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spirit of giving lives in quebecs colorful tradition the acton free press wednesday december 20 1967 c 13 the traditional spirit of giving thats worldwide at christmastime takes on a spe cial form and meaning in french quebec this year as every year will see the enact ment of a masquerade known as la oulgnolee to benefit all the poor of quebec la oulgnolee was begun by the first french colonists who settled in quebec but historians date the custom to the druldlc rite which cele brated the arrival of a new year the cutting with gold en scythes and the gather ing of mistletoe that grew in the sacred forests dress like trapper the french version of la oulgnolee has been kept alive for modern quebec by such organizations as the st vin cent de paul society it in volves a doortodoor collec tion for the poor by les outg- noleurs since 1901 the role of les oulgnoleurs has been played by members of the commer cial travelers club of quebec inc these modern businessmen dress like the canadian trap pers of old with their red knit caps and colorful sashes sing ing the song of la oulg nolee they approach each boumboider with a long red woolen stocking to be filled by gifts for the poor les oulgnoleurs of early quebec bad a very different method of attaining their goal arriving at the homes of the villagers they sang a song that asked for a contribution or threatened the abduction of the eldest daughter of the household fichubid happen the master and mistress of the house or someone repre senting them then opened the door and allowed les oulg noleurs to enter gifts were placed in a bag and later emptied into a cart that followed along behind them through the village ac companied by a swarm of chil dren and dogs sometimes when two differ ent groups of les oulgno leurs met a fight ensued and the treasures of one cart would fill up the cart of the winners aiding ihe nredy originally food and cloth ing as well as money was col lected but for the past twenty years it has been only money and the generous people of quebec have contributed as much as 30000 for the poor the money is deposited in a bank and checks are issued to the parlsn priests of the city who use the money to aid all the needy regardless of reli gious denomination the danish christmas eve dinner features rice porridge containing a magic almond that brings good luck too merry christmas celebrations once were so rowdy mat the puritan la england in the early 16406 legally forbade the observance of christ mas joyous chrisms the mtory of chriiimas jives anew inspiring all with peace and joy may many blesiings be yours on this chriitmai manaowumt and staff pete masson motors limited acton oeoroitown chrijsxma we hope santa leaves some room in your stocking or our wish of happy times for you and yours merry christmas gordon hardware 4a9 limited 29 mill st i gjv phone 1332720 across the years music reflects holiday joy as carolers sing traditional songs of christmas carol brothers carol carol joyfully with the coming of christmas almost everyone accepts the injunction of the old song to carol joyfully from special church services to family gatherings a carol sing is a traditional pleasure the custom of singing carols at holiday time is an an cient one begun perhaps even before the first christ mas at celebrations such as the roman saturnalia modern interest in music and in learning to play musical instruments has given carol singing a healthy boost in most homes at least one member of the family can be depended on to provide instrumental accompani ment for carols and the instrument may vary from the old favorite piano to the currently popular guitar music in any form has long been especially beloved as a means of expressing christmas joy early christian believers were forced to worship in secret and there fore quietly then in the fifth and sixth centuries christianity came out of the catacombs and exultation for freedom of worship was expressed in the glad ringing of church bells early hymns and carols however were in latin carol singing in its modern form in the common language of the country probably originated in 1223 when st francis introduced the first real istic replica of the manger scene in the little town of oreccio italy from this beginning the practice of erecting a creche or crib soon became a christmas tradition in many towns around the representation of the first christmas villagers gathered to marvel pray andslng often the creche was constructed in a churchyard or on a public street thus it was natural for the worshippers to stroll away from the devotional service formal or informal and continue singing the beloved carols as they made their way home this spontaneous action may well have led to the custom of going from place to place to sing carols and the more music the better was the rule any musical instru ment however humble was a welcome addition and accompaniment in later centuries the wassailing or gooding expeditions helped the growth of caroling singers went from house to house receiving treats as rewards for carols even oppression could not put an end to carol singing