Troubles In Many Lands At Christmas

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28154, 18 December 1956, Page 12

Troubles In Many Lands At Christmas

(From a Reuter Correspondent)

Today, as many times in the last 1000 years, the approach of Christmas finds the world in the shadow of strife. As the bells of Bethlehem ring out Over the green hillsides, reminding the world once more of the birth of the Prince of Peace, they will echo in hearts often filled with hatred.

In Hungary, the people are awaiting probably the worst Christmas this generation has ever spent. Millions there are cold and hungry, and mourning the death of husband, son or brother.

In Poland, where chan'ge was achieved more successfully, there is greater freedom this year. But there is still, officially, no Christmas—only the New Year and Grandfather Frost, wearing the robes of the Christian Santa Claus.

Even in Western Europe, in Britain, France, and Belgium, and its countries as far apart as Greece and Scandinavia, the long shadow of discord casts its gloom. Petrol rationing recalls the years of World War ll—and symbolises fears of World War 111. Men and women look anxiously into an uncertain future as they join with their children in the fun and merrymaking of Christmas. Only in the new world and the Southern Hemisphere will Christmas be celebrated with all the traditional gaiety and an almost carefree atmosphere. Canada and the TTnited States, riding high on prosperity waves, are all set for celebrations as lavish as in any year since World War 11. In the villages of Mexico, Christmas ceremonies and feasting have already begun, while in South America, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, the summer holiday season is in lull swing. There, picnics in the countryside or by the sea will, as usual, take the merry-making out of doors unhindered by shortage of petrol or lack of heat. Here, from Reuter correspondents in various countries of the Christian world are reports of Christmas preparations and celebrations: Tanks and Guns in Holy Land

Tanks and guns will be poised for action in the Holy Land this Christmas Eve. The church bells will chime their ancient message of peace from the small Judean village of Bethlehem. But throughout the region where Christ was born, lived and preached, the sounds of war are still in the air. Only a handful of staunch pilgrims will this year attempt to make their way to the birthplace of Christ. Thousands of others will stay away because of the crisis which has hit the Middle East and fears of what is in store in the immediate future. The shadow of strife will weigh heavily on the few devout as they drive cautiously along the winding, asphalt road linking the Arab side of Jerusalem with Bethlehem.

At few Christmases in history did peace seem more remote from this part of the world. Only a few miles to the north, Soviet jet fighters and bombers stand ready for “volunteer” crews. To the west, wreckage and rubble at Port Said stand out as evidence of the fruit of human conflict.

On the very route taken by Joseph and Mary in their flight to Egypt, blackened tank hulks still dot the hot, honey-coloured sand dunes like giant carcases—mut reminders of November’s fighting between Arab and Jew.

There are fears that the colourful annual ritual at the site of the Nativity, virtually uninterrupted since the days of the Emperor Constantine in 400 A.D., may be greatly restricted or even abandoned. Conditions permitting, however, services in the Church of St. Catherine within the Church of the Nativity, will again be the culminating point of Christmas. Once again, like his predecessors down the ages, Monsignor Alberto Gori, highest ranking Roman Catholic prelate in the Holy Land, and successor to the ancient Crusaders’ title of Patriarch, will stoop to enter the little door of the Church of the Nativity and walk to the throne in the Church of St. Catherine amid cheering and hymn singing. Once again, the ancient rites of the familiar Christmas Mass will move to their climax amid clouds of fragrant incense. On this Christmas Eve. as on all those others for generations past, the Patriarch, celebrating Mass, will be attired in rich robes of ermine and embroidered silks, and wearing the golden jewelled mitre of his high office. Later, carrying a life-size figure of the Infant Christ, he will lead the procession down the slippery, well-trodden staircase to the crypt below. There, in the rectangular Grotto of the Nativity, lighted by 53 decorated lamps, he will place the figure of the Infant on a silver star over which is written the Latin legend Hie De Virgiene Maria Jesus Christus natus est (here, of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ was born). Foreboding in Italy

A sense of foreboding about the future and inexorably advancing inflation characterise what might otherwise have been Italy’s happiest Christmas since World War 11. No Italian child or youth has ever seen shops so richly stocked with goods of all kinds. Nor can most of them remember a time when their parents were less worried about providing food and drink for the Christmas, New Year and Epiphany celebrations. While costs have risen steeply in the last year, so have the earnings of - large numbers of civil servants, teachers, industrial workers and southern farm labourers.

