London Central Secondary School - Golden Glimpses Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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50 On Christmas Eve the whole family stays up till after twelve o'clock. At this time the presents are handed out and greetings are extended from one to the other. Everyone then drinks a glass of brandy mixed with sugar and hot water, and eats a piece of the national cake Stolle. Christmas Day is truly a church holiday, and services are held in the morning, afternoon, and night. On the day after Christmas the young and old gather at the dance halls at three o'clock in the after- noon and dance from then until three the next morning. On the morning of the second day after Christmas in every Ger- man town little bands go about and play in front of the houses of their girl-friends and of the important people of the town. At every home they are invited in and receive a cup of coffee and a piece of Stolle. At three the people gather again at the dance halls and the married couples especially enjoy themselves at this twelve hours of dancing. DEI German Athletics From the old system called Tiirnen, which is a mixture of Swedish and Danish athletics, Germany is passing into a new kind of physical training of mod- ern rhythmic gymnastics instigated by Dr. Rudolf Bode and his con- temporaries. In this system of athletics the whole nation is inter- ested. The German people, even from their early youth, are deter- mined to be 100 per cent. athletic, so that they can be of the best ser- vice to their country in whatever branch they are interested. They perform athletic work, not in a half-hearted way, as if they were compelled, but because they enjoy doing it. They consider athletics such an important every day event that they would rather starve than go without their daily music and training. Every town or village, no mat- ter how small it may be, has a gymnasium equipped with every known apparatus and the finest THE REVIEW of marble showers and basins. The floors of the better class German gymnasia of large cities are cov- ered with linoleum of approx- imately three inches thickness. This, added to the fact that they do all of their inside gymnastics in bare feet, gives more spring to their jumps. Sunshine plays an essen- tial part in their exercises, and so large full-length windows are placed on every possible side of the gym- nasium to let all the available sun- shine in. Every Saturday during the holi- days they have a track and field meet. Little space is provided for the spectators, as everyone takes part in the games. Only at a large match is there a large crowd of onlookers. The Germans are more interested in their track and field work than they are in our popular games of tennis and basketball. Of all our games however, they probably like tennis the best. Throughout every city countless Sportpliitze are placed and in these playgrounds between five and eight, and again in the early eve- ning the young and old of that neighbourhood gather to partici- pate in some game. Every week- end in the large cities parties of week-end hikers form and together with two or three trainers they go hiking out in the country. To these parties the government has given old castles for their head- quarters. Each of these castles is furnished with an up-to-date kit- chen and showers. Germany will be the scene of the coming Olympic Games and EIU IIIIII DEI - 1 W1 L45 XX fy 4 4'1 , '. fl' U 3 fir: 51, N jll 'l .L. I will j 2. A I iii' E 25 - - ,an f-i i': ' A ifixfi, , ,.Eg1.1 ' I' ' I, ' ' . f i'1'1,u'l rs. 'f f E rl 5, f Mi Seq- 42 2 :gs ,i-ga :digg-,vi9, , v- U, , 40. f,,,,n, 4-lem. . ,fu , its? -' ' 1..u Berlin is fast preparing for it. And so in 1936 the eyes of all the world will be turned to this country of athletics. DD Hamelin-Die Stadt des Ratten- fangers. This little old-world city with its quiet streets and its quiet river, would still possess its friendly unpretentious beauty, even though there were no legend of the Pied Piper. However, this legend adds its interesting points, as the people of Hamelin have set up a fountain to the Piper in the children's play- groundg they have named it the Rat-catcher, and the finest house in the town is the Rat-catcher's House. Hamelin is a very loveable little town, with its ancient buildings, and the wide view from the wooded tops of the Kappelberg Hill across the river. From here, on a sunny afternoon, Hamelin is like a check- er-board, red roofs broken with the green of trees, like the pied clothes of Hamelin's Piper. One night as I was loitering along Oster-Strasse -in dreams-I seemed to hear the thin music of a life, and turning the corner, I saw six boys, two lifes, and a drum. As I stood aside to let them pass T here was a rustling that seemed like a bustling, Of merry crowds justling at pitching and hustling, Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes clattering, Little hands clapping, and little tongues chattering, And like fowls in a farrnyard 'when barley is scatterirlg Out came the children running. The boys went by and the round- eyed children, silent and somewhat disappointed, watched them dis- appear down the street. Did they, I wonder, expect the Kinder- Spell ? -Frances Copeland

