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Decorations at Christmas Season are In 'Winter when all is 'brown and dead, evergreens are manifes- lations of the abiding life within :he plant-world, and they may well nave: been used as sacramental Traditional means of contact with the spirit and growth and fertility, threatened by the powers of blight. Particu- larly precious would be plants lke holly, ivy, and mistletoe, which ac- v 4. 2. 4) 2) 4) 4) 4. 4) = SIIPPER ¢ for a Mans Comfort Gift. "The gift he'll wear every day in the year is the gift Spend Your Money In Oshawa Good citizenship is the one important factor in the fife of a progressive town or city and the one way that one can be a loyal citizen is to support to thie last degree his fellow man in business. Men and women who earn their living in Oshawa «should be loyal to Oshawa. They should purchase their daily requirements in Oshawa. They should talk Oshawa, boost Oshawa and with every citizen boosting and spending his money in Oshawa so help Oshawa to grow and become more attractive to others. Now that the Christmas season is here let's all get behind the Oshawa business man, and deal with him. Such loyalty in individuals, multiplied thousands of times over, makes the kind of community spirit that makes cities stand out as superior to others. Ernie Marks he will appreciate most. . . . The selection is the best on record and the prices will appeal to the most economical. Men's "Kumfy" SLIPPERS Uppers are of soft wool felt with chrome padded soles and raised heels. A favorite with (£5 the man who wants comfort. All sizes, 6 to 11. CHOICE OF MANY STYLES hen's Kid Romeo SLIPPERS A gift you'll be proud to give and one that will be doubly welcome. Fine qual- ity brown kid with pliable leather soles and low heels . . » you make no mistake it you choose here. All sizes 6 to 11. The Gift of Absolute Satisfaction. SLE mE Ee es fa San re Mayor of Oshawa. a --------_ tually bore fruit in Winter time. As far back as the fifteenth cen- tury, it was the custom at Christ mas for every man's house as well as the parish church to be decked with evergreens. [English popular custom has connected particular plants with the Winter festival in a peculiarly delightful way; at the mere mention of holly or mistle- toe the picture of Christmas with its country charm rises to the mind--we think of snowy fields and distant bells, of warm hearths and kindly merrymaking. The English decorated the high pews in their churches with sprigs of holly and yew, until they re sembled miniature forests. It is little wonder that mistletoe has a prominent place in Christmas de- corations, for it is associated with both Teutonic myth and Celtic ritu- al. A whiterobed Druid climbed a sacred oak and cut the mistletoe with a golden sickle, It is inter- esting to note that the mame "all healer" is still given to the mistle- toe in Celtic speech, and that in various European countries it is be- lieved to possess marvellous powers of healing sickness, or averting misfortune. The soul of the oak on which the mistletoe grows is supposed to be in the plant. In Welsh it has the name of "tree of pure gold." a rather strange name for a plant with green leaves and white berries. It has been explained by the theory that the sun's golden rays was be- lieved to be an emanation from the mistletoe, in which the life of the oak, whence fire was kindled, was held to reside. Pagan superstition had a lot to do with many beliefs: Kissing under the mistletoe seems to be distinctly English. There is, however, a New Year's Eve custom in Lower Austria and the Rhae- tian Alps that somewhat resembles our mistletoe practices, There are traces in Britain of the sacredness of holly as well as mistletoe. In Northumberland it is used for div- ination; nine leaves are taken and tied with nine knots into a hand- kerchief, and put under the pillow of one who desires prophetic dreams. Holly is hated by witches, this may be due not to any pre- tion that Christmas brings. It is good to live and 'be contented with your lot and look forward to the coming year with the same split that this day of days bring: to one. --Miskokway. AN ALL-YEAR SPIRIT ENTERTAIN YOU | XDD AT THE TURN Radio The marvel of this year's progress in radio engin- eering . . . in tone, in clarity, in mechanical effici- ency, in distance, in selectivity and in impressive. 'ness of cabinet beauty. Palmer's Hardware | 526 SIMCOE ST. 8. a ra PHONE 826 PRERETRT The providing of Christmas cheer for those whose Christmas would otherwise be cheerless is becoming one of the finest of Can- adian habits. It is done in many ways: through churches, through Sunday school classes, through charitable organizations, through other organizations which are not constituted primarily for charit- able purposes, Nowadays every- Christian sanctity attached to it but to the association of its thorns and blood-red berries with the Pas- sion--an association to which it owes its Danish name, Kristdorn, The sanctity of Christmas house- decorations in England is shown by the care taken in disposing of them when removed from the walls. In Shropshire old fashioned people never threw them away for fear of one takes a hand in this work, Canada is fortunately eituated in having a relatively small propor- tion of its population in actual want. The average of prosperity is s0 high that there is no reason why any unfortunate one should be overlooked at the Christmas season, How to Parcel For Mailing When several articles ard" to be sent in one package, tie them to- gether to prevent "play" or shift- ing. Use new, strong paper for the outer covers, a kind that will not crack, The heavier the pack- age and the greater