Serving the Heart of Central Alberta for 105 years
VOLUME ONE HUNDRED SIX
PM40011853 R08546
NUMBER FIFTY-ONE
STETTLER, ALBERTA
December 19, 2012
PRICE – $1.09 Plus GST
RICHARD FROESE/Independent reporter
ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH — The Tiny Gracenotes entertain during the Gracenotes Christmas concert Saturday at the Stettler Performing Arts Centre.
Stettler-area residents globalize Christmas LES STULBERG Independent reporter Christmas traditions vary greatly in different countries around the world. As Christians worldwide prepare to celebrate the most special occasion of the year, transplanted Stettler-area residents recalled Christmas traditions from their homelands. Jan Koenraadt — Holland Growing up in Holland, Jan Koenraadt recalls there were no presents on Christmas Day in his childhood. Gifts were exchanged on or before Saint Nicholas Day, on Dec. 6. Christmas Day was reserved more for the religious aspect of the celebration, he said. Sinter Klaas would arrive on Saint Nicholas Day to bring gifts for the children. The Santa Claus known by North Americans today originated from the Dutch Sinter Klaas. Koenraadt said children “set a shoe” — put out a wooden shoe — much like children in Canada hang their stockings. Children awake to find Sinter Klaas has filled their shoes with candy. Legend has it that Sinter
Klaas comes from Spain in a boat. There are no reindeer — Sinter Klaas rides a white horse. Children leave treats for the horse to eat, Koenraadt said. Sinter Klaas enters houses by coming down the chimney. Koenraadt said his family members didn’t have the big traditional turkey meal on Christmas Day. They attended midnight mass on Christmas Eve and when they returned home, they had a supper made up of mostly of cold cuts and salads. Cookies and candy that were only made at Christmastime were enjoyed around Saint Nicholas Day. Folks in Holland decorate a Christmas tree and it’s left up until Three Kings Day, the 12th day after Christmas. Ursula Corpataux — Switzerland “One big difference between Christmas in Switzerland and Canada is that there is no Santa Claus on Christmas Day,” Ursula Corpataux said. In Corpataux’s native Switzerland, Santa Claus arrives on Dec. 6 for Saint Nicholas Day. Santa doesn’t have reindeer. Instead, he and his helpers, who are believed to live in the woods, travel by donkey. They go from house to house asking children if they have been “good.” Children who have been “good” are given small gifts by Santa Claus, usually
RICHARD FROESE/Independent reporter
AWAY IN A MANGER — The nativity scene outside St. George’s Anglican Church is among the many meaningful Christmas displays apparent throughout the Stettler region in the week before Christmas. made up of oranges, chocolates and peanuts. “Bad” children get the switch. Children learn a verse to recite to Santa, Corpataux said. She said the Christmas tree is put up the day before Christmas and taken down Jan. 6 — Three Kings Day. Corpataux said Christmas Eve ranks as the biggest day of celebration. Families gather and presents are opened on Christmas Eve. A lot of baking is done, mostly special
cookies and cakes, made especially for Christmas. Corpataux said the Christmas Day meal “is not a big deal.” It’s not turkey or anything specific, but a favourite dish of the family. Gift-giving and decorating are much more lavish in Canada. “Here, it is so commercialized — too much for my liking,” Corpataux said. “There are no coloured Christmas lights in Switzerland. They are white
or warm yellow. “It took me a while to get used to the coloured lights here — at first, it reminded me of a carnival.” Dr. Elizma Bouwer — South Africa In South Africa, Christmas falls during summer vacation, said Dr. Elizma Bouwer. She was raised in a rural region of South Africa. She said the Christmas season there is much more relaxed — not a big rush.
School is out for summer vacation. Many companies and public services close for a couple of weeks during that time. “It is less commercialized,” Bouwer said. “It’s a big family time and more focused about the real meaning of Christmas.” In her homeland, many people migrate to the ocean and go to the beaches to find somewhere cool. Continued on Page A13
Readers can also find the Stettler Independent at stettlerindependent.com