Canisius Community Celebrates the Season
A crane was needed to attach a large Christmas wreath to the front of the Andrew L. Bouwhuis Libary. The wreath was handcrafted by Claudia Hojnacki, office manager, facilities management.
The holiday season is upon is and nowhere is it more apparent than right here at Canisius, where many offices are adorned with poinsettias or twinkle with Christmas lights. The season of Advent, which Christians observe for the four weeks leading up to Christmas, is well underway. The college marked the start of Advent with a Cantio Sacra service of readings and music on December 6. Click here for the Campus Events page to find out about other holiday events.
Each Sunday of Advent, a candle is lit on the Advent wreath. On Christmas Eve, a white candle is lit in the center of the wreath. Today (December 8) Canisius observes the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Masses will be held in Christ the King Chapel at 8:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 5:10 p.m.
On Tuesday night, people of Jewish faith began the celebration of Hanukkah or the “Festival of Lights.” Hanukkah commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the Hellenistic Syrians, who made the practice of Judaism illegal. In 165 BCE, Judah and the Maccabees defeated the Syrians and reclaimed the temple for the Jews. They searched for oil to light the eternal flame, an important part of the Jewish house of worship but found only enough for one day. When the flame was lit, a miracle happened - the oil lasted for eight days.
For more than 18 million African Americans, Kwanzaa is a time for personal reflection and spiritual renewal. It is celebrated for seven days, from December 26 through January 1, and each day a different principle is observed. They include: Umoja (unity), Kujichagula (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity) and Imani (faith). These principles are intended to serve as guideposts for meditation and daily living. Similar to Hannukah, a different candle is lit each day (which represents that day’s observed principle). Kwanzaa has been celebrated since 1966 and is America’s fastest-growing holiday.
All over campus, Canisius employees are getting into the holiday spirit. NetGazette stopped in on several departments as they brightened their offices with festive decorations.
Staff from the student health and counseling center put the finishing touch on their Christmas tree. Front row (sitting): Marcia Rennie, secretary; Nancy Gonka, nurse; Liz Radder, student work study; Mike Cammarata, assistant director, counseling center. Second row (standing): Patricia Crehan, director, student health center and Marge Sheehan, secretary, counseling center.
Human resources’ tree may be small but they sure are jolly. From left to right, Connie W. Trowbridge, acting director; Kathy N. Kelly, secretary; Jennifer L. Skowron, technician and Dawn Rotterman, technician.
Holiday Traditions from Around the World
In the United States, many of our holiday traditions are based on those from around the world, which often reflect the diverse ethnic mix of our population.
In Old World Germany, the last ornament to be placed on the Christmas tree was always a pickle. It was carefully hidden deep within the boughs of the tree. Legend had it that the observant child who found it on Christmas Day was blessed with a year of good fortune and a special gift.
As in other European countries, children in Germany place a shoe or boot by the fireplace on the eve of December 6. If they have been good, St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children, will fill their boot with goodies. If not, the shoe is filled with twigs! Typical Christmas fare in Germany includes lebkuchen (ginger spice bars), roast goose and Christollen (bread with dried fruit and nuts).
For Poles, Christmas Eve is a time of family gathering. It’s also a night of magic: animals are said to talk in a human voice!
The high point of Christmas for Poles is not Christmas Day, but Wigilia (Christmas Eve), when oplatek (the Christmas wafer) is shared, traditional meatless delicacies are enjoyed, kolędy are sung, gifts are exchanged and the Pasterka (Shepherd’s Mass) is the crowning touch of the evening. In Polish tradition, Christmas is less about presents and more about family togetherness.
The traditional Christmas Eve supper consists of at least 12 dishes representing the 12 months of the year. No meat is served during the supper, only fish, usually herring and carp. And then, despite the late hours and winter cold, the family heads to Midnight Mass to a nearby church.
In Italy, children wait for Befana, not Santa Claus. The name Befana is a contracted form of the Italian word epifana − Epiphany. In Italy, the traditional time for gift-giving is not Christmas, but the Feast of the Three Kings. The legend of Befana has taken many forms, such as a black woman reminiscent of Black Peter, Santa Claus’ sidekick, or a witch who flies through the air on a broomstick. Like Santa Claus, she knows which children have been naughty or nice, and while good children receive sweets and toys, the wayward find only cinders and ashes.
The information on Polish Christmas traditions was provided by Margaret K. Stefanska, PhD, assistant professor of modern languages and a native of Poland.
The excerpt on Befana was taken from "‘Twas the Night Before Twelfth Night: Befana, the Gift-Giver of Italy,” written by Frank P. Riga, PhD, professor of English, which ran in the December 1991 edition of The Chronicle.
Celebrate the Holidays with Your Canisius Co-workers
The Canisius College Annual Holiday Party for faculty, staff and administrators will be held on Thursday, December 23 at 11:30 a.m. in the Peter Gust Economou Dining Hall.
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Carole Lyons and Maryann Wayne, secretaries to the vice president for business and finance, will be handing out raffle tickets at the Canisius holiday party. Look for them for your chance to win. |
Enjoy delicious roast beef and turkey carving stations, a salad bar, pumpkin pie, cookies and much more. Enter to win one of three exciting GRAND prizes – a digital camera, personal DVD player or a portable TV. The drawing will be held at 1:15 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by the Canisius Brass Quartet, which features Joel Cohen, PhD, associate vice president for library and information services; Larry Deni, technical computing administrator; Tim Hauser ’05; and Bill Kaputa ’05.
A continuous feed Power Point presentation of photos from "Christmas Past" will be projected on a screen during the lunch. Send hard copies of your department or family photos to Mary Pat Leahy in Academic Affairs, Bagen 205 for scanning. They will be returned to you. Photos can also be send as an E-mail attachment to leahy1@canisius.edu.
A digital camera, color TV and personal DVD player are the grand prizes for this year's holiday party. Each guest will get one ticket to enter to win their choice.
Please return your RSVP slip to Judy Bruce in the Office of Student Affairs or contact her at Ext. 2130 or via E-mail at brucej@canisius.edu by December 20. See you there!
NetGazette Holiday Contest
The Koessler Plaza behind Old Main becomes a winter wonderland of lights as it gets dark.
How many holiday lights does it take to light up Canisius College? Kevin Kwitzer, building services supervisor for facilities management and his staff have been hard at work for more than two weeks to bring the holiday spirit to campus buildings. If you can come the closest to the correct amount without going over, you could win a beautiful Canisius College blanket courtesy of Tony Marchewka, bookstore manager. Second and third runner-up will win lunch for two in the Faculty Dining Room courtesy of Bob Mattola, director of Chartwells. The Faculty Dining Room is open 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. daily. All faculty, staff and administrators are weclome in the FDR.
To enter, fill out the form below and click the “Submit” button when you are finished. You will automatically be entered to win.
Hurry! The deadline for entries is 5 p.m., Monday, December 13. Good luck and happy counting!
November Connections Now On-Line
The November 2004 issue of Connections, the monthly newsletter of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU), is now available on-line. To read it, click here. The on-line version of Connections is designed to be viewed on your computer screen. It is also available in PDF (portable document format) if you wish to print a hard copy. The theme for November’s Connections is “Update on Internationalization at Jesuit Colleges and Universities.”
Holiday Shutdown
The college will be closed, except for essential operating personnel, from Friday, December 24 – Friday, December 31, 2004. Offices will reopen on Monday, January 3, 2005.