034 december 2016 torrevieja

Torrevieja Outlook

Nº 34 - October 2016

034 December 2016

Fiestas of the month – Christmastime Customs – Christmas language – Christingles – Christmas plant – Going crackers – What are the neighbours eating? – Cowboy to Soldier – Organ replacement – Fishermen awarded – 10th anniversary – Oldest tree – Blue and Green – Musical donation – What’s on – Gift ideas – Bread & butter – Christmas in Spain – New Year’s resolution – SPANISH SKIING aormi@icloud.com

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Nยบ 34 - October 2016

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On this, the last month of the year, the focus is on Christmas, New Year and the arrival of the Three Kings in January. Torrevieja is among those towns celebrating the patronal fiestas of la Inmaculada on the 8th. On New Year’s Eve at midnight most towns have a firework display to welcome in a new year.

Fiestas of la Inmaculada, Torrevieja count with a pipe band from Asturias

2 - 4th December or the weekend nearest to the 4th fiestas in Sella.

Sunday nearest to the 3rd is the fiesta of San Mauro Martyr in Alcoy.

5 - 8th Dec. Patronal fiestas of la Inmaculada in Torrevieja.

5/6 Dec. Santa Barbara miners fiesta by Asturians in Torevieja.

5 - 9th Dec. Moors & Christians in Montforte del Cid. 6th - or weekend nearest, Santa Barbara fiesta in Altea.

6th Dec. Los Montesinos celebrates International Community Day. 8 - 9th Dec. Fiesta of the Fadrines in Torremanzanas.

La Purisima celebrated in Altea, Pedreguer, Benijófar, Catral.

10th Dec. la Venida de la Virgen de Loreto is held in Santa Pola.

13th Dec. or weekend nearest, the fiesta of Santa Lucia is held in Banyares deMariola, Ibi, Dénia and Xàbia. aormi@icloud.com

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Venida de la Virgen in Elche is a portryal of the discovery of a small boat with an image of Virgen Mary inside, played out at El Altet beach and a procession to Elche.

23rd December Bethlehem) 24th Dec. alternate

El Belén de Tirisiti, a live representation of the events of is held until 4th January in Alcoy.

Nochebuena or Christmas Eve: Another live crib scene on years is held in Benimassot: similarly in El Verger.

Els Fatxos is held in Onil.

At the Midnight Mass a traditional religious song, La Pastorela, is sung in Callosa de Segura.

A special polyphonic Mass is sung in Catral.

25th Dec. Christmas Day - a public holiday. Albatera holds a procession.

From this time on until 6th January when the Three Kings fiesta is celebrated.

Rafal has a Zarzuela Pastoril about Christmas and shepherds.

26th Dec. Les Danses del Rei Moro are held in Agost until New Year’s Day. El Cabildo is celebrated in Sax. 27th Dec. Catral celebrates the day of St. John the Evangelist.

28th - 30th The 28th is the Day of the Innocents when Herod slaughtered the children of Bethlehem. In Spain the innocents are those who have been tricked in some way, rather like April Fool’s Day. Ibi holds the ‘festa dels Enfarinats’ and has typical dancing.

28 - 29th Elche celebrates the Venida de la Virgen, a traditional horseride by a coastguard, resulting in a pilgrimage.

31st Dec. End of year: in Xixona the children have a tradition of carrying torches in the street known as ‘roar les eixames’.

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Virgin Mother, Baby Kings, Innocents and Eastern Kings.

December is a month full of illusion and fun.

Shops and shopping centers have all sorts of events organized with music and prizes, Christmas trees and scenes, live concerts and ‘ho ho ho Santas'.

Twice a day at the end of Torrevieja school hours, Lily and her Bigheads entertain the schoolchildren in the main square. These figures date back to the middle of the 20th century when the film with Leslie Caron became a hit and Torrevejenses adopted their Bighead as Lyly, the title of the film.

Saint Barbara One of the most active groups in Torrevieja in recent years has been the Asturian club made up of residents who originally come from the mining area of Asturias. This is a colourful association that holds several events throughout the year but the principal one is on and around the 5th December in honour of St. Barbara, the patron saint of miners as the region has a long tradition of mining various products from the earth.

Incidentally, she is also patron saint of the Torrevieja salt workers who also mine salt from Mother Nature and at one time was a principal fiesta in the town.

Thanks to the Asturian integration this feast day has taken up a aormi@icloud.com

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prominent position once again with several events in the first week of December, especially the procession carrying the small St. Barbara statue by men wearing boiler suits and hard hats. They always bring at least one bagpipe band from Asturians and as it coincides with Torrevieja’s patronal fiestas on the 8th December add an extra dimension to the floral procession with their colourful costumes, music and traditional dancing.

One of the tronos used in the Semana Santa processions of the town incorporates a bier that was originally used in the town’s own Santa Barbara salt workers processions. In the gardens of the railway station there is a miniature copy of the Oviedo cathedral as Torrevieja is a twin to the town of Sierra del Polo. Of course, it is also the name of the Alicante fortress that dominates the city because it was on this day that the fortress was recaptured.

The 6th December is a national holiday celebrating the anniversary of the current Spanish Constitution which marks the advent of real democracy in Spain and really heralded the influx of so many foreigners who have decided to live in Spain since then. With so many people ranting for a separation of their region from Spain, the Constitution is more important than ever. Normally there is a pasodoble parade through the streets by the Union Musical de Torrevieja.

On 12th December there is a pilgrimage to the chapel of Santa Lucia in Denia, and Java also celebrate this saint. Santa Lucia is a special saint in Scandinavian countries and festivals include young maidens with crowns of lights on their heads as she is a saint of light. Lucy, whose name can mean "light" or "lucid," is the patron saint of the blind. She is often seen with the emblem of eyes on a cup or plate. In paintings, she is often depicted with a golden plate holding her eyes and often holds a palm branch, which is a symbol of victory over evil.

Saint Lucy’s Day is celebrated most commonly in Scandinavia, with their long dark winters, where it is a major feast day, and in Italy, with each emphasising a different aspect of the story. In Scandinavia, where Saint Lucy is called Santa Lucia in Norwegian and Sankta Lucia in Swedish, she is represented as a lady in a white dress and red sash with a crown or wreath of candles on her head. In Norway, Sweden and

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Swedish-speaking regions of Finland, girls dressed as Lucy carry rolls and cookies in procession as songs are sung. Christian missionaries arrived in Scandinavia to evangelize the local population, carrying the commemoration of Saint Lucy with them, and this "story of a young girl bringing light in the midst of darkness no doubt held great meaning for people who, in the midst of a North Sea December, were longing for the relief of warmth and light". Saint Lucy is one of the few saints celebrated by the overwhelmingly Lutheran Nordic people — Danes; Swedes; Finns and Norwegians but also in USA and Canada and Italy.

In Hungary and Croatia, a popular tradition on Saint Lucy's Day involves planting wheat grains that will eventually be several centimetres high on Christmas, representing the Nativity.

The 8th is also a national holiday in honour of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and as the dates are so close together, if they should fall on weekdays with a weekend holiday, then most people take a short break. This year the two dates fall on the Tuesday and the Thursday so no doubt for many it will mean a week off work.

It is a special date in Torrevieja as the Virgen Mary is the town patroness under this title of the Immaculate Conception, and incidentally honorary co-mayoress. In the Constitution Ineffabilis Deus of 8 December, 1854, Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ , the Saviour of the human race , was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin.” So it has nothing to do with her virginity.

In Torrevieja there is a week of celebrations and on the 5th there is a floral procession and offering. Afterwards the Christmas lights are switched on and the magnificent Belen, or crib scene is inaugurated. This Belen incorporates various aormi@icloud.com

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symbols of Torrevieja such as the salt lakes and barges, Torre del Moro, windmills, the wine and vineyards of la Mata, salt quay etc. It is a very professional and visual journey of the Angel Gabriel appearing to Mary and on to the Flight into Egypt by the holy family, made by the professionals of Pilar de la Horadada who maintain a small Belen Museum in Avda. Diego Ramirez. People in every crib scene seek the figure of the cagonera who is busy shitting while the history of Jesus passes by, representing those are too busy doing their own thing and who pay no attention to their spiritual necessities.

Another important Belen is opened on 18th December in the church of the Sagrada Corazon de Jesus in the plaza del Oriente. There are over 200 diminutive figures of 20 centimeters in this crib scene of 70 sq. metres, all made by local aficionados who have won provincial prizes for their workmanship.

Obviously Christmas Day on the 25th December is a public holiday. At Alcoy a lifesize manger scene the ÂŤTirisitiÂť is acted out. Live nativity scenes are also held in Benimassot.

The 24th is THE day when families join together to celebrate and individual family members will travel long distances to be with their family. Many will go to church afterwards to celebrate spiritually in the Christmas Mass - el Gallo. Most restaurants will be closed on the evening of the 24th.

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Monteforte del Cid fine wine Moors and Christians compete in Montforte del Cid from 5th to 9th December and also in La Font de la Figuera during the same period. In Montforte del Cid, a wine growing town near Elche, on the four Sundays preceding the 5th December, the ‘drum parade’ takes place throughout the town. It is known that in 1590 gunpowder was used in these celebrations in honour of San Jaime. The grapes are grown in paper bags while on the vine to protect them.

