The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

PORT PERRY STAR CHRISTMAS GREETINGS - Tuesday, December 18, 1990 - 13 by Henri Smits, Port Perry Christmas Eve and "Silent Night" always bring me back to the last winter of the Second World War in Holland. Originally I was living in the ci- ty, but I had to go in hiding, because the German Army would pick up everybody over 14 years old, either to work for them in Holland, building forts, or send them to Germany and work for them there. My father also had to hide from the Germans, because he worked for the railway, which went on strike. This Christmas Eve in 1944 my father and I left the farm where we were hiding. This farmer was a real Christian, for not only did he hide my father and me, but also eleven Jewish people and one HONOURABLE MENTION PORT PERRY STAR CHRISTMAS STORY CONTEST other couple. So altogether he was housing and feeding 15 people for three or four years, to save us from the Gestapo. If he ever was found out, he and his wife would have lost their lives; but he never asked for one penny in return, but just our friendship and Christianity. On this Christmas Eve, we sneaked into the city through sideroads and little pathways, for about 20 K.M., and arrived there undetected, for there was a curfew: anybody who got caught after 8 p.m. would be arrested and could go to a concentration camp. We lived in an upstairs apart- ment, where my mother stayed alone during this time. We kept hidden in the shadows across the road, we had a special whistle, and as soon as my mother heard our whistle she ran downstairs and opened the door. We raced across the street and ran right in. Nobody knew that we were home, so we thought. But we didn't know that some of our neighbours knew our special whistle also. In those years there was very little to eat in the city: no bread, no butter, no milk, no meat. We brought some food from the farm, as much as we could carry: home-baked bread, real butter, cheese and some meat. Since the gas was cut off, and the hydro was on only 5 hours a day but not at night, we had a can with a small amount of oil and a wick floating in the oil, which gave a little bit of light ; a few little sticks of wood to keep a small fire in a tabletop stove. Christmas Tree Traditions Each year, about three million Canadian families bring a natural Christmas tree into their homes to become the warm and friendly living centre of their Christmas celebration. The tradition endures year after year...but just how did it get started? Historians trace countless sources that developed into our present day custom of using a Christmas tree. Legends tell of the decorated tree used in winter celebrations long before there was a Christmas. Egyptians brought green palm branches into their homes in late December as a symbol of growing things. Romans trimmed evergreen tress with trinkets and topped them with an image of their sun god to celebrate Satur- nalia. Druid sorcerers hung golden apples and lit candles on oak trees to celebrate the winter solstice. In the middle ages, the feast of Adam and Eve was held on December 24; a fir tree hung with red apples and called the Paradise Tree was its symbol. It is generally agreed, however, that the use of an evergreen tree as part of the Christian Christmas celebration started 400 years ago in Germany and spread to most of northern Europe by the 19th century. Canada was first introduced to the Christmas tree in 1781 in Sorel, Quebec, by a German im- migrant, Baron Friederick von Riedesel. The Baron's tree was a balsam fir cut from the dense forest of Quebec and was bedeck- ed with myriads of white candles. A few years later in the 1790's, white candles began twinkling on Christmas trees in Ontairo. After the War of Independence in the United States, German speaking settlers, including Mennonites, a -- It's that time of year again. Make it special in every way. From the staff, ROYAL BANK HOLIDAYS: Closed December 25th, 26th, & January 1st ; WT ~~ I who wanted to remain loyal to King George because of his Ger- man connection, headed to Canada and brought the custom of the Christmas tree to their set- tlements around Kitchener. Toronto was next to adopt the custom when in the late 1790's a group of Lutherans, Pennsylvania "Deutsch" and Mennnonites helped found the communities of Markham, Unionville and Stouff- ville and naturally made the Christmas tree the focus of their Yuletide celebrations. The custom of the Christmas tree gradually spread throughout the land and is now an enduring sym- bol of hope and a part of our Cana- dian heritage. Special Christmas Eve But we were together, so after all, we had one of the finest feasts we had for a long time. We began to sing one of the nicest Christmas carols, Silent Night. Downstairs from us lived a musician, who heard us singing, and he started to play the piano. Now, if the Ger- man soldiers heard singing, they would storm in and arrest everyone, because they thought if people had fun they must be hiding something. But the musician knew this, and so with a beautiful voice sang Silent Night in German. This of course was allowed by the Ger- mans. After this wonderful night we sneaked out again. When we came back at the farm, safe and sound, I knew that God had look- ed after us. And this is my special Christmas story. DAVID CHOW'S RESTAURANT & DINING LOUNGE Open Christmas Eve 12 Noon to 8:00 PM; CLOSED December 25th & 26th; Re-open Thursday. December 27th OPEN New Year's Eve to Midnight. RA D0 J DD 2 DB: Ue VU YE J Ye De: I VE Ye a PETROCANADA * \ Best wishes to all of our customers and friends for a safe and happy holiday season. MARK & KATHY MALCOLM and STAFF PE BB 2 2 Ye De De De YF YY MARK'S MAINTENANCE MARK & KATHY MALCOLM. Proprietors PETRO-CANADA STATION Hwy. 7A -- NESTLETON Full Maintenance of Cars & Light Trucks Body Shop 986 MOST MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED) Light Towing 2 SINCE 1979 Post Office