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IN THIS ISSUE

• Jack Peaker has plans for celebrating New Year´s Eve
• Here are the words to Auld Lang Syne
• Dick Monaghan compares a Parisien restaurant with more homely ones
• Mike DiCola adds information to the story of the Christmas truce
• A brief history of ancient NY celebrations comes from a post by Jack Peaker
• Gerrit de Leeuw forwards a letter about new immigrants
• Shirley Grayman makes a New Year´s resolution

Jack Peaker tells about his plans for

NEW YEAR´S EVE

This December 31st, now that I am a widower, I will be going alone to the Evergreen Seniors´ Centre in Guelph to welcome in 2008.

Starting at 8 o´clock, there will be dancing and listening to the Twilites and their old and new music, and a buffet dinner with a free glass of wine, before midnight. Then, along with millions of others, we will sing Auld Lang Syne. This tradition was first begun in 1929 when Guy Lombardo´s Royal Canadians played the song at the Hotel Roosevelt Grill in New York City.

I have many memories of past New Year´s Eves: Of Ottawa, where I come from, where blizzards, freezing rain, and icy roads always seemed to happen on December 31. At more than one house party it was deemed advisable for guests to stay the night, and not because of breathalizer tests, which were not used then.

After moving to Toronto, where I had some well-to-do friends, places like the Old Mill made for an enjoyable way to welcome in the coming year. I spent a most forgettable New Year´s Eve at Hart House at the University of Toronto, on a blind date.

In 1952, in Vancouver, we celebrated at the Vancouver Yacht Club, where tuxedos and long gowns and champagne at midnight made an unforgettable occasion.

Here in Guelph, there were four New Years´ Eves at the Cutten Golf Club, and they were expensive. After a lovely meal, finishing about 8.30 p.m., there was another 3 1/2 hours until midnight. Conversations started to lag and some celebrants ordered costly cocktails to fill in the time. At midnight there was champagne and a sweet buffet.

It is interesting that with about 80 December 31sts in my history, there are not a lot that I would like to have repeated.

This New Year´s Eve will be a different one once again. I am going to wear my tuxedo shirt with black bow tie and white jacket. Dancing perhaps? It´s been some time since I have danced. I hear it´s like bicycle riding - one never forgets how.

Anyway, at midnight we will again be singing Auld Lang Syne.

The song, "Auld Lang Syne" is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700s, it was first published in 1796 after Burns´ death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scotch tune, "Auld Lang Syne", literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days."

AULD LANG SYNE

Dick Monaghan suggests:

LET´S DO LUNCH

I read the other day there´s a new restaurant opening on the Eiffel Tower. I wasn´t paying too much attention, since it´s highly unlikely I´ll ever get to Paris, until I read that "the prices will be accessible to anyone - $106 for lunch, $260 for dinner."

Either I´m not "anyone" or they believe a lot of us routinely mortgage our houses to go to a restaurant. I like to think in opposites, so I conjured up a mental picture of "Filling Station No. 16" in my home town of Centralia, WA, where you could buy five-cent hamburgers during the Depression. (I don´t have the slightest idea where the name came from, or where the other 15 "filling stations" were). They weren´t much, but I´ve never seen the price beaten.

I also thought of the Wishram beanery, the last railroad-owned restaurant in the country, I believe, when it was phased out and torn down a few years ago. It is said France is a land of many sauces; the beanery had but one - grease. The place had no official name, just a misleading sign out front that said "Lunch." It was misleading because the place was open 24 hours a day, to feed the rail-yard workers. (Wishram´s only function was as a division point for the old Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway, which never came closer to Seattle than about 200 miles. It´s now part of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and Wishram´s yard has been replaced by a more modern one in Pasco.)

I wonder if the new Eiffel Tower restaurant serves a decent cheeseburger, or gives you fried eggs, bacon, sausage AND ham with breakfast.