In 1769 these fiestas were placed under the patronage of the Virgin Mary and the first ‘soldiers’ took part with their uniforms often being handed down from generation to generation. On the 7th and 8th December meetings between the Ambassadors are held with declarations which are considered to be ancient and anonymous. Normally on the 6th December there is the Grand Parade about 6.30 in the evening. The first recorded Moors & Christians festivities were in 1881 with women taking part in 1946. Some 2,000 of the 5,000 inhabitants of the town take part in these parades.

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CHRISTMASTIME CUSTOMS

by Dave Stewart

La Nochebuena or Christmas Eve The story of Christmas begins four weeks before the 25th when the penitential period of Advent is announced and this is the beginning of the liturgical calendar of the Church. Nowadays Spanish children are happy to hang up Advent calendars with their little windows hiding a small chocolate until the arrival of Santa Claus on the 25th. Some people in Denmark give and receive extra Advent presents on the four Sundays of Advent. A big part of the Christmas celebrations in Germany is Advent. Several different types of Advent calendars are used in German homes. As well as the traditional one made of card that are used in many countries, there are ones made out of a wreath of Fir tree branches with 24 decorated boxes or bags hanging from it. Each box or bag has a little present in it. Another type is called a 'Advent Kranz' and is a ring of fir branches that has four candles on it. This is like the Advent candles that are sometimes used in Churches. One candle is lit at the beginning of each week in Advent.

In Poland people try not to have excess of anything. Some people give up their favourite foods or drinks and parties and discos are not widely held. Some people also go to Church quite frequently. There is the tradition of the 'roraty', special masses (or communion services) held at dawn and dedicated to Mary for receiving the good news from the angel Gabriel. During Advent, people also prepare their houses for Christmas.

There's lots of cleaning and people wash their windows and clean their carpets very thoroughly. Everything must be clean for Christmas day!

The good night is Christmas Eve on the 24th December when traditionally Spanish families get together to enjoy a huge celebratory meal together. This is a theme often aormi@icloud.com

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used in TV commercials at this time with pictures of some young person travelling through all kings of weather to surprise their parents with their arrival and participation in the family festivities.

The meal will likely include seafood, roast lamb - although nowadays many plump for turkey or duck. In the Vega Baja area on Christmas Day the mother will provide a cocido which is a stew of stock using vegetables, chickpeas and pelotas (large meatballs) made of minced turkey with pine kernels. In some parts children used to go round the streets passing from house to house singing carols or villancicos and asking for the “aguinaldo” which would likely be a tasty bit of turron or similar Christmas treat. The children still use the traditional homemade instruments such as the zambombas, tambours or the panderetas.

After the meal families would and still do troop off together to the local church for the “Misa de Gallo” or Cockcrow Mass or as we call it Midnight Mass. According to tradition it was the cock that first announced the birth of the baby Jesus to the world. Many restaurants are closed on this night as it is a night when families get together and there is not much business as everyone eats in the home. Around nine in the evening many Spaniards will gather around their television to listen to the traditional speech of the King Don Juan Carlos who speaks to the nation, rather like the British Queen does on Christmas Day itself Santa Claus or Papa Noel In modern Spain Santa Claus has impinged on the work of the Three Kings thanks largely to television and films from America and the huge commercial side of giving gifts. In a survey most children still prefer the Kings, but many households now give their children a small thing at Christmas form Papa Noel and the main gifts when the Kings arrive in their procession. But the Spanish are beginning to spoil their children with so many toys and video games that tend to make them introversive.

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Nochevieja y Año Nuevo – New Year’s Eve Nochevieja is the Old Night or the last night of the year, Hogmanay as the Scottish call it. Generally families bring in the New Year together, either at home or in a restaurant. Thousands will gather in town squares and all the television channels will be beaming out the scenes in Madrid’s plaza “La Puerta del Sol as thousands of people wait for the chimes of the clock to announce farewell to the old year and bienvenido to the new year. Fireworks, music, drinking cava and eating grapes, kissing and hugging each other, are all part of the scene in these magical moments uniting both years as people resolve that the coming year will be better than the one that has just departed. One custom among the young ladies is to wear a pair of new red knickers to attract luck in romance…and it now appears that the young men are doing likewise!

After the bells most people will disperse to reunite in bars and discothèques to continue the celebrations. Many restaurants offer a full Nochevieja meal with live music and entertainment as well as the cotillion, that is a bag of fancy hat, confetti etc. to enliven the event. Traditionally twelve grapes are eaten in time to the strokes of the chimes of the bells of La Puerta del Sol, ensuring a lucky year for those who manage to eat them all before the bells cease their message. This is a public holiday and many people will take advantage of this to escape to the ski slopes or nowadays head for the sun of the Caribbean or other Spanish-speaking destination.

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Los Reyes Magos – The Three Kings or Wise Men from the East

Children are keyed up in anticipation of the arrival of the Three Kings and already there are signs of their arrival. Town plazas will often have pages of the king accepting letters from the children with a wish list of gifts they want to receive.

From the East ambassadors of the Three Kings arrive on the 5th January to announce the arrival of the three wise men who have followed a star to bring them to the birthplace of the new king of the Jews and of mankind as they wish to pay him homage. Children are buoyed up in expectation of seeing these magical characters to whom many of them have written letters in stores up and down the country in which the children outline their illusions as to what gifts they can expect to get left by the kings and their entourage.

Children will leave a bowl of water for the thirsty camels who have travelled so far and milk for their Majesties, Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar, and also leave their cleaned shoes next to the window in the hope that the kings will leave them a present. It is a night full of illusion and innocence. The gifts will be opened on the morning of the 6th January.

The Three Kings bring illusion and hopes at the start of the year. Alcoy holds the most renowned parades starting on the 3rd with the arrival of the Ambassadors of the king informing the children that they will be arriving in a couple of days, building up the excitement among the children. This is a spectacular procession on the evening of the 5th with kings on camels and a long string of assistants with page aormi@icloud.com

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carrying ladders they use to climb up to the first floor balconies to deliver parcels to wide-eyed kids.

According to the Italian historian Franco Cardini, who has written a book about the history and legends of the Three Kings, they were not kings, nor three in number, nor did they travel on camels. The only evangelist who mentioned these popular characters is Saint Matthew who says some ‘magos’ came from the Orient following a star that signaled the birth of the king of the Jews. These were probably astrologists or Persian priests who professed Madeism, the religion of Zaratustra. The idea of there being three came from the interpretation that they brought three gifts - gold, frankincense and myrrh.

It was in the time of Tertullian that they became popularly known as ‘kings’, based on the Psalms of David where it is mentioned that some kings would visit the Messiah shortly after his birth. This interpretation of kings was more acceptable to the theologians of the day rather than magi, which was associated with witches and black magic. Saint Augustine was the one who brought in the idea of the dromedaries. One of the apocryphal epistles mentions that they travelled on camels and Saint Augustine knew that the dromedaries were of African origin and more swift than camels. So the magi travelled in 13 days from Asia to Bethlehem. The kings are seen as a symbol of all the pagans who converted to Christianity without passing through the Jewish traditions.

Whatever the true story it is still one which brightens up a dreary start to another year, filling children with illusions of dreams about to be realised, thanks to three wise men, and, of course, the love and sacrifice of their parents.

Most towns will hold a Cabalgata on the evening of the 5th with the wise men and their entourage of pages parading through the town, throwing sweets to the waiting crowds as a symbol of sharing gifts. aormi@icloud.com

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Cribs and Cagon figure One of the most important ways of celebrating Christmas in Italy is the Nativity crib scene. Using a crib to help tell the Christmas story was made very popular by St. Francis of Assisi in 1223 (Assisi is in mid-Italy). The previous year he had visited Bethlehem and saw where the stable where Jesus was born. A lot of Italian families have a Nativity crib in their homes. Nowadays many people have crib scenes in their homes and update the Christmas theme by including spacemen and rockets, Santa Claus, Batman and other heroes. The Spanish often have an earthy or bawdy sense of humour. However, one figure, which is found only in Spanish cribs, is the “cagon” whose origins are found in the Catalan word caganer. Most cagon figures are of a person squatting and doing what comes naturally. This year a popular cagon will undoubtedly be the the new President-elect Donald Trump.

In Cataluña there are even museums dedicated to this figure that has been personified as an angel, demon, monk and even as a Guardia Civil. The cagon represents the unbeliever who was so busy doing his own thing that he missed the message of Christmas and, therefore, the opportunity to follow Christ.

Villancicos or Christmas Carols Obviously this is a good lead up to the Christmas season when several towns, including Torrevieja, hold villancicos or carol concerts and competitions. Several towns also have open-air crib scenes in the main plazas. The Torrevieja crib or Belen (Bethlehem) is set up in the plaza Constitución showing the main events surrounding the birth of Jesus from the announcement of the angel Gabriel to the Flight into Egypt. Many symbolic elements of the town are included in this crib scene, such as the windmill, the tower, and the quay. The shops are decorated for the season and the local commercial association hold a competition open to everyone who purchases from one of their associates.

The Torrevieja crib, along with a huge fir tree donated by the Scandinavian community, is the backdrop to a crowd of around 5,000 foreigners who gather to sing carols in front of the main church of la Inmaculada. This has become bit of a aormi@icloud.com

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tradition and the Spanish appreciate it although there are several other groups that sing carols.

