Tidbits vernon 253 dec 18 2015 merry christmas online

Bold Medias Publishing For Advertising Please Call (604) 454 - 1387 www.tidbitsvancouver.com“I Love that little paper!”

Want to run your own business?Publish a paper in your area, and becomePublish a paper in your area, and become

a part of the family.

www.tidbitscanada.com

Make a di�erence in your community today.

Publish a paper in your area, and becomePublish a paper in your area, and becomefamily. family.

.tidbitscanada.com

Make a di�erence in your

• Armstrong • Coldstream • Falkland • Lavington • Lumby • Silver Star • Spallumcheen • Vernon • Westside Rd •

December 18, 2015 - January 14, 2016 Issue 00253

TIDBITS® WISHES YOU

MERRY CHRISTMASby Janet Spencer

Tidbits wishes you Merry Christmas!CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

• In the 1600s, poor people in English towns would carry their cups from house to house asking for wassail, a type of alcoholic ale. To pay for their drinks, they would sing carols outside the door. � us, carolling was born. � e word “carol” comes from the Middle English word carolen, meaning to sing joyously. � at word originated from the Greek word ‘choraulein’ which was a ring dance accompanied by � utes.

• � e Yule Log was traditionally brought in on Christmas Eve and lit from the remains of the previous year’s Yule Log. Slaves were allowed to stop working as long as the Yule Log burned, so they would pick out the biggest, greenest log they could � nd.

• Mistletoe comes from the word ‘mista’ meaning dung, because the plant is spread through seeds in bird droppings.

• Holly became associated with Christmas because the pointed leaves symbolize the thorns in Christ’s crown and the red berries symbolize drops of blood.

(continued next page)

250-542-5851

Free Parking Saturdays in December Live Music on 30th Ave

11am-3pm Saturdays

Santa Downtown11:30am-2pm

Saturdaysdowntownvernon.com

Page 2 [email protected] “I Love that little paper!” Call Today (250) 832-3361

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS (cont’d)• Frankincense is an aromatic gum resin that

comes from trees in the Boswellia family that grow in East Africa and Asia. An incision is made in the tree, the bark is peeled away, and a few months later a lump of resin is collected. When burned, it has a balsam-like odor. It has been used as incense since ancient times. When steam is passed through frankincense, it yields an oil used in perfumes to give them a long-lasting, spicy fragrance. Myrrh is also a resin, secreted by certain shrubs and small trees. It’s been used as an antiseptic and astringent as well as an embalming agent. Although frankincense and myrrh were highly esteemed in Biblical times, today they are of little value on the world market.

CHRISTMAS CARDS• Sir Henry Cole owned an art shop in London.

In 1843 he asked an artist to design a card that he could send to his friends and associates to wish them a good Christmas, because he was too busy to write them letters. � e artist drew a three-fold card. � e outside panels depicted people giving clothing to the naked and feeding the hungry. � e center panel showed a family celebrating Christmas by drinking wine around a feast table. � e Temperance Movement was outraged by the cards— but they were in fact the � rst Christmas cards. Of 1,000 that were printed, 12 still exist.

• By the late 1800s the exchange of Christmas cards in the U.S. had become so widespread that the Superintendent of Mails complained about needing to hire 16 extra mailmen in Washington, D.C. He petitioned Congress to limit the mailing of cards to avoid bottlenecks in the mail system. His petition failed. Today over two billion cards are exchanged each year in the U.S. alone.

• During World War I, President Hoover was constantly urging Americans to cut down on consumption of nearly everything. In the midst of the war, a Christmas card appeared that was printed on cheap gray cardboard and tied with a piece of string that was labelled “camou� aged ribbon.” Tiny scraps of green were labelled “mistletoe” and “holly” and a scrawny creature was labelled “bluebird.” � e inscription inside said, “I’ve Hooverized on pork and beans and butter, cake and bread/ I’ve cut out auto riding and now I walk instead / I’ve Hooverized on sugar, on coal and light and lard, / And here’s my Christmas greeting on a Hoover Christmas Card.”

• Roy Baker of Guthrie, Oklahoma received a Christmas card in the spring of 1974 that had been mailed over two years earlier. � e card carried a two-cent postage due notice because postage rates had gone up between the time the card was mailed and the time it arrived.

• Werner Erhard, founder of ‘est’ meditation, set a world record for number of Christmas cards sent in a single year: 62,824 mailed in 1975.