ED. NOTE: I accept your kind invitation, Dick. Of course you will be picking up the tab. ;)

Mike DiCola writes about the comments on

THE 1914 CHRISTMAS TRUCE

Further to your growing commentaries on the 1914 Christmas Truce, I highly recommend a lovely little book entitled "Silent Night", by Stanley Weintraub. It´s a relatively recent publication (2001) but undoubtedly has already found its way into most public library systems. (It´s also still available for sale at Amazon: http://arunaurl.com/1jki)

It tells the full story of the Truce. What many people don´t seem to realize is that it was not exclusively the one-night ceasefire that most contemporary stories seem to suggest, nor was it a general ceasefire that spread across the whole Front. But it did indeed happen in several different places along the line. In fact, in some scattered sectors of the Front, it actually lasted several days until New Year´s, when the war only resumed when some commanders threatened to execute soldiers who refused to resume shooting at their counterparts on the other side of No Man´s Land. Even then, in some places, the shooting was deliberately high.

Weintraub´s brief book includes several diary excerpts from soldiers who experienced the Truce. One reviewer quoted on the dustjacket calls it a "book [that] reads like a novel, a true story that has the power to haunt".

I couldn´t agree more.

I thought this information would be of interest to anyone seeking a more thorough telling of the whole amazing story. All the best to you and all the Tale-spinner fans.

Jack Peaker forwards some interesting information about the new year celebration, and here is a brief excerpt of its early history:

ANCIENT NEW YEARS

The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first new moon (actually the first visible crescent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring).

The beginning of spring is a logical time to start a new year. After all, it is the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.

The Babylonian new year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it is safe to say that modern New Year´s Eve festivities pale in comparison.

The Romans continued to observe the new year in late March, but their calendar was continually tampered with by various emperors so that the calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun. In order to set the calendar right, in 153 BC the Roman senate declared January 1 to be the beginning of the new year. But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again established January 1 as the new year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.

Although in the first centuries AD the Romans continued celebrating the new year, the early Catholic Church condemned the festivities as paganism. But as Christianity became more widespread, the early church began having its own religious observances concurrently with many of the pagan celebrations, and New Year´s Day was no different. New Years is still observed as the Feast of Christ´s circumcision by some denominations.

Gerrit de Leeuw writes: This is a letter to the editor in response to another letter to the editor which I, as a new immigrant 50 years ago, found very offensive to our new Canadian residents. This answer exactly expressed my feelings and opinions and I want to share it with you all.

WE ARE ALL IMMIGRANTS HERE

When I first received this e-mail, I found the contents annoying, saying things I didn´t agree with. My first thought was to ask the person who sent it to me to take my name off his mailing list, then to delete the e-mail and get on with my life. But then I got to thinking that the reason these kinds of statements endure is because as Canadians we´re just too polite to stand up and say "Nonsense!" So here´s what I want to say:

I don´t understand the point of this letter to the editor that seems to imply that all would-be immigrants are free-loading ethnic/religious zealots who somehow have the power to make us "true" Canadians kowtow to their religious and cultural traditions, and that we are powerless to retain the cultural traditions and religions of our forefathers. And, the letter suggests, immigrants get a free ride at the expense of all current Canadians. What nonsense!

My Canada is a strong country that has shown in its past that it can accept and assimilate all differences. If you think of our history, you might note that our country has survived the arrival of various feuding groups: English vs Irish, Protestants vs Catholics, whites vs Asians, Jews vs most non-Jews, Greeks vs Turks, communists vs capitalists, but has still been a beacon for the economically repressed, highland cleared, famine routed, religiously persecuted, slaves, displaced persons, freedom fighters, conscientious objectors, refugees, and anyone else who wants a better life.

Over time, we got better at accepting folks from other places, and they got better at being Canadian. Do you know of any second-generation Canadians who didn´t adapt to the ways and mores of our society? Would you say that Canada is a different and better place as a result of that immigration? The current batch of new arrivals carries similar cultural baggage that they will eventually set aside. In the meantime, they will have to overcome prejudice based on language, (misunderstood) religion, and a fear of change or loss of privilege by the settled majority, but by the time their children are grown, we will have experienced a new level of Canadianism that reflects their cultural contribution.

What is it about people (us proud Canadians, that is) that we can´t see beyond minor differences to human being-ness? Surely we realize that those dark-skinned people, or the light-skinned ones with the funny clothing or accents, care about their children, want to live in peace, want to help others, want to economically advance - just like you or me. Don´t believe the scaremongering so-called conservatives who dare to call themselves Christians while ignoring every biblical call to love their neighbours. They are just expressing their fear of the different, and that they will lose ground without militant action to preserve their particular brand of religious bias [or their jobs].