Local English language newspapers publish song sheets so that everyone can join in.

Afterwards there is a Mass held in the church for foreigners where gifts of nonperishable goods are handed in for distribution among the town’s needy.

Auroras In this area of the Vega Baja there is another type of choir singing known as auroras and each year these groups will sing some very old songs a cappella There has been an upsurge in interest of medieval music, mostly or a religious kind, in relation to the Virgen del Rosario whose feast it is in October. This musical interest has its roots in the processions of the Dominicans who were in Orihuela and during October they paraded through the town singing in praise of the Virgen. The modern equivalent are known as the “ rosario de la auroras” and during October they can be found in Orihuela, Albatera, Algorfa, Almoradi, Benferri, Benijófar, Bigastro, Callosa de Segura, Catral, Cox, Daya Nueva, Granja de Rocamora, Guardamar, Redován, Jacarilla and San Fulgencio. Cox has a group that sings in this style in July on the Feast of the Virgen del Carmen. At Christmas At the Midnight Mass a traditional religious song, La Pastorela, is sung in Callosa de Segura.

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El Día de los Inocentes or Day of the innocents This is rather like April Fools Day, but held on the 28th December when people, especially children, try to trick everyone else. The particular date is in memory of the massacre of the innocent children by Herod’s troops in Bethlehem. It is based on the idea that people would have tried to divert the soldiers by tricking them. In many Spanish towns this is a day when the people try to confound the innocent strangers by publishing impossible public notices. Ibi has its own council of non-elected persons who throw flour around and play tricks on everyone especially the real Mayor and the town council.

El Arrastre In Algeciras in Cádiz there is a rather noisy tradition when the kids get out on the street on the morning of the 5th January with empty tin cans strung together to rattle around and make as much noise as they can. Evidently there used to a giant who lived on the nearby mountain of Boatafuegos who stopped the Three Kings visiting the town by covering it with a large cloud and the three wise men passed by, obviously leaving no gifts for the kids. So now the little brats have their own back by causing this din with their tin cans attempting to attract the kings by the loud noise, and f course leave them presents.

Catalan’s tios or uncles This is a Christmas tradition peculiar to parts of Cataluña principally in mountainous areas. Normally it is celebrated on 24th or 25th December. A tio is an uncle (although nowadays it can be used as mate) but in this instance it is a hollow aormi@icloud.com

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tree trunk covered with a Christmas cloth but full of gifts and sweetmeats. Carols are sung around the tio before the family start hammering it with sticks so that the presents fall out amid squeals of delight.

El Olentzero in Euskalherria

This is a peculiar tradition in the Pamplona area when the figure of el Olentzero appears. He is a coal miner, who goes to the mountain to work, but he is a jovial, intelligent person and n the eve of the 24th December comes back from his chores laden with gifts for the entire village. He is basically another figure of Santa Claus who has a living for good food and wine. As with other Christmas events this is a link to the pagan winter solstice, which the church has taken over and turned it into a religious motif.

Pip Pip at 12 There is a Spanish custom nowadays of eating twelve grapes (skins and pips, if any) as the bell strikes the 12 strokes of midnight.

If you can get all twelve down then you will have a good and lucky year for the next twelve months.

This is one of those customs that has its origins in a glut of grapes in the 1920’s and growers came up with this idea to boost consumption and today it is a really enjoyable part of a New year’s party. You can cheat a bit by buying ready packed and prepared grapes that have been skinned and de-seeded, but you miss a bit of fun.

Revelers of the first day of the year will be on the streets and in bars and restaurants until early morning. After that it is usually a very quiet day to bring in yet another new year. aormi@icloud.com

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Hannukah

Many religions have some celebration in December related to Light.

Christians have two – one is dedicated to Saint Lucy who is associated with the Light of Christ and also Christmas itself, which owes itself partly to the Jewish Hannukah.

Many of us are more familiar with the symbols of the Hanukkah holiday — the Menorah, the dreidel, the latkes — than the story behind the holiday itself. Here’s a little refresher course.

Hanukkah is the Jewish Festival of Lights and it remembers the rededication of the second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. This happened in the 160s BCE/BC (before Jesus was born). (Hanukkah is the Jewish word for 'dedication'.) Hanukkah last for eight days and starts on the 25th of Kislev, the month in the Jewish calendar that occurs at about the same time as December. Because the Jewish calendar is lunar (it uses the moon for its dates), Kislev can actually occur from late November to late December.

In 2016, Hanukkah is from in the evening of Saturday, 24 December until the evening of Sunday, 1st January.

During Hanukkah, on each of the eight nights, a candle is lit in a special menorah (candelabra) called a 'hanukkiyah'. There is a special ninth candle called the 'shammash' or servant candle, which is used to light the other candles. The shammash is often in the centre of the other candles and has a higher position. On the first night one candle is lit, on the second night, two are lit until all are lit on the eighth and final night of the festival. Traditionally they are lit from left to right. A special blessing, thanking God, is said before or after lighting the candles and a Jewish hymn is often sung. The menorah is put in the front window of houses so people passing can see the lights and remember the story of Hanukkah. Most Jewish family and households have a special menorah and celebrate Hanukkah.

Hanukkah is also a time for giving and receiving presents and gifts are often given on each night. Lots of games are played during the time of Hanukkah. The most popular is 'dreidel' (Yiddish) or 'sivivon' (Hebrew). It's a four sided top with a Hebrew letter on each side. The four letter are the first letter of the phrase 'Nes Gadol Hayah Sham' which means 'A great miracle happened there' (in Israel, 'there' is changed to 'here' so it's 'Nes Gadol Hayah Po'). Players put a coin, nut or chocolate coin in a pot and the top is spun. In the letter 'nun' (‫ )נ‬come up nothing aormi@icloud.com

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happens, if it's 'gimel' (‫ )ג‬the player wins the pot, if it's 'hay' (‫ )ה‬you win half the pot and if it's 'shin' (for 'there' ‫ )ש‬or 'pe' (for 'here' ‫ )פ‬you have to put another item into the pot and the next person has a spin!

Food fried in oil is traditionally eaten during Hanukkah.

Favourites are 'latkes' - potato pancakes and 'sufganiyot' deep friend doughnuts that are then filled with jam/jelly and sprinkled with sugar.

Hanukkah recounts the story of Judah the Maccabee leading a small Jewish army in a revolt against Antiochus and his mighty Syrian Greek forces in the year BC 164. At that time, the Greek Empire spread over a huge territory in the Middle East, including what is now Syria, and the land of Israel. The Syrian Greeks ruled over the land of Israel and did not allow the Jews to practice their religion freely.

It began when a 'former' Jewish Priest, called Mattathias, was forced to make an offering to Zeus in his village. He refused to do so and killed a Syrian Soldier!

Mattathias's sons joined him and killed the other soldiers in the village. Mattathias was an old man and died soon after this, but his son Judah then took charge of the freedom fighters. Judah's nickname was 'Maccabee' which come from the Hebrew word for hammer. He and his troops lived in caves and fought an undercover war for three years. They then met the Syrians in open battle and defeated them.

According to legend, because the Greeks forbade religious study, the Jews studied Torah in secret and occupied the children by playing the dreidel (spinning top) so they would keep watch and warn the adults when the Greek soldiers were coming.

After the Maccabees triumphed over the Greek army, one of the first tasks was to clean and re-order the holy aormi@icloud.com

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Temple, which had been defiled and ruined by the Greeks. According to the Talmud, when the Maccabees prepared to light the Menorah (candelabrum), which traditionally served as an eternal light in the Temple, they could find but one small jug of oil—a supply that was enough for only a single day. They searched and searched but couldn’t find a source for more oil. Still, the Maccabees lit the Menorah and miraculously the oil lasted for eight days.

There are two major themes in the story of Hanukkah. Some rabbis emphasize the celebration of the Miracle of the Oil and how, according to the Talmud, because of the faith of the community, the oil lasted for 8 days when there was only one day of oil.

Other sages, keeping closer to the Book of Maccabees, highlight the great military victory by the underdogs, the Maccabees, over the large, well-equipped Syrian Greek Army.

We find that both aspects of the Hanukkah story resonate. The Miracle of Oil symbolizes God’s care for the Jewish people, and the Jewish faith in their God. Jewish pride in the Maccabee’s victory complements this theme as a reminder of the need for bold human action in the face of challenge.

aormi@icloud.com

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Chrismons

Chrismons are Christmas decorations with Christian symbols on them. They help Christians to remember that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus's birthday. They are often used on Christmas Trees in Churches and Christians homes.

They were first made by Frances Kipps Spencer at the Ascension Lutheran Church in Danville, Virginia, USA. She also thought of the word, Chrismon, which is a combination of Christ and monogram (meaning symbol). The idea quickly spread to other churches. It is traditional that Christian groups can make their own Chrismons with their favourite symbols on.

Each year a 20ft (6 metre) Christmas Tree is decorated in the Ascension Lutheran Church, as Mrs Spencer intended, and visitors come and the hear the story of Jesus explained through her original Chrismons and a few gifts from around the world.

