A Great Time to Visit the Northern Indiana Center for History by Paula Mchugh They Call It the Best-Kept Festival, a One-Day Event Secret in Northern Indiana
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Volume 17, Number 48 Thursday, December 6, 2001 A Great Time to Visit the Northern Indiana Center for History by Paula McHugh They call it the best-kept Festival, a one-day event secret in Northern Indiana. filled with holiday activities, Here’s a hint: this “secret” music, food, and entertain- can be found in South Bend. ment. More on that a little The Northern Indiana later… Center for History encom- The trees on display are passes four museums on ten decorated to represent acres in the historic West Swedish-American, Spanish- Washington Street neigh- American, Philippine- borhood. The centerpiece of American, Polish-American, the neighborhood are really Mexican-American, Italian- not one, but two very state- American, Celtic-American, ly abodes: the Oliver Mansion, Hungarian-American, also known as Copshaholm, German-American, Chinese- and the Studebaker Mansion, American, and African- known as Tippecanoe Place, American Christmas tradi- now a popular luncheon and tions. Eleven individual trees, dining destination. The lat- along with a complimentary ter estate-turned-restaurant 17-page booklet explains how is not, however, part of the each group celebrates the complex that makes up the holiday. We learn that in Northern Indiana Center for Germany, the Christmas History. tree is kept out of sight of A tour of Copshaholm is a the children until Christmas must-see among the choic- Eve, and stays up until es of “exhibits” at the Center, Epiphany on January 6. Same and the docent-led journey is true for Hungarian children, through most of its 38 rooms who can nibble on the takes an hour and a half. If Szaloncukor, or chocolate- you want to sample all of filled candies wrapped in foil the other exhibits at the and hung on the tree. The Center, add at least an extra Hungarian children, we hour to your schedule. In learn, receive a visit from short, there is much to see and Trees representing 11 ethnic groups line a corridor at the Northern Mikulas on December 6th, Indiana Center for History in South Bend. learn here. which is Saint Nicholas Day We were warned in advance that no photos could (Miklos). St. Nick serves a balanced type of justice by be taken inside the mansion. Since we had extra putting both treats and a switch with a devil figure time before our docent-led tour of the home began, we attached inside the boots left in the window by chil- took the opportunity to learn about numerous coun- dren. The rationale in Hungary is that children are tries’ Christmas customs at the International Trees “both…and”(good, naughty) rather than “either…or.” exhibit that is located in a corridor near the gift Kwanzaa, a non-religious African-American cel- shop. We learned that this coming Saturday, December th 8 , the Center will be hosting its annual International Center for History Continued on Page 2 Page 2 December 6, 2001 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 • FAX 219/879-8070 In Case Of Emergency, Dial e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] email: Classifieds - [email protected] http://www.bbpnet.com/ Published and Printed by THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden 911 Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is also Subscription Rates delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. 1 year $26 6 months $14 3 months $8 1 month $3 Center for History Continued from Page 1 ebration, begins the day after Christmas and culmi- nates on New Year’s Day. The tradition traces its roots to African first-fruit harvest celebrations, and its name comes from the Swahili “matunda ya kwan- za,” meaning first fruits. The focal point of the Italian Christmas holy day is the nativity scene (presepio) rather than the Christmas tree. Saint Nicholas is known to Italian children as Babbo Natale, or Father Christmas, and children will find in their shoes left on the doorstep either candies and fruit or onions and coal. It’s either…or for Italian children, and in addition to Babbo Natale, La Befana (a benevolent old woman) visits on Epiphany, the traditional day for giving Kwanzaa is a non-religious holiday inspired by the civil rights struggles of gifts. La Befana, the legend goes, was a crabby old the 60’s and based on ancient African celebrations. The colorful Kwanzaa woman who shooed children away. She realized the display includes the “first fruits,” from which the holiday’s name is derived. error of her ways one night after three men stopped at her door and told her about a special star they were following. La Befana has been wandering the