_ _ _______ SOUTHERN OREGON NEWS REVIEW. THURS.. DEC. i j . .947
-fl^ G R E E T ir iG S
SINCERE GOOD WISHES
IN THE GERMAN alpine districts
In the (
an ancient belief is that cattle can shepherds
■peak on Christinas Eve. No one j mountains
ever hears them, however, and it is bagpipes 1
considered sinful to try to listen, penter sho
Another tradition holds that bees St. Joseph
can sing on this holy night
SHOOTING OFF GUNS and gre
nades on Christmas
morning. The faithful beasts wai
E ve to fr ig h te n V — r~ V H
outside until their masters hav
aw av mischievous
I completed their devotions.
spirits is an old ens-
AFTER THE CHRISTMAS Ev,
to m in s o u th e rn
supper, or Willia,
Germany. This col-
P olish g irls lift the g -----
orful ritual has been K t
table cloth and pick
' UZ
forgotten in most
up handfuls of the
s '*
communities, but it
Is s till practiced in
)
straw that has been
a few places, like
placed on the table.
VI O A
I
Berchtesgaden 1 n
Any g irl who finds
A.
the Bavarian alps.
an unthreshed ear
The noisy ceremony
o f g r a in w i l l be
dates back to pagan times, when married soon and
Jr
bonfires were kindled to greet the w ill be prosperous.
\
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returning sun.
according to tradi-
//-¿ I
On Christmas Eve about ten tion.
iJ w
r r i a YM
o’clock members of the Weihnachts-
IT IS A PRETTY and humane
schiessen Verein (Christmas Eve
shooting society) pack up their Christmas custom in Scandinavian
rifles, shotguns, revolvers and hand- countries to hang a sheaf of grain
grenades, and march to their ap outside the window in some snow
pointed spot in the hills. Then at covered yard so that the birds may
eleven o’clock they begin firing share in the feast.
In Sweden and Finland the Christ
away into the air, setting off fire
works and lighting bonfires. At ex mas tree is kept standing for some
actly half-past eleven all the bang time, usually until January 13,
ing stops, and the men quietly go off Canute s Day, when the neighbor
hood children are invited in to
to their village churches.
plunder it. It is a matter of great
BRAZILIAN CHILDREN parade
pride
to the average youngster to
through the streets at Christmas
time dressed colorfully as shep have attended a large number of
herds. singing carols. This proces- "plunderings.”
THOMPSON’S GROCERY
FOR ALL THE JOYS OF
47 N. Mum
(on the Plaza)
A HAPPY HOLIDAY
L
G. R. Trltes
II. E. Newton
of Christmas
Love, Cheer and Good
Good cheer
Be w ith you always
Good luck
ond may
ALMOST UNIVERSAL in South
America is the custom of the fam .
happy days
Happiness and joy forever
be yours
uons associated with the North
American Santa Claus are coming
into favor. Since it is summer in
this tropical country in December,
Santa Claus with his fur-trimmed
clothes, sleigh and reindeer seems
a bit incongruous, however.
IN COLOMBIA THEY celebrate
Christmas Day with
a glorious fireworks
L
«. ■ display. In alm ost
every village sq uare
a huge wooden ef-
HffliaSJsJwW
cow is
Men in
clothing
nJ
the cow,
and shoot off fire-
crackers, R om an
candles and rock-
ets, much to the de
light of the chil-
ren. This curious custom is called
ae Vacas Locas, or fiesta of the
m
IM M
flgy of a
e re c te d .
fire-proof
crawl into
BILL DALY & DALE MAYFIELD
Ashland Coffee Shop
Ashland Home & Auto Supply
uog and cat get
special Christmas
fa re , sheaves o f
grain are hung for
the birds, and a
large piece of suet
put on the bird tray
outside the kitchen
w in d o w . On the
fa rm s cow and
horse, sheep and
pig and all the
other animals get special treat
ment.
The tradition of hanging
sheaves of yellow heavy - headed
grain outside the house in midwinter
is as old as our history. Thousands
of years ago, in the Stone Age, the
belief was that the spirit which lived
in the earth and made things grow,
fled when the grain was cut. The 1
spirit hid. it was thought, in the
last remaining stalks, that was why I
the peasants laid aside the last ‘
sheaf and kept it. Midwinters, when
the earth was frozen and covered
with snow, and it was dark almost
all day, the Stone Age people hung
this sheaf near the place they lived
The spirit hiding in it helped the sun
become strong again, and later it
returned to the thawing fields to
bring the people a new harvest of
blessed grain.
25 East Main, Ashland, Oregon
a
// is name shall
Prince n/ Peace,
i ^ hes
F or A G lorious
H oliday
RALPH A. FOSTER
UNION SERVICE STATION
237 East Main S t, Ashland, Orrg
« W W « )®
Bring you true happiness
Ashland
Laundry Co.
TO OUR GOOD FRIENDS AND CUSTOMERS
Wick Furniture Store
r I
it
Department Store
1'
;
on the Plaza