Hide Article Text (OCR)
6rCATHOLIC TELEGRAPHThursday, December 4, 196£i'zaXRWaiting for St. NicholasMrs. Gertrude Saunders of Westwood and her three daughters, Renee, Pamela and Daphne, gather around the table where Old World symbols of St. Nicholas feast day are displayed. St. Nicholas traditionally gives the fruit, nuts and other liffle presents to good children while the vase full of switches stands as a warning to misbehaving children. Mrs. Saunders lived in Yugoslavia and Austria before coining to the United States.Cincinnatian fromope Recalls* w 4m .01(1 World Christmas CelebrationsBy Lfsi it: Runt i tGifts from St. Nicholas on the eve, of his feast day and special holiday treats of Austrian cakes and cookies bring a touch of the traditional central EuropeanChristmas to the family of Mr. and Mrs.Daniel Saunders, Our Lady of Lourdes parish.Mrs. Saunders, the former Gertrude Lenhardt. is a native of Yugoslavia and lived for a while in Austria. A graduate of Marian college, Indianapolis, she entertained the Cincinnati Chapter of Marian college alumni this week and explained some of the European Christmas customs.In Yugoslavia and in Austria St. Nicholas, wearing his bishop's robes, mitre and carrying a scepter, comes around to visit children on Dec. 5, St. Nicholas eve. Mrs’. Saunders said in aninterview at her home in Westwood.“Along with St. Nicholas is a character named Krampus, who has horns and a tail like the devil. St. Nicholas carries a bag of fruit, nuts and little presents for good children while Krampus has a bag of switches for children who haven’t behaved, Mrs. Saunders smiled.• When I was a little girl in Yugoslavia we would all gather in one room after supper on the eve of St. Nicholas daand then my father would go out of the room. He would return with a bag after ‘struggling with St. Nicholas for it and empty the bag on the table, Mrs. Saunders continued. It would be filled with oranges, apples, nuts and little toys. Of course, during the war there wasn’t as much in the bag but we always managedJia i r ^5*tu (BARBARA RENGERING and TEN OPERATORSHair Styles Unlimited White Oak Shopping CenterUU I m ri h-iir fM nnacto have some little treats from St. Nicholas.Family9 ' . .. ,tMrs. Saunders’ father manages 1 en-hardt’s restaurant on Reading road while her uncle runs Lenhardt’s on McMillan street. The Lenhardt family came to Cincinnati from Austria in 1951 and Mrs.Saunders attended Our I ady of Angels high school for a while before receiving a scholarship to Marian college. Mrs.Saunders’ mother and two brothers also live in Cincinnati and she has a sister in (Jiff.Mississippi.She and her husband, who is from New York, began celebrating St. Nicholas feast day a few years ago for their children. Daphne, 7, Pamela, 5. and Renee. 15 months. 1 think many ofour people who have come to America have stopped celebrating many of the European customs,” she remarked.Getting presents on IVc. 5 doesn’t mean there are no presents on Dec. 25. Mrs. Saunders added. On the feast of St. Nicholas the children receive little presents but other gifts are exchanged on Christmas. she said. We always celebrated Christmas on Christmas eve. After, a meal without meat, we would open our gifts and then later go to midnight Mass.For supper we would often have milk-i I .(‘Iters . . ./Sister Hiltrudis IDear Friends.Many people do not have enough warm blankets for this cold weather. If vou have anv blankets or other bed clothing vou no longer need we cbuld see that they are put to good use through our thrift shop.Sister Hiltrudis St. John Convent 1110 Pendleton Street Cincinnati. Ohio 45210 241-2186soup, which tastes better than it sounds,” Mrs. Saunders said with a smile. She explained that the dish was made of sweetened noodles and milk with ground nuts or poppy seeds on top.We always had a Christmas tree but they were usually spruce instead of the pine trees with long needles that are popular here.” she said. The tree would be decorated with real candles and with homemade cookies and Christmas candyw rapped in silver paper.\ z1 don’t think we put as much value on Christmas gifts as people here seem to do, Mrs. Saunders said. “Even now we try not to over-emphasizc gifts in celebrating Christmas with our children.” She commented that hand-knit and embroidered items were popular gifts in Europe, “especially during and after the war when you couldn’t buy anything.” Mrs Saunders said that her mother had brought her embroidered linen to Austria when they left Yugoslavia but that they had to sell it to buy food.Reflecting on some other differences between European and American Christmas customs. Mrs. Saunders said she believed the Advent season was more meaningful there and that there was more emphasis on the Christ Child at Christmas.Both Christmas and the dav afterwwere holidays in Europe. she said, adding that the feast of Epiphany was also given more attention in Europe.Mrs. Saunders said one of her most memorable Christmases was in 1951 when her family had just arrived in the United States. She has visited Europe once since then, in 1959. and found it quite changed.In Austria the I enhardts lived near a lake bv a town called Traunkirchen inmr j » *. • •the foothills of the Alps and would go to the mountains to cut their own Christmas tree. 1 hope we have a white Christmasthis vear, Mrs. Saunders said That’s»one thine we always had in Austria.
Newspaper Details
Cincinnati Catholic Telegraph
Cincinnati, Ohio, US
Thu, Dec 04, 1969
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Cincinnati A.
OH, USA 02 Jul 2023
Other Publications Near Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati Kentucky Times Star
Cincinnati Christian Age
Cincinnati Israelite
Cincinnati North Journal
Weekly Cincinnati Times