Chrismons are traditionally coloured white and gold. White is the liturgical (or Church) colour for Christmas and symbolises that Jesus was pure and perfect. Gold symbolises His Majesty and Glory. Chrismons can be made from nearly anything, but paper and embroidered ones are the most widely used.

aormi@icloud.com

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And a happy Christmas - in other languages The Costa Blanca is made up of dozens of nationalities, in Torrevieja for example there are over 100 nationalities on the local register. So what do you say to your neighbor to wish them a happy Christmas? Here are a few selected nationalities.

Spanish (Español) Feliz Navidad or Nochebuena (which means 'Holy Night' - Christmas Eve) Catalan - Bon Nadal Galician - Bo Nadal Basque (Euskara) - Eguberri on (which means 'Happy New Day’) French - Joyeux Noël Bulgarian - Vesela Koleda Chinese - Sheng Dan Kuai Le (圣诞快乐) Danish - Glædelig Jul Finnish - Hyvää joulua Norwegian - God Jul or Gledelig Jul Swedish - God Jul German - Frohe Weihnachten Holland - Zalig Kerstfeest or Zalig Kerstmis (both mean Merry Christmas), Vrolijk Kerstfeest (Cheerful Christmas) or Prettig Kerstfeest (Nice Christmas).

Irish Gaelic - Nollaig Shona Dhuit Italy - Buon Natale Ukrainian - 'Веселого Різдва' Veseloho Rizdva (Merry Christmas) or 'Христос Рождається' Khrystos Rozhdayetsia (Christ is Born)

aormi@icloud.com

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Christingles

The idea of Christingles came from a Moravian Church in Germany in 1747. The minister, John de Watteville, gave children at the service a lighted candle with a red ribbon around it. This represented Jesus being the light of the world and the final prayer of that first service was "Lord Jesus, kindle a flame in these children’s hearts, that theirs like Thine become". The custom went around the world with the church. Missionaries brought the Moravian Church to England in the 1700s. In Moravian churches, the Christingle Service is usually held on the Sunday before Christmas or on Christmas Eve.

Over the years the symbolism of the Christingle grew into what's known as a Christingle today. Here's what the different parts of the Christingle represent: The orange is round like the world.

The candle stands tall and straight and gives light in the dark like the love of God. The red ribbon goes all around the 'world' and is a symbol of the blood Jesus shed when he died for us.

The four sticks point in all directions and symbolise North, South, East and West they also represent the four seasons.

The fruit and nuts (or sometimes sweets!) represent the fruits of the earth, nurtured by the sunshine and the rain.

aormi@icloud.com

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Poinsettias - the Christmas Flower—or bract Poinsettia plants are native to Central America, especially an area of southern Mexico known as 'Taxco del Alarcon' where they flower during the winter. The ancient Aztecs called them 'cuetlaxochitl'. The Aztecs had many uses for them including using the flowers (actually special types of leaves known as bracts rather than being flowers) to make a purple dye for clothes and cosmetics and the milky white sap was made into a medicine to treat fevers. (Today we call the sap latex!)

The poinsettia became popular because of Joel Roberts Poinsett (that's why we call them Poinsettia!). He was the first Ambassador from the USA to Mexico in 1825. Poinsett had some greenhouses on his plantations in South Carolina, and while visiting the Taco area in 1828, he became very interested in the plants. He immediately sent some of the plants back to South Carolina, where he began growing the plants and sending them to friends and botanical gardens.

One of the friends he sent plants to was John Barroom of Philadelphia, who gave the plant to his friend, Robert Buist, a nurseryman from Pennsylvania. Robert Buist was probably the first person to have sold the poinsettias under their botanical, or latin name, name 'Euphorbia pulcherrima' (it means, 'the most beautiful Euphorbia'). It is thought that they became known as Poinsettia in the mid 1830's when people found out who had first brought them to America from Mexico.

-No flower says Christmas like the beautiful poinsettia. Here are a few facts about this traditional Christmas plant.

-Poinsettias are part of the Euphorbiaceae or Spurge family. Botanically, the plant is known as Euphorbia pulcherrima. aormi@icloud.com

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- Many plants in the Euphorbiaceae family ooze a milky sap. Some people with latex allergies have had a skin reaction (most likely to the sap) after touching the leaves. For pets, the poinsettia sap may cause mild irritation or nausea.

Probably best to keep pets away from the plant, especially puppies and kittens.

- Poinsettias are not poisonous. A study at Ohio State University showed that a 50pound child would have to eat more than 500 leaves to have any harmful effect. Plus poinsettia leaves have an awful taste. You might want to keep your pets from snacking on poinsettia leaves. Eating the leaves can cause vomiting and diarrhea.

- The showy colored parts of poinsettias that most people think of as the flowers are actually colored bracts (modified leaves).

- Poinsettias have also been called the lobster flower and the flame-leaf flower, due to the red color.

- In Mexico the poinsettia is a perennial shrub that will grow 10-15 feet tall and in the yard of la Inmaculada church n Torre deja you can see an example.

- There are more than 100 varieties of poinsettias available today. Poinsettias come in colors like the traditional red, white, pink, burgundy, marbled and speckled.

- December 12th is Poinsettia Day, which marks the death of Joel Roberts Poinsett in 1851.

The length of time your poinsettia will give you pleasure in your home is dependent on (a) the maturity of the plant, (b) when you buy it, and (c) how you treat the plant.

With care, poinsettias should retain their beauty for weeks and some varieties will stay attractive for months. * After you have made your poinsettia selection, make sure it is wrapped properly because exposure to low temperatures even for a few minutes can damage the bracts and leaves. * Unwrap your poinsettia carefully and place in indirect light. Six hours of light daily is ideal. Keep the plant from touching cold windows. * Keep poinsettias away from warm or cold drafts from radiators or open doors and windows. * Ideally poinsettias require daytime temperatures of 15 to 21° and night time temperatures around 13°. High temperatures will shorten the plant’s life.

Move the plant to a cooler room at night, if possible. aormi@icloud.com

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* Check the soil daily.

Allow water to drain into the saucer and discard excess water.

Wilted plants will tend to drop bracts sooner. * Fertilize the poinsettia if you keep it past the holiday season. Apply a houseplant fertilizer once a month. Do not fertilize when it is in bloom.

With good care, a poinsettia will last a couple of months in your home.

How Do You Get A Poinsettia To Bloom?

To get a poinsettia to reflower you have to keep it in total darkness between 5 pm and 8 am. Start this around October 1st and continue until color shows on the bracts; usually around early to mid-December.

Any little exposure to light can prevent flowering. Covering the plant with a lightproof bag and placing it in a closet might work. Night time temperatures above 21/24° can delay flowering. So Costa Blanca temperatures are ideal for this lovely plant.

There is an old Mexican legend about how Poinsettias and Christmas come together, it goes like this: There was once a poor Mexican girl called Pepita who had no present to offer to the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita sadly walked to the chapel, her cousin Pedro tried to cheer her up.

'Pepita', he said "I'm sure that even the smallest gift, given by someone who loves him will make Jesus happy.” aormi@icloud.com

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Pepita didn't know what she could give, so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and made them into a a small bouquet. She felt embarrassed because she could only give this small present to Jesus.

As she walked through the chapel to the altar, she remembered what Pedro had said.

She began to feel better, knelt down and put the bouquet at the bottom of the nativity scene. Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into bright red flowers, and everyone who saw them were sure they had seen a miracle.

From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the 'Flores de Noche Buena', or 'Flowers of the Holy Night'.

The shape of the poinsettia flower and leaves are sometimes thought as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem which led the Wise Men to Jesus. The red colored leaves symbolize the blood of Christ. The white leaves represent his purity.

aormi@icloud.com

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Going crackers Many people make their own Christmas crackers up as they can be more personalized with except gifts inside. Always there is a joke or riddle which are horrendous, so here are a few suggestions.

Why does Santa go down the chimney on Christmas Eve? Because it 'soots' him!

Did you know that Santa's not allowed to go down chimneys this year? It was declared unsafe by the Elf and Safety Commission.

What does Santa suffer from if he gets stuck in a chimney?

Claustrophobia!

When is a boat just like snow?

When its adrift!

Why does Santa have three gardens?

So he can 'ho ho ho’!

How do sheep in Spain say Merry Christmas?

Fleece Navidad!

What did Adam say on the day before Christmas?

It's Christmas, Eve! Who hides in the bakery at Christmas?

A mince spy!

Why did Santa's helper see the doctor?

Because he had a low "elf" esteem!

aormi@icloud.com

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Two snowmen in a field, one turned to the other and said don't know about you but I can smell carrots.�!

"I

Who delivers presents to cats?

Santa Paws!

What do you call a dog who works for Santa?

Santa Paws!

What do you call Father Christmas in the beach?

Sandy Clause!

What did the sea say to Santa?

Nothing! It just waved!

What does Santa do with fat elves?

He sends them to an Elf Farm!

What do you get if you cross Santa with a duck?

A Christmas Quacker!

Santa went to the Doctors with a problem.

Doctor: What seems to be the problem?

Santa: I seem to have a mince pie stuck up my bottom!

Doctor: Well your in luck because I've got just the cream for that!

What says Oh Oh Oh? Santa walking backwards!

What goes Ho Ho Whoosh, Ho Ho Whoosh?

Santa going through a revolving door!

Who is Santa's favorite singer?

Elf-is Presley!

There were two biscuits, on a plate, all ready for Santa to eat. One biscuit decided to go and hide in the biscuit tin as it didn't want to get eaten. As it was going to the kitchen, Santa came in and stood on it and all the other biscuit could say was 'Crumbs'!.

aormi@icloud.com

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What do you call Santa's little helpers?

Subordinate clauses!

What do Santa's little helpers learn at school?

The elf-abet!

What did Santa say to the smoker?

Please don't smoke, it's bad for my elf!

What do you get if Santa goes down the chimney when a fire is lit?

Krisp Kringle!

How long do a reindeers legs have to be?

Long enough so they can touch the ground!

Why are Christmas trees so bad at sewing?

They always drop their needles!

What's worse than Rudolph with a runny nose?

Frosty the snowman with a hot flush!

Why did the Rudolph cross the road?

Because he was tied to the chicken!

What do you call Rudolph with lots of snow in his ears.

Anything you want, he can't hear you!

Why did the turkey cross the road?

Because he wasn't chicken!

Why did the turkey cross the road?

Because it was the chicken's day off!

What happened to the turkey at Christmas?

It got gobbled!

Why did the turkey join the band?

Because it had the drumsticks!

What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?

Frostbite! aormi@icloud.com

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What are your neighbours eating ?

by Pat Hynd

Mince Pies A custom from the middle ages says that if you eat a mince pie on every day from Christmas to Twelfth Night (evening of the 5th January) you will have happiness for the next 12 months!

As a kid we didn't have the custom of mince pies in Scotland. When I was fifteen I worked in an office of a large shipbuilding company and my boss was an Englishman. He sent me to his home to get some mince pies made by his wife. In those days Christmas Eve was a day of fasting and abstinence. So, much to his surprise I told him I couldn't eat mince (meat) pies and it was a long time before I realized they had no meat in them.

Mince Pies, like Christmas Puddings, were originally filled with meat, such as lamb, rather than a dried fruit mix as they are today. They were also first made in an oval shape to represent the manger that Jesus slept in as a baby, with the top representing his swaddling clothes.

During the Stuart and Georgian times, in the UK, mince pies were a status symbol at Christmas! Very rich people liked to show off at their Christmas parties by having pies made is different shapes (like stars, crescents, hearts, tears, & flowers); they fancy shaped pies could often fit together a bit like a jigsaw! They also looked like the 'knot gardens' that were popular during those periods. Having pies like this meant you were rich and could afford to employ the best, and most expensive, pastry cooks!

Now they are normally made in a round shape and are eaten hot or cold.

Christmas Eve is very special in Finland and the most important day over the holiday period. It's traditional to eat rice porridge and plum fruit juice for breakfast. Then the tree is bought (if it hasn't been already) and is decorated. At midday, the 'peace of Christmas' is broadcast on radio and TV by the City Mayor of Turku (which is south Finland).

aormi@icloud.com

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Christmas Eve is also very important in Sweden. This is when the main meal (well really a feast!) is eaten.

This is often a 'julbord' which is a buffet, eaten at lunchtime. Cold fish is important on the julbord. There is often herring (served in many different ways), gravlax (salmon which has been cured in sugar, salt and dill) and smoked salmon.

Other dishes on the julbord might include cold meats including turkey, roast beef and 'julskinka' (a Christmas ham); cheeses, liver pate, salads, pickles and different types of bread and butter (or mayonnaise). There will also be warm savoury foods including meatballs, 'prinskorv' (sausages), 'koldomar' (meat stuffed cabbage rolls), jellied pigs' feet, lutfisk (a dried cod served with a thick white sauce) and 'revbenspjäll' (oven-roasted pork ribs). Vegetables such as potatoes and red cabbage will also be served. Another potato dish is 'Janssons Frestelse' (matchstick potatoes layered with cream, onion and anchovies that is baked to a golden brown). There's also 'dopp i grytan' which is bread that is dipped in the broth and juices that are left over after boiling the ham.

The dessert of the julbord might be a selection of sweet pastries, some more pepparkakor biscuits and some home made sweets!

Many different types of cakes and biscuits are eaten over the Christmas period in Norway. One of the most popular is a special bread called 'Julekake' that has raisins, candied peel and cardamom in it. Rice Porridge is eaten on Christmas Eve either as a meal at lunchtime (served with butter, sugar and cinnamon) or as a dessert to the main evening email (with whipped cream mixed in!). If you find an almond in your portion you're traditionally given a pink or white marzipan pig.

aormi@icloud.com

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The main meal is normally pork or mutton ribs served with 'surkal' (white or red cabbage, finely chopped and cooked with caraway seeds and vinegar) and potatoes.

The main Christmas meal in France, called Réveillon, is eaten on Christmas Eve/early Christmas morning after people have returned from the midnight Church Service. Dishes might include roast turkey with chestnuts or roast goose, oysters, foie gras, lobster, venison and cheeses. For dessert, a chocolate sponge cake log called a bûche de Noël is normally eaten.

On Christmas Eve in Italy, it's common that no meat (and also sometimes no dairy products) is eaten. Often a light seafood meal is eaten and then people go to the Midnight Mass service. The types of fish and how they are served vary between different regions in Italy.

When people return from Mass, if it's cold, you might have a slice of Italian Christmas Cake called 'Panettone' which is like a dry fruity sponge cake and a cup of hot chocolate!

Panettone is now a part of Spanish aormi@icloud.com

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Christmas food and thousands are made and sol each year in Spain. A bread type base full of dried fruits normally, there is another version that has chocolate chips.

Panettone has also become popular in Malta. Maltese people have a wide range of food at Christmas.

Traditionally, the Maltese house-wife kept the fattest rooster, 'hasi', especially for Christmas Lunch, which was roasted at the local bakery’s oven in a casserole full of potatoes and vegetables. The traditional dessert served at Christmas was the Treacle Ring, 'Qaghqa tal-Ghasel', and to finish it off, a hot Chestnut and Cocoa Soup, 'Imbuljuta tal-Qastan', which was and is served as a cosy nightcap during the cold December days in Malta.

Today the traditional Maltese menu has made way for Christmas Turkey, Christmas Cakes, Christmas Puddings and Mince Pies, all inherited during 164 years of British rule (1800 - 1964) in Malta.

The Polish main Christmas meal is eaten in the evening and is called "Kolacja wigilijna" (Christmas Eve supper).

It's traditional that no food is eaten until the first star is seen in the sky! So children look at the night sky to spot the first star!

At the beginning of the meal, a large wafer biscuit called an 'Oplatek', which has a picture of Mary, Joseph and Jesus on it, is passed around the table and everyone breaks a piece off and eats it. On the table there are 12 dishes - they are meant to give good luck for the next 12 months. The meal is traditionally meat free, this is to remember the animals who took care of the baby Jesus in the manger. Everyone has to eat or at least try some of each dish. For Polish Catholics the 12 dishes symbolize Jesus's 12 disciples. As in many Catholic countries, Christmas Eve is often a 'fasting day' meaning that some aormi@icloud.com

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people don't eat anything until after sunset (when the Church day officially ends). So that's where the custom of the first star spotting comes. Some people in central Poland say that at midnight the animals can talk.

One of the most important dishes is "barszcz" (beetroot soup) and it's obligatory to have it. If you really hate it, you can eat mushroom soup instead! The barszcz may be eaten with "uszka" (little dumplings with mushrooms) or "krokiety" (pancakes with mushrooms or/ and cabbage, in breadcrumbs, fried on oil or butter).

Carp is the main dish of the meal. The fish itself is traditionally bought a few days earlier alive and it swims in the bath until it's killed by the lady of the house!

Nowadays most people just buy a fillet of carp instead (especially if you only have a shower and not a bath in your house!). The carp's scales are said to bring luck and fortune and by some are kept for the whole year (e.g. in wallets) Some older ladies put them in their bras for the time of the supper and give them next day to the guest for good luck!!!

"Bigos" is a dish which can be eaten either hot or cold. It's made of cabbage, bacon, sometimes dried plums - so it is saved for Christmas day or the 26th as it has meat in it. It is made about a week or so before Christmas Eve, because with each day it gets better.

Herrings are very popular and usually are served is several ways: in oil, in cream, in jelly.

Each household has their own recipe that that say is 'the best in the whole wide world'!

In most houses there is also "kompot z suszu" that is a drink made by boiling dried fruits and fresh apples.

The most popular desserts at Kolacja wigilijna are "makowiec", a poppy seed roll made of sweet yeast bread, "kutia" mixed dried fruits and nuts with wheat seeds, "piernik" a moist cake made with honey (that's like gingerbread) and gingerbreads (which are usually dry and very hard).

aormi@icloud.com

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Bookshelf

by Pat Hynd

Cowboy to Soldier From The Prairie to Passchendaele Every person is fascinating. Each of us has our own particular and often peculiar stories to tell. It is lamentable that too often these life stories die with a person, so it is stimulating to read this account of a young English lad who immigrated to Canada with the dream of becoming a cowboy. It is more fascinating as the author of the t e x t h a d Parkinson’s disease, only one arm and used his head to type out on an old typewriter each letter, each word, and each paragraph onto a f o o l s c a p manuscript. That takes true determination and grit.