But the voice of Pope Pius XII, broadcasting his usual Christmas appeal for peace to a world shuddering under threats of war, will cast a pang of anxiety into their rejoicings. Italians, still far poorer than the European average, consider food and drink the first charge on their budgets, and presents a luxury. But most parents try to give their children something on Twelfth Night, the feast of the Epiphany, when the black “Befana” witch comes down the chimney with a big sack and leaves toys and sweets for the good, children —and a lump of coal for the bad. Outside the big cities and the realms of business and commerce, Christmas is essentially a religious feast. In thousands of villages, from those buried in the snow of the Alps to the sun-bathed hamlets of Sicily, millions of families make their way to Midnight Mass in their parish churches. To the excited eyes of children staying up late, the churches are wonderfully transformed by carefully spotlighted cribs, some of them great works of Renaissance art, showing the scene of the birth of Jesus in the manger at Bethlehem. Each year, thousands more families abandon the custom of erecting a crib in their homes and adopt instead the Christmas tree, imported into central and southern Italy by German troops during World War 11. Nevertheless exquisite hand-painted figures for cribs are still sold at dozens of stalls in the brightly lit Piazza Navona, built nearly 2000 years ago by the Emperor Domitan for chariot races and which now each year from Christmas to Epiphany becomes a trrestrial paradise for children where a carefully paipted sheep, to add to the family’s collection of crib figures, can be had for 30 lire (fourpence), a Roman soldier for 90 lire (one shilling) and a gemlike figure of the Virgin Mary for as much as 5000 lire (£3). More Prosperity in Greece With more money in the countryside as a result of abundant crops of olive oil, tobacco and rice and brisk sales of currants and grapes abroad.

Greeks generally have good prospects of a happy Christmas. In Athens, too, there is an air of prosperity. Central squares have been transformed into huge village fairs, with stands offering the most unexpected goods, ranging from homemade toys to marmalade and woollen underwear.

Every Greek worker gets a Christmas bonus of what is known as the thirteenth month’s salary—a month’s extra pay to help him meet the cost of Christmas celebrations. Christmas is celebrated in Greece as a smple religious holiday. Villagers dressed in their Sunday clothes go to Mass early in the morning, after which, in some mountainous districts of -northern Greece, there is a traditional midday meal with local dishes. The week between Christmas Day and the New Year is a busy one for the whole family. Mother cleans the home and starts cooking for St. Basil’s Day (New Year’s Day). Father bargains with the shoemakers for the traditional new pair of shoes for each of the children, and the children themselves decorate the Christmas tree. This will be lit only on New Year’s Eve, when presents to be exchanged between members of the family are hung on its branches. For more than two months before New Year’s Day the streets of Athens are crowded with children urging passers-by to buy tickets in the annual lottery of the Union of Greek Journalists in an effort to earn their pocket money. St. Basil’s, or as the Greeks call him, Aghios Vassilios’ Day celebrations start with the traditional cutting of the home-baked vassilopita (the king’s pudding), containing a lucky coin, exactly at midnight. This family ceremony is followed by the distribution of gifts from the Christmas tree. Then there will be a supper with, as the main dish, the traditional stuffed turkey. Excellent Greek wines are drunk with a large variety of dried fruits. The family, surrounded by friends and neighbours, will then indulge m gambling until dawn. As with the Scots, New Year’s Day is a more important holiday to the Greeks than Christmas. They also have the tradition of “good footing” similar to Scots’ “first footing.” The poorer the first visitor on New Year’s Day, the more luck he is likely to bring to the house. Greek housewives, therefore, sometimes bribe old beggars to call early in the morning on January 1. A generous share of the traditional cake is awaiting them. Another Greek custom is for motorists to give presents’ to traffic policemen on New Year’s Eve. Their steel helmets polished for the occasion, the police for a week before this day have nothing but charming smiles, for car drivers. Statisticians claim that on the week preceding “the day” no Greek motorist has ever been known to get a summons, not even for parking under a no parking sign. Wage Rise in Spain

The nation-wide wage increases decreed by the Government from November 1 have greatly increased the potential expenditure on toys, food and drink in Spain this Christmas. The State hopes to get back some of this money through the State-run Christmas lottery, tickets for which have been increased by another 60,000 this year. The first prize has consequently been raised by a further 15,000,000 pesetas (£150,000), and is now worth the record figure of 135,000,000 pesetas (£1,350,000). However, to win this big prize, known in Spanish as ‘‘El Gordo” or ‘‘The Fat One,” it is necessary to buy all nine series of the winning number at 2000 pesetas (£2O) a series. That is to say, it is necessary to buy 18,000 pesetas (£180) worth of tickets. Tickets are often split into shares as low as one peseta (2d), so quite frequently hundreds of persons share “El Gordo. ’ Many people will be buying tele vision sets as gifts this Christmas since regular television programmes started in Madrid in October. A se. costs around 10,000 pesetas (£100) here.

