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This newspaper page contains 14 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Graettinger Times
Location
Graettinger, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Dec 23, 1948
Page
6
Yaupon, a North Carolina shrub, can be brewed into tea and is on the menu of a local hotel. The plant, an American holly akin to Mate, has long been valued by Indians and early settlers. Tea is made by curing leaves with hot stones, drying, then steeping with syrup and citrus.
Serbians share in Christmas customs with Croats including decorating with a wheat field, planting wheat on December 10, and lighting an oak Yule log at sunrise. The log is blessed with wine and a coin for prosperity, while a neighbor brings Christmas blessings as the fire starts.
The article explains that ancient shelters were carved from rock ledges and served as warm lodging for travelers and animals. It identifies Jesus birthplace as a cave beneath Bethlehem’s Church of Nativity, noting the grotto now bears elaborate ornamentation.
Centuries ago great fires burned in English baronial halls on Christmas Eve as servants brought in a log meant to burn through Christmas. It was believed saving eight brand from each year’s fire would light the next. Proper burning supposedly kept the devil powerless to harm the household.
The Christmas tree is a universal symbol with varied global customs. Japan adds dolls, woodcuts, tangerines, and sembei fortunes. Germany uses homemade chains from newsprint. France favors glittering ornaments and sugar balls. Italy centers on the crib first popularized by St. Francis in 1223. Czech decor features gilded nuts, apples, and animal shaped cookies.
Long before Christ, Romans celebrated December 19 as the Feast of Saturnalia. They decorated homes with green boughs while Druids used mistletoe and Saxons favored holly ivy and bay in winter rites that foreshadow Christmas customs.
A hazy seasonal note recalls Swiss winter lore and the beauty of Christmas in Switzerland. Vague fragments describe legends, onion rituals, and winter scenes, but the text remains unclear and oblique.
The article warns that Christmas racketeers exploit good will, imitating charities or religious groups to collect funds. It cites past street schemes using blue uniforms and tambourines, noting billions in potential losses and urging contributions to established agencies like the Red Cross, Community Chest, and church charities.
Swiss writer Gottlob Wyss notes the Sebastiani Brotherhood in Rheinfelden began in 1540 during a plague. Twelve men, in dark clothes and black silk top hats, visit seven fountains on Christmas Eve singing and honoring St. Sebastian, then uncovering their heads as Christ’s name is spoken.
The text notes medieval Christmas celebrations spanned from December 24 to January 6 or from December 21 to February 2. It says Puritans banned Christmas in 1644 due to excesses, and Charles II restored it in 1678.
Fragmentary text recounts a legendary wild boar credited with teaching humans to plow by rooting in soil. The passage mentions Druids, the winter solstice, and offerings to a goddess but is incomplete and lacks clear dates, places, or names.
The article profiles Bill Alexander, Georgia Tech coach and former scrub, noting his deep football knowledge and success over 25 years, and recounts tales from the Four Horsemen era including Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley, and Layden, highlighting blocking, speed, and the Notre Dame era.
A vintage guide suggests mending torn shower curtains, blinds, and torn tape with scotch tape. It also covers minimizing vitami cooking loss, ironing tips, drying clothes without lines, criss cross cookie pressing, repairing lamp shades with cellophane tape, and linoleum touch ups with shellac over tape for durability.
Budget friendly Yuletide gift idea lists Camel cigarettes and Prince Albert tobacco as top choices. It highlights a Camel carton of 200 cigarettes and the wrapping that accommodates a handwritten Merry Christmas message. Adv promotional copy urges readers to arrange a gift quota with their dealer.
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