18—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 24,1977 6 Weihnachtsmann’ works wonders My brother, logo, and I were both old enough to shave before our mother granted us permission to join her on a trip to a patch of evergreen trees where we annually selected the best Tannenbaum for our living room. I suppose none of the five Kneg children ever made it past the second grade before we realized there really wasn’t a “Weihnacht smann," but Mom kept on trying to keep us convinced. In fact, I don’t. think she has ever given up. But if nothing else, we’ve now known for years that Dad places the Christmas tree in the living room, and then Mom spends hours decorating it. The Weihnachtsmann -- or Santa Claus as most of you folks know him -- still gets all the credit, however. Mom insists on it. Christmas is slow in coming. Especially for eager children. And especially for those with German parents who live on a farm. Christmas is too holy and im portant of a holiday to treat lightly or saturate with displays which detract' from its true meaning, our mother always insists. That’s why we always treated Christmas Eve as a very, very special occasion. And, in ac cordance with German tradition, Christmas Day is celebrated-on both the 25th and 26th of December. Add Christmas Eve, and the festivities are stretched out to truly be the most |j J;S?: What a humbling experience it must have been || some 2,000 years ago when Christ, our Lord, was % h° m m a lowl y man g er hi Bethlehem. 1 8 ij4 I % iti'iu lt is ’with a deep sense of thankfulness at this H « §|j ff/j most blessed time of our Christian year that all || || | of your friends that work for Beacon Feeds along || || MfH . M with all of our Beacon dealers would like -to extend H to y° u an( i y our families best wishes for a || ■S “Merry Christmas” and a “Happy New Year”. IS I | I S % HYKES QUALITY FEEDS York Haven, PA 717-266-1269 BEAC^EEOS Beacon Milling Co , Inc., York, PA. Phone 717-843-9033 H. JACOB HOODED Intercourse, PA 717-768-3431 RICHARD B. KENOIfi CHESTER WfEST R. E. RUDISILL SCOTT HODGSON Special Accounts Representative Phone 302-478-3058 memorable occasion a family can experience. Except for sprigs of evergreens decorating pictures in the house, an Advent wreath, and Christmas music playing softly on the radio, there was never much physical evidence at home that Christmas was near At least not until about 7 p.m, Christmas Eve. Anticipating that magical and wondrous hour was the key to our wound-up enthusiasm and eager ness. For days and even weeks prior to Christmas Eve, our emotions for Christmas were somewhat restrained. As the moment of celebration drew closer and closer, our anticipation grew. As with anything, the more we had to wait and anticipate, the more eager we became. The end result was that the occasion meant that much more and blossomed so much the brighter when it finally arrived. When Christmas Eve was just a couple of hours away, the “Weihnachtsmann" made that trip to the grove of evergreens on a hilly slope of the farm. Menwhile, cookies were-baking m the oven and delicious meals were being planned or prepared. You just knew that something was coming up, and couldn’t wait for the night to blossom m glorious warmth and beauty. While my father, brother, and I YOUR BEACON DEALERS VAN-MAR FEEDS Shoemakersville, PA 215-926-2121 CLARK SUPPLY CO. Rising Sun, MD 301-658-5125 THARPE & GREEN MILL Churchville, MO 301-734-7772 Life on the farm Sale S Distribution Sales & Distribution Manager Manager Phone 717-741-2600 Phone 717-854-2281 were -busy with the barn work - making sure that the animals were well cared for and in their own way prepared for the Holy Night -- the “Weihnachtsmann” was supposedly decorating the Christmas tree and placing presents under it. Once the calves and cows had been bedded down with a little more straw than usual, and the smell of some our best hay filled the barn, we turned off the lights and walked up to the house. It was always a quiet night. Beautiful and serene, the way you’d expect it to be for Christ’s birth. _ v Now the magical and wondrous moment was only an hour or even just minutes away. By this time the living room had long been sealed off to anyone except Mom and Dad. A delicious meal, the finest dmnerware and a clean linen awaited us. in the -dining room. Showered and reasonably well dressed, we sat down for supper. The warmth and beauty of the occasion grew to such proportions that it left no doubt this birthday special. We felt good inside. Love filled the house. The holy night had truly arrived. But it was far from over yet In the living room, the “Weihnachtsmann” was supposedly still at work. We couldn’t enter until after he had finished with his labor of love, and so we waited with our NEW FREEDOM FARM & HOME SUPPLY, INC. New Freedom, PA 717-235-3606 W. L. MUMMERT CO. Hanover, PA 717-637-6923 MCCRACKEN'S FEED MILL, INC. Manheim, PA 717-665-2186 heaxts and minds just about stret ched to capacity. The signal to enter the living roon came when Mom rang a small bel and a stereophonic recording o German church bells filled the house The majestic and glorious sounding bells ushered us-in to the tune o( Christmas favorites such as “Silent Night" and "0 Come Little Children.” The first thing we noticed was the magnificent tree. The "Weihnachtmsann" had done a fantastic job of decorating it. No one ever had a more beautiful tree. Its soft candle light illuminated the room just enough to see the facial ex pressions. It wasn't until we were older that we notice's Mom’s and Dad’s faces glowing just as magnificently as the tree. We could see the love and joy in their eyes as they watched us search for gifts with our names on them. 0 what a pleasant feeling! And what a holy night! We stayed up late and allowed our hearts to be filled with love and joy to a level-unequalled during any other time of the year. - The festive mood prevailed in all its glory fortwo more days. The tree and the Christmas spirit remained for an additional week or even two. No one allowed this wondrous' occasion to leave as quickly as it came. Have a merry Christmas, everyone! R & W FEEDS AND HARDWARE Centerport, PA 19516 215-926-3818 MARTIN'S ELEVATOR, IN& SERVICE FEED AND SUPPLY Cardiff. MD 301-452-8444 717-456-7433 Beacon Advisor Phone 717-292-1252 Hagerstown, MD 301-733-2553 BILL BROOME Beacon Advisor Phone 717-354-0793 I
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