i ¥ . id A yo TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1948 "THE DAILY TIMES-GAZETTE Customs of The Season| gy Pel Chime | In Merry Old England Y tt Chetstmat. PAGE NINETEEN "Youngsters Mob Legion Santa Claus' a Every year, on Christmas Eve, a bell (known as the Devil's Knell) 'is rung in Dewsbury, England. But for World War II, when it was rung twice only, the bell has been rung .ever," year for 700 years: Legend' says that the custom began in the 13th century by a local baron, who as penance for killing his servant gave.a bell to the parish church and ordered that it should be rung every Christmas Eve to remind him of lis crime. By tolling the bell once for every year since the birth | of Christ, the final stroke being time. to ring. exactly at the hour of midnight, local people believed that the devil would be kept away fror< the parish for the next 12 months. Special carol services are held in churches all over: England on 'Christmas 'Eve, 'particularly in the north of England. In many places Nativity plays are acted, based on the New Testament story of what : happened in Bethlehem nearly 2,000 years ago. 'Villagers Pull Rushes The Scottish village of Killin, Perthshire, had & Christmas cus- tom which is unknown elsewhere. Every Yuletide the villagers go to a nearby stream and gather rushes, which are pulled instead 'of being cut. These rushes are then used as -& témporary Tresting-place for a "number of stones taken from the gables of an old corn-mill; they are stones with a history. The vil- lagers will tell' you that their pa- tron saint, St. Fillian, used them centuries ago to cure the ague, sprains, 'and other ailments and ipjuries. He simply rubbed the af- fected limb with one of the stones, and a complete cure . Nowadays, the stones are brought Qt each Christmas, laid on their bed of rushes, and later returned to the gables of the mill. In this way Killian both celebrates Christ- mas and 'perpetuates the memory of its patron saint. Christmas Day itself is a great home festival. Christmas dinner, with its turkey and plum pudding (when available) is thertraditional neal of the year, And -in many places "there are Christmas Day customs which centre round' the festive | bOlrd 'r Queen's 'C y Oxford University, for example. Here the custom is known as the Boar's Head Feast. ¢ The mythical origin of the Feast is the story of'a student of Queen's College, who was attacked by a wild boar when he was studying Aris- totle during a walk some 500 years 2€o. His book was his only means of defence, so he thrust the volume down the animal's throat exclaiming © Graecum 'est, [Unable to digest so we 1 fra " L followed. much Greek the boar died, and the student carried it home in tris umph! From that time the Boar's Head became a main ceremonial Christmas dish in' England and, served on 'a gold or silver plate, surmounted by a crown wreathed with golden sprays 'of laurels and bay, misteltoe. and « sTOsemAry, it was Brought into the hall, herald- ed by trumpeters. : Another magnificent Christmas dish in those days was the peacock] Its skin- stripped, its plummage re- tained, it was roasted. When it had cooled slightly, its feathers were sown on-again, and its beak gilded. Stuffed with spices, sweet herbs and the yolks of eggs, it was served with rich gravy. To the ac- 'companiment of music it was car- ried into the dining-hall by the most beautiful woman or the one of the -highest rank, followed by a bevy of lovely girls. Sometimes the gorgeous peacock was served in a pie, and over the plumed crest which appeared above the crust, knight-errants swore they would undertake perilous. enterprises dur- ing the coming year. After dinner the guests, in their coloured, jewelled raiment, collect- ed to play the old Christmas game of Snapdragon. Then a great dish of raisins aflame with lighted brandy was passed round the com- pany, and there was much dis- play of skill and abundant merri- ment, as with their fingers, the guests drew the raisins from the burning brandy 'and put them in their "mouths. 'The ' Snapdragon Dish, sign of good cheer, was never forgotten, nor was the passing 'of the: Wassail Bowl which, filled with spiced wine or halo was handed from guest to guest to drink amid the mirth that was such a mark- ed feature of Old England's Merry Christmas. TWO RESIGN Montreal, Dec, 20--(CP) -- In a drastic shake-up which virtually put liquor control back -in the lap of the Quebec Provincial Police, JInspector-General © Aurel" Lemay Mb>nday was relieved of his posi- tion as head of the Quebec Liquor Police. "Two "inspectors under sus- pension later resigned. ¥ ELECTED MAYOR Hull, Que., Dec. 21--(CP) = Al- phonse © Moussette, Hull bailiff, Monday night was elected 'mayor of Hull for a two-year term in the, heaviest vote recorded in the city's history. With a total of 3,930 voges | ed cast, Moussette polled 2,515 votes against 1415 votes compiled by his "only opponent, Georges Bilo- deau, lumber yards manager. Mobbed by over 600 excited youngsters in the space of half an hour, Santa Claus is shown above as he tendered 'a brief greeting to each child. The occasion was the.third annual Christmas party of Branch 385, Canadian { --@Globe and Mail Photo Legion, Aurora, for the children of Aurora and district. Clothes Line Hides Gospel Translation London--(CP)--A translation of St. Mark's Gospel was concealed | from the Japanese in North Borneo | by hanging