Vol. 28 No. 12 Issued monthly by the Virginia Department of Highways as a medium of departmental news and information. H. H. Harris, commissioner; F. A. Davis, chief engineer; Floyd Mihill, editor; Catherine Welton, artwork and layout; Lillian Golden and Pauline Jenkins, vari-typists; W. T. Heath and Reggie Carper, photographers. Multigraphed by Charles Holmes, Jr. Published under the direction of the public information office. TOUCH HANDS Ah, friends, dear friends, as years go on and heads get gray, how fast the guests do go! Touch hands, touch hands with those that stay. Strong hands to weak, old hands to young, around the Christmas board touch hands. The false forget, the foe forgive, for every guest will go and every fire burn low and cabin empty stand. Forget, forgive, for who may say that Christmas day may ever come to host or guest again. Touch hands! W. H. H. Murray John Norton's Vagabond OUR BIGGEST WORK SCHEDULE nly 69 miles. of Virginia's vast age yet to reach the preliminary 0 interstate highway network have engineering phase is on Interstate not reached the planning stage, 77 in Carroll County and Interstate Commissioner IL II. Harris said at 64 in \lbemarle and .-\ugusta Coun­ a meeting of the Virginia Road ties. lie told the contractors that Builders -\ssociation at \\'hite Virginia now ranks fourth in the Sulphur Springs, ':Vest Virginia, on nation in the qollar volume of its November 28 . .\t the same time, he interstate work, with 357 million announced a record-sized tentative dollars' worth of interstate projects advertising schedule for the first in construction, engineering, and half of 1 963. The Department, he right-of-way phases. lJe noted that said, would call for contractors' about 140 miles of the syste.,, have bids on 139 projects having an esti­ been completed to full interstate mated construction cost of 12 1 mil­ standards and opened to traffic. rhe lion dollars-by far the biggest work system, which is financed 90 per cent schedule for any six-month period. by the federal government and 10 The proposed projects, which per cent ()y the state, is scheduled remain tentative until all planning for comr,letion Dy 1975. and right-of-way acquisition is com­ The tentative schedule lists 43 plete, will go up for bids in announce­ projects on the interstate system, ments on January 9, February 6, involving 102 miles at an estimated ~.larch 6, April 3, \lay 1, and June 5. cost of 85 million dollars; 31 pro­ The list of work includes 1 54 bridges jects on 60 miles of the primary and involves 285 miles on the state's system at an estimated cost of 19 four road systems. It was the first million dollars; 1 3 urban projects time that a six-month schedule ex­ involving 17 miles at a cost of 11 ceeded the 1 00-million-dollar mark. million dollars; and 52 secondary Reporting on progress on the projects involving 1 06 n1iles at six 1,053-mile interstate program, the million dollars. Commissioner said most of the mile- VRBA photo A CHRISTMAS SAMPLER V1e have asked several Department employees who come from foreim countries to tell us something about Christmas in their lands. It was impossible to include all our foreign employees but we wish all of them a happy Christmas in the land of their adoption. The employees here represented work in the Central Office in the bridge, location and design, and traffic and planning divisions. A CHRISTMAS IN THE BLACK FOREST OF GERMANY by r:hristel Albus Would you like to experience a Christmas in my country with me? We shall go to a small village in the Black Forest. Since the first Sunday in December, people have been baking Christmas cakes. All homes have an aroma of fruit cakes and cookies, and under a beautiful blue sky while the sun is shining, children are having fun in the snow. Christmas with­ out snow is unthinkable for us. This Sunday is our first advent, and at twilight we light the first candle together. In every home we find an accraccively decorated Christmas wreath, made of real pine, with four candles. Every following Sunday, we light one more candle. The lase candle signi­ fies the Golden Sunday, and a Christmas tree replaces the wreath. The anxiety of waiting is over, and Christmas Eve approaches. Christmas Eve is our time for giving presents, rather than Christmas morning. Our trip takes us through the beautiful Black Fore st. Ringing sleigh be 11 s and softly falling flakes of snow give us the spirit of the season. Here and there you see a deer at a food bin, because in the winter the forester feeds them. In the distance, we see the