You might hear our Letter Writer say, "Oh No! I´m not prejudiced. It´s just the bad ones that get into the country that I´m against." Probably the real reason the letter was written: a fear of criminals and miscreants, who lie, cheat, and steal, just like we read about in the papers, while we ignore the Canadian-born criminal element, because their deeds are something we´re used to. Well, I have confidence that the challenges posed by the inevitable contingent of criminals and misfits will be met just as it was in the past, and most will be rooted out and put away or sent away. We have good laws to protect us from predators, although sometimes we have poor application, and more frequently a reluctance by ordinary people to help the authorities find and prosecute the criminals. Isn´t it better to err on the side of goodness, and chance letting in a few bad people, so as not to bar the truly deserving?

I also have confidence that we will bounce back to feeling free to say Merry Christmas whenever it seems appropriate, because the sensitivity has indeed gone over the top. I read recently that a number of immigrants are embarrassed by the super-sensitivity, and would really just rather we continued with the Christmas traditions we´ve grown up with for the last 400 years. They also note that they celebrate some aspects of the holiday as well, particularly the shopping part. You think Canadian-born children of immigrants, whatever their faith, aren´t aware of the time devoted to getting new toys and gadgets? Think they don´t like the decorations, the lights, the happy people? Of course they do. If you want to be Christian traditionalist, shout out Merry Christmas, hum carols and sing Rudolph´s song all you wish. No one is offended, really! If you are also be a sensitive Christian traditionalist, then you already respect the faiths of others at their holy festivals. You make a point already of wishing your Jewish friends a happy Chanukah, and your Muslim friends a joyful Eid al-Adha.

And I don´t get the writer´s call for a return to the "Canada of my birth". Shall we guess that the writer was born in the late 30s to early 50s? What was life like in Canada at that time? Do we remember the 30,000 Japanese who had their property seized and who were shipped off to concentration camps in Canada? Do we remember that Asians and Indo-Europeans couldn´t even vote, or run for public office, until the late 40s? Do we remember how we treated the immigrants fleeing the wreckage of war torn Europe - that is, the bohunks, the wops, the DPs, and other unsavory names we used? I think we tend to gloss over the seamier parts of our history. Not that there weren´t positives in our great country. I am as proud as any Canadian, and thankful I was born here and not in some warring hellhole of a country. I remember wonderful times growing up, and will carry happy memories always of growing up a Canadian. But a significant part of that growing up involved being exposed to other cultures, languages, and faiths, which led to getting over a parochial view of the world. I learned to accept others for who they are, and not for exaggerated fears of the perils of difference. I accept that there are billions less fortunate than me, who do not deserve my disrespect, but rather my encouragement and help and welcome.

If you agree with the letter to the editor, I´d be interested to hear what you really think are the threats posed by the arrival of not-yet Canadians. Perhaps we can get some facts to work with that would help dispel our uncertainty about our immigration policies. Better yet, it might help us to shed light on aspects of Canadian immigration that we could confront our government with, and say "Fix this, Harper!"

I guess my major concern is that we talk about Canadian values, but when we try to say what they are, we run into a wall, or say something so broad it really is meaningless. So here´s my proposition: why don´t we start a round robin of e-mails to establish a consensus of what Canadian values might be to the group reading this?

I´ll start: My Canada values universal health care access. I know, I know, the system needs fixing. But I still think everyone, regardless of status or wealth, has the right to a place in line for care. Otherwise, the richest get the best and fastest care, and who´s to say the really rich wouldn´t be able to muscle into line in front of the just moderately rich? What would that scenario do to your health care access?

Finally, I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! (Yes, I am from a Christian traditionalist background, and it makes me feel good to say Merry Christmas to folks!) I hope your seasonal shopping level made the retailers happy, and that you spared a thought or a few bucks for the less fortunate here and abroad. I pray for peace and love for all.

And have a happy and prosperous New Year, too!

Jim

P.S. My wife (whose parents brought her here from Holland as a child) thinks this so-called letter to the editor is actually a fraud that been floating around for a number of years. If anyone can track it down to its origins, I´d like to hear where it came from.

Shirley Grayman makes a New Year´s resolution:

CHEERS

I just read an article on the dangers of drinking....

Scared the sh*t out of me.

So that´s it!

After today, no more reading.

"This day is all that is good and fair. It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays." - Ralph Waldo Emerson