The book is also timely as 2017 is the anniversary of the battle of Passchendaele and offers a personal insight to the anguish of the men.

From The Prairie to Passchendaele is a personal account by Fred Knight of his ambitions, struggles, challenges, to make his way in life only to be interrupted by World War One, where he was badly injured and awarded Military Medal for his courage and initiative. aormi@icloud.com

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His manuscript gathered dust for years in the family home until one of his grandsons, Graham Knight, who is well known in Torrevieja, brought it to the light and decided he wanted to publish the exploits of grandfather Fred.

Frederick Arthur Knight had been born in the last days of Queen Victoria in 1893, amid a fervent Baptist family of twelve children, one of them tragically killed in a freak accident when lightening struck his bed. So there were many mouths to feed and Fred was aware of the difficulties of his mother and father. At nine he showed his mettle when he applied at the village shop for the job of newspaper boy and said he was almost ten.

It is not an easy job, as a newsboy has to be up early and go out in all types of weather to deliver his round.

It was also in his early years that he developed his principles that served him throughout his life. He worked as an apprentice to a shoe repairer with living-in conditions, which made him feel exploited doing the work of a man for the wages of a lad. He had dreams of the wide-open range aormi@icloud.com

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and arranged to get a loan from a man and work on the Canadian prairie paying off the money as he worked. So at seventeen that is how he ended up in Saskatchewan.

This story underlines Fred’s determination and how he worked all hours in hot summers and deep snowdrifts on the ranch that turned out to be a cabin. But he loved it and the social life when once a month the younger lads and girls would meet up for a dance. These were obviously the best years of his life as a lot of the book is taken up with interesting details and him meeting his love Martha Grey. When war broke out he wanted to enlist with the Canadian army, but was persuaded that he was doing more aormi@icloud.com

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A Presentation of the newly released book 'FROM THE PRAIRIE TO PASSCHENDAELE"

by FRED KNIGHT will be presented on WEDNESDAY 14th DECEMBER 2016. at 11.00h at the REAL CLUB NAUTICO, Paseo Vista Alegre, Torrevieja.

good at the farm. By 1916 he felt he really had to go to war and enlisted in the Canadian army and asked Martha to wait for him. If anything is missing from this book is the relationship between his wife Martha and himself. She must have been a strong personality to stand by him, especially when he lost and arm in battle. His unit were sent to England and there are many anecdotes that illustrate how the soldiers managed under extreme conditions.

In general soldiers do not want or like to talk about their war exploits so it is refreshing to have these brief notes from Fred Knight. Snippets such as the bravery of Canadian/Japanese soldiers attached to their unit in France on Hill 70 where the Canadian losses amounted to over 9,000 and the Germans around 25,000. Ypres was followed by Passchendaele and heavy rains, with a nightmare of endless, squelching and disgusting mud that you rarely see in Hollywood films. Fred describes the constant shelling and how he was knocked out by them, but raised to corporal. This was

WW2 saw four sons in the services and Fred and Martha assisted in ancillary roles throughout the war. aormi@icloud.com

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when he received a Military Medal citation for his work with a Lewis gun unit.

There is a great section on the wounded and their treatment that does not appear in other war books. With a damaged hip and arm Fred returned to Canada and proposed to Martha and subsequently married and continued in his former ranch work. But his wounds were bad and ended up by having his arm amputated. This did not deter the couple who started their family and worked on their own farm. But Fred realised that the farm was too much for them and the family, now, four boys moved to his in-laws in Winnipeg. He managed to find an office job and was a successful administrator. But like many immigrants to Canada the winters proved too difficult for his medical condition and they moved to England where he became involved with the local Chamber of Commerce, eventually working full time and organising events for fund raising for the local hospital and other causes.

World War Two arrived and Fred was active in many fronts including with the local cadets. His sons went to war in various capacities and he himself was appointed Captain in an auxiliary capacity. Later, when his wife had a coronary it gave him time to think about his life and write down his memories as at 83 his family included four children and nine grandchildren and five great grandchildren. Both Fred and Martha felt themselves blessed rather than having had a difficult life.

He invented a contraption that could be tied to his head so he could type up his life of so many challenges, so many victories. A book to read and muse over about our human limits, but just how much can be overcome with true grit. The Prairie to Passchendaele is a stimulating book that reflects not only the life of Fred and Martha Knight, but so many other men and women who have passed through two world wars; through good and bad together. aormi@icloud.com

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Organ replacement

by Dave Stewart

From The Prairie to Passchendaele is available on Amazon Books. Written originally by Fred Knight it has been adapted by Joy Lennick a well known author of Torrevieja and published by Graham Knight of Torrevieja. It will make an ideal Christmas gift.

For several years funds have been raised for the new organ at la Inmaculada Church and now it is installed will be played on the feast day of 8th December at the solemn midday Mass, accompanied by the aormi@icloud.com

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Fishermen receive award

by Andy Ormiston

Coral Francisco Vallejos. It is a concert organ as it is intended to be used for specialized music written for the organ.

T h e m o s t prestigious award of Torrevieja is that of Diego Ramirez and in its 46th edition was given to the cooperative of the the local fishermen the Cofradía de Pescadores de Torrevieja. Fishing has always been one of the pillars of Torrevieja industry and the cofradia has played an important social part in the lives of fishermen’s families.

The Civil War dealt a blow to the Torrevieja fishing fleet as during it the Republican military forces requisitioned the best boats for aormi@icloud.com

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coastguard duties reducing the fleet to half. This had its benefits because there was less fishing of the traditional fishing grounds and meant that over the years of the late 1930’s the shoals of fish increased naturally. After the civil war fishing boats that had survived were returned to their owners, men returned from war and the fleet was able to bring home a great deal of good sized fish. In 1940 some 994 tonnes of fish had been captured by more than five hundred men who were involved directly on the boats, most of which were by now motorized. Fish prices rose and once again it became a profitable industry. The amount of fish auctioned off each year continued to grow and in 1946 four thousand tonnes were sold off, a record that was not repeated until 1982.

Local fishermen reorganized themselves under the aegis of the guild known as “Cofradía de Pescadores de Torrevieja”. In their centre they could hold meetings, with a bar underneath of social events. A doctor was in attendance with other medical facilities as the national system had still not got on its feet. Once again it became the norm that sons worked with and eventually replaced their fathers.

Getting to port with the first catch was always a bit of a race as there was the opportunity of selling at a good price. Another aspect was that the fish was sparklingly fresh, since if it looked a little dull-eyed then it would not be bought.

The first Torrevieja boat that had a refrigerated system installed for the catch was the ‘Joven Francisco’ using a 2-cylinder compressor.

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Gradually the fishing fleet catches grew smaller and smaller because of over-fishing and fishermen sought work elsewhere in other industries.

Perhaps symbolic of the era was the dismantling of the old fish auction halls in 1954.

In the 1960’s more technology was introduced into the fleet reducing the number of men necessary to work the boats. The ice factory was constructed on the pier on reclaimed land from the sea. Even so, some 400 men depended on the sea for a living. The long lonja or auction halls were constructed along a purpose built quayside on land reclaimed from the beach and sea. The guild continued the plan of social assistance for the fishing community, introducing a local meeting place, a doctor’s clinic, as well as subsidized housing in the district known as the “barrio de pescadores”, where there is still low level housing near the plaza Oriente, some of them auctioned in February 1957 in la Punta area, the recognized pub zone.

When the North African countries started defending what they considered to be their fishing aormi@icloud.com

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territory and started seizing foreign boats caught in their fishing areas, the Torrevieja fleet’s catches were curtailed. This especially took effect in the 1970’s when Morocco introduced the 70 miles limit of their territory from the original 12-mile limit. In this decade fishing fell into third place as the town’s source of income and employment as tourism and the building of urbanizations began in earnest. Youngsters now turned away from the traditional industries of fish and salt to the new service industries of tourism. This new type of employment offered regular working hours and days all year round, regular salaries backed up by social security benefits and fixed holidays. More money was to be earned in less dangerous conditions on land than on sea.

At the end of the 1970’s there were 34 fishing vessels and by 1990 this had been further reduced to 25. By 2002 there were only six: in the previous five years the Alicante fleet had lost 20% of its vessels. Santa Pola was reduced in this five-year period from 120 to 53 fishing boats. Most of these disused boats were ‘recycled’ as scrap, although a few were altered for use in the tourist and hostelry industries, some bought up by museums. Modern technology meant that each vessel was able to have a larger haul than previously. aormi@icloud.com

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Over the years the fishermen could not have survived without the support of their wives and families. On some occasions, when the catch was an exceptionally large one, it meant that the fish had to be rapidly conserved by salting. This work fell to the women who often had raw hands from hours of handling the rough salt used. The men are well aware of this support.

The original colony of fishermen had set up house in barracas on the Punta Cornuda at the end of the 18th century.

From here the women could see their husbands sailing out and were left wondering whether or not they would ever come back. The last surviving barraca style was was in calle Concordia near calle Apolo, but aormi@icloud.com

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became another victim to urban progress in the early 1990's. From Punta Cornuda the wives would anxiously watch out for their return. The site of this colony is marked by the monument ‘El Baluarte’ and the women are remembered by two statues: the first one is ‘La Lola’ a bronze figure sitting on a stone bench gazing seawards. The second statue is on the walkway along the harbour wall depicting the wife waving off her husband, or perhaps welcoming him home. Lola is the emblematic embodiment of the women of the Torrevieja fishermen.

