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Suddenly, days are getting shorter. Twilight comes early, mistily, and the deep, translucent blue of the evening sky is frosted, as snow hovers over. Christmas is indeed coming, and the winter chill in the air is almost unno- ticed in the merry bustle of the holiday season. Buildings don their Yuletide finery, as garlands in red and green and innu- merable evergreens festoon lighted windows and welcoming doorways. Shoppers return home, day after day, laden with mysterious packages. And, indoors, boxes of ornaments are brought down from the attic and lov- ingly uncrated, as the tantalizing aroma of home-baked cakes and cookies fills the air. Indeed, the traditions of Christmas are many and varied, and each is an immutable part of the season. Yet, each individual family has its own tradi- tions, too, and it is these that are often the most treasured. While one family trims its tree with heirloom ormaments, brought over from Europe generations ago, another brings memories to life with homemade orna- ments saved from year to year, the col- lection growing as the family does. Yet another family ties special oma- ments to beautifully wrapped Christmas presents. After the gifts have been opened, the new decorations, symbols of both givers and recipients, are hung on the tree, where they will appear again and again in following years. In one family, it wouldn't be Christmas without Grandma's buttery spritz cookies; another schedules an afternoon of baking that they can enjoy together. While mom lights the oven and oversees the process, the kids hap- pily roll and cut, and later decorate, their own gingerbread men. Some families go out each year to a tree farm, where they can select the perfect evergreen, chopping it down themselves. Others make a ritual of decorating living trees in their own front and back yards, with garlands of lights to beguile the eye, and birdseed balls to encourage those birds that haven't migrated to visit throughout the winter. Some families keep a living tree indoors during the holiday season, then plant it after all the Christmas decora- tions have been taken down. Others dry the branches and trunks of their cut trees, saving them to throw on the fire 2oAls CHRISTMAS DAWNS Bringing with it the THE HAIR CENTRE management and staff promise of love, peace and joy to the world. Merry and a Safe Holiday to All! Christmas Ross Pettes FOR ALL YOUR INSURANCE NEEDS CALL: Bruce Walker Pat Yakeley PORT PERRY STAR CHRISTMAS GREETINGS - Tuesday, December 18, 1990 - 9 Many contemporary holiday traditions begin at home the tollowing Christmas. Both achieve a sense of continuity, something that is very much at the heart of the Christmas spirit. Stuffing the stockings is the center- piece of one family's holiday festivi- ties. Each Christmas Eve, after Midnight Mass and a late supper, everybody hurries about, hiding trea- sures in the long, bulging stockings that have been hung carefully on hooks over the fireplace. Another family, in a modern home without fireplaces, has made it a tradi- tion to lay the already-filled stockings at the foot of each child's bed during the night, to be opened first thing in the morning. Some families organize skating par- ties each Christmas; others have evenings of caroling, culminating around a steamy bowl of wassail. And, while some go out for innumerable vis- its to family and friends, others take joy in staying home with those dearest and closest to them. Above and beyond the customs that have been handed down through gener- ations, individual family traditions make the holiday season truly special. These are personal expressions of the Christmas spirit, a spirit that lives and flourishes in an atmosphere of loving and giving, caring and sharing, a spirit that is as old as Christmas itself, yet forever new. $X901854 Merry Christmas May the coming holiday season bring joy to the world and = happiness to your door. We couldn't have asked for nicer customers! KEN MURRAY ELECTRIC - Ps Ld - [ LJ [] le I «9 +1 : 8, ETITS LET IT SNOW!... % LET IT SNOW! -- ~~ cheer on your doorstep. Management & Staff HANK"S PASTRIES NOW!... W: Hope the season piles lots of Rg J \. wo = Happy 3% Holidays «> PORT PERRY «-- "2 at ... 985-8404 oie the 5) co-operators LIFE, AUTO, HOME, COMMERCIAL, FARM INSURANCE 111 Scugog Street, Port Perry (next to the car wash) One of the nicest parts of Christmas is expressing our thanks for your business in the past.