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

STAR Ny . Editorial Topics The Startling Star A Christmas Meditation By Rev. William Black F.R.G.S. St. John's Presbyterian Church If 'you had been a visitor at Bethlehem on that very first Christmas, what would have surprised you most? ~ Would it have been the dazzling brightness of the Star in the inky midnight sky? -- or the sweet cadences of the angels song announcing the birth of the Saviour in the Manger? -- or the breathtaking wonderment of the shepherds as they were made sore afraid' when the Glory of the Lord shoneround about them'? -- or the haunting question of the Wise Men as laden with gifts they asked -- Jews'? The whole story scintillates with surprise from start to finish and this can never be exhausted. Each generat- ion comes to find it magnetic beyond their under- standing. - None but a fool would say the external evidences are unimportant but it is the tragedies of tragedies that so many stop short of the Great Surprise, namely, that a tiny baby held in his lovely hands and heart the Salvat- ion no other could ever bring. If you had tiptoed into the stable, the sweet radiance of the smile on the face of Mary would have left an impression never to be forgotten -- But that is not the Greatest Wonder. Christ and His mother were rated by the world's standards second class citizens. It was only the accommodation nobody else wanted they received. But the innkeeper did his best in a most embarrassing situation and he should get full marks for it. If we kneel in worship. in that lowly place it will be to find the stable atmosphere forgotten. The Babe in the Manger makes the common place shine with all the - splendour of a palace. Even the straw seems golden and rapture fills our hearts at this miracle of all miracles. This is no place for reason. This is no place for question. It is a place for WORSHIP. If God is willing to do all this for the world then He does not believe it is -- hopeless -- Bethlehem adds a dimension of Hope the world never knew before. Into a world that was lost and had abandoned Hope, He came with a burst of song and overpowering light. This is how He still comes -- All He asks is that the situation be hopeless so far as man. is concerned -- If your life is drained of hope -- it was for you He was born -- How dark and desperate the world was when Jesus Christ was born. It could hardly .have been darker. 'That was why He came. He had an answer men sought then and are seeking today. He had the ONLY ANSWER, and He has it now. What momentous things could be done in Port Perry if = this light that breaks for -a little time at Christmas might invade * every-home and keep on invading 365 days of the year? There are bells that would ring and songs that would be sung if the heaven dipped HOPE came crashing into our hearts with all the wonder of the first Christmas. "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding, great joy". Could any gift be greater than that? (Continued on page 5) PORT PERRY STA COMPANY, LIMITED TH He i SR Serving Port Perry, Brooklin and Surrounding Areas P. HVIDSTEN, Publisher : WM. T. HARRISON, Editor | Member of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Assoslation | Member of the Ontario Weekly Newspaper Ansociation Published every Thursday by The Port Perry . Star Co. Ltd, Port Perry, Ontario. Authorized as second class mall by the Post Office Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Subscription Rates: In Canada $4.50 per yr., "Where is He that is born King of the 7 Department, Ottawa, and for payment of postage dn cash, oR po Single Copy 10¢ on ; ant nns Ss stasis UP A TREE ABOUT WN AVOID FRAYED CORDS, DAMAGED PLUGS KEEP AWAY FROM HEAT KEEP TREE IN REGULARLY-FILLED WATER CONTAINER Am Bill . Smiley CHRISTMAS IS HAIRY! As the getting-ready-for Christmas tempo around our house increases front mild panic to wild hysteria, I can't help thinking a long way baék: to the times when Christ mas was an experience to be anticipated with thrilling delight, to be savoured when © it arrived, rather than the inane ,exhaust- ing scramble it has become in these afflu- - ent times. - i First real indication of Christmas .was the buying of the turkey. In my home town, there was an annual Turkey Fair, late in November. Farmers brought their turkeys to town, fresh-killed and plucked, but with heads, {feet and guts still there. Housewives wan: dered among the turkeys, looking for the perfect bird, pinching, poking, sniffing. Ther it was hung in the woodshed, by the feet. At the right time, it was brought in, the pinfeathers plucked with care, head and feet chopped off and guts removed. Then the scent of home-made dressing filled the air. 