor more moose to the square mils than any other portion of Canada. Conformity to A ST Sr ww + - LA Pe Ee