Paga Twelve
the legend of the woodman
and the little stranger
Once upon a time many
years ago there bved a
woodman and his family is
a little cottage deep is the
forest
When Oristmas Eve
came the family sat O owt
to a meagre meal bet their
spirits were rich with prat,
tuoe that they had anything
to eat and a roof over their
bead* against the snow
storm 'aging outsioe They
were grateful too for the
fire bursung brakly tn the
grate
As they were partaking
of their tiun soup there was
a gentle knock tn the door
Who I wonder,” said
the woodman
is coming
to see us on such a hitler
night*' But be opened the
door letting the snowflakes
biow in There stood a child
pale and tired and shivering
■ ragged clothes The fam
ily quietly brought him m
put warm dry clothes on
him and gave him some hot
soup and bread Then the
woodmans wde a kindly
soul gently put birr to bed
on the cut where her son
usually slept
After a time the whole
family went to bee During
the night they were awake-
ened by the sound of siz^
mg the most beautiful to
fail on mortal ears far
when they looked out the
window they saw it was
coming from a choir of
angels’
Awed by the spectacle
the woodman and bis family
knew at once that the little
visitor was the Christ Child
and bowed m reverence
Breaking a branch from a
fir tree the Child set it tn
the ground saying
Be
cause of your goodness to
me Uns branch will be
come a tree It will always
be grew and will bear fruit
at Christmas and you will
always be blessed with
plenty at that season ”
And so every Christmas
after that the woodman
and his family enjoyed deb
ctous fruit heaped high on
In the center of the choir their table the gift of the
stood the little boy dressed Christ Child
in splendid robes, and
around him a radiance
which out-dazzled the white
Ä Olb-Pasbioncb
\X'hy the
Christmas
I ree \\ ears
Icicles
and Tinsel
One of the most beloved
stories is about the Utile
spiders and bow they helped
trim the tree
According to the old tale
one Christmas morning af
ter the tree had been
trimmed it 'eposed there
in all its glory awaiting the
children
F- l i I 1 11 !■! j J 1'R J 1 ! 1 FJ J .» 1-
Hope you and your family share
an old-fashioned Christmas decked
with friendship, fellowship, festivity
.1
Thursday, December 21, I97J
The Nyssa Gate Qty Journal, Nyssa, Oregon
1
Malheur Memorial Hospital
Every old house and
many a new has spiders
curious creatures that they
are they wanted to see the
lovely tree too
not just
from the floor but up close
So they crept all over it'
until they had satisfied
themselves completely that
the tree was ,ndeed a won-
drously beautiful tning But
as they crept they ¡eft cob
webs
beautiful also to
Nature s eyes but not so
attractive to mothers’.
It's that time of year u hen homes are aglou u ith
festive decorations and sounds of Noe! fill the
air . . . a time to pause and think of our
many uonderfu! friends. Merry Christ mas to everyone!
Nyssa Co-op Supply
When the Christ Child
came to bless the tree, be
realized that the mother of
the household would be d»
mayed So He touched the
w ebs
and the* all tumed
to Silver
Ever since that time
Christmas tre« are hung
with shining tinsel
Shining icicle* are alsc
part of the pretty Christmas
picture Another old story
gives a reason
One wintry night the
Christ Child was wandering
througr. a forest It was
cold and be knew be must
find shelter for the night
The trees were bare But a
pine tree with low-hanging
branch« offered same pre
lection from the wind
When the pine tree, with
its prescience that is known
only to God realized it was
caring for the Christ Child
tears of joy fell from its
branch« As they fell they
froze into icicl«
In the morning the pine
tree had been transformed
into a vision of dazzling
brilliance
And that is why at Christ
mastime we trim the tree
with icicles
Spanish
Piñata Fun
Geli» Break
A joyous Christmas
mas tradition for Mcx-
icaa boys and girts s
the breaking of the
piñata, a decorated
earthen jar
Sometimes, the piñ
ata may be a caricature
of people or animals
The piñata is sus
pended by a rape that
can raise or lower •.
Each child is blind
folded and usually giv
en three chances to
poke at the piñata with
a stek
When it’s broken,
the piñata releases a
bounty of delicious
fruits, sweets, nuts and
toys
The children scrab
ble to daim as many
goodies as possible
Loa Pastor« a Spanish
Indian play
i> given in
Texas each year It is given
by every-day people who
work for a living and find
time to act at odd hours
The rehearsals take place
secretly tn someone's back
yard . .
and the play is
performed in someone's
back yard
unpublicized
unheralded The objective
is that no one shall see the
miracle play just from
mere curiosity spirituality
is the raison d etre
Introduced into Mexico
by Spanish monks it is
given from Christmas to
Candlemas by an amateur
group gathered by invita
tion from bouse to house
The scene at one end of
the yarn an altar of wood
covered with black sateen
the background for the
manger scene On the steps
the family s prize posses
sions while above ceilings
are decked with rose-
entwined crepe paper In
the center of the lowest
step is the Christ Child a
life-size doll placed on a
platter of colorful candies
nearby are creatures of the
Manger of odd sizes and
shapes
Opposite this scene, at
the other end of the yard is
a tent with volcanoes dev
ils fire From it live dev
ils' emerge
Indian miracle play
ry gaily ornate staffs, and
chant a song which goe* on
and on Behind them Ermi
tano which as his name
•uggests. is a hermit, be is
a comic character, and
represents the good of the
world, the soul on its
earthly journey Sometime*
the Archangel Gabriel ac
companies him
Behind him come seven
devils, sii in sequinned
black and mask* of am
ma Is. and then Satan in
bright red. all wear spark
ler* in their caps
There is no formal end to
the performance The dev
ils are vanquished and the
shepherds kiss the Child A
wild Indian eaters and a
fight ensue* He is over
come, and he kiss« the
Child Then all solemnly
and slowly approach the
altar and pay respect* to
the Child Candy and food
are offered