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1 THE DAILY TIMES.GAZETTE, Saturday, December 32, 196 i d i canette Thamnson. T-Bahinaton mesesmessesmss 1110v mamas: 22or Weird. Gay Costumes Are Canada's First Christmas Tree Was Used For Healing . At this Christmas season, we his sailors, as he espied the can recall that it is 420 years great rock Jromomory, And, ac- . since this religious observance| cording to the story, the exclama- « was first celebrated in this/tion gave the name to our first * country. po In the year 1535, Jaques Car- + tier led the first group of Euro- * pean explorers up the St. Law- . rence River. His band consisted + of 110 men, all on three tiny . sailing ships named La Grande + Hermine, Pa Petite Hermine and * L'Emerillon. They sailed up the . river as far as the big island « capped by a wooded hill. Cartier named this "Mont Real," and his . name survives to this day. Rather than risk the stormy * November passage back across . the Atlantic to France in his tiny -eockleshells, Cartier decided to pass the winter here. He sailed back down the river as far as the huge rock towering above the In- dian villge of Stadacona. There, in the shelter of rock and river, he found calm anchorage for his small craft which in size and crew barely exceeded a modern airliner. "Quel Bec," exclaimed one of it was founded beneath that pro- monotory. No chiming bells heralded that union marked the day for that lonely little band of French sail- ors. ed here that year. The day was greeted by religious ceremony. on first Christmas mass in Canada. Of those 110 icebound explorers, only one in 10 was in good health, mate, and unprepared to face its rigors, they had n ravaged by scurvy. Twentysix of them died. The rest were probably saved only by a strange use to which cut in Canada. The friendly Mon- toignais Indians told their sick visitors that a healing brew could Sd | white spruce. So Canada's first Christmas tree served the celebrants; not by being decorated with lights, but by having the bark stripped off, and boiled. The Christmas gift which that tree brought was the priceless gift of health Once Believed Mistletoe Had Healing Power Mistletoe, that distinctive Christmas green so common in city, when nearly a century later| world first Canadian Christmas Day. Nojgift as welcome as that which it children's laughter or family re-| Guillaume le Breton read the| | be prepared from the bark of the | The white spruce and similar {trees have now developed into the foundation of a custom hon-| De: |ored throughout the western! the Christmas tree. Decorated gaily, it serves as the| centrepiece of festivities in every, home. But never has it brought aj Used In Bermuda Dances One of the most colorful fea-|lands and are indeed a rare sight tures of the holiday season In|in their weird but gay costumes. Bermuda is the spirited street| There are two groups of about! the other group of "Gombeys" Indies who settled in Bermudp, dance to St. Corie at the eastern| The dagrses are dressed end. The dancing continues wel brightly colored robes, emblazon- into the night. ed with numerous sparkling smail The origin. of the "Gombey' mirrors and ribbons of all colors dancers is obscure but the cus-| The "Gombey" dances are a tom has been observed in Ber- mixture of Carib war dances and muda for half a century. The|are performed to the rhythmic dances were apparently introduc-| beating of drums with flutes and ed by the natives of the We st!singing. dances performed by groups of eight male dancers each. Start- dancers known as the '"'Gom-|ing early in the morning jn Ham- i! ilton, the capital and central loca- Only twice a year, on the day tion of the Bermuda Islands, the after Christmas (Boxing Day)|""Gombeys" dance their way| and on New Year's Day, do they along the streets to Somerset, the appear on the streets of the is-western end of the islands, while gave to Jacques Cartier. I | After the first Christmas mass was celebrated in Canada, the first Christmas carol echoed, ,across the frozen waters of the But the first of our imported p | Christmas customs was celebrat-|Breat river. Ole of the sailors. ""Adeste ||, | melodious voice to sing ideles." { Other customs have been {brought to Canada by settlers {from their native lands. Our ac- cepted Christmas customs origin- Uninformed