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Show 9C MST VALLEY View t Thursday, Dec. 23, 1982 THE GREEN SHEET WEST Ways Of Observing Seasons Have Common Link east coast of the United States it is noon. Families are gathering at laden tables, where turkeys wait to be carved. And in England other families are sitting down to late afternoon tea. Already dusk has fallen in the Holy Land, where it is seven p.m. The first stars have appeared in the sky; another Christ- - In the Philippines clocks are striking one. Christmas Day has begun and through d the warm darkness worshippers stream home from midnight church services. At this same moment it is seven a.m. in wintry Alaska, where children tumble from warm beds to see what Santa Claus has left them. Along the golden-skinne- d flower-scente- mas is drawing to its close. In every time zone Christs birthday is celebrated. The ways of celebration, the legends and folklore of the season, vary. They have, however, much in common. The gifts, the foods, the languages in which carols are sung, the sources of radiance, the religious ceremonies, dif- fer only in detail. Everywhere there is some form of giving, feasting and song. Everywhere there is light. Everywhere - for at least this day peace and goodwill prevail among men. A -- i Crossing the Atlantic St. Nicholas was first carried to the New World on the ship Santa Maria, for it is Christopher Columbus who is credited with 1 the first commemo- ration of the saint in North America. Columbus entered the Haitian Name: Kevin Ashe, age 11, Elementary. Parents of Bohio in the West Indies on the saints day, grade 6, Stan-sbur- y Mr. and Mrs. December 6, 1492, and named the port St. Nicholas. But it was the explorer Henry Hudson who actually staked the saints claim in North Ameri- Alvin Ashe. "i harbor 3 MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ca. REPRESENTATIVE Hudson was com- missioned by the Dutch in 1609 to find a northwest passage to China. His explorations seemed to indi DRYSON GARRETT .5 cate that the rivers of the American continent were not the proper channels, but he brought back glowing reports of the lands he had claimed for the Dutch around the mouth of a river later to be named for him. In 1621 the Dutch West India Company was formed, and gradually during the next five years many Dutch families were enticed with offers of land to settle in the New Netherlands. Then, in 1626, a whole fleet of ships loaded with settlers set sail from Holland, the lead ship, The Goede Vrowe (The Good Housewife), displaying on its bow a carved figurehead of their protector, Saint Nicholas. They landed at Nieuw Amsterdam, the little Dutch village at the southern tip of the island of Manahatta, which had recently been purchased for trinkets (valued at the famous $24 price) from the friendly Iroquois Indians. In gratitude for guiding them safely across the Atlantic, the settlers were said to have erected a gilded statue of their patron saint in the town square. Colonists from other European countries soon followed the Dutch, spreading their own cultures to the south, the north, and eventually to the west. Meanwhile, stern puritans and the prim Pilgrims were colonizing and part of Christmas. New finding England fault with all frivolities, especially in connection decorated with sparkling glass balls and garlands of tinsel. with Christthe 1651, mas. In springerle, and other was German, the firs and fragant were first spruces Massachusetts legislature passed an act rulwhosoever ing that shall be found observing any such day as Christmass.. .either by "S V- treats are (See Page 'X IS ' t feasting, or in any other way... every such person so offending shall pay a fine for each offense of five shillings to the county. Thirty years later the ruling was rescinded, but many New Englanders never fully recognized Christmas as a holiday, except for religious ceremonies, until the present century. 4 Germany-Austri- a Many of the worlds cherished Christmas traditions stem from 4 A J a land steeped in the lore of the season. In Europe Germany, from time Drawn by: John Wimmer, Orchard Elemen- tary, 6th Grade. Parents: Sherrie Wim-- o merGene Vaught. ftUE a 4 a 4 imme- a morial evergreen trees had been brought into homes during the northern winter as symbols of unending life, but it was here, in the Black Forest, that they were first used as Elementary. Mr. and Mrs. V.M. Js Wood. Merry Christmos from all of m I i VILLAGE at T.V. GRANGER 1661 West 4800 So. 262-334- 6 lOataenieMaeitieaMeaHeieieaert 4 a OFFICE $ 1 4065 W. 3100 So. 1 at Allied Everyone . . . . . joins our talented young in wishing you and yours . artist UJiaka , V. HOLIDAY OIL STATIONS AND TIRE CENTERS THERE'S ONE NEAR YOU ! 0 HUNTER 0 7V ft Drawn by: Sandy Berg, 6th grade, Plymouth School. Parents: Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Berg. HOLIDAY : iff T 4 a 4 TO fill! SEASONS GREETINGS Parents ttd MERRY, .CHRISTMAS! TO TOU FROM ALL OF US AT i 10C, Col. 1) V: . t holiday German origin. And the colorful German Advent of forebearing labor, the - , stol-le- n mouth-waterin- g Ukwtwi ' lebku-chen- Marzipan, Here, too, when Alsace T Drawn by Ryan A. Coates, a Plymouth Mr. and Mrs. Dennis A. Coates. lOvi fk the son of r, tiewidy c( tlm wwe . . . 6419 So. State in Murray Dial 262-641- 1 |