distance it is to be sent, the thicker the paper covering should be. Tie tightly with one piece of strong twine, knotting at each crossing to prevent slipping. Write plainly or print the ad- dress with ink or waterproof crayon, Add street and number; spell out the Province, Add your return address with the word "From." Heavy twine and plenty of it should also- be*used if you wish your package to reach its destina- tion in good condition. Even if the contents of your package are not breakable, if the wrappings are not sufficiently strong they may give way and the contents may be lost, A CHRISTMAS MIND Christmas is good for your mind. Before December is any older, forget the troubles, grudges, and, prejudices which deapoil your days, These worries and anxieties and other depres- For Christmas Day AN EXCEPTIONALLY FINE CHRISTMAS DINNER A Rare Menu in Good Old Fashioned Style , WALDORF CAFE PHONE 1331 make friends with the peoples who have not been very good to you and you will wonder how much better you will feel, Your Mental Health will improve al that will improve your physica health, fing emotions lead to ner- vous exhaustion, and high blood preseure and indigestion, and you cannot afford to have these ail- ments. So for the sake of your health, forgive everybody, think well of everybody, pay your debts, misfortune, but either burnt them or gave them to the cows; it was very unlucky to let a plece fall to the ground, The Shropshire cus tom was to leave the holly and Ivy up until Candlemas, while the mis tletoe-bough was carefully pre served until the time came for a new one next year, In Sweden green boughs, appar ently, are not used for decoration, but the floor of the parlor is strewn with sprigs of fragrant juniper or spruce-pine, or with ryestraw. In Poland before the cloth is laid on Christmas Eve the table is covered with a layer of hay or straw, and a sheaf stands in the corner, Years ago straw was also spredd on the floor, Both Swedish and Polish think that Yule straw has sundry virtues, scattered on the ground it will make a barren field prodac- tive, and if usd to bind trees it will make them fruitful. Peasants at Christmas will sit on a log and throw up Yule straws one by one to the roof; as many as lodge in the rafters, so many will be the sheaves of rye at harvest, There are over two hundred vari- eties of holly, and over four hun- dred varieties of mistletoe. Some of the mistletoe berries are pink in color, but the most common have the white berries with a faint greenish hue~E. D. H, The Christmas Spirit in the North Country To-day 1 looked upon a world that is fair to see; its virgin- white drapery, is green and grey mbttled woodlands, clear skies, welcome sunlight, the cheerful song of the chicadees and blue- jays, the antics of the scolding squirrels. Underfoot the snow serunched and squeaked, signify- ing it was just cold enough for a comfortable ramble, and so I vis- ited the deer "yard," and was glad to see the wolves had not yet molested them, their criss- cross runways along which I sur- prised several who peered at one with large, pathetic eyes and then walked into the deeper shade of the cedars. How picturesque the beaver-houses looked, miniature like mosques among the tamaric from which a lone Arctic Wood- pecker tapped for its dinner. Along the glare ice 1 walked and slid acrossing the slithering like trail of three otter and a mink. I had seen and enjoyed na- ture in her true shape. And now I lean back in the old rocking chair and the flickering, spluttering fireplace awakens memories. And my thoughts drift back towards civilization and crowdéd cities and I remember that on this the 25th day of De- cember, the world that we know of becomes a veritable brother- hood of man, on this day at least the disparity in class distinction is wiped away in a common emo- tion of ghod-will. It stirs up our dormant feelings, it makes us for- get our cares and troubles for this one day at least we are hap- py; Why cannot we live more days in the year in the same spirit, why confine all our goodness, charitable inclinations and good- will to one day? Humanity is strangely ignorant of its simplest emotions, In a vague way we now that happiness and pleas- ure comeg from our consciousness of doing right, but we don't al- ways live up to this precept, ex- cepting perhaps this one day of the year. Who knows but from the well spring of this mbst mem- orable time that brotherhood of man may arise to glorify in truth that old, old saying, "Peace on earth, good will to men." | the depths of the Northland woods, far removed from the sound of church bells and close ellowship of men, one still feels that happy, contented-like infec OSHAWA'S BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT "A Declaration of Intention" by, all the people, for 1932, I believe in Oshawa and love her as my Home. I rejoice in the records of her achieve- ments and in the abundance of her possibilities. j I have unbounded faith in our ability as a people and pledge my loyalty to the promotion of Oshawa's best interests. I realize that only as my friends and neighbours prosper, that I prosper with them. I realize that every dollar I spend out- side my own city goes to strengthen outside interests to the detriment of my own. I know that every dollar that leaves this city makes it just that much more difficult for my friends and neighbours to carry on. I pledge my patronage to my fellow merchants and ratepayers. I pledge my support to my own City and my own people and will strive to stimulate and maintain a normal, healthful, munity life. programme of Com- To this worthy cause I pledge my, devoti Oshawa Chamber | Commerce on 1. LJ : \ pS _"--- RE Ss