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page 2 main street traditions of christmas some customs predate christ each year we automatically in clude in our celebration of the up coming holiday the same tradi tions we remember as children when did these early traditions start why do we decorate a tree kiss under the mistletoe or await a visit from santa many of our christmas customs predate the birth of christ they were in fact pagan rituals which have been retained over the years other traditions are those created centuries ago by pastors or parents for the edification of parishioners or children nonetheless they have remained an important part in our holiday festivities hanging mistletoe is a pagan custom which has survived to be come part of our christmas holi day traditions druid priests cut mistletoe with a golden sickle and caught it in a white cloth before it touched the ground it was then distributed to their followers to hang in their homes its magical powers were sup posed to bring happiness ro mance and peace in ancient scandinavia ene mies meeting by chance beneath a tree bearing mistletoe were obliged to disarm embrace in friendship and keep peace together for the rest of the day from this legend comes the cus tom of kissing beneath mistletoe centuries before christ people who worshipped nature brought evergreens into their homes dur ing festival time as proof of con tinuing life the ancient romans decorated evergreens with gifts and orna ments at saturnalia a winter fes tival to welcome the coming spring and the revival of natures fruitbearing season christmas trivia trivia buffs look no further test your knowledge with the following christmas trivia questions if youre stuck turn to page 10 questions 1 in what year was december 25 selected as the day to celebrate christmas 2 who was first recorded as having dined on turkey for christmas dinner 3 christmas and santa claus are towns in which us states 4 when was the first commerciallyprinted christmas card sent 5 is christmas egg nog a custom of europe or of north america 6 what do these people have in common groucho marx winston churchill ay jackson and jacqueline kennedy onassis 7 who abolished christmas day 8 what is the alltime favorite sentiment expressed on christmas cards 9 what famous poem was written by a new york minister in 1822 holly with its brilliant green leaves and bright red berries was revered by ancient people as a symbol of eternal life because it bore fruit in winter it was re garded as one of the most favored plants of nature the early romans believed it possessed medicinal and magical powers they sent sprigs of holly to friends as a protection from evil and a repellent for poisons with the spread of christianity holly became associated with the promise of everlasting life a ger man legend claims christs crown of thorns was plaited from holly that before the crucifixion the plant bore white berries after wards the berries were red the wassail bowl which we associate with christmas celebrations comes from an ancient saxon drinking custom the wassail bowl was ornamented with arcs of ever green over the top the drink itself was a combination of hot ale sugar nutmeg or ginger deco rated with baked apples christmas carollers in old eng land often carried wassail bowls with them when they went carroll- ing they would go wassailing to the house of a friend sing a carol and offer to drink to the health of those inside the evergreen tree became a part of our christmas celebration early in the 16th century martin luther according to legend was so impressed with the beauty of the stars shining through the snow laden boughs that we cut a small fir and took it home he set up the tree in his house and decorated it with candles to symbolize for his children the star a visit from the smurfs highlighted last years festival of lights celebration here timothy sakai enjoys a chat with poppa smurf bill lanning filled sky over bethlehem the use of the creche as a christmas symbol dates back to st francis of assisi in 1224 he set up a manger scene in the hills above the village of greccio ita ly to dramatize for his parishion ers the origins of jesus he built a real stable filled with live animals straw and hay peo ple dressed as mary joseph and the shepherds stood among the cattle near a strawfilled manger containing a lifelike wax image of the christ child the manger scene was so loved by villagers that it was repeated year after year at christmas gradually it was adopted by other towns and the custom spread eventually the creche became as important to the celebration of christmas in southern europe as the christmas tree in the north santa claus the jolly old elf with red cheeks and a white beard is the american derivation of old st nicholas a wealthy bishop independent travel retailers associated village lanes travel join our christmas celebration at the lanes lower level 144 main street n markham village lanes travel where personal attention and professional service are an integral part of your vacation planning call 4711424 independent travel retailers associated seasons greeting to all join us for a cup of christmas cheer during the festival of lights celebration in the comfort of our century home 12 main street n qaqa markham ontario iwvqql joseph jiljs ittmaikham village fashibns stibes tqq celebrates markham village festival of lights by offering 30 30 20 f white stag corduroy ooff for fall of ft hang ten sportswear ooff for fall selected styles in our fall line of p off leather fashion shoes by liz clair- borne pappagallo la vallee sale commences sat nov 29th86 and ends sat dec 6th86 141 main st north old markham village phone 2946970 plenty of free parking at rear of store open dally to 6 pm thursday friday to 9 pm christmas hours 1000 am 900 pm commencing dec 1186 second location 406 dundas st w whitby 6661161