- ~-----WHITBY FREE PRESSr ~ FROM A BRIRD'S'EYE VIEW0 Is .-Christmas Changîng? 'rul..i Think back.. .about themany Christ- mases you have seen and how things have chan-ged between then and now. Like me, you are probably klnd of sad about the changes. Christnmas past Th ere was a time when picking the Chri stmas tree and decorating it was ai1 m ost a ri tual. ln those days most of t he trees were t he shor t-needile type and Sc o tch Pline were bcarce and ex- pensive. There always seemed to be an abundance of snow around when it was time to pick a treeand the tree lots were small and always outdoors. After careful cons iderat ion as to size, shape andc wh eth er it would fit through the front dio o r, a tree was picked and the ne xt probleém at hand was how to get i t home in an undersized ca-ýr. "Spreading out" Somehow we always rranaged and the next task was to get some sui table boards and a long spike or two and make a stand. The tree was then 1 eft to stand for a. day or two so, it wouid 'spread out'. 1 often, thought Dad wNas just too tired to finish the job of decorating at the time because of the rigors of getting the tree into the basement. $2. 0O wa s top pr i ce for a tree in those day s and they on 1 y came in one colour,, green. It would have been sac- riiegious for the tree to be any other colour then. But now... anything goes. T h e trees corne i n ail1 colours and ai 1 p ri c es. Heck, you don' t even have to have a real1 one. Theone thing they! can't seem to do with ari artificiai tree i smake i t smel11 1ike apine tree. Today'1s ,kids might say, "Who cares!"1, but in my da y the pungent smell1 of a pine tree in the 1 i v i ng room was a very necessary part of Christmas. Stringed ights Decora ting the tree was the next, phase of the rituai and wvas just as imp- ortant as actually picking the tree. Twvo oldstringsof iights were carefuily laid out on the floor and plugged into the out- let. Of course neither-set lit up the first t im e. We would always have to check every buib until we found the one that was burned out. Of ten we spent an hour b ecause one 1light set had two or three bulbs burned-1out- -There was-one1bulb r i n g i e t s and 1 can remember popping corn and making strings to hang on the tree. Wîsh hasn't changed 0f cour se ail1 th is seems o,1d fash ioned riow because you can buy some trees ai - ready decorated and the decorations are ai 1I different no w, more modern. The 1Iights don' t die when one bulb burns out and a l ot of the new stri1ngs tw inkl1e. Gone too are the days of making a crude w oo d en stand for the tree and al1 the re.al trees seem to be Scotch Pine. T ri1m ming the tree takes less time and 1less work and the resui ts seem more spectacul ar than ever. There's no need tomakepaper ringlets and pop corn for s t r i n g s and Dad doesn'1t even have to struggle with the tree because the arti- ficial ones weigh about half the weight of the real thing. I g ue ss it realily doeýnIt matter.. thekids seem toliike it and Christmnases of long ago are committed to rnemory for' usoider people. Like their life styles, the trees of today seem to suit thé kids and they probably wôuldn't have it any other way. S t i 1 I , there was something kind of mag ical about those long ago Christ- mases and tome they seemed more real1. As for tri!mm ing the tree, i was a great way for the whoîe famiiy to have fun tog- ether.. . but then Christmas is changing isn't it0 One thing hasn't changed and that's the mes sage and the sincerity... To everyone, A Very Merry Christmas! PEACE, Gooclwtt toward muen At this joyful season, may there corne to every heurt a glad' renewai of the warm- ing spirit of peace and good wiil to ail. DON VALLANCE BROOKLIN ____________________________________________ ~-I I Thursaiay, December 23rd, 1971, Page^ 5 OHTM A*MaCLOan FUELS. a Fuel On * im * Gseline * h1 *Olk & -Gm.seu N * F Clarence Roper t 668-4462579-0151 TAU NTON ROÂD tE o t C.N Servocentre Effective Monday, December 20, 1971, Port Union station wiil be open daiiy, except Saturday, Sunday and statutory hoiidays, between the hours of 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Express Service Due to the change in hours of service, On Hand shipments for customers l*ocated beyond the Port Union f ree pick-up and delivery iimits may be picked up at: CN Express Scarborough Office Warden Avenue and Hymus Road Telephone: 755-3811 9:00 a.rm. to 5:30 p. m. (daiiy except Satu rday, Sunday and statutory hoiidays) Vehicle Service (within Free Limits) 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. (daily except Satu rday, Sunday and statutory holidays) Passenger Services Carload Service Telecom mu n ications 362-4411 367-4300. 839-5127 368-6041 rMf thank you for your confftÎudfroJ iW Disney Motors Whitby