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A Trip Through the Black Forest Everyone touring Germany wishes to take a drive through the Black Forest. This trip is espe- cially delightful on Sundays, when you can see numerous parties of bicyclists and hikers or gaily- dressed peasants going to their little hidden churches. As we travel along, we see on both sides of the road countless shrines, where some lonely trav- eller stops to pray. Old monas- teries and the ruins of monks' dwellings are hidden in the loveliest places of the earth, where the monks of old chose to meditate. On the way, we pass through many little villages, each boasting of its own exquisite setting. Offen- burg, with its neat gardens and picturesque homes, Elzach, with its medieval gates and an old fashioned church, and Freiburg, built on a hill and running into the forest. As we are driving along, we ,stop to see a peasant procession. The girls are wearing waists embroid- ered with beads and flowers, wide velvet skirts and wonderful head- dresses. At last we come to the Lake of Titisee, the popular Sunday resort. From Feldberg, near the Titisee, it is possible to view the Alps from Zugspitze to Mont Blanc. From Feldberg we pass through the home of the Black Forest fur- niture and the famous cuckoo clocks, and arrive at Lake Constance. Constance lies on a piece of land jutting out into the lake. During its nine hundred years it has woven many legends into its history. From here we take a trip over the lake to Lindau. On the way, the medieval castle of Meersburg is seen with its draw- bridge and famous cemetery. Not much further on is Friedrich- schafen, the home of Count Zep- pelin, and its mighty airship fac- tories. From here we pass through one green meadow after the other, going in front of large open win- dows, through which we see smiling girls making toy dolls. From now on, we pass over count- less bridges until we come into Munich, the end of our journey. TI-IE REVIEW Editor-Kitchener Hartmann U Q Germany ' The Legend of Falkenburg The baron of Falkenburg swept down from the hills, To rob and to pillage, to plunder and burn,' He suddenly heard the sweet sounds of a bell, That made him stop, listen and turn. He elimbed the church tower, cut loose the bell, And swiftly returned to his lofty stronghold. The priest coming home from his mass late at night, Stood silent with wonder at the tale that was told. Our hero,-no coward, swathed him- self in a cloak, And toiled up the mountain, a long weary trek, The baron, annoyed and dismayed at the sight, Seized the poor man, tied the bell on his neck. He dragged him out into the dark- ness nearby, And sunk him quite deeply in a watery well, After the horrible deed he fell ill, And heard on his death-bed, the sound of the bell. German Marriage Customs The civil marriage in Germany usually takes place the day before, or early in the morning of the same day as the religious ceremony. Several couples are married at the same time in the church. There is a fee for the organist and decora- tions, but none for the minister. The bridegroom fetches his bride in a richly-decorated carriage, and takes her to the church. The mar- riage vows are similar to those in our country. At the end of a very long sermon the bride and groom exchange rings, for in Germany both the men and women wear rings. These are usually worn on the right hand. The bridal wreath must partly be made of myrtle, because this is the emblem of 49 brides in Germany. After the wedding dinner, the newly-married couple slip away, unnoticed by the rest save for the bride's parents, and go on their honeymoon. In past years it was the custom to break crockery at a wedding and to celebrate for a couple of weeks afterwards. In this case the couple stayed home and entertained. At the end of this time they would then go away on their honeymoon. -Kitchener Hartmann EIU The Dragon and the Maid Long ago, in a dark deep cave high up on the Drachenfels in the Siebengebirge, there dwelt a hor- rible monster. He held the Rhine valley in a state of terror, and even the Roman legions shuddered in their sleep, when they dreamed of him. Since his favourite and daily meal consisted of tender human beings, he used to drag his scaly length out of the cave and creep into the villages in search of lunch. A brave general decided that, in order to protect the valley, he would supply the dragon with a daily menu of human victims. One day two centurions dragged a lovely young maiden up to the cave. When she stood in the sunlight, revealed in all her beauty, the sol- diers became very jealous of the dragon and arranged a iight to see which one should win her as his bride. The general was quite annoyed, and feeling himself duty- bound to feed the dragon, he led the girl mercilessly towards him. The whole mountain shook as the dragon came forth roaringly. The trembling maid held high her cruci- fix. The dragon halted, turned to flee, and dashed himself into thou- sands of wriggling pieces against the rocks below. -Dorothy Phillips UCI Christmas Customs in Germany The celebration of Christmas in Germany is indeed a wonderful event. Every family has a Christ- mas tree decorated with the finest of blown-glass ornaments. Shiny red apples and gilded nuts are set about the stem, so that it is not noticeable. There are really three days of celebration.