A CHRISTMAS STORY• Dr. Clement Moore in 1822 composed a little

ditty for his nine children for Christmas. A friend

[email protected] The Neatest Little Paper Ever Read® Call Today (250) 832-3361 Page 3

* “Whip the whites of your eggs when you are working with heavy � ours, like coconut and al-mond meal. � e whipped whites will lighten cakes and mu� ns.” -- C.L. in Montana

* Mix a little cinnamon into a half-cup of pow-dered sugar. � en place a doily on top of a pound cake and sift the � avored sugar on top. Remove the doily to reveal the tasty design.

* “If you have trouble holding your cat still to clip its claws, sneak up while it’s asleep. You might get only a couple done before your cat catches on and wriggles away, but you’ll get there.” -- P.L. in Oklahoma (Slow and steady wins the race, P.L. Your tip works great for babies, too! -- JoAnn)

* To keep snow o� your windshield, use a � annel-backed tablecloth stretched to cover both wind-shield and wipers. Put it � annel-side to the glass. � en you’ll be able to lift it (and the snow) o� your windshield to drive.

* Have trouble opening jars? Keep a mousepad -- those nifty computer desk pads -- in your kitch-en. � e rubber side gives you a great grip on jars of all sizes.

* “In cold winter months, keep your robe (and slippers or whatever else) under the covers with you when you sleep. Pull it next to or over you a few minutes before you get up. It’ll be toasty and will help make the transition into the cold a little less harsh.” -- Giselle in New York

Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.

(c) 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.

who saw the poem sent it to a newspaper, and from there it was picked up by other papers and many magazines. Dr. Moore was a scholar and worried that being known as the author of such a simple Christmas poem would ruin his reputation. � erefore, he didn’t confess his authorship until some 15 years had passed, and he never received a penny for his poem. By then, nearly everyone knew the poem by heart: “‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” Today, the poem is recited over his grave each Christmas Eve.

CHRISTMAS REGIFTING• Adlai Stevenson was working on an agricultural

act when he wrote a marketing agreement for the walnut industry. � at year for Christmas a walnut company sent him a huge sack full of individual packages of walnuts. He thought his Christmas shopping worries were over, and mailed them out to friends and relatives. Only later did he discover that inside each package was a card reading, “Merry Christmas to Adlai from the walnut industry.”

QUIZ: A FAMOUS SONG

• Irving Berlin needed to write a song for each of the major holidays for the movie “Holiday Inn” starring Bing Crosby. Berlin didn’t have much trouble with most of the holidays, but when it came to Christmas, he was stuck.

• Inspiration struck as he sat by a swimming pool in Arizona. He declared, “I just wrote the best song I’ve ever written – hell! I just wrote the best song that anybody’s ever written!”

• Crosby performed the song in the movie, and recorded it for Decca Records in a single 18-minute session. It didn’t do well on the charts at � rst, until Christmas came and the Armed Forces Network was � ooded with requests for it by homesick soldiers. � e song spent 11 weeks at the top, only to return to the top position again during the holiday seasons


in 1945 and 1947, becoming the only single in history with three separate runs at the top.

• It sold more than 50 million copies. It’s now been recorded by more artists than any other song in the history of the recording industry, and the Guinness Book of World Records lists it as the top-selling song of all time, with over 100 million copies sold, including over 500 di� erent versions. What’s the name of the song?

Answer: “White Christmas.”

Noteworthy Inventions

JOYCE HALL• On August 29, 1861, an evangelist visited David

City, Nebraska. � e local Methodist minister hosted the visit, and it happened that the minister’s wife gave birth to a baby boy that day. � e baby was named in honor of the evangelist, whose name was Mr. Joyce. In the 1800s, Joyce was a common name for a boy.

• Joyce Clyde Hall grew up going by his initials,

QUIZ: A FAMOUS SONG (con’t)

‘J.C.’ When J.C. was 18, he started producing picture postcards, launching the Norfolk Postcard Company and hawking his wares to shops in the area. Business was good, and his two brothers joined him in business.

• In 1915 disaster struck when a � re burned the business to the ground. He decided to rebuild, and it was an opportune time to make changes. First, he changed the name of the company, incorporating his last name in a play on words. Second, he decided to abandon picture postcards and to manufacture greeting cards instead. His was the � rst greeting card company to display cards on racks so people could browse through them. Previously, store clerks selected a card from behind the counter or from the back of the store. Sales soared because of this simple innovation.