first lights, and down in the valley we see a large Christmas tree in the center of the village. Already you hear children singing and bringing joy to the sick, the aged, and the orphans. With tears in their eyes and a happy smile, the old people accept the songs and presents. On the graves, you see little Christ­ mas trees and candles. The town's band plays "Silent night, Holy night." Christmas is a time of joy and togetherness. We think of distant loved ones and those who have died. Finally, it is time to light the candles on the tree. It is the first time the children are allowed to see the tree. With impatience, everybody waits for the presents to be opened. First, however, Santa Klaus, portrayed by a neighbor, is heard outside, ac· companied by a ringing of sleigh bells. The children, the smallest of whom are some­ times frightened, gather round co meet him. Santa asks each child to recite a verse, which has been carefully memorized, and each receives an extra present. With Christmas music in the background and much excitement, the presents are opened. All too soon, it is time to put the children to bed. Happily satisfied and with rosy cheeks, they sink into a slumber with their favorite toys. We ready our­ selves to go to midnight mass and give thanks for the peace and happiness chis 2 evening has given us. On our way home, we hear a trumpet solo drifting down from the hills. The trumpeter is playing "Ave Maria" and other holy songs. The magnificent notes drift over the valley and echo off the hills. We still have two Christmas days to visit friends and relatives or welcome them into our home. We enjoy our Christmas tree until the New Year is well on its way; then the tree is dismantled and thrown out. We say goodbye to it with "Oh You Heavenly Christmas Time." CHRISTMAS IN ITALY by I. P. Liberto Christmas in Italy is not commercialized as 10 America. It is more strictly a religious holiday. The week before Christmas, every family displays a repre­ sentation of the Nativity with small statues of Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. Each church has a similar representation, and at the largest church in each town there is usually a large Nativity scene on which much time and effort have been spent. On Christmas Eve, everyone goes to church for high mass, which starts about nine or ten o'clock and lasts for two or three hours. At the end of the service, the C1Urtain on the altar is lifted, and the Nativity scene revealed. Everyone during and after the ceremony joins the chorus in singing praises to God. After the mass, everyone goes home to a large meal, which is all the more enjoyed since Christmas Eve is traditionally a day of fasting. People then get together for card playing or go visiting. It is also customary to make gifts of various homemade desserts. The Christmas tree is not seen so often in southern Italy, where I come from, as in the northern sections. In the south, the Nativity scene expresses the Christmas feeling of a people who are devout Catholics. Interestingly enough, even Communists in Italy, who in their way of thinking are not similar to typical Russian Communists, come to see the religious ceremonies, even though they may not take part in them. The closest resemblance to the American Christmas comes on January 6. This is Epiphany, the day when the three wise men arrived at the cave where Jesus was born. On that morning the children find by the fireplace gifts that have supposedly been left them by LaBefana, a good witchwho, like Santa Claus, will make the well· behaved ones happy. The children hang up their stockings, just as in America. With this day, which is a big event in the young world, the season's festivities are over. CHRISTMAS IN HUNGARY by Eugene Milvius, Istvan Tolnay, Paul Von Mille The Christmas in Hungary was a religious family occasion without any commercial fanfare. The Jesus Child donated the presents and not Saint Nicholas, who has in European traditions really nothing to do with Christmas. The celebration occurred on Christmas Eve. After twilight, the candles on the tree were lighted, the - children were called in, and there was a prayer said, g1v1ng thanks for all blessings. The presents were wrapped the same way as here, but the decorations of the tree were more colorful. After enjoying the presents, the family settled down to a special Christmas supper, where the main dish consisted of fresh-water fish, as a rule, because it was a fast day of the Catholic Church. The family celebrated the arrival of the Child Jesus in solemn serenity.