about the winter cli-|ate from all over the world, In addition to the religious observ- ance, the tree and carols, these now include the greeting card, the gifts, the roast turkey, the stocking, holly and mistletoe, and they put the first evergreen treeleven Santa Claus himself. With all these trimmings, it is costing us a record sum, esti- {mated at over $500,000,000 to say | "Merry Christmas" in our Cana- |dian manner this year. But our dollar-plated greeting) today is no more sincere and no more welcome than the simpler| greeting of Cartier's devout fol-| | i OUALITY BAKERY 77 CELINA ST. lowers, who celebrated with their| hearts rather than with their] purses. f plant in legends, traditions and {even in ancient histories and liter- atures. | | Mistletoe is a parasite, which infests branches of various trees both hardwood and conifers, but mainly on hardwood. Among the Celts and others/ '|mistletoe which grew from , the {oak was considered to have pecu- |liar magical virtues not possess- Jean - Paul Del Biondo, 15, waits in hospital for an oper- ation which may restore his failing sight. An unnamed do- nor, now dying, had asked that the corneas of his eyes be transplanted to provide sight for another. Jean-Paul was next on the hospital's list for Sues an operation but his fam- had to resort to appeals through newspapers and radio to find him. had moved and authorities | many parts of North America, is|ed by that from any other trees. 4 usually thought of as merely good| Some even considered it so rare holiday decoration or as a creator/as to be only cut with a gold of open season on ladies fair for knife. otherwise bashful swains. | Another old tradition is that the| Mistletoe did not always hold mistletoe supplied the wood for [this position in our lives. The|the holy cross, as previous tof |druids called it '"'all-heal," and|that time it was a forest tree | thought it held many miraculous but after the crucifixion was con- virtues. The Scandinavians dedi- demned to exist only as a dwarf cated it to their goddess of love, Parasite. 128 WILSON RD. S. |Friga. : ¢ Mistletoe was taken over into [rriga, Sionally this JZ0idess of the Christmas tradition in due STEPHENSON'S GARAGE 15 CHURCH ST. -- OSHAWA | .\course and dedicated to the fom of kissing under the mistle Christ Child. An old rhyme reads: The power to heal, to protect] The mistletoe bough {against sickness, to perform ma- at our Christmas board {gic deeds -- all these and more| Shall hang to the honor 'are the qualities ascribed to this' Of Christ our Lord. Orono-Pontypool Area Rich In Christmas Trees Plantations belong in the south- decorated branches in homes dur-/wind up decorating American ern sunshine, but growers u}ing the yuletide season. homes as far south as Florida. | Christmas trees use the same| Standing trees became popular! The U.S. market for fine Christ-| word to describe their acreage In in Germany during the 16th cen- mas trees is estimated at 40,000, the crisp cold of Canadian win-|tury, giving rise to the erroneous|000 yearly, with more than half ters. {belief that the custom originated|the number supplied by Canadian The largest Christmas tree| there. | growers. plantations in Ontario cen tre It is believed Martin Luther be-| A peculiar ymport-export switch around the Orono - Pontypool dis-|gan the custom of candle-lit trees| occurs in the Christmas tree in- trict, only a few miles from Osh-/at Christmas time, about 1560. dustry, with seedlings imported awa, and supply virtually all fes-| The Christmas tree custom from the U.S. nursed into sturdy tive evergreens brightening reached Finland, Denmark, Swe- saplings on Canadian soil, only to] homes and store - windows here./den and Norway by the 19th|be shipped back below the border Christmas may come around | century, mostly adopted by roy-| for sale. | jet once each year, but for pro- alty and prominent aristocrats. | As a result American tree -f al tree - growers, the fes-| The first decorated Christmas| growers recently attempted to! Extending owr best wishes for a cheery Yuletide Season! HAMBLY TIRE LTD. To our many friends -- our deep felt appreciation for your loyalty and friendship during the past year . . . we wish you a Very Happy Holiday! Marie Marlowe / BEAUTY BAR 37 PRINCE ST. Marie Marlowe, prop. Betty McLean, operator