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8The Caniadian Statesman, Bowmanvilie, December 21, 1977 Section Three More Scenegýs frod-%m% C ouf C-À Christmas Prartyw« in Orono stead of a1 Christmas tree, there are fiags, palrns, and flowers in the home and a candie is kept burning in the window Al night long. In Sicily, a procession fol- Iows Christmas Eve ser-, vices. With a waxen image of the Christ Child at the, head of the procession, the celebrants wind their way through the town, while church belîs ring and rock- ets fiare. A beautiful Polish cus- tom wouid be observed when the first star of the evening appeared 'on Christmnas Eve. Straw would be placed under the supper table, along with dishes and a tabiecloth. One chair would be ieft vacant for the Christ Child, as the head of the famîly broke and shared a "peace wafer", a symbol of peace on earth. Another lovely custom cornes from Ireland. There, on Christmnas evening, can- dies are lighted and placed in each window and doors are left ajar. This is to sym- bolize the off ering of hospi- tality to Joseph ýand Mary and the Holy Babe. The candies are Ieft aglow A night long anid are finally snuffed out by those an- swering to the name of Mary. In Switzerland, children wait for the arrivai of "Sa- michiaus" on December 5th. Wearing a jolly mask, he boasts a white fiowing beard, a fur-trimmed robe and carnies a gray sack and staff.' The egend of St. Winfred A legendi about St. Win- fred, who w,ýas a missionary to the Scmdinavians in the 8th century, expl-)ains the origin of thie Christmas tree. It sems that St. Winfred was cutting, down a large oak tree. wheni suddenly a young fir tree, spranïg up in its place. The missionary declared this miraculous tree to be holy and gave it to the Scandinavians to commernorate the birth of the Savior. gfrom al-of us al i ElIîsShoe s g49 King St. W. Bowmanvilleg SMO WFLAKES AROUSE AWE, ADMIRATION Arng the many delights of Christmastime are those woudrous bits of crystal we cal1 suowflakes. Is there any pastime more pleasant than watching the first snowfall of the season? While scieutists rnay des- cribe snowflakçes as water vapor in the air that has cnystalized into geornetri- cal forms, most suowfiake fauciers prefer a term such as "suow blossomý?. AI- though two suowfl1akes are rarely alike, they do faîl in- to two dist inct categories, columnar andI tabular. Most of them are transparent, with brilliant facets that refleet light, giving them a white appearance when mass ed. Jncluded in the columnar formi of snowflakes are hex- agonal columns and long, slender, needle-like columns. Tabular forms are the most varied and beautiful snow crystals, assuming delicate, starry, hranchîng forms. It is these crystais that have drawn the awe and admiration of scientists and lay pensons alike for centuries. Naturalists have ai- tempted to dnaw these fragile patterus in earlier times and more receutly have made photo-micro- graphs of the crystals. Per- haps part of the fascination Chm"stmas Customs olf ar AwE Every nation has its share of delightful Christ- mas customs, and although today lnany of those tradi- tions are no longer strictiy observed, some of these quaint customs are stili rernerbered., In Czechoslovakia, for instance, the Christmas season signaled the time to end quarrels, so that the new year could begin in a spirit of love and frieid- ship. Thus, there was a great deal of visiting back andiforth as everyone sought to patch up any mis- understandings. Caroling was also a popular custom in Czechoslovakia and as the carolers went about singing, they carried minia- ture Nativity scenes with them. in France, the holiday of snowfiakes is their'fleet- ing nature. enhancing the ethereal quality of their beauty. Although we understand the process through which snowflakes are formed, thanks to science, we can neyer lose that sense of wonder and'admiration at the first snowf ail. season was the occasion for, a comic scene. A huge wicker figure known as Melchior, carrying a basket and wearing colorful attire, would be strapped to a donkey and taken door to door, collecting food. Al the poor of the parish would then be iuvited to IY', Long Ago corne to, the local church, where these food donations would bc given to them. Wreaths and chains made of brilliant tropical flowers offer a great con- trast at Christrnastime in the Philippines. There chil- dren parade and sîng after rnass, led hy a baud, In- g \ ,,,, Merry Christmas to every- one who has visited1u ti f ~year! ushi fromn g Jerry and Glenn g at a63 BsJT.AUTO REPAIR Li as ne Rd. E. Phone 623-3209 Bowmanîl for remembering ail the friends we cçherish, and for wishing them al 7/~ W/U~/IVV7 from Marilyn - Brian - Barb - Harm.ienýa TraelCentre 47 King St. W. 623-3182 sevn you grr thgomsîo n tf g of Public-__________ gs g g g g (i -g g g g g g g g g w L