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' PAGE TWENTY-EIGHT "ZT DAILY TIMES-GAZETTE WEDNESDAY, ©... ER & 1951 Boar's Head Festivities | English Yuletide Feature For centuries Christmas in Eng- land has been the traditional time of goodwill and merrymaking, and the spirit of the "Merrie England" of olden times is preserved in Christmas customs which will survive. One of the most picturesque of these customs and one which con- forms closely to the conception of Christmas made familiar to mil- lions by Dickens and Washington Irving is the Boar's Head Festiv- ity at Oxford. At Queen's College in the an- cient university city on Christmas Day a boar's head, gaily bedeck- ed with pennants, bay, holly, and rosemary, becrowned, and with an orange in its mouth, will be borne into the gaily decorated hall, where it will be the centrepiece of a ceremony which has been ob- served for centuries. To the Provost, Fellows, and Dons of the college, assembled in the hall with their guests, the en- trance of the head is heralded by the singing of the college choir and a fanfare of trumpets. CARIED HEAD HIGH Carried head-high through the hall on a huge silver dish, the boar's head is lowered on to the Provost's table as the choir sings the last notes of a traditional carol. The Provost then takes the ornaments and embellishments one by one from the head and presents them to the choir boys and vis- itors. The solo singer of the year receives the orange from the boar's mouth. Boar's heads have featured in banquets for hundreds of years, especially in the north of England. There it is believed to be a sur- vival of an old Norse custom in which a boar was sacrificed at Yuletide .feasts in honor of Fryer, the Scandinavian god of peace and plenty. 4 The Queen's College ceremony had its own particular tradition. It is said phat in the early days of the college a student was walking in the neighboring forest of Shot- over, engrossed in a volume of Aristotle, when a wild 'boar charg- ed him. With great presence of mind the student rammed the book down the boar's throat and choked TOLLING THE DEVIL'S ENELL Another old Christmas custom is observed every year in the York- shire borough of Dewsbury. Knowa as "Tolling the Devil's Knell," this custom has been carried. on for 700 years, with only a short break traditional version of death and re- surrection. The mummers at Longparish and Overton in Hamp- shire, arrayed like grotesque birds with monstrous headdresses, tour the villages singing carols. CAROL SINGING BY WAITS Most widespread of all English Christmas customs is carol sing- ing by waits, who go from house to nouse singing the time-hallowed songs of Yuletide. Thus traditions cherished down the centuries will invest Christ- mas, 1951, with sométhing of the magic of "the good old days." With .all the background of merrymaking, however, an Eng- lish Christmas is still, above. all, a religious festival and in every church throughout the country there will be special services with, in many cases, -a brightly-lit Christmas tree before the altar on which gifts will be placed for hos- pitals and orphaned children. And at Coventry Cathedral the choris- ters will sing their famous Christ- mas carol, "Lulla, lulla, thou tiny child," just as they did among the ruins when German bombers devastated the entire city. EVERYONE'S GOING to the MONSTER TOWN HALL RES 28 25 28 2 2S 2 I A ad a a BAIT I LI AS a aT aT rer What a galaxy of gift items there are right now at Erwinne's . . . and right now our Pre- Christmas sale enables you to purchase those Christmas gifts at a substantial saving! Dainty lingerie, exquisite blouses, a grand collection of skirts, purses, housecoats, gloves and many other wearables you'll find here all budget priced for Christmas shopping. Remember, Erwinne's "always leading in value"! All gifts boxed free! NOW IS THE TIME TO SAVE ON YOUR GIFT ETRE) GEES GEES SES SAVE YOU MONEY! ERWINNE'S CAN ipmed, beautiful ot that washes $0 fon threod seamproof Nylon lace tr 30 denier tric well, drys so fast. Ny sewn for greater weer. Sizes 32 to 40. AND WILL Sizes BUYING! NYLON TRIMMED CREPE SLIPS Adorable lacy slips, for under that Sheer nylon blouse. Lace at top, at hem and some even across the back. "Celanese" crepe that launders so beautifully in full-fitting, straight-cut style, 32 to 38. ried $9 GT @, GuIPPERE IMPORTED * LACE SLIPS \ That expensive look is added to any slip os lavishly lace trimmed 'as this 'Celanese' crepe slip is with imported Guippere lace. Full