and wishing you much happiness! MAURICE BERG MEN'S WEAR 38 SIMCOE NORTH Season's Greetings N. JOHANSEN & SONS 202 ROSEDALE -- OSHAWA a 52-week tree was seen in Vienna in 1816, (force an embargo on imports| tive season remains {and in Paris in 1840, when these from Canada, wanting to corner ition. GM strikers from Osh- two great cities were considered|the lucrative market for them- an, awa wed employment in Can-| capitals of the world. | selves. | ~ada's Christmas tree country last! Prince Albert, consort of Queen| The move was turned down by * year, cutting, stacking, and load-| Victoria, brought the custom from|U.S. Government officials who ng, trees. {his native Germany to England in/claimed American growers should anada's multi - million dollar| 1841. {be able to compete on favorable Christmas tree industry has its| A He marked the birth of his first terms with Canadians, due to .Toots in early history, according son with a Christmas tree set up!lower transportation costs. «to the experts, and now grows|in Windsor Castle, But there is a more potent] 'more beautiful and longer lasting OTHERS FOLLOWED threat to Canadian Christmas tree| .evergreens to support the fascia-| Others in England followed growers, sprouting ever higher in| ating legend. [prince Albert's shampls ad the the bush of Indiana and Michi-| 'ug " custom spread to Canada through gan. | EARLY EGYPIANS dit early settlers. Large quantities of pine plant- e stmas tree tradition The Christmas tree was intro- ed in these states should reach began many centuries ago, when duced to the U.S. through New maturity in a couple of years, primitive tribes worshipped Da- England settlers in 1824. making a definite dent in the ture, and brought evergreens into! The idea was not widely follow- U.S. Christmas tree market. r caves and mud huts toed in the U.S. until Benjamin! As the market levels off, prof-| symbolize their reverence for the Harrison, U.S. president in 1891, its of Canadian growers will unknown. decorated a Christmas tree at the|lower to steady income level, | "Early Egyptians used trees in White House. rather than the quick in-and-out! connection with their ancient The U.S. president played Santa | killing possible during religious rites. Romans of the Caesars' Claus for his grandchildren, and time expressed the wish that all fami- trimmed trees with candles and lies would follow his example. recent | years. | FULL-TIME GROWER [ Despite profitable conditions ex-| colored trinkets, much as we do His wish was granted to such isting recently, only about six| today. an extent that now most of the operators in Ontario grow Christ- often placed at the tip of the ada miss the home market and'tion. Roman tree, the forerunner of =~ SS The image of their sun god was| Christmas trees matured in Can-/mas frees as a full-time oo MERRY CHRISTMAS May happiness ring in your Lolidays and accompany you through this glad season! BEDNAREK HARDWARE 450 SIMCOE ST. S. EXTENDING OUR SINCERE HOLIDAY 85) ILENT NIGHT... «++ may it bring wondrous joy fo your blessed Christmas SH John A, J. Bolahood and Stik SEALTOR AND INSURANCE 169 Simcoe St. S., Oshawe « « « to all our friends, and wishing you the best always! our star of Bethlehem. | With the arrival of Christianity, | the bringing of new life into the R i world. Before the use of Christmas I trees became general in Europe, it was the custom to suspend MERRY CHRISTMAS May happiness ring in your holidays and accompany you through this glad season! The GRAND RESTAURANT 14Y2 KING E. (Upstairs) GREETINGS We hope thot this Holiday Season brings you the best of everything. BISHOP RADIATOR SERVICE 42 Bond West GREETINGS We hope that this Holiday Season brings you the best of everything. MATERNITY FASHIONS OSHAWA SHOPPING CENTRE NORSE BEAUTY Ingrid Miss Bweden of 1956, wears a head- dress of lighted candles as she takes the role of a Lucia Bride at the annual Lucia Day cele- bration in Stockholm, Sweden The ritual calls for a number ceremonies, including br early morning coffee for Goude the . + « cheer to one and all, may this Holiday Season be the finest ever! REDY-MIX CONCRETE "1270 SIMCOE N LES EVENISS SALES LIMITED CHRISTMAS «+. and oll good wishes for « holiday season that Is full of chearl McLellan Tire & Battery Lid. 38 PRINCE ST. OSHAWA tives. It ends with a ball.