CASTLEGAR | VOL. 21, No. 51 Published Every {ima |) DOLLS AND CHRISTMAS GO TOGETHER — and this doll with her golden rls and golden harp of the season. She’s one «=. Pryor International Doll Library Artistic Views Reflect ‘Winter In Bethlehem, it’s the rainy seasol In "Hawaii, Santa Claus might arrive by boat, and jtmas could be celebrated ee San beach. In ad Christmas is a time for pic- nicking — it’s summer “down under.” Even in Northern lands, De- cember 25th does not always provide the pleasures of a ‘iwitte Christmas. In spite of the varying climes where Christmas is observed, and in spite of the frequent shortage of ice and snow at the appropriate time, the tradi- tional image of Christmas Is, and probably always will be, pictured in countless paint- Ings. e countryside under a blanket of snow, the hillside drifted deep in white, the trees bent down with snow or crys- tal-bright with ice, the lakes, rivers and streams gleaming in ice-covered magnificence ~~ these are favorite themes in holiday lore, and savorite dreams for all those who spend ristmas coztiy among the conveniences of modern cen- trally-heated buildings and moder tation. ‘The “winter wonderland” of ice and sncw has been a fre- quent source of inspiration for artists, There's a wealth of winter landscape _ paintings that, although not directly as~ sociated with Christmas, seem to set the mood and reflect the spirit of the season. In 16th and 17th century Holland, for instance, a whole tradition of landscape paint- ing was devoted solely to de- picting winter scenes — some- what unusual since the winter weather of Holland is not es pecially cold seems to symbolize the happiness of more than 8,000 doll in the Sannuel F. *, Greenwich, Com Crossroads of:tiie Kootenays” Carol Can Be Tongue-Twister “On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me a partridge in a pear tree.” begins “The Twelve lady on each of the 12 days from Christmas to Epiph- an The first gift, a partridge in a pear tree, may have been inspired ‘by an old drinking song, “A Pie sat on y the editors or The New Book of Knowl: edge. .\s a ballad, “The Twelve Days of Chriszmas” is an example of “number chale formula” in fok in the vernacular of the People. ‘The song can be sung in a variety of ways, In Great Britain and the United States, it often becomes a game song in which each person, following a leader in repetitions, must pay a forfeit if he misses a line. Sometimes the descriptions of the gifts turn intomouth- defying tongue twisters! Mlastration ram the Bettman Archive CHRISTMAS IS TRADITIONALL to capture th ZAU Hendrik Avercamp seen the winter landscapes a 10-volume encyel For admirers of art and white Christmases alike, one “of the definitive painters of winter scenes is Hendrit: Av- ercamp. Perhaps because he devoted his artistic talents exclusively to the winter landscape, Aver- camp's paintings capture to perfection both the beauties and pleasures of winter. Rare branches of trees etch their patterns against expanses of ice, in contrast with the cozy cottages and, on the ice, the merry skaters, for an ideal blending of the cold weather and warm spirit of a winter holiday. Of Avercamp's personal his- tory, little is known, Records show that he was baptized in Amsterdam in January 1585, and buried at Kampen in 1634. His painting was influenced by the Flemish landscape tra- dition and particularly by Pie- ter Bruegel the Elder —a painter whose fascination with the winter scene did much te NEWS” 10 CENTS PER COPY Lore and Legend Express Happy Mood of Season From home to home, from country to country, Yule cele- brations abound. The happy traditions of gift giving, home pda of the season. Popular folk custms of na- tion after nation have been absorbed into the interna al legend and lore of the ‘?’ tide. Yet virtually every nation spand every home and too — apeleibes celebrating Christmas, bi oo special memories of Christ- mas past. ‘Carrying in Straw Straw is a traditional pa:t of Christmas celebrations in Sweden — in probable remem- brance of the first Christmas when there was straw in the manger. inger. oman, “carrying in the as stra\ a tradi- toa rather thana niodece cus- m, Swedish people still make trade and wooden figures to hang on their Christmas trees. “San Tan Lou Yin” In Hong Kong, Santa Claus goes hig name of “San Tan ‘The Hong Kong department stores employ elderly men who are specially costumed for the season. Just e Santa youngsters on hi listening to their requests for gifts Loy Had Charms In ancient emery. Yule log: was known “Christbrand” One bellet nel che charred log placed in a cornbin, it ‘would act as a charm to ward off hi weather turned Christb was quickly jaticne back to the fire. While it burned, supersti- tion said, the house was safe ma lightning. “Mumming” is a Yule cus- tom that originated in early England. Mummers, masked and in costume, silently en- acted ritual plays about the death of winter and the old year. The custom gees survives in some parts of world, al- though Fr yisya af are nc no o loaget perform Today m ‘usually Marten with dancing and instrumental music. They are rewarded with cone Toys today reflect modern ye and so did toys of long . ago, in their day. For inst came onto the y racing cars gift market early in this cones Shan the automobile indus~ try was getting its start. Wonderland’ < ran. Avereamp devoted his talents to depicting jijks Museum, Amsterdam, appears in the Grolier Book of Art, shape his landscape style. The snow-covered hillsides seen in the work of the elder Pieter Bruegel contrast strangely with the flat, icy ter- rain of his native Holland. The explanation is to be found in travels which took him to mountainous lands. Bruegel became a master in the Antwerp painters’ guild in 1551, and shortly afterward journeyed to France and Italy, Says the Grolier Book of Art. In 1554 he returned from Rome to the Netherlands, re- crossing the Alps on his way. The mountains and scenery of Italy made an immense im- pression on him, as reflected in the drawings he made at the time. More than the “contempor- ary” art. those moun- felooot visiaa Eafluenced his landscape style — and ulti- mately inspired Avercamp and other Flemish painters of thes ever-wonderful winter scene.