The Star
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Tuesday December 22 2015
15
Today in history Famous dates
•1814 – Samuel Marsden arrives in the Bay of Islands, to establish New Zealand’s first mission station; sheep, cattle, horses and poultry are introduced •1882 – First string of Christmas tree lights created by Thomas Edison •1942 – Adolf Hitler signs the order to develop the V-2 rocket •1963 – Official 30-day mourning period for President John F Kennedy ends •1984 – Madonna’s Like a Virgin single goes number one for 6 weeks •1990 – Lech Walesa sworn in as Poland’s 1st popularly elected president •2001 – Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes
WONDERLAND: One of the Christmas Grotto’s many themed rooms.
Linda Hill
Milestone for Xmas grotto By Emma-Jane McLennan THE CHRISTMAS Grotto has become a festive tradition for many Christchurch families – and this year it celebrated 15 years. Spreydon’s grotto has grown from its humble beginnings as a simple nativity scene, to a giant production which takes a whole year to plan. It takes a lot of work but it’s all worth it when you see the children’s smiles, creator Linda Hill said.
“I just love it… There’s the excitement and anticipation of – what’s going to change, what’s new, what are we going to see? It’s just putting Christmas back into Christmas.” The grotto was started in 2000 by Ms Hill and her brother, congregation members at Spreydon Baptist Church, which runs the annual event. They’d been talking about the Christmas traditions they missed at the time: “We realised there was
nothing, then he said – let’s do it. Let’s do something special. So I said, how about a teddy bear nativity scene?” she said. It’s grown from that first year, more than doubling in size. Now it involves a series of themed rooms, set up by a construction company. Some rooms, such as toyland and the wrapping room, are annuals themes – others alternate year on year. The grotto is run by volunteers,
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who welcomed more than 30,000 visitors to the site this year. Everyone through the door pays an entry fee, which goes towards the next years’ show. “We just keep making it bigger and better,” Ms Hill said. And it’s become a very popular event for both little kids – and big kids – alike. Many come every year to see the grotto, Ms Hill said: “It’s just taken off … I can’t believe it’s been 15 years already.”
Famous birthdays
•1949 – Maurice and Robin Gibb, Isle of Man musicians
THAT’S ODD
AN UNDEVELOPED, languishing New York state park named after Donald Trump should be renamed, state legislators said, citing what they say are discriminatory proposals from the Republican presidential candidate. Trump donated the 178ha block land to the state in 2006 after plans for a golf course fell through. Budget cuts prompted the state to close the park in 2010, though signs for it remain.