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egyptians pioneers in study of time the egyptians were probably the first to develop any exact method ol calculating time about 4000 bc they devised a calendar the christian era begins on january 1 in the middle of the fourth year of the 194th olym piad the 753rd year of the build ing of rome and in the 4714th year of the julian period the jewish calendar reads 1 3717 in relation to 1955 ad i since according to jewish dogma jaod tradition the creation ante- j dated the birth of christ approx- imately 3761 years the jewish i calendar was adopted during the 15th century use of the notation ad year of our lord i was inaugurated in 879 by charles iii of ger- i tne tallest cnristmas tree on record was a 212 foot douglas fir set up in 1950 in northgate a suburb of seattle washington i it displayed 3500 colored lights many christmas legends and customs are part of the folklore of our ancestors in all parts of the world many of them too are a mixture of early christian and pagan observances which time and christianity have giv en new meaning santa claus our american giver of gifts is little known elsewhere in the world in east ern and southern europe it is the wise men who arrive bring ing gifts in hungary the gifts come from the angels in pol and from the stars in greece st basil is the giftbearing pat ron saint popular tradition has it that i the candle we place in our win- dovvs at christmas is a custom originated by early christians to whom the candle represented the star that guided the wise men to the stable at bethlehem one interesting legend tells of a shoemaker who though poor always placed a candle in his window at night to guide weary travelers and so inspired the vil lagers that soon each window contained a lighted candle the holly bush long associat ed with christmas and with many legends was once called the holybush because in its natural state the berries ripen at christmas time the wassail bowl which to day is christmas punch is said to have come to us from the ancient saxons wassail was a word of greeting which meant literally what hails or how fare you at christmas time traditions of the old world live again pinatitas doves and festive straw chains from south eur ope wheat sheaves paper and carved wood from scandinavian countries angels stars czecho- slovakian bells and gold german stars are all bits of old world charm that we recreate in our homes the stouffville tribune tuewliy december 24 1557 ps 5 our loyal friends we wish that this christmas may bring you many spiritual blessings blessings that will lift your heart and enrich your life for years and years to come maple leaf dairy and staff st0uffville0ntari0 the old truths of the christmas story bring new joy at this most i blessed of holidays may your heart rejoice and may peace be with you always i5j fvl marguerite shoppe altona dec 17 the seasons greetings to all last thursday a group of friends from stouffville gather ed at the home of mr and mrs fletcher goudie for a potluck dinner the way they did twenty years ago they were mr and mrs levi forsyth mr and mrs fred pugh mr and mrs jacob reesor mrs paul boadway and mr joe mertens and margery on saturday mr and mrs allan jones accompanied mr and mrs fletcher goudie to vineland where they attended the golden wedding annivers ary celebrations of mr and mrs wesley high altona school received second prize on their may queen float at claremont santa claus parade on saturday the pupils mrs colby and mrs woodcock are to be congratulated for their splendid christmas pro gramme on richmond hill ra dio station last saturday please phone 91615 with your news items for this column dur ing this busy christmas sea son thank you this dogs best friend his head drooping now and then with w the body of his pal centre who was killed by an autonibile in los angele eanness a s california terrier start a passerby gu offer ird over help the average church in the united states has about three hundred members and just about that many seats roil kitty clothes by lonnle e legge hilary lewis was a 22-year- old bachelor who owned fifty acres of mountain land with a nice cottage and outbuildings hi as he was known locally was a ladies man who farmed his rocky hills and acted as a guide to hunting parties of city slickers one beautiful day in april a big car drove up to his gate and honked the horn hi taking his usual slow time walked down to the gate wondering if this was a late hunter there was only one person in the car who got ouv at his approach wear ing an outfit that almost made hi laugh outright high top boots tan leather riding britches black leather coat green silk shirt topped off with a forest green hat with a red feather he spoke and added i am alwin g benedict and wish to hire a guide to explore the fauna and flora of this re gion which i know all about from my books but i wish to photograph them in their nat ural habitat albright drawled hi dollar an hour and im ready after photographing several birds plants and small animals they came suddenly upon a mother skunk with four kittens trailing her the mother hid in the tall weeds but the kits froze where they were what are they exclaimed mr benedict rail kittys said hi will they bite asked mr benedict naw replied hi mr benedict picked up one of the kits by the scruff of the i neck it made a snuffling sound whicli brought the mother out of the weeds stamping her feet in anger holy cow yelled mr benedict dropping the kitten and running out of the cloud of mist i thought you said they were cats they are pole cats whats the difference between a pole and a rail mr benedict stripped the new clothes off while hi went back to the house for some of his old clothes after mr benedict was dressed he paid hi for his time and the clothes adding a dollar tip then left immediately for the city and a bath saying ill send you a present to re member this hi got a shovel and burled the fancy clothes then in three days dug them up and hung them on the line to air out the next day lie brushed them of dirt the odor was already gone donning the fancy outfit he set out for the post office where most of the mountain girls congregated at mail time he received a small registered box which he took out onto the porch to open remarking guess my city friend sent me a watch the girls gathered around to see his wonderful gift when he raised the lid there on a bed of cotton that reeked with lilac perfume lay a gold plated lipstick box cover a cork stopper plugged the open end on one side was a label that read amora knuks no 5 spanish hi remarked knowingly amora i think means darling and i guess knuks means perfume another label on the container read caution do not remove stopper well i dont see why nof its all leaked out anyway said hi disgustedly as he twisted the stopper suddenly his hands and clothes were soaked with skunk scent that dripped front a minute hole in the bottom of the container which had been sealed with a pin fastened to the cork he threw the vial from him with an oath as the girls scattered screaming and holding their noses hi reading the label again as it lay upside down noticed it was written backwards and should read skunk aroma no 5 he rushed home and buried the clothes again oddly enough he was unable to wear them in public again as the very sight of them sent people into a panic til aboard for a real oldlashionej christmas overflowing with joy and good cheer heres hoping that the happiness of the holiday season trill linger in your heart for a long time to come thos birkett and son insurance agency stouffville ontario stouffville ontario greetiflgs 1 best wishes of the season and our sincere thanks to all our friends and patrons vivian and graham crowhurst stouffville radio tv centre stouffville ontario o w- m yvt gladly join in the spirit of the season and heartily extend our very best wishes our warmest greetings to all our many friends may the holidays hold for you the riches of friendship the treasures of happy hours with loved ones the priceless joys of good health and contentment management and staff of jpibiriek mltmw