when the puritans abolished christmas observances in england printed sheets of carols were bootlegged for a penny and poets and musicians went right on composing carols as they do today 66- mat pane 27 variety of games for christmas fun everyones a child at christ mas time and thats why there it nothing as much fun when family and friends gather as game playing since christmas groups usually include both children and adults games that both can enjoy are best the following games can be played with no special equip ment other than that on hand charades christmas charades is a live ly game that the whole family will enjoy divide the group into two teams individual members of teams are then called upon to act out a word character phrase scene or situation and since its christmas all the charades should have christmas overtones subjects are supplied on a slip of paper by the opposing teami and then passed on to the actor from here on its his jdb to see how quickly he can get his team mates to guess what he is acting out the night before christmas jingle bells a partridge in a pear tree and filling the christmas stocking are just some of the many many sub jects that can be used santas sleigh santas packing his sleigh is a quiet christmas game that provides fun and hearty laugh ter it starts simply enough with one member of 1he group saying santas packing his sleigh and hes bringing a toy dog then each person repeats the sentence adding another gift to santas sleigh the ob ject of the game is to repeat correctly in order the comp lete list of gifts in santas sleigh and its harder than it sounds as the list gets longer and longer more and more players just cant seem to remember the whole list and its order so consequently they drop out until only one is left wordplay a popular pencil and paper game is called word play the object of the game is to see how many words can be made from a phrase such as merry christmas to all a time limit is set and the rule is that no letter can be used in any wore more often than it appears in the phrase in other words words made from merry christmas to all can include no more than one e i or o while they could contain as many as two s or three vs since word play involves competition among its play ers its advisable to allow the children to compete against one another while the adults battle it out among themselv es wmtrnto tet every heart rejoice christmas source of joy and hope for all is with us once again we wish for you and yours a renewal of the bless ings and beaut of that holy night acton electric company jake vanderkooy hhhhjhg9 imay the v9jwllleaujhkk3th j at bkk7 m jkkbhasflsjsjbjsjsjsjsjsjsjsjsjijlkviiljsjbaiilhbsjsiaiiil t w 1 taju 1ihp amallnmi ytaiifi jkp iffi w i i r br avbf vfli sjjr vaafjb acton jersey dairy y 1 the acton 103 santa claus was starting to nod his head m the weekends heavy schedule begins to take effect sunday afternoon at the firefighters christmas party dennis manes accepts his gift from santa one of 58 children of acton fire fighters who were present for the cleus visit staff photo play clay ornaments are so easy to make replenishing your supply of christmas tree orntments etch year is an expansive proposition but if you and the children make your own out of homemade play- clay youll save money youll also wind up with festive fire proof ornaments that wont shat ter into hundreds ot dangerous little silvers if they fall and since playclay is made out of foods its safe in the smallest hands heres how to make the clay in a saucepan mix thoroughly to gether one level cup of corn starch two level cups of baking soda then add one and a quart er cups of water mix and cook over medium heal stirring con stantly until mixture reaches a doughlike consistency about four minutes turn out on work surface cover with a damp tow el and jet sit until cool enough to handle knead as you would dough now heres how to make the ornaments roll clay into little balls tear drops or bird shapes insert loop of colored cord in one end for banging decorate with paint felttip markers by roll ing in glitter or by pressing col ored cord into clay in desired pattern insert snip of aluminum foil in sides of birds for wings moisten clay with water to help cord glitter or foil stick ornaments will harden over night faster if you put them on a wire rack in a warm turned- off oven if you want the entire batch of clay colored add food coloring or tempera paint to the water before mixing it in with the starch and soda loneliest day for those in prison christmas may be the loneliest day of the year yet the visits and gifts of salvationists bring a measure of cheer and comfort perhaps even the courage to start a new way of life more than 42000 men and women in correctional institutions are visited each year by salvation army members want santa is mora people many tinsel and other christmas decorations should be non flammable qreeunos with lots of bustle and good cheer we merrily prepare for the pleasures of hristmas day may the holiday bring in bountiful measure many happy moments with family and friends for you to treasure f manaoemint and staff hmtons 5c to or