Another statue in the harbour area is the Hombre del Mar, a large statue of a fisherman on a pedestal shaped as God’s hand: this is a memorial to the many Torrevieja sailors and fishermen who have lost their lives at sea, but also a thanks to Divine assistance for the safe return of thousands of others. This memorial is also dedicated to the fishermen from other ports - Guardamar, San Pedro del Pinatar, aormi@icloud.com

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Mazzarón, Almeria and elsewhere – who frequently offloaded their catches in Torrevieja.

Every year on the Virgen del Carmen celebrations local dignitaries and fishermen throw flowers and wreaths into the sea at this point. The statue is the result of a competition first mooted in November 1972 and the statue officially inaugurated on 5th August 1975. The statue deserves close scrutiny as one can see the obvious fisherman, but he is standing on a hand, the protective hand of God, while creatures of the sea in the shape of an octopus try to drag him down to the depths. Sometimes this work of Gabriel Garcia is used in miniature editions as mementos for visiting VIPs.

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Tenth Anniversary

by Pat Hynd

A landmark celebration in Torrevieja has to be the 10th anniversary of our hospital dedicated to Dr. Manuel Garcia Gea, who worked incessantly as a local doctor, turning out at all hours, even in pajamas, to care for the sick of Torrevieja. At a meeting in the hospital members of the doctor’s family were there to share accolades given out by the hospital to patients, carers and supportive associations.

In those years since its inauguration on 21 November 2006 the hospital has developed into a teaching hospital as a University Hospital, and become well known as one of the top hospitals in Spain with many awards and garlands, not only in the medical side but in administration. The average operation waiting time is 32 days on average, compared to 127 days elsewhere in Valencia region. Among details released where that 167,000 operations have been done in the Outpatients Day Surgery, meaning these patients are not ingressed in hospital. Among the invited visitors was the first mother to have a baby in the hospital and since then

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13,000 others have been born. Several other patients attended underlining the variety of treatment the hospital staff offer patients.

Acknowledgements were made to Charity or Charities, The Jehovah Witnesses, and Javier Murcia of the AEEC accepted an award. Dr. Geaยกss family were greatly moved by the homage to their father.

Photos - Fernando Guardiola of Objective Torrevieja aormi@icloud.com

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Another celebration is that of the oldest olive tree in Spain. It now has reached 1,701 years and is located in Ulldecona.

Using modern laser technology The Universidad Polytechnic de Madrid made a close study of this tree in Tarragogna, and reckon it was planted in 314 in the time of Emperor Constantine.

Another anecdote is that in the Valencia Region in Territorio del SĂŠnia, formed by 27 villages is the largest concentration of monumental olive trees in the world with a girth of over 3.50 meters

BA announced new routes from London Heathrow to Murcia airport.

Starting from the 28th March 2017, British Airways will fly twice a week to Murcia from London Heathrow.

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Blue and Green

by Dave Stewart

For most tourists to Spain the aim is to spend as much time on the beach as possible, enjoying the blue sea and skies and the warmth of the sunshine. This is certainly true of visitors to Torrevieja.

If they do so they may get a great tan, but they are missing out on other tourist aspects of the town. One of these has to be the numerous parks, especially the protected La Mata natural park. At the moment up to 11 December there is an interesting exhibition of birds’ nests in the main office at the La Mata Park.

The parkland has had its official protection for 20 years now and there is a small group of volunteers who help tourists find their way around some of the interesting features of the park. The park area is 3,700 hectares that include vineyards producing a popular local wine whose grapes have just been recently harvested. There is a wide variety of wildlife, not only just birds but flora and fauna.

But the main attraction has to be birds and there is a hide built on the lake shore where it is possible to view colonies of flamingoes and other species like sheldrake, or stilt. There is another hide on the Guardamar side as the towns of Torrevieja, Guardamar, Rojales and Los Montesinos share the responsibility of the lake, ensuring that there is no encroachment of construction.

There are several recommended pathways and also a responsibility on the part of walkers to be careful not to destroy any wildlife and, if they have a dog, to control it.

Several talks and events to celebrate the anniversary are being held. Part of the work is to protect species in danger of extinction. Recently volunteers released ten tiny fartets, or tooth carp, released in los Balcones area. These tiny fish help control the larvae of mosquitoes and processional caterpillars.

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Musical Donation

by Dave Stewart

The widow of the late Thomas Hawkings, Genoveva, has donated his collection of classical music CDs to the Torrevieja Symphonic Orchestra. All the CDs are perfectly classified and will be a boon to the members of the orchestra that has proven to be a beacon of culture in Torrevieja.

Mr. Hawkins died on 1st September a year ago and this is nice gesture on the part of his wife which means that he will be remembered for his love of music. The estimated value is around 10,000 euros and will be a boon to the orchestra in planning future concerts.

In return Mrs. Hawkings received a memorial plaque and an invitation to the Orchestra’s 6th December concert in the auditorium.

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Facebook:-

Virginia Ingram

Virginia’s Torre Star Buys

v.ingram8@g.mail

Christmas is almost here so we present some ideas for gifts, either a treat for yourself or for others. Virginia Ingram is the local registered supplier from Kleeneze products that directly supply a wide variety of items for every room in the house and garden. Lots of Christmas ideas with lingerie and kids stuff.

Contact Virginia for more information 678 444 832

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Bread & Butter

by Dave Stewart

There is no doubt that tourism is the largest industry in Spain and figures bear this out as it is estimated that 74 million will have visited the country by the end of this year. And Brexit doesn’t seem to have had much effect on U.K. tourists as in September there were two million. No doubt the lower currency rate is not helping but doesn't seem to be affecting those who really want a bit of sun and sangria.

Just across the Med we have North Africa which previously was an attractive holiday destination but with the troubles in Syria, Libya and Turkey many people are thinking twice about these exotic places. Turkey is making strenuous attempts to woo tourists back to the country, but then terrorists can strike anywhere - at home, in France or Spain, but obviously the nearer a war zone the more risk of overspill.

Spain has so many different types of fiestas every day that a tourist will be hard done by not to find one near him. And tourism is good for jobs as there is aways need for chefs,

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and restaurant staff. In the first half of this year over 65,000 new jobs were created in the tourist industry. Tourism accounts for 12% of the work force of Spain. Although the Costa Blanca attracts a fair share of tourists, Catalonia, Balearics and the Costa del Sol are the favorite destinations.

Today’s tourist has a wide gamut of things to do offering visitors more than simply sun and sand, such as gastronomy, culture, history, eco-tourism and sports and rural and health aspects of tourism are on the up. Culture is a big draw and Barcelona's over nine million, many attracted by monuments like the Sagrada Family basilica.

Where to stay is a prime point when choosing a holiday - hotel with all in, rent a flat and do your own thing, or house swapping. Tourist boards are becoming more hard on house rentals insisting on a license with proper insurance and some even have inspectors to check the quality of the premises. And the taxman is interested as well wanting a cut from any rental cash.

But Spain's so much to offer I am sure it will continue to progress and develop even more attractions, even if it is gin & tapa route.

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A great Christmas gift that lasts a whole year and reminds friends of your love.

Full of fiesta information, bank holidays, not only in Spain, but in U.K. and Ireland.

Plenty space for notes of appointments and birthdays.

Not just 12, but over 70 photos that add color and interest about Torrevieja and its culture.

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Christmas in Spain

by Pat Hynd

Christmas in Spain seems to extend from the end of November to the middle of January.

There are so many dinners - workmates, clubs and families. We have Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, The Kings - all with their special traditional food.

A typical restaurant dinner for businesses would be entremeses with jamon, cheese, chorizo or salami, followed by something fishy like smoked salmon, juicy gambas or langostinas, long succulent asparagus. Then likely a soup, maybe of seafood. Be sure to leave space for the main courses which could be lost lamb with fried potatoes and aa large mixed salad. No doubt there will be ahoy of dessert, but turron and polverones will certainly be offered, probably with a glass of cava wine.

Throughout the meal wine will be served, but many people choose to have a beer or soft drink as so many people drive nowadays. At the end there will be a good brandy and coffee served. Many people now opt for a smooth liquer drink such albailley’s, which is now very popular.

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Langostinos Valencianos This recipe originates in Valencia which is located on the eastern coast of Spain. It is simple, colorful and flavorful. Prawns and mussels are simply sautéed with onion and garlic, then cooked in a white wine-tomato sauce.

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i kilo. prawns or large shrimp

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1 dozen mussels in the shell (or 1/2

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1/2 onion

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2 cloves garlic

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1 cup tomato sauce

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1/2 cup white wine

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4-5 sprigs parsley, finely chopped

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3 Tbsp Spanish virgin olive oil

shell)

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salt and pepper to taste

Peel and chop the onion and mince the garlic.

Rinse the prawns and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour olive oil into a heavy-bottomed frying pan and heat. When pan is hot, cook prawns on medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring often. Remove prawns from pan and set aside.

In same oil, sauté the onion and garlic on low heat. Add the tomato sauce and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce is reduced.

Adjust salt. Sprinkle parsley over the top just before serving. Serve with white rice.