'It was a real turkey. Today, we elbow and shove our way along the meat counter, gazing at a row of palid, neatly tucked in, They all look the same, and they all taste. the same (wet paper), but - we are secure in the knowledge that we don't 'have to disembowel them, that they are "eviserated" and that the giblets are in a nice little bag tucked inside thé frozen carcass, 1 can't 'quite believe that they have ever been real turkeys that have walked and eaten and fought and mated, Getting the tree was the next step. You and selected a beautiful spruce, one cutting, dragged & carried it, sometimes two miles, home. There was a great sense of satls- faction, : Today we go down {a a Christmas tree lot, fumble through a of half-frozen, crumby Scotch pines, select the least mis- shapen, take it home, and when it thaws, discover that the frozen side has a gap the length of your arm in it. This is after Exciting for youngsters. went out into the country with your kid 'brother, walked half a mile into the bush the other watching for the farmer. You Sugar and Spice __yellow-white lumps wrapped-in plastic, legs HERE'S HOW TO MAKE stn, YOURS FIREPROOF! -- SAYS BUSY BEAVER ~ USE ONLY LIGHTING SETS © BEARING THIS SEAL BREAKS REJECT "TREE ...IT% TOO DRY USE ONLY : £20. ON 15-AMP CIRCUIT "Ontario Safety League TORONTO forking over a small ransom. There is a great sense of dissatisfaction. Decorations in 'those days were simple, inexpensive, but just right, Strings of red paper bells, venerable but cheery. Strings of red and green curled crepe paper all over the house. The tree itself had "ici- cls" and some colored balls. A few wealthy people had colored lights. On top was a . 'home-made angel. Today, on decorations alone, some people spend what would have fed a family in those days for two months. Fancy candles; store-bought wreaths of ersatz holly; colored lights everywhere, inside and out; trees that are almost hidden from the naked eye by festoons of fribbery. Buying gifts in those days was simple, compared to the frenetic business it is to- day. There was scarcely any money then, and everybody needed something. So it was long underwear, or a hand-knit sweater, socks or gloves, maybe a few teal luxuries, like a 59-cent game of snakes and ladders, or a book. Ten dollars didn't go far, even then, : 'Today people almost go around the bend trying to tind something for other people 50 YEARS AGO Thursday, December 20,1919 The Road Commission wishes to inform the residents that. they are not to dump ashes on the roads, after the snow comes, also that no ashes are to be piled in heaps on the side of the road. The teachers and students of Port Perry High School are deeply grateful to kind friends who have unsolicited handed in contributions to help to pay for the soldier's memorial flagstaff erected recently. a 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, December 21,1944 We are glad to hear that Gordon Goode has recovered sufficiently from his recent operation to be able to return to his home. Owing to the condition of the roads and uncertain weather, there will be no shows at the Town Hall Theatre Port Perry until fur- ther notice. Our forces need 'books; magazines and short stories. Please leave them on the 2nd floor of the Post office Fri- day afternoons. ; 15° YEARS AGO Thursday, December 23, 1954 The retiring chairman of the Port Perry Public School Board Mr. W.T. Harris and Mrs. Harris were hosts to the Public' School Trustees and their wives and the teachers and their wives and husbands, on December 15th. On Saturday evening, Dec- ember 18th a surprise cele- bration was held for Mr. and Mrs. Frank Lee, of Green- bank on the occasion of their Silver Anniversary. 10 YEARS AGO Thursday, December 24, 1959 who have everything, or can buy it. No ~~ body makes a gift. They buy them. They haven't time, because of the "Christmas rush". Clothes that don't fit. ' Eight-dollar | toys that last five minutes, A hundred dollars. worth of ski equipment that isn't the right kind. ~~ 5 Christmas Eve then was carols around the plano, mother stuffing the turkey, kids Stockingtutfing time for the adults, A. quiet, chat, with a little despair that there wasn't money for skates and new winter coats, and things ike the PREVA "Today it's" frantic last-minute shopping and wrapping of gifts, entertaining people who have managed to finish their rat-race (we got to bed at 4 a.m. last year after receiving carollers and others, and; believe it or not, we had frozen chicken pies for Christmas dinner). Hope I'm not getting maudlin, but Christ mas used to be merry. Now, it's just hairy. : ~Toronto Telegram Syndicate - Taggart house in The members . of Scott Junior "Calf Club and their parents were the guests of 'the Uxbridge Kiwanis Club at a Prize Night on Friday December 11th at Uxbridge High School. : { Mr, and Mrs, Cameron and "son of Beaverton have moved into the former Mr. D. Mc- 'Prince Albert. : Six year old Kenneth Bal- linger received head injuries, and severe bruises and abras-° ions Saturday morning when he ran into the side of a car ° while sleigh riding down Elgin Street.