Christmas in Spain is rapidly becoming more like Christmas anywhere else in the Western world, and the Post Office is already advising people to ‘‘post early for Christmas.” Hundreds of thousands of Christmas cards are now sent out, Christmas trees are seen everywhere, and the radio stations begin to play the carol “Silent Night, Holy Night” many days before Christmas. All this is new for Spain in the last few years. Davy Crockett equipment has not so far made its appearance in the toy shops, but perhaps the introduction of television wyi change this. Corte Ingles, Galerias Preciados and other Madrid department stores are stocked up mainly with mechanical toys—planes, bulldozers, tanks, and so on. Building of model aircraft is a popular pursuit among Spanish children, for the younger generation is mechanically minded. In Central Spain, the traditional Christmas dinner is eaten on the night of December 24-25 (Nochebuena). In Catalonia, however, the main meal is eaten as in many English homes, at lunch-time on Christmas Day. Portuguese Celebrations

Christmas in Portugal will follow the traditional pattern although the Portuguese will have to pay a little more for their turkey, chicken, and cod fish. An 111 b turkey, for example, will this year cost about £2 10s, and a chicken will cost about 18s. Most Portuguese can afford these slight increases and in any case are full of hope that the national lottery will solve all their financial problems. Nearly everyone in Portugal buys a fraction of a ticket in the national lottery at Christmas in the hope of winning at least part of a prize (about £125,000) in return for an outlay of about £25.

After Midnight Mass, most families eat a traditional supper consisting of cod fish with potatoes and greens, accompanied with olive oil and plenty of red wine. Those who can afford it have roast turkey with roast potatoes and a cup of chicken broth. For weeks before Christmas comes, children gaze in shop windows to be able to tell their parents what they would like the Infant Jesus to put in their shoes, placed by the chimney on Christmas Eve. Children in Portugal will receive more toys than utilitarian gifts because there is not much inflation, in Portugal at present. The poor are not forgotten and many charitable institutions have collected garments, toys, food, and other gifts for them. The Portuguese newspaper “Diario de Noticias” is organising parties in hospitals and prisons where the most popular stage and radio artists will go to entertain the patients and convicts. The Portuguese Automobile Club will put a Christmas tree by traffic policemen and drivers of cars will stop to put presents in it for the police and their families.

Many people are planning an excursion to Madeira, where there are great festivities on New Year’s Eve, including a huge firework display on th j high mountain peaks surrounding the bay of Funchal, the capital of Madeira. The fireworks cast a multicoloured reflection on the sea and all the ships in port blow their whistles at midnight to announce that the New Year has been born.

Sad Christmas for Cypriots This will probably be the saddest Christmas ever in the Mediterranean colony of Cyprus. Its 420.000 Christian inhabitants, mainly Greek Cypriots, and the 20,000 members of the British security forces, have lived through a year of mounting turmoil, tension and consequent restrictions. Mos than 250 people have been killed and 600 in-

jured as a result of violence during the year. Collective punishments, curfews, riots, searches, bombs, and ambushes have combined to reduce this once gay and happy holiday island to a gloomy picture of murder, suffering, Sten guns and barbed wire. People fear that this is an atmosphere which, unless a solution to the Cyprus problem is found by the end of the year, even the Christmas festival will find difficult to dispel or relieve this year. But the British security forces as well as Cypriot inhabitants are hoping at least for a trouble-free Christmas in the spirit of a truce, whether declared or silently observed. For British servicemen who will spend Christmas in Cyprus away from their families at home, the Army and Royal Air Force authorities are laying on the best entertainment and richest Christmas food possible within the framework of security requirements. Festivities for the troops and service families will be extended over 10 days, with three distinct Christmas celebrations, in addition to children’s parties, cinema shows, bonfires, and carols in all camps throughout Cyprus. The first of these three occasions will be December 25, for all British servicemen who can be spared from security work. The second Christmas will take place a few days later, for those who will have to maintain patrols and the security watch on camps and installations on December 25. The third major celebrations will be on New Year’s Day, for the men of two Scottish Battalions at present based on Cyprus—the Ist Gordon Highlanders and the Ist Highland Light Infantry. Service children in ’h dozen wellprotected encampments will be given successive parties with Santa Claus distributing a wealth of presents. Some of these presents are being sent from grandparents and relatives in Britain, others have been bought by fathers and mothers in Cyprus towns, shopping under the watchful eyes of guards armed with Sten guns. Special arrangements are being made in some camps for Santa Claus fc to descend through chimneys. For the Royal Air Force children, Santa Claus will arrive by helicopter. As far as the people of Cypjus are

concerned, their main hope is that there will be no outbreaks and consequent curfews over Christmas, enabling the Greeks to attend Midnight Mass and thus observe the tradition of centuries. The Mass goes on until dawn, when Greeks return home from the churches in the light of twinkling candles.

In addition to security restrictions and terrorist tension, other factors, mainly brought about by the Suez conflict, will contribute to make this an austerity Christmas in Cyprus. Petrol rationing is being introduced this month and private motoring is also cut to a minimum for security considerations. Food prices have been rising and trade in general goods is stagnant because of the emergency. It is doubtful, whether Christmas celebrations for the civilian population will go much beyond private parties and church services this year. t