Note: If you used whole, raw mussels, as the mussels cook, the shells will open. At this point, remove one half of the shell from each mussel. Discard any mussels that do not open.

Cordero con Salsa de Albaricoque.

A CHANGE FOR ROAST LAMB 680 grams lamb fillet cut in 25 mm. cubes; Salt and black pepper; Olive oil for frying For the sauce you will need: 4 tablespoon vegetable oil; 55grams buPer; 1 teaspoon crushed garlic 170 grams tinned apricots -­‐‑ pureed; 70grams peanut buPer Juice of 1 lemon; Salt and pepper and parsley for garnishing.

As this recipe calls for peanuts please ensure that anyone eating it is not allergic to them.

Season the lamb cubes and thread on to a skewer: fry in the hot oil until tender -­‐‑ around 5 minutes.

For the sauce -­‐‑ heat the oil and buPer (which gives a distinct flavour) and add the garlic. Whisk in the pureed apricots and the peanut buPer, but do not allow to become too hot; remove from the heat when the peanut buPer is half melted. Add the lemon juice and season to taste. Serve with the lamb pieces and garnish with parsley. If used as a main meal then serve rice.

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A classic main course is Beef Wellington

2 1/2 pounds beef tenderloin (1 kilo) 2 tablespoons butter, softened 2 tablespoons butter 1 onion, chopped 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms 2 ounces liver pate 2 tablespoons butter, softened salt and pepper to taste 1 (17.5 ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed 1 egg yolk, beaten 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth 2 tablespoons red wine Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Place beef in a small baking dish, and spread with 2 tablespoons softened butter. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until browned. Remove from pan, and allow to cool completely. Reserve pan juices.

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Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion and mushrooms in butter for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool.

Mix together pate and 2 tablespoons softened butter, and season with salt and pepper.

Spread pate over beef. Top with onion and mushroom mixture. For a Christmas flavor add some finely chopped walnuts to the pate.

Roll out the puff pastry dough, and place beef in the centre. Fold up, and seal all the edges with the egg yolk, making sure the seams are not too thick. Place beef in a 9x13 inch baking dish, cut a few slits in the top of the dough, and brush with egg yolk.

Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 10 to 15 more minutes, or until pastry is a rich, golden brown. Set aside, and keep warm. Serve with toast potatoes and vegetables. Beef should be served slightly pink.

If allowed to go cold it makes a nice pie for cold buffet.

Every Spanish seasonal table will have a range of sweethearts that can be bought from the shops. Here is a simple one for turron Basic soft Turron recipe Ingredients: 8 ozs. caster sugar 8 ozs ground almonds 2 egg yolks

1 egg white Method.

Thoroughly mix the sugar and almonds in a bowl. Fold in the beaten egg yolks.

Whisk the egg white until stiff and fold it into the mixture.

Lay a sheet of oiled foil over a baking sheet and place the mixture on it. Press the mixture into a slab about 1/2 inch thick using a rolling pin. Cover it with foil and place a wooden board weighted down with a couple of full tin cans on top.

Leave the turron to stand for a few days, so that it dries out and hardens, then slice it into 1 inch squares as required.

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Agua de Valencia – Valencian Water Valencia is renowned for its oranges and at this time of the year they re at their best. So this drink combines orange juice with cava and a couple of more Christmassy ingredients.

Ingredients 1 litre aprox. 4 persons

1/2 litre of cava 1/2 litre de fresh orange juice 60 cc of gin 60 cc of cointreau 60 cc of vodka 2 soupspoons of white sugar ice 2 or 3 slices of orange for decoration.

Preparation Squeeze the orange juice, add in the gin and vodka, and then blend in the sugar stirring well.

Add the chilled cava, gently mixing so as not to disturb the bubbles too much.

Finally when ready to serve add some ice cubes and serve in glasses decorated with an orange slices.

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NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION

by Dave Stewart

Next year Torrevieja Semana Santa processions will have a new image sculpted by local artist Victor Garcia Villalgordo.

Also appearing, hopefully, will be the the float of the Garden of Olives that is carried by the foreigners of Torrevieja. This has become a bit of a tradition and is warmly welcomed each time by the Spanish spectators. But original carriers are like old soldiers and just fading away.

So there is a need for young blood and any volunteers of whatever nationality are welcome to join the group of costaleros of this guild to carry on a unique custom.

Make a New Year promise.

If you have what it takes to be a costalero contact Graham Knight on 659 457 283

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Spain is Europe’s second most mountainous country and has plenty of skiing centres, thirty-five in fact.

Although associated with the sun as a holiday destination Spain offers a wide range of sports and has a long tradition of skiing and the principal RTVE television station offers up to date information of the slopes on Thursday night weather forecasts during the season.

One of the luxurious attractions of the Costa del Sol is being able to ski in the Sierra Nevada in the morning, sun bathing on the beach in the afternoon and enjoy a lovely meal and drink in a restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean. !

The Sierra Nevada is a popular weekend ski destination for many people who live in the Costa Blanca and can drive a few hours to these skiing resorts. Many people associate Madrid with the song describing “the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain” but Madrid has easy access to several excellent ski resorts with

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terrific facilities, most with alternative pursuits to skiing. Here are details of some of thee ski resorts. Up-to-date information on most ski resorts can be had through their internet web sites or by the name of the resort.

Manzaneda ski resort Pobra de Trives 32780 Pobra de Trives, A, Ourense (Galicia) ven@manzaneda.com www.manzaneda.com Tel.:+34 988309080 Tel.:+34 988309090 Fax.:+34 988310875

Valgrande-Pajares ski resort Lena Valgrande-Pajares Winter and Mountain Resort Brañillín s/n.

33693 Pola de Lena, Lena, Asturias (Asturias) Valgrande-Pajares Winter and Mountain Resort info@valgrande-pajares.com www.valgrande-pajares.com Tel.:+34 902534424 Tel.:+34 985957097 Fax.:+34 985957096

Astún ski resort Jaca Valle de Astún S.A. Winter Resort Valle de Astún 22889 Puerto Astún, Jaca, Huesca (Aragon) Valle de Astún S.A. Winter Resort astun@astun.com www.astun.com Tel.:+34 974373088 Tel.:+34 974373034 Fax.:+34 974373295 aormi@icloud.com

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Formigal ski resort Edificio Sextas; Urbanizaciรณn Formigal s/n 22640 Formigal, Sallent de Gรกllego, Huesca (Aragon) Formigal ski resort informacion@formigal.com www.formigal.com Tel.:+34 902492222 Tel.:+34 974490000 Fax.:+34 974490231 17537 Molina, La, Alp, Girona (Catalonia)

La Molina lamolina@lamolina.cat www.lamolina-masella.cat "www.lamolina.cat Tel.:+34 932041041 Tel.:+34 972892031 Fax.:+34 972145048

Cota 2000 Mountain Resort 25594 Rialp, Lleida (Catalonia) Cota 2000 Mountain Resort info@skipallars.cat www.skipallars.cat Tel.:+34 973627604 Tel.:+34 902190192 Fax.:+34 973627630

Baqueira Beret S.A Apartado de correos 60 25530 Vielha, Vielha e Mijaran, Lleida (Catalonia) Baqueira Beret S.A baqueira@baqueira.es www.baqueira.es Tel.:+34 973639000 Tel.:+34 973639010 Fax.:+34 973644488

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Candanchú Ski Resort Carretera Francia s/n 22889 Candanchú, Aisa, Huesca (Aragon) Candanchú Ski Resort informacion@candanchu.com www.candanchu.com Tel.:+34 974373263 Tel.:+34 974373194 Fax.:+34 974373346

San Isidro Ski and Mountain Resort Puerto San Isidro 24855 Puebla de Lillo, León (Castile-Leon) San Isidro Ski and Mountain Resort sanisidro@dipuleon.es www.nieveleonsanisidro.com Tel.:+34 902474376 Tel.:+34 987731115 Fax.:+34 987731107

Madrid SnowZone Indoor Ski Resort Autovía de Extremadura (A-5) Salidas 22 y 25 28939 Arroyomolinos, Madrid (Madrid) Madrid SnowZone Indoor Ski Resort info@madridsnowzone.com www.madridsnowzone.com Tel.:+34 902361309 Fax.:+34 916482180 aormi@icloud.com

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Granpallars Espot Esquí Ski Resort Pla de Berradé, s/n.

25597 Espot, Lleida (Catalonia) Granpallars Espot Esquí Ski Resort info@skipallars.cat www.skipallars.cat Tel.:+34 902190192 Tel.:+34 973624058 Boí Taüll Resort Calle Amigo 14-16 08021 Taüll, Vall de Boí, La, Lleida (Catalonia) reservas@boitaullresort.es www.boitaullresort.com Tel.:+34 902304430 Tel.:+34 902406640 Fax.:+34 932094610

17534 Queralbs, Girona (Catalonia) Vall de Núria Mountain Resort valldenuria@valldenuria.cat www.valldenuria.cat Tel.:+34 972732030 Tel.:+34 972732020 Fax.:+34 972732024

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As we near the end of another year we would like to wish all our readers and supporters every blessing at Christmas and that 2017 will prove to be a year full of happy surprises and good news. aormi@icloud.com

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