PAGE 2, THE HERALD, Friday. December 23, 1977 -. For one Jewish boy gos Hannukah, the - Jewish g Festi-val of Lighis, h commemorates +a b. miracle that occurred 165 & yeats before the birth of | § Jesus. Ithas nothing todo with Christmas but, because it occurs around . « the same time of year, it 4some-times praduces q confusion in the minds of b Jewish children. Mi-chael - Babad .of the Oshawa Times. recalls. in this story his -. own. in- volvement -#ith the two holidays. - :~.° By MICHAEL BABAD Oshawa Times OSHAWA, Ont. (CP) — I was always the only Jewish boy in my neigh- borhood and I was fas- cinated with Christmas. I knew it was traditionally a happy Too Ma aren : e. ‘REvery cloud Itas a silver liningéTo wit: che of life's: shitail blessings is we don't géeras much government as we pay for. Of course. we do get far mare ‘than we need. Or de: sig. Sad 10 say. we've got so- lich" government that the. vitious levels keep getting in” Gné Znother’s way.’ SHinetimes, overzealous: ness.dn the part of ong level, of goverment ean pur inte Jerable strain on the whole systent. Something like that has been taking place at the federal level, To sum np the ‘problem: Ottawa has forgat- fen the meaning of-‘tederal “government”. Dot | In a federation, regions which are characterized by Focal social issues deal with those issues on dieir own, ‘Those issues which affect all residents of the federation ‘equally and in the same way ‘are dealt with by the central ‘governnent.In Canada, there- fore, ‘a proper federation would find the provinces looking after all issues of pro- ‘vincial interest while Ottawa ‘would cover the national is- sues like defence. : Sometimes the central go- vermment gets overambitious agibatgias intruding into re- ional affairs. The resull is ‘almost always unpleasant. ‘The.United States, for exam- ple, might be part of England ‘today if the central gavern- mentin Britain had agreed to spin off more local powers to the regional government in the New World. . Donald Smiley,a profes- sor at Toronto’s York Univer- sity, recently compiled a list of federal departments which clearly trespass on provincial legislative grounds. Among his findings: Ottawa has fre- Briefs NEW YORK (AP) — The Walter W. Naurnburg Foundation ‘will hold its first competition for flute in May, 1978::Flautists of every nationality who reside in-the-U.S. and who are not under 17 or over 30 as of March 1, 1978, will be eligible. First prize will, be $2,500, a fully subsidized recital and a commissioned work written for the recital. SYDNEY,: N.S. (CP) — A design: of-” porcelain dishware: .sith “a Ca Breton’ sheep’ motif “by Sydney artist Andrea Mclvor' will be offered as a fophy: for the North County Cheviot sheep - flockmaking the most’: ; dure, tlieyear.. / § y Cooks -quently given grants to local interest groups such as inner- -cily anti-poverty associa- tions; a Department of the Enviroment now exists at the federal level; Ottawa is active in consumer protec- tibn;and numerous programs have been set up ona nation- al level to include matters such as amateur sport, musi- eal culture, and so on. Every one of those functionsis pro- hably handled best on a re- gional level since the effects are highty fucalized. Quebec has taken offence hutely -- and quite rightly -- ‘to federal interference with provincial affairs. The pro- vince has made it quite clear that it wants Ottawa to re- frain from attempting to in- - fluence education, health - gare, pensions or any of many ther local matters. Other provinces are begin- _ ning to realize the extent to which their sovereignty las been undermined. There’s more to the story than local pride, however. Federal action in provincial circles normally results in duplication of services. Da Canadian consumers, for ex- ample, benefit from being protected by two depart- ments of consumer affairs — or is the end result not mere- ly a waste of tax dollars? Or does it make sense to have Ottawa providing the same kind of manpower taining incentives to business that are being administered . by the provinces. Apparently no one in Ottawa has heard what too many cooks will do to the broth. “Think small’ is an ectitorial message from tha Canadian ‘Federation of Independant Business © time of year but i* never was for me. And you just can’t explain to a seven- ear-old the difference etween Judaism and Christianity, or the dif- ference between Christmas and Hannu- kah, mostly because he doesn't care. Such was the case with me when I was little. [ didn't give a hoot for cultural awareness and the only thing I cared about was why all my friends were getting Christmas presents and I wasn't. Oh, sure. You get a couple of presents for Hannukah: For 15 years | got a pair of socks from my mother and un- derwear from my aunt. SCHOOL UNBEARABLE And because of that, coming back to school after the holidays was unbearable. Everyone else was always showin off bright new clothes an new toys and discussing what they got from Santa. When | was seven, I was a bil reticent about showing the girls my new presents, and it was impossible to explain why Santa never brought me anything for Christmas because I didn’t un- derstand it myself. That-year was perhaps the worst Christmas of my life. Because of my constant whining and over my mother’s protests, my aunt took me to see Santa Claus and I never in all my days gave anyone such a hard time as I gave that bearded old man. | He couldn’t fool me, though. He could . have romised me the moon ut I knew I wasn't get- ting anything anyway. I think now he was just worried that Eaton’s was going to fire him because he couldn't tell me why I was the only kid.on the block he forgot. REMEMBER KNEELING The thing that my eyes, impossible to get the, fascinated me the most about Christmas was the tree. I can remember kneeling at my. friend’s window sill staring in at the Christmas tree for an hour until i was finally invited in. . All the — lights and colored bulbs, the tinsel and the icicles lit up in and it was impression of that tree