• By 1923 the company had 120 employees, thriving during the Great Depression. By the time J.C. died in 1982 at the age of 91, his company was worth over $1.5 billion. Today, over 14,000 designs are printed every year, designed by 450 artists. More than 10 million cards are sold annually around the world. What’s the name of J.C.’s company?

Answer: Hallmark.

HALLMARK CARDS• In 1928 Hall Brothers became the � rst

greeting card company to advertise nationally when the company placed an ad in “Ladies’ Home Journal.”

• Hallmark started using their famous slogan in 1944: “When you care enough to send the very best.”

• � e company now employs over 10,000 full time people worldwide including over 500 artists who work on developing products.

• More than 30,000 retail outlets sell Hallmark products.

• About 10,000 new products are released annually, and Hallmark has about 49,000 products available at any given time.

• � e word ‘hallmark’ originates from the Goldsmith’s Hall in London which was the site of the assay o� ce. Items made of gold or silver would be stamped with a mark that guaranteed their authenticity, and from there the word came to mean a mark of quality.

• About 60% of all seasonal cards sold are Christmas cards. After Christmas, the most popular holidays to send cards are Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter and Father’s Day.

• 90% of Americans buy at least one greeting card per year.

• About one-third of the cards a typical American receives are birthday cards. About 60% of non-seasonal cards are birthday cards, followed by anniversary, get well, friendship and sympathy.

• � e most popular recipients of seasonal cards are parents. � e most popular recipients of non-seasonal cards are friends.

• Americans purchase nearly 7 billion greeting cards every year.

QUIZ: A CHRISTMAS CAROL• In 1939 the president of the Montgomery Ward

department store chain asked his advertising copywriter to design a free gift that the hired Santas could hand out to the children who came to sit on Santa’s lap. He wanted something that would be plastered with the department store name and serve as great advertising. � ey had previously given away a coloring book to every child, but this year they wanted something di� erent.

• Robert May was the advertising executive who got this job. He decided to create an illustrated booklet that kids would keep; something that parents would read to them every single Christmas. With the aid of artist Denver Gillen, May invented a new Christmas character named Rollo.

• � e store o� cials liked the idea and the poem, but nixed the name Rollo. So it became Reginald. � ey didn’t like that name either. � en May’s daughter suggested a new name, which was unanimously approved.

• � at year, 2.4 million copies of the booklet were handed out across the country.

Grocery Line: 250-275-8845

9am-11pm

Grocery Line: 250-275-8845

we’ll deliver to your boat at Blue Heron marina!

www.acrosstowndelivery.com

Groceries Cold Beer & Wine Personal Items Parcels & Parts etc...

Also

Personal & Business Delivery Service

Across Town Delivery


“four colly birds.” A colly bird was derived from “coal-y bird,” meaning sooty. Today the words have been Americanized to four calling birds.

• In 1947 a friend of May’s named Johnny Marks put the poem to music and tried to get famous singers to perform it. No one was interested in the song. Finally, Gene Autry agreed to do the song in 1949. It went straight to the top of the Hit Parade.

• Since then, over 300 di� erent recordings have been made, with 80 million copies sold. � e song is second only to “White Christmas” as the best-selling Christmas record of all time. Burl Ives even voiced a movie about it in 1964. It’s one of the � rst holiday songs children learn. What was the name they agreed on, now a famous Christmas character as well as a song?

• Answer: Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. (Rudolph was originally supposed to be a moose.)

CHRISTMAS CAROL FACTS• In the 1860s, Pastor Phillip Brooks toured the Holy

Land and spent Christmas Eve in Bethlehem. � e wonder of the experience never left him. Several years later at his church in Pennsylvania, he was searching for a new carol for his children’s choir to sing. Remembering his Christmas in Bethlehem, he penned a poem and asked his organist, Lewis Redner, to write a melody simple enough for children to learn. � e organist was unable to compose a suitable tune. But the night before the Christmas service, he awoke from a sound sleep with a melody in his head. He quickly wrote the tune down and considered the sudden inspiration a gift from God. � e children learned the song quickly, and the carol has been a favorite ever since: “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem.”

• Good King Wenceslaus was actually a duke in Bohemia in the 10th century. He was converted to Christianity and founded the cathedral of St. Vitus before being murdered by his brother. He was canonized and is remembered in the song named after him in which an act of kindness he did to a stranger is detailed.