the manuscript on a | clothes line 'and covering it with | wet clothes, states the British and | Foreign 'Bible Society's report for | 1948, ' i Mr. and Mrs. C: Hudson: Souths | well, both .missionaries of Borneo | Evangelical Mission, were interned | when Japanese invaded Borneo. | They had previcusly completed a translation of St. Mark's Gospel into a North Borneo language. Mrs. Southwell . took charge of | the manuscript in . the women's 'camp after her husband had hidden it in the lining of his overcoat, and | later hid it on the clothes line. The | translation now has been publish- Nine languages were added to | the society's list last year bringing | Burma, New Guinea, North Borneo, the Solomon Islands and Australia. The society's income .last year reached the record. figure of more than £558,000 ($2,320,000) including more. than £108,000 from auxiliary contributions and £146,000 from legacies. a Distribution of the . scriptures from ' London alone increased by more than 300,000 copies and net cost of production and circulation | was £67,000 greater than in 1946, Two Boys Fined For Outbreak Cooksville, Dec. 21--(CP) -- Two teen-aged boys from Port Credit, Ont., were fined $10 and costs Mon- day for malicious damage, They were ordered to pay for damage to windows in the home of Mrs. Les- | lie Cook, Port Credit. The boys were charged with shooting airgun pellets into Mrs. Cook's home. The shots narrowly missed a seven-months-old baby sleeping in a crib underneath the | window. Four shots were fired into the house, the boys said. for "revenge" when the Cooks stopped them from its" versfons up to' 778. The new {daking a:short-cut across the Cook language - 'concern Africa, "Tndd, | 3 property. No Canadians On Honor List 21--(CP) -- The for 'the third since the end of the war, has made no recommendations: for awards to in the King's list of State Secre- Ottawa, government, Canadians New Year's honors, tary Gibson said Monday, Asked if ther would be any Can- adian list, Col. Gibson said it was not the government's intention to make any recommendations. Dec. In the past, the King, absence of recommendations, has generally limited awards to Can- adians living in the United King- dom. The awards are granted in recognition ,of meritorious service. No Canadian New Year's list was issued in or 1947. lengthy. list was issued Dominion Day, July 1, 1946, when more than Canadians, mainly civilians, were decorated for their contribu- tions to the war effort. Rt. Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King, who retired as prime minister last month, always was opposed to the 1,200 1946 Ring out the bells in your Christmas salads this year! Think up all the Yuletide symbols you can . . . stars, wreaths, candles, red and gréen color . .. and work them out in patterns as merry as a tune! Why not fun to look at and easy to make. Bell Salad Make each salad of two red- tinted, well-chilled pear halves. |'To hold the pears together, spread the cut sides (after wiping them '|dry) with softened cream cheese and then press gently together. Make the clapper of the bell from a small" ball of cream cheese or cottage cheese well seasoned. The bell may be laid on its side or you may cut a corner from the bot- of one side so that®it will 8 erect and show the clapper. Place on crisp salad greens. Serve '| with mayonnaise or French dress- ing. Tree Salads From Pears Use either fresh or canned pears. Tint halves green. Fresh pears should be immersed in tinted water. For canned pears tint the syrup. They will take up the color readily. Place the tinted pears flat on salad plates with a bed of greens and decorate Christmas tree fashion, using bits of colorful fruit dotted here and there. Tiny slivers of almond will make miniature candles. If you have pastry point apply ribbons of mayonnaise, left plain or colored. Place a cube of dream cheese at base to represent the tub. Cranberry Wreath Melt canned cranberry jelly or make some up fresh from the ber- ries. To every 1'2 cups of the jelly add as it starts to congeal 2 to *% cup of mixed diced apple, celery and nuts. Turn into ring molds using either a large mold or. several small individual molds. Chill thoroughly: Uumold on crisp greens and. garnish with a bow effect of mayonnaise, Christmas Dressings Use a tomato soup style of French dressing and make it live- ly with chopped green pepper. Or add both chopped green pepper (or pickle) and pimiento to regular French salad dressing. For' fruit salads vary the dressing by adding chopped, well-drained cranberries from your regular cranberry sauce. MAN STABBED Halifax, Dec. 21--(CP) -- Mrs. Elsie Cordeau was charged with conferring of title-carrying awards | wounding Monday night 'after Lou on Canadians here. It is believed that policy will' be adhered to by his successor, Prime Minister St. Laurent. house suffering severe chest wounds. Police said he had been stabbed. . schemes |" start with bells themselves? They're || them in| | Candle was found in a water front |- The "Perfect Gift" - FOR THE : Man, Woman or Student ® 33 NUMBERED POINT STYLES The Esterbrook pen gives you a personalized point engineered to suit your jn- dividual style of writing or forr any job you do. Whether you write large or small, bold or light, whether you prefer a stub point or a clerical nib . . . one of the 33 points will be just right for you. 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