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Page 4, Terrace Bay-Schreiber News, Wednesday, November 30, 1983 opinion 7 Catch the Festive Spirit ... PLEASE! Yes! I'm talking Christmas again! Being the Editor of a newspaper causes this problem. You see ... I have to start thinking Christmas long before the stores do.and much longer before you, the readers do. That's part of my job (so I'm told!) We have been thinking, talking and breathing Christmas around this office for what seems like months. I hope to instill that same idea with you. I want you to think of a good old-fashioned Christmas ... think of caring - and sharing ... and of community spirit and involvement ... and think of we poor sods at the ""NEWS". We need your help and support in putting out one heck of a community Christmas Edition newspaper. We need your stories ... your old winter photos of days gone by (when the snow was up to your #&?=!) ... we need your ideas ... your Christmas poems ... your holiday recipies ... anything that you may have to offer us that falls under the theme of Christmas! s) I hope that by now everyone who reads the '"NEWS"' (and even those who don't) are aware of the various contests that we are promoting this Christmas season. One is the "Letters to Santa Claus." Already we have started to receive numerous letters from all the boys and girls in the local area ... all hoping to get those treasured gifts that they have requested. As you will notice, there are some printed in this week's paper. Kids! Keep them coming in. We really appreciate them. Teachers! If you want to give your students a project, then encourage them to put pen to paper and get them to place them all in one big envelope and send them off to us at the paper. Remember teachers ... it's more fun for a child to write to Santa than it is for them to write a blah! story about their favourite pet, etc. Men, women and children alike ... please keep in your thoughts our 'Festive Recipe Contest'"'. You could win yourselves a FREE year's subscription to the Terrace Bay-Schreiber "NEWS"' by sending in your favourite holiday recipe. We're taking anything that includes: cookies, ethnic dishes, cakes, candies, pastries, festive beverages or main dishes. So brush the dust from your recipe boxes, pen down your beloved recipe and send them off to us. A winner will be chosen for each of the seven categories and they will be announced in the Christmas Edition of your "NEWS". Encourage your children to also participate in this contest. Some kids that I know have great culinary skills. The third feature that we are sponsoring is a "Create A Snowman Contest." My God! I do indeed hope that it snows enough by then. Entry forms can be obtained through the newspaper or by dropping down to our office. The contest is open to all boys and girls (12 years of age or under) who reside in Rossport, Schreiber, and Terrace Bay. Our judges will be making their rounds, hopefully on the 10th of December, to judge the splendid creations. Children may enter in any category that they wish and they may choose from one of the following: the funniest, the most original, the biggest, the best dressed or in the family portrait category. The winner of each category will receive two free theatre tickets to be used at the Towne Cinema in Terrace Bay (thanks to Clyde Gordon). Every winner will have his/her photo with their prize winning creation published in the '"NEWS". So take advantage of these special attractions and please keep in mind that we again need your participation and your support in these ventures. Without your help, it will just be another edition of the Terrace Bay Schreiber "NEWS."' Arthur Black r The Terrace Bay-Schreiber News is published every Wednesday by: Laurentian Publishing Co. Ltd., Box 579, Terrace Bay, Ontario. POT 2W0. Telephone: (807) 825-3747. EDITOR AND MANAGER....................---c eee cues Karen E. Park ADVERTISING MANAGER....................---22- eee: Diane Matson FARCE ook eg a ee ea ek FG Co oS ees Sharon Mark PRODUCTION MANAGER....................22- eee eeeeees Mary Melo [ =) DEADLINE: Friday NOON cn Subscription rates: $10.00 per annum (local); $14.00 CNA Ea per annum (out-of-town). Second Class Mail ; ; : Registration No. 0867. nN anchor An Advent Message "Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." So begins the Advent canticle "Surge Illuminaire", heard this Advent season in Churches around the world. Personally, I find Advent to be my favourite season of the Church year. For it not only brings with it a sense of anticipation for the Good News of the Nativity - Christmas, but it has a glorious message of its own: Jesus Christ is coming in glory at the end of the age. Now, I don't know just how striking this message is to many people. Some of you may be asking, "What Jesus, what age, what's glory?" That's probably because the significance of this bit of Good News is couched in language that is essentially unintelligible to twentieth century North Americans. You see, it assumes a state of affairs in the course of history that is just not believed by secular society. Many of us watched a movie called "The Day After" the other week, and, to many of us, that will be "'the end of the age" that we are living in. It is inconceivable that Jesus Christ - gentle, meek and mild Jesus we've encountered in Sunday School - could be involved in a nuclear holocaust. x You see, most of us see the course of history as running out of control. Out of control of the people we have endowed with the public trust. Out of control of the common citizenry. Increasingly, there is a sense of insecurity and even fright - certainly concern - taking hold of our psyches. This is exactly where the Advent message comes in with breathtakingly simple and joyous Good News. Because we are told in no uncertain terms that our history is in fact under control - that is to say, under guidance and direction. God has everything under control. As bold as this may sound, nothing that we can do to ourselves or to each other is of eternal consequence to God's plan and purpose for His creation. Now I do not mean to say that God's control of His creation makes us into a race of robots or puppets. We have the ability and the responsibility to make decisions and choices in the course of events and we must bear the responsibility for our actions. We cannot say, "God made me do it'"' anymore than we can say that the "Devil made me do it."' In an ultimate sense, God can transform any event we propose or realize into a victory for His will. There is no greater example of this than the Cross of Jesus. The people meant it for evil against Him, but God meant it for good. And, for you and I, there can be no greater security than to place ourselves under the canopy of God's will. The cross is the pledge of His power over all evil that may befall us, and it is the promise of His good will towards His people. Father Tim Delaney Soccer invaders Invading other people's coun- tries seems to be a very chic activity these days. Grenadians know what it feels like. So do the Lebanese. And the Afghans. And so, thanks to an almost unsung event last week, do the citizens of one of Europe's tiniest nations: Luxembourg. Luxembourg never bothers anybody. It's just a peanut of a country sandwiched in between Belgium, West Germany and France. It's 370,000 people live their lives in the 990 square miles that comprise their homeland, minding their own business and giving offence to none. Despite their inherent pacif- ism, Luxembourgers learned again last week what it feels like to be crushed under the hob-nail- ed boots of an invading army. The plunderers came from the coast, landing on the beaches of Bel- gium and working their way inland. Luxembourg newspapers and radio stations followed the progress of the army as it rampaged across the Belgian countryside. Belgium is not a huge country and it's people offered little resistance. It took less than a day for the foreign forces to swarm from the beaches of the English Channel to the very frontiers of Luxembourg. The trek across Belgium hadn't been pretty. There had been several skirmishes along the way. The enemy had struck at the transportation system - particu- larly the Belgian trains, which were systematically paralysed and rendered unfit for service. They sliced through the fron- tiers of Luxembourg and within hours they were rolling through the streets of the capital city. Effi- ciently, they deployed their troops at crucial intersections, completely clogging traffic. Tight-lipped Luxembourgers waited, without hope, for the worst. And it came. Select. crack troops of the invading force, sensing their seige was victor- ious, moved to the front lines and .-. dropped their pants. For the guerilla army that seared through Belgium and took over the capital of Luxembourg last week was not an army of Marines, Russian Cavalry or a reincarnation of German Panzers. They were British soccer fans. Soccer fans don't come any nastier or more goonish than the British sub-species. They are louts and thugs, distinguished by braying voices, a penchant for beating-up any passerby wearing the wrong "colors" and a tenden- cy to drink stupefying amounts of booze to keep their false courage up. rosually British soccer fans confine their maraudings to the streets and stadiums of Great Britian. But when a favourite British team crosses the Channei to play a game on the mainland, all of Europe trembles. As the citizens of Luxembourg did last week. The National Eng- lish Side was in town to play a game against Luxembourg. That confrontation took place in a stadium. In the streets outside, the British goon squad stripped off their clothes, attacked passersby and smashed windows, doors and pubs. You think I exaggerate? Luxembourg not only mobilized its entire police force, they went so far as to call out the army to quell the rampage. There was a time when British soccer was a gentle sport watched by genuine fans whose most violent contribution was a rousing cheer or a volley of applause. Nowadays, many Britons who love the game are afraid to go to the stadium. The hooligans have taken over. In an essay, titled the Sporting Spirit, George Orwell wrote: "Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound-up with hatred, jealousy. boastful- ness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words it is war minus the shooting. Orwell wrote those words in 1945S. I doubt that he would care to be around in 1983 to see just how prophetic they were. By the way, the English side beat Luxembourg, 4-0.