• � e song “� e 12 Days of Christmas” was sung as a game, with each person trying to remember all the gifts listed by those who had sung before him, singing them all in the correct order. Any mistakes meant that person was out of the game. � e words varied according to what could be made up on the spur of the moment. � e original lyrics included

words have been Americanized to four calling

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Santa Claus is coming to town with a bag full of healthy chocolate goodies. Now that’s a “gift of the season” that you can sink your sweet tooth into without guilt.

Sugar substitute to equal 1/2 cup sugar, suitable for cooking1/4 cup reduced-fat peanut butter1/2 cup mini chocolate chips1 teaspoon vanilla extract1/2 cup coarsely chopped dry-roasted peanuts

1. Layer a baking sheet with a large piece of waxed paper. In a medium-size microwave-safe mixing bowl, combine sugar substitute, peanut butter and chocolate chips. Cover and micro-wave on HIGH (100 percent power) for 30 sec-onds. Stir, then re-cover and microwave for an-other 15 seconds.

2. Stir in vanilla extract and peanuts. Mix well to coat completely. Form into 16 balls and place on waxed paper. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until � rm. Makes 8 (2 each) servings.

* Each serving equals: 149 calories, 9g fat, 5g protein, 12g carb., 39mg sodium, 1g � ber; Dia-betic Exchanges: 1 Fat, 1/2 Meat, 1/2 Starch/Carb.; Carb Choices: 1.

(c) 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.


* It was 20th-century Nigerian novelist, poet and pro-fessor Chinua Achebe who made the following sage observation: “One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.”

* Historians say that on April 4, 1968, Rev. Martin Lu-ther King Jr. participated in a pillow � ght in the Lor-raine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. � is wouldn’t be noteworthy, of course, except for the fact that he was assassinated at the motel that same evening.

* � ose who study such things say that men without beards are 40 percent more likely to describe them-selves as happy.

* In November of this year, a bulldog named Otto set a Guinness World Record. In the city of Lima, Peru, Otto rode a skateboard through the legs of 30 people, setting a new record for skateboarding through the longest human tunnel.

* You probably won’t be surprised to learn that before horseradish was called horseradish, it was known as “stingnose” in many areas of the United States. However, you might be surprised to learn that it was sometimes rubbed on a person’s forehead to relieve a headache.

* Lawmakers in Kentucky evidently once thought it necessary to pass legislation making it illegal to paint one’s lawn red.

* You might not think of tarantulas as fragile, but they are. Despite their soft, furry appearance, if one of these spiders has even a short fall without catching itself on its thread, the drop likely will shatter its exo-skeleton or rupture its abdomen.

* If you ever have the good fortune to encounter a group of bunnies, you’ll know that you can collective-ly call them a “� u� e.”

� ought for the Day: “If I have any beliefs about im-mortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.” -- James � urber

Wanted: Purchasing old Canadian & American

coin collections & accumulations.

Old gold & sterling! Private, Prompt &

con� dential. 250-548-3670

(Shuswap)

1990 Mazda 4WD - Very good shape - low

mileage $1800Box trailer with roll back

door - side door also $1600

1950 Dodge car $700Metal kitchen

cupboards - Porcelain sink & countertops $450Wheel chair & scooter

lift for car $1500Call Larry

(250) 542-2210(Enderby)


Wanted: alfalfa grass mix hay.

Salmon Arm to Armstrong area.

Please call (250) 803-3443 or email scgoat-

[email protected] with available and

price.

Firewood for Sale16” Split, Dry & Ready to Burn. Mix of Larch,

Fir & Pine. Free Local Delivery in

Cherryville(250) 547-6872

Burke’s Mac’s, Spartans $10 for 20lbs. Squash

$0.45/lb. Call � rst. (250) 545-2093

(Vernon)

The V.J.H. Auxiliary Gift Shop is all decked

out for Christmas.Come and check

us out. There’s something for

everyone. Lots of bling and stu� es

that sing. Stocking stu� ers, Christmas

ornaments and decorations A great

selection of ponchos, scarves, gloves

and purses. Cozy hand knits. Unique

Christmas crafts. Gifts for babies and

gentlemen too. lovely � oral arrangements. You are sure to � nd

just the right thing.


Documents

Tidbits vernon 253 dec 18 2015 merry christmas online