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Tl-IE REVIEW 51 Hguch ls Lifel' T was a torrid summer day, similar to many others that had preceded it. A sizzling sun was beating down upon an already baked earth that looked like an urchin's face in dire need of water to freshen and sweeten it. The usual Sunday traffic was in evidence and numerous cars were passing along at a rapid pace. As one watched this transit of human beings on wheels an episode transpired which set conliicting thoughts fiashing through one's mind. Someone from a passing automobile discarded a partially consumed sandwich, throwing it to the sidewalk. A man, probably around forty-five years of age, shabbily dressed, with features rather drawn, was standing nearby. With a furtive glance in various directions and not realizing anyone was near enough to take in the situation, the man quickly stepped fonvard and gathered up what remained of the discarded food and proceeded on his way, endeavouring to satisfy the pang of hunger that was threatening the structure of a human body. The scene changes--the softness and warmth of summer is gone. Frost is in the air and the trees have shed their leaves and taken on an aspect of sadness. Soon the day will be engulfed in the blackness of night. It seemed ashamed that its fading light could not hide a little sooner in the coming night to prevent the following tragic sight from becoming visible. A refuse pile, and a human being searching for food. Can it be. possible? Is there food fit for human consumption to be found in a filthy dump? Crusts of bread, orange peel and what not. The f Eveline Coulls human derelict fills his pockets and goes on his way. But this scene still remains in the mem- ory as a blot on the name of any civilized state in which such a thing could happen. I arrive at home, sick at heart, and picking up the newspaper see a glamorous description of the opening of Can- ada's Parliament with the pomp and splendour perhaps befitting such an occasion. Being a little weary and while wondering over the discrepancies in our human sphere, I fall asleep and in a dream I vision a new world. No longer do I witness hunger and poverty amidst plenty, not a mansion here with liveried attendants and down another street a structure unfit for habitation, no lines of worry are on the faces of the populace. I look and wonder, but feel happy that a change has come about, that selfishness has been dethroned and that love is the king that reigns in every heart. Now the sweet life seems to be just as the wise Creator intended it to be. There was meaning in the sunshine, not only for a few but for all. Rain could not dampen the spirits of lives filled with love for one another and built on such a rock that a storm could beat upon it but not destroy it. With a feeling of contentment not known before, I wander from place to place. The thrill of the joy of life is everywhere, but with thoughts of why such a condition of life could not have existed always, the vision fades. Realities of the present loom large and ominous. However, the vision of what could be and should be will linger in my memory to stimulate action so as to help bring nearer the day when selfishness shall be banished and love reign supreme. 0 O 0 DTSCOTIUCHKCC1 : : Dorothy Maher An old farmhouse, with meadows wide, Sweet with clover on either side: A bright-eyed boy, who looks from out The door, with woodbine wreathed about, fab VVishes this one thought all through the day, If I could only Iiy away, How happy-oh! how happy I would be. ' Amid the city's constant din, A man who 'round the world has been, Who 'mid the tumult and the throng, Is thinking, thinking all day long, '23 Oh, could I but tread once more The field pieceto the 'farm-house door, The old green meadows could I see, How happy-oh! how happy I would be.