earth in search of the child King ever since, and she stops to leave presents for the good children. This explanation of the Italian custom at the International Tree exhib- it was new information to me, and it lends a nice gen- der balance to the traditional male figure in the red suit. The Mexican-American Christmas tree sparkles with red, green and white lights to represent the poinsettia, known as the “flower of the Holy Night.” The three colors are also represented in the nation- al flag, with green representing hope, white, purity, In the Italian tradition, the Nativity, or Il Presipio, takes precedence over and red, courage. La Posada, a children’s pageant, is the Christmas tree. St. Francis of Assisi is said to have originated the a reenactment of Mary and Joseph being turned manger scene in order to teach the illiterate about the importance of the Christian holiday. away from the inn. Las Posadas begins the Christmas season on December 16, when holiday decorating begins, and traditional gift-giving day is on Epiphany, or Three Kings Day. Instead of a carrot for Rudolph, children in Mexico leave grass in their shoes for the Wise Men’s camels. In the morning, their shoes over- flow with toys and candies. The Philippine tree on exhibit is decorated with abaca fiber angels and dry rice stalk angels. Cotton, capiz shells, bamboo and other agricultural prod- ucts of the Philippines are used to construct other orna- ments. The Star of Bethlehem is a symbol of the sea- son in the culture. As with the Italian presipio, the Spanish Belen, or Nativity scene, is the focal point at Christmas for families in Spain. The Three Wise The colors red, green and white decorate this piñata, and the same colors Men leave gifts on the eve of Epiphany. are found on the Mexican-American Christmas tree and the flag in the background. Red stands for courage, green, hope, and white, purity. December 6, 2001 Page 3 The Swedish custom of lighting candles on December 13 on Saint Lucia’s Day coincides with Open ‘til 7 p.m. the winter solstice by the Julian calendar. The chang- Evenings ing of darkness into light symbolizes the coming of the Christ Child. A crown of candles, white robe, and red sash is worn by the youngest daughter of the fam- ily, who by tradition wakes “at the first cock crow” and prepares to awaken family members by singing to them www.littlehousefashions.comElegant Apparel for the and serving them coffee and pastries. [email protected] Conscious Woman The Chinese-American tree on exhibit is graced Women’s Apparel with colorful silk ornaments purchased from Hong Kong. The Christian Chinese children await the Christmas Old Man, who will fill their hanging muslin stockings THE LITTLE HOUSE PRESENTS… with treats. The non-Christian and predominantly Buddhist Chinese celebrate the holiday season as The Twelve… Oops! the Spring Festival, with accompanying fireworks. Sixteen Days of Christmas Sale Wed., Dec. 5th Sweatshirts 25% Off Thurs., Dec. 6th Mary Engelbreit 50% Off j Fri., Dec. 7th Alfred Dunner & Koret Sportswear 25% Off Sat., Dec. 8th Christmas Sweaters & Sweatshirts 25% Off Mon., Dec. 10th Jewelry 50% Off Tues., Dec. 11th Graff & Regal Sportswear 30% Off Wed., Dec. 12th Sweatshirts 25% Off Thurs., Dec. 13th Coats 30% Off Fri., Dec. 14th Dresses 30% Off k Sat., Dec. 15th Velour 25% Off Mon., Dec. 17th Bleyle & Da Rue Sportswear 30% Off Before Christmas trees were introduced into homes in Poland, families Tues., Dec. 18th Pendleton 25% Off hung a mobile, called a Pajaki. Some families continue to hang the Pajaki in addition to decorating a Christmas tree. Wed., Dec. 19th Christine Alexander 30% Off The people of Poland might be said to celebrate Thurs., Dec. 20th Philppe Marques Pantsets 25% Off the holiday season the longest, because they contin- ue to sing carols and leave their decorations up until Fri., Dec. 21st Crabtree & Evelyn 25% Off Candlemas Day, which we Americans know more familiarly as Groundhog Day (February 2). Their Sat., Dec. 22nd Cuddl Duds Warmwear 25% Off festivities begin on Christmas Eve, when the first star can be seen in the sky. The Vigil dinner, or Wigilia, Mon., Dec. 24th The Sak Purses 25% Off follows, and among many food items served as sym- Sale good on specified day only. Sale price not applicablel on bols of strength, health, and good fortune, the Oplatek, previous purchases. Sale good on in-stock merchandise only. an unleavened wafer with a nativity design, symbolizes Sale will no be applied to special orders. the sharing of peace and happiness for the forth- coming year. Before Christmas trees were brought into 15% Off Storewide Thru December 31st, 2001 the homes, colorful mobiles, called Pajaki (Spiders) (Regular Priced Merchandise Only) were hung from the ceilings.