The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, December 07, 1989, Image 5
irsday, December 7,1989 The Battalion Pages bcorating a Christmas tree often calls for a final touch — plac- ng a papier-mache or wax angel at the top. Photo by Kathy Haveman ne of the most famous gifts ever placed under a tree, the vooden nutcracker toy is changed magically into a prince in Chaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet, which is performed annually at Christmas time. ^ In many neighborhoods, traditional Christmas more modern trimmings, as on this house decorations and symbols have given way to which glows with the light of 40,000 bulbs. Sneeze trees DALLAS (AP) — Christmas trees are beautiful, traditional, and heart-warming. They also can make you sick. So says Dr. Timothy Sullivan, who heads the allergy and immu nology division at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. “People with pre-existing aller gic conditions or respiratory diffi culty should be aware that if their symptoms worsen during the hol iday season, their tree might be the cause,” Sullivan says. Sullivan cautions those allergic to mold to be especially wary of trees from commercial tree lots, which he says are breeding grounds for mold. He adds that some trees grown for commercial sale are chemically treated and can trigger allergic reactions. On the other hand, cutting down a live tree has its problems, too. One of the most common and attractive trees in the United States is the mountain cedar, which he says causes more respi ratory allergy among more peo ple than any other source except ragweed. In winter, male mountain ce dars pollinate, so if one is used for Christmas, it can release pol len in the house. To identify fe male trees, look for those that produce small blue berries. The male trees have a characteristic brownish or golden color during pollination. Sullivan is conducting research about the mountain cedar to de termine the genetic makeup of people predisposed to the allergy, in hopes of developing a vaccine. ‘The Tree’ NEW YORK (AP) — To most New Yorkers and many Ameri cans, the Christmas tree in New York’s Rockefeller Center is “The Tree.” As this year’s giant evergreen from Rockland County, New York, lights up (with 18,000 col ored bulbs) in midtown Manhat tan, it joins a long line of mem orable trees that began with a simple tree put up by construc tion workmen grateful for work during the Depression. A 1931 photo shows several dozen men grouped near the tree, festooned with droopy streamers, set up in the rubble of the demolished brownstones which stood on the site of today’s Rockefeller Center. Under the tree an earthly version of Santa Claus is pictured handing out the best thing to come in time for Christmas during the early 1930s: paychecks. Two years later the .tree re turned more formally, set up in front of the newly completed RCA Building, the flagship skys craper of the new center. Since then, the tree tradition at the Rockefeller Center has continued unbyoken — if occasionally al tered—and is now a prime tour ist magnet during the holiday sea son. tr * Its arrival, hoisting, decoration and official lighting at the Cen ter’s skating rink is something of a ritual in itself, heralded by press releases, news reports, and tele vised entertainment. Then, right after New Year’s, the whole show comes down and disappears over night. Decorations have reflected the times. During World War II, the tree was decked with red and white plastic globes and stars in stead of lights because of wartime restrictions on electricity. The lights feturned in 1945. Similarly, the number of lights was reduced in response to the energy crisis in 1973, with colored reflective disks added to compensate. Festival of Lights celebrates religious miracle By Chuck Lovejoy Of The Battalion Staff The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah does not suffer from commercializa tion as does the Christian holiday of Christmas, a local rabbi says. Dr. Peter Tarlow, who also tea ches sociology at Texas A&M, says advertisers do put pressure on Ha nukkah gift-buyers, but the em phasis is not nearly as intense as that placed on Christmas shoppers. “Hanukkah is a much less impor tant holiday in the Jewish religion than Christmas is to Christianity,” he says. “So it isn’t affected as much commercially.” Hanukkah is the Jewish Festival of Lights. It is celebrated from the eve ning of the 24th of Kislev to the first night of Tevet on the Jewish cal endar. The observance this year will be gin on the evening of Dec. 22 and will end Dec. 29. According to tradition, the cele bration of Hanukkah was begun by Judas Maccabeus and his brothers in 165 B.C. They commemorated the creation of a new altar in the Temple of Je- ruaslem three years after the Syrian king had desecrated the temple in an attempt to end the religion. of Lights in remembrance of that miracle. On each of the eight evenings of the celebration, candles are lighted and displayed in an eight-branched can delabra called a menorah. One candle is lighted the first night, two the second, and so on un til the eighth day, when all are ablaze and displayed prominently in the house or synagogue. According to “The Book of Reli gious Holidays and Celebrations” by Marguerite Ickis, the eight candles symbolize eight virtues: faith, free dom, courage, love, charity, integ rity, knowledge and peace. Blessings are said before the can dles are lighted. Religious carols also are sung. Other Hanukkah traditions vary from country to country, Tarlow says, but all involve lighting candles and eat some sort of fried food in re- mebrance of the oil Judas found in the temple. Latkes, or fried potato cakes, are popular in the United States. Giving gifts is a popular Hanuk kah activity, Tarlow says. The Ickis book lists other events in celebration of Hanukkah, including parties, spe cial programs and assemblies and Hanukkah dances, concerts and dra matic presentations. Judas and his family had been forced into exile after Judas’ father had killed a Jew who complied with the king’s decree that Jews must of fer sacrifices to idols. When they returned from exile, they found in the temple a single container of oil that should have lasted only one day. But to their amazement, the oil provided light for eight days. The faithful celebrate the Festival An “Aggie Hanukkah” will be held at 8 p.m. Friday in the Hillel Center, located at the corner of Jer sey and Dexter Streets in College Station.