fitting, in its continuity during the war years, when bell-ringing was for- bidden for security reasons. This year, on Christmas Eve, a team of bell-ringers will toll the tenor bell of the parish church, 1,951 times--once for every year since the birth of Christ--the final stroke being timed to ring exactly at the hour of midnight. - Legend says that the custom be- gan in the 13th century when a local baron, as a penance for kill- ing one of servants, gave a bell to the church and ordered that it be run each Christmas Eve to re- mind him of his crime. For magy years the good people of Dews- bury believed tHat the tolling of the bell would keep the devil away from their parish for the next 12 months. -- , yer ancient Fistom observed ; e at Dunster, in Somerset, is the burning of the ashen faggot. This custom is more than a thousand years old. Be. fore entering the fray in the bat- tles in Wessex in 878, the West Saxon warriors built fires of ash branches to 'warm themselves at night. They discovered that ash was the only fuel which would burn when green. The worthy folk of Dunster still continue this cus- fom, but it is now a prelude. to nothing more fierce than a battle for partners at a dance. Christmas mummers perform in the streets and inns of some towns and villages in the west country. At Eynsham, Broadway, and Chip- ping Campden, in the Cotswold country, these mummers perform a masque depicting two men fight- * ing and the vanquished being rais- ed from the.dead by a doctor--a Away in a Manger Flower Legend Of Christmas The Btable of Bethlehem did not in any way resemble the airy por- ticos -- complete with plaster of paris animals and adoring shep- herds -- so dear to the heart of modern Christendom. With comfort increasing through- out the western world, the poverty of the Nativity scene simultaneous- ly startles and 1ascinates us -- as perhaps Matthew, the publican, was impressed by the story of the Wise Men; and St. Luke, who had been a ship's doctor and probably knew very little 'about shepheras was charmed by the shepherds abiding in the field. There was no room at the inn that night, sc Jesus was born in a stable, a place of shelter hewn into a rocky ledge of the Judean country-side. It was cold and dark and damp, and Judean travelers-- 'put up' in such caves--welcomed rather than disdained point ten- ancy with beasts because the breath of the cattle® and the le warmth, while guests in- side the inn had né heat at all, The cave, wnicn was the birth- place of the Saviour, is now a grotto beneath Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity; and though fascin- ated by the simplicity of the or- iginal Nativity scene, Christianity « has been unwilling to maintain its poverty and has covered the entire surface with costly ornamentation. df Meeting Tomorrow Night THURS. DEC. 6 8 p.m. at the CENTRAL COLLEGIATE SIMCOE SOUTH WHERE YOU'LL HEAR ALL THE - CANDIDATES A QUESTION PERIOD WILL FOLLOW THE SPEECHES Sponsored by The Oshawa Junior Chamber of Commerce A Non-Political Organization That Supports No Candidate. ta A APA aR aR aA PPR peed ARPA A A AR GE GR aN a Asthentle Plaid TARTAN SKIRTS REG. $6.95 Straight 'cut, front and back slit at bottom of hem-- self-covered buttons on each side of slit. A smart style for any teen-ager, oll the wanted plaids. Sizes 12 to 20. $3.97 "Celanese" Crepe SKIRTS REG. TO $9.95 A large assortment, just arrived for Christe mas selling. Guaranteed FIRST QUALITY. A manufacturer's clearance ond our LOW markup gives you an opportunity to give a quality gift for an "extra" low prige. Black Celanese crepe, beautifully styled and finished. Sizes 12 to 20, sd.4 < beautifully styled. Sizes 32 to 40. Priced At" $3.95 Y CASHMERE FINISH PULLO Fluffy, botany 100% wool pullovers that have proved to be our best seller. Short sleeves, knitted-on cuff and waist band. Colours of navy, grey mix, beige, powder blue, pink, mauve, lime green. Sizes 14 to 20. VERS $3.87 Housecoats REG. $14.95 VALUE Beautiful, well made, ° full full sweep; long length, lapel collor as il- lustrated.. Sizes 12 to mm WEE Ee I y. am ya GIFT GIVING NYLON HOSIERY SPECIALLY PRICED First quality, walking sheer, full fashioned. All new shades. ao guarantee of super quality. Sizes 9 to 11, . 7 CRIMP-SET NYLON } PULLOVEKD REG. $3.98 merchandise, wanted pastel shades -- round, close-fitting neck, knitted on. In all the Regular the soft, quick-drying, 100% crimp-set nylon you love so well. Sizes 12 to 20. 'PURE SILK Kerchiefs Plain or, Printed, Large Size