out of my mind. So off I trudged home to ask my mother if couldn't perhaps have a Christ- mas tree, even if we didn’t celebrate the holiday. i It was a blow when she again sat down to tell me the- differences in religions, that Hannukah is in no way connected. with Christmas and that, m0, we couldn’t have a ee. - I cried for days and days until I drove my mother to the brink of insanity. And it wasn’t out of spite; I genuinly never wanted anything so badly before. Finally, my mother gave in and hand in hand, we walked down to the corner store. There in the window was a little, white plastic Christmas tree about two feet high and all covered in red and green balls. She bought me the tree and we took it home to set it on the mantle. My mother, of course, was not about to let this interfere. with my education. Over and over ‘again she told me this was not a Christmas tree. INSISTS IT’S BUSH It was a Hannukah bush, she insisted. Well, J had never heard of such a thing but it sounded good to me. A Hannukah bush, indeed! It was the loveliest thing I had ever heard of. We kept the tree for quite a few years and after that brought it out as a joke. Of course, I’ve never thought it was “Adopt a Granny” plan spreads By MARLENE ORTON OTTAWA (CP) ‘Imagine reaching the golden age of 65 and not being able to collect a pension. While many elderly Canadians have difficulty living on a limited fixed income, that money alon, with extended medica caverage and a host of other benefits are still available says Linda Atwood, co-ordinator of the Adopt a Granny or Grandpa program. The scheme, now in its second year, arranges sponsorship for destitute ald people in developing countries, “I realize there is a need in Canada for the elderly, but we are here to help where the need is greatest. There -are few - senior citizens here who. have to struggle to get one meal a day.” Without help, Mrs. Atwood says, the elderly in many other countries will simply die because THUNDER BAY, Ont. (CP) — Two local singing students have received silver medals through the Western Conservatory of Music in London, Ont., for earning the highest marks in their particular musical grades in On- tario. a A great ~Leighton A Ford Every day 12,000 to 15,000 people die from diseases related to hunger. Visit hungry people af aver the globe. Meet families with new hope B® FIAST TIME ON f TELEVISION Understand the causes of hunger. midst of this agonizing crisis in which millions in a hurting world are crying... I’M HUNGRY! A SPECIAL FOUR HOUR DOCUMENTARY 3 experience! “i in the the Nabonal TrettyS.on Special on wverid Munaers Presented ty World Videon of Canada Wed., 28 December, 7- 11p.m. BG-T¥ Network 8 p.m. - 4 a.m. Bt yor they have no food, no medical coverage and certainly no pension. ~ “The aged are respectfully seen as the heads of families there, but work is scarce and the young people move to the larger cities, leaving the elderly behind. Often the elderly won't. follow, but if they. do go, they may be reduced to living in the streets or begging for food.” LETTERS EX- CHANGED - Canadians have adopted nearly . 225 grandparents abroad at a cost of $100 each a year. “That small amount of money provides clothing, food, shelter and medicine,” says Mrs. At- wood. a. ex ‘ ‘Pictures:* "and: case histories gf#the most needy come from church and lay organizations in countries abroad. With sponsorship, the money is forwarded to the care organization and letters are sent back and forth and translated. “One Ottawa grade- school class has adopted a granny and we are anxiously awaiting the first letter. That's the nice part. of _ the program-~being able to communiéate with the sponsors and having a granny know there is someone interested and concerned.” Mrs. Atwoad says the group is launching a Christmas appeal for the elderly in Macao, a small ‘island near Hong Kong. ~ Other countries where the elderly are sponsored by Canadians include Haiti, India, Greece and Spain. Although Greece and Spain are not gen- erally viewed as developing countries, ‘Mrs, Atwood says many elderly Soviet refugees there need help. .~ How a Christmas tree became a “Hannukah Bush” funny and J’m still taken with the idea. To this day, my mother claims that other parents use the idea of a Han- nukah bush now to pacify their children. ; Sixteen years later, it EAoES still works for me. We've a litile silver Christmas tree sitting in the newsroom and a little sign taped to the sideof it, saying, if anyone bothers to ask, it’s a Hannukah bush. BARES ete] SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1977 7:00 p.m.CFTK-TV CH3 * - DISTRICT OF TERRACE HOLIDAY GLOSING The District of Terrace Municipal Offices will be closed following days during the holiday season: 4 on: the MONDAY, December 26th, 1977 TUESDAY, December 27th, 1977 MONDAY, January 2nd, 1977 - All correspondence or payments mailed to the District of Terrace . and postmarked the day(s) of closing will be accepted on the. follawing business day. Ail persons wishing to conduct business personally may-do he first business day following the day(s) of closing: * a as ennat ” | MERRY CHRISTMAS! Hy Rim There's more _ injevery Gala a _the naturally good wines from Casabello. | The great taste of Gala Keg wines by Casabello © 5 - are a natural complement to good dining and gaod times, ™. Naturally fermented and naturally aged, Gala Keg wines | offer you a smooth laste you'll find delightfully rewarding. : Each Gala Keg holds a full 3.75 litres, equivalent ta 5 bottles. And because no air is tapped inside _ the cnique plastic liner your last glass will laste as good as the first. Available in Rich Red, Cellar Red Dry and Medium Dry, Cellar White and Sangria, ie Introduce yourself and your friends A to Gala Keg, five fine wines that naturally woe reward you with greal taste. : And more of it. a ve casabello WINES LIMITED” ~ NAGEMENT and STAFF of | TERRACE HOTEL takes this opportunity to wish their many | Happy New Year Merry Christmas and a Christmas Day Dining ends 10 a.m. till 10 p.m.