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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2004HAPPY HOLIDAYS2004 Holiday PartyandNew Member ReceptionThursday, December 9, 2004Italian Club Cantina6:00pm Board Meeting7:00pm ReceptionHeavy Hors D’oeuvresCash BarGames - 50/50 Raffle - Holiday CheerPlease R.S.V.P. to the Italian Club Office(813) 248-3316PAGE 14
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2004Continued from front cover.customs — the mistle-toe from theDruids, holly proffered by the MedievalChurch as a substitute for Mistle-toe, theEnglish fertility rite of wassailing, crèchesfrom Europe, the poinsettia imported byJoel Roberts Poinsett from Mexico in1828, and carols from northern Europe.The tree was a northern addition goingback to the 700s, but it had earlier paganfertility significance. While Martin Lutherwas the first to place candles on a tree, thetree did not become widespread inGermany until 1800. From there it cameto America through Pennsylvania Germanimmigrants, along with the carols thatseem to worship trees. Then in 1880,Woolworth began selling tree ornamentsand the tree began to evolve. Doesanyone remember the plastic aluminumtrees so popular in the Sixties? And am Ithe only one who liked them?The tree, of course, begs for gifts. Whilethe precedent for gift-giving wasestablished by the Magi who broughtgold, incense and myrrh, it was not untilthe 19 th Century that the present deluge ofgifts began. Not long ago Englishchildren often received an orange as agift. In Italy, naughty children received apiece of coal from La Befana. In myfamily of eight children, La Befana lefteight pieces of coal. Today, after manystressful shopping sorties, our livingrooms resemble Toys R Us warehouses.Now someone has to bring these gifts.Who else but middle-man Santa Claus. Itseems that in the fourth century, St.Nicholas of Myra in Lycia, who laterbecame the patron saint of Russia andthieves, garnered fame by leaving goldcoins in the stockings of three poor girlsto enable them to buy dowries. Thus, thehanging of stockings. His Dutch namebecame Santa Claus and he passed intoChristmas mythology. But he did notbecome the ubiquitous and dominatingforce he is today until much later – notuntil 1882, when Clement Moore sweptthe country with his “The Night BeforeChristmas.” Much of our iconography ofChristmas comes from that poem – thereindeer, their names, the sleigh, thechimney, and Santa in his bishop colors ofred and white.Christmas has always been associatedwith activities that seem to go counter tothe values of Jesus. Most of us complainabout the commercialization ofChristmas. But we know that howeverzombie-like we become in the malls,listening to the endless repetition ofChristmas songs, spending money wedon’t have and wondering what we willbe getting, Christmas has become anirremovable part of our economy.In a pluralistic society there are manyways to see Christmas. So if you viewand enjoy Christmas as a secular holiday,religious festival, latter-day Saturnalia,equinox renewal, freedom from the laborforce, or simply dreaming of a white one,have a merry one.FRAN COSTANTINOBROKERCOSTANTINOAND COMPANYREAL ESTATE SERVICES2216 4TH AVE. E.TAMPA, FL 33605PHONE: 813 241-6767FAX: 813 241-6868PAGE 15
Page 1 and 2: L’UnioneITALIANAThe Official News
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