The Clinton chronicle. (Clinton, S.C.) 1901-current, December 23, 1970, Image 17
WORLD-WIDE, IT’S MERRY CHRISTMASTIME!
THE CHRONICLE, Clinton, S. C„ Dec. 23, 1970—3-C
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Yuletide Customs Spread Around Globe
Mistletoe, Santa Claus, letters to Santa, Christmas customs
galore — where did they all begin?
The customs of Christmas come from many lands and
many eras. They evolve from pagan ceremonies into Chris
tian rituals. And they stretch from West to East, from North
to South, as each country contributes something special and
traditional to the celebrations of the holiday.
When seasonal gaiety rings out in Canada, the merriment
is echoed in Mexico. When North or South Americans gather
for Christmas festivities, the people of Sweden are doing the
same — and so are the peoples of Holland and France and
Italy and Spain and countless other European countries.
In the far East, Christian communities spread the customs
of Christmas, which mingle with the year-end ceremonies
observed by those of other faiths.
That the legend and lore of Christmas knows no boundaries
is illustrated in the following round-up of Yuletide customs,
based on information provided by the editors of the Encyclo
pedia International.
In Kngland
From the north of England
comes the happy custom of
the kissing bough, A large
hoop, twined with greens, is
decorated with apples and
candles. And in the center
there’s mistletoe— signal for
exchanging kisses.
In Austria
Custom of writing letters
to Santa Claus may have be
gun in Austria, where, long
ago, it was an Advent tradi
tion for children to write let
ters containing lists of what
they'd like to receive on St
Nicholas’ Day
In Italy
From Italy comes a most
poetic addition to Christmas
lore For three weeks during
the Christmas season, chil
dren traditionally go from
place to place reciting Christ
mas poems They expect coins
in return, to buy holiday
goodies.
In SvmmIcii
An ancient custom that is
still observed in some Swed
ish households today is that
of dipping bread into the
pot Each person dips a
piece of bread into pork and
sausage drippings and eats it
for good luck
In Hnllaml
For St Nicholas season, it’s
traditional in Holland to
make flat cakes called Klass-
jes Once exclusively made in
the form of the bishop, St
Nicholas. Klassjes now take
any form of bird, beast or
fish
In Kranee
At Salers in central France,
old-time tradition calls for a
king and queen to rule over
Christmas festivities. Rulers
pay for tYie pHvllege, 'sfnee
they are "elected" by bidding
at an auction held on the
church steps
Turkey Terlytkl
King Kamehameha IV, who
brought so much to Hawaii, also
was responsible for proclaiming
Christmas a national holiday in
1862 It is reported that even
the missionaries were pleased,
and each group — Americans,
Europeans, and Orientals — cele
brated their own idea of Christ
mas This independence of ob
servance persists, and one of the
most popular turkey dishes comes
through with a distinctly Ori
ental flavor
2 cups soy sauce
1*4 cups firmly packed light
brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger,
grated, or *4 teaspoon
ground ginger
*4 cup vegetable oil
*4 cup sake or sherry
(optional)
1 10 to 12 pound turkey, cut
into serving sire pieces.
Combine soy sauce, brown
sugar, garlic, ginger, oil and
sherry. Pour soy sauce mixture
over turkey pieces in a shallow
pan. Allow to stand for 20 min
utes or more to marinate, turn
ing occassionally. Remove turkey
from marinade and reserve mari
nade. Place turkey pieces on grill
placed about 6 to 8 inches above
hot coals. Grill a total of m
hours, or until tender. Brush oc
casionally with reserved mari
nade, as well as turning pieces
occasionally. It's different, it’s
good, and serves 8 to 10.
In Germany
A procession which blends
pagan and Christmas cus
toms is part of the legend
and lore of the holiday in
Ruppin, Germany. A rider on
a white horse, symbolizing
the horse of the pagan god
Wotan, leads the parade. He
is followed by Father Christ
mas, who is decked with rib
bons and carries candy and
fruit.
In Switzerland
A Swiss custom that dates
back to the Middle Ages is
to start the New Year free
of debts. December 6th, the
feast of St. Nicholas of Myra,
the first Santa Claus, is the
day set to meet all monetary
obligations such as rents and
mortgages.
In Venezuela
Hallaca, a native Venezue
lan dish, is an awaited deli
cacy during the Christmas
season. It is made of corn
meal with pork and chicken
stuffing and numerous other
ingredients, and then wrap
ped in plantain leaves to
form a type of pie
• » •
In Argentina
It's a mid-summer Christ
mas in Argentina, and the
traditional feast is generally
served outdoors. Rosebuds
and jasmine deck the table,
which has as edible center-
piece a whole roast suckling
Pig-
• • •
In Brazil
Brazilian lore and legend
says that Three King's Day
is a time for poetry contests
Verses accompanied by gui
tars are featured
• • •
In Chile
Unique among Christmas
customs in Chile is a grand
fiesta that centers around
horse racing
'MAS GREETKIK
May the season shine with warmth, peace
and happiness for you and your family.
CLINTON CAFE
* D. 0. and Janie Freeman
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IN MEXICO, C \II.A -DECOR ATED I’INA I A — an earllienwar.-
jar filled willi gnndie* — i' a Cliri'-lma* eliullenge fnr tile yniiiig-
'ter*. Hlindfnlded. they attempt In break the piliata, whieh may he
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nf toy** and sweet"*. I’hnto frnni Encyelopediu Internalinal.
In Colonihiu
People parade in masquer
ade on Christmas Eve in
Colombia. Each masquerader
tries to guess the identity of
others. When someone guess
es correctly, he can claim a
small gift from the person
who was "unmasked.”
* * *
In Peru
Toro! In Lima, Peru,Christ
mas day is not exclusively a
church holiday, because it
also marks the greatest bull
fight of the year.
In Costa Kira
In the island country of
Costa Rica, "portals” are set
up in homes. These are elab
orate Nativity scenes some
times filling an entire room.
In Guatemala
An ancient custom in Gua
temala is to "light the road
to Bethlehem” by placing
lanterns in windows and
doorways for nine nights be
fore Christmas.
In Panama
Children in Panama par
ticipate in midnight mass on
Christmas Eve by caroling to
an accompaniment of casta
nets and tamborines.
BOXING DAY
This is the first work day after
Christmas and used to be the day
when tenants got their Christmas
boxes. In Norway it’s a big party
day — children’s in the early
afternoon; the grown-up parties
later in the evening.
Eastside Greenhouse
^ Branson and Willetts AabUl
| §36 E. Carolina Are 833*2804
CHINESE < HHIST'I.ANS CEI EIIKA I E “MIEN Dun Jirh, M the
Holy Mirth FTolituI, ul 4 hri-lniO'. Mill ''a ill a 4 dan- i» on hand. loo.
a** hr i« in thi-> m rne. typical of a laiwun 4 diri'lina**, where he
greet' young'll r' enjoying a ride on a merry-go-round. 1‘holn-
graph i' from the New Hook of Knowledge.
stesMesMc**************************************
With good
old-fashioned
enthusiasm we send
Christmas greetings and
warm wishes that you and your dear ones
may enjoy a bounty of wonderful holiday pleasures.
D. E. TRIBBLE & CO.
We join Santa in taking this opportunity
to wish all of our customers and friends a Merry,
Merry Christmas. May your holiday be rich
with the joys and blessings of happy family unity
and warm friendships. It's been our pleasure to serve you.
CLINTON-LYDIA MILLS STORES
PHONE 8334)710 PHONE 8334)631