A S C A - Amarillo Senior Citizens - Welcome to the ... S C A Amarillo Senior Citizens Association Christmas is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial

A S C A Amarillo Senior Citizens Association

Christmas is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide

cultural and commercial phenomenon. For two millennia, people

around the world have been observing it with traditions and prac-

tices that are both religious and secular in nature. Christians cele-

brate Christmas Day as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of

Nazareth, a spiritual leader whose teachings form the basis of their

religion. Popular customs include exchanging gifts, decorating

Christmas trees, attending church, sharing meals with family and

friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive. The USPS has been

receiving, and respond-

ing to, letters to Santa

Claus for over 100

years. Each year, mil-

lions of children of all

ages send letters to

“Santa Claus, North

Pole, Alaska”.

Why is Christmas celebrated on December 25?

Most Christians today probably can’t imagine Christmas on any other day than December 25, but it wasn’t always that way.

In fact, for the first three centuries of Christianity’s existence, Jesus Christ’s birth wasn’t celebrated at all. The religion’s

most significant holidays were Epiphany on January 6, which commemorated the arrival of The Wise Men after Jesus’ birth,

and Easter, which celebrated Jesus’ resurrection. The first official mention of December 25 as a holiday honoring Jesus’

birthday appears in an early Roman calendar from 336 A.D.

But was Jesus really born on December 25 in the first place? Probably not. The Bible doesn’t mention his exact birthday,

and the Nativity story contains conflicting clues. For instance, the presence of shepherds and their sheep suggest a spring

birth. When church officials settled on December 25 at the end of the third century, they likely wanted the date to coincide

with existing pagan festivals honoring Saturn (the Roman god of agriculture) and Mithra (the Persian god of light). That

way, it became easier to convince Rome’s pagan subjects to accept Christianity as the empire’s official religion

The celebration of Christmas spread throughout the Western world over the next several centuries, but many Christians

continued to view Epiphany and Easter as more important. Some, including the Puritans of colonial New England, even

banned its observance because they viewed its traditions—the offering of gifts and decorating trees, for example—as linked

to paganism. In the early days of the United States, celebrating Christmas was considered a British custom and fell out of

style following the American Revolution. It wasn’t until 1870 that Christmas became a federal holiday.

- Source: History.com

In the early 17th century, a wave of religious reform changed the way

Christmas was celebrated in Europe. When Oliver Cromwell and his

Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England

of decadence and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas. By popu-

lar demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came

the return of the popular holiday.

The pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were

even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result,

Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the

celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone

exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. By contrast, in

the Jamestown settlement, Captain John Smith reported that Christmas

was enjoyed by all and passed without incident.

Continued on next page

December 2013

P a g e 2 B e c a u s e y o u h a v e a l o t o f l i v i n g t o d o A S C A N e w s

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor

rests.” Luke 2:13-14 NIV

After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact,

Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.

It wasn't until the 19th century that Americans began to embrace Christmas. Americans re-invented

Christmas, and changed it from a raucous carnival holiday into a family-centered day of peace and

nostalgia. But what about the 1800s peaked American interest in the holiday?

The early 19th century was a period of class conflict and turmoil. During this time, unemployment

was high and gang rioting by the disenchanted classes often occurred during the Christmas season. In

1828, the New York city council instituted the city's first police force in response to a Christmas riot.

This catalyzed certain members of the upper classes to begin to change the way Christmas was cele-

brated in America.

In 1819, best-selling author Washington Irving wrote The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent., a

series of stories about the celebration of Christmas in an English manor house. The sketches feature a

squire who invited the peasants into his home for the holiday. In contrast to the problems faced in

American society, the two groups mingled effortlessly. In Irving's mind, Christmas should be a

peaceful, warm-hearted holiday bringing groups together across lines of wealth or social status. Ir-

ving's fictitious celebrants enjoyed "ancient customs," including the crowning of a Lord of Misrule.

Irving's book, however, was not based on any holiday celebration he had attended – in fact, many

historians say that Irving's account actually "invented" tradition by implying that it described the true

customs of the season. Also around this time, English author Charles Dickens created the classic

holiday tale, A Christmas Carol. The story's message-the importance of charity and good will to-

wards all humankind-struck a powerful chord in the United States and England and showed mem-

bers of Victorian society the benefits of celebrating the holiday.

The family was also becoming less disciplined and more

sensitive to the emotional needs of children during the

early 1800s. Christmas provided families with a day when

they could lavish attention-and gifts-on their children

without appearing to "spoil" them.

As Americans began to embrace Christmas as a

perfect family holiday, old customs were un

earthed. People looked toward recent immigrants

and Catholic and Episcopalian churches to see

how the day should be celebrated. In the next 100

years, Americans built a Christmas tradition all

their own that included pieces of many other cus-

toms, including decorating trees, sending holiday

cards, and gift-giving.

Although most families quickly bought into the idea that they were celebrat-

ing Christmas how it had been done for centuries, Americans had really re-

invented a holiday to fill the cultural needs of a growing nation.

Each year, 30-35 million

real Christmas trees are

sold in the United States

alone. There are 21,000

Christmas tree growers

in the United States,

and trees usually grow

for about 15 years before

they are sold.

In the Middle Ages,

Christmas celebrations

were rowdy and rau-

cous—a lot like today's

Mardi Gras parties.


MILLER’S CLEANERS Quality Cleaning At Reasonable

Prices

1100 S. Taylor, Amarillo, Texas

Phone 374 –1490

Pictured: Linda Anderson. Not Pictured: Tina Blunt, Donna Hughes,

Debra Lomax.

The Swinging Seniors line dancing group meets every Tues-

day and Friday in the ASCA Main Hall, from 9:30 am until

11:00 am. Also, Swinging Seniors will have their Christmas

party Dec 14th 4:30 til 7pm in main hall. Please RSVP to

Sidney Boyce. We hope you all can come and join the fun!!!

Swinging Seniors

HIGH SCORES FOR OCTOBER

6640 Ann Beach / Rayma Watson

6590 Carroll Brigman / Mary North

GRAND SLAMS

Carroll Brigman / Mary North - 2 Grand Slams

ASCA Bridge


ASCA Pool Club November Pool Tournament

10 Ball • Race to 65 Points

1st Place - Roy Cole

2nd Place - Andy Bourassa

ATTENTION POOL CLUB MEMEBRS!!!

The annual meeting will be held on December 3, 2013, at

12:00 PM in Room 113 (Conference Center) of the ASCA

building. No food or drink will be provided.

The agenda will include the following:

1. Officer nominations and election (officer terms

are (Jan. 1 to Dec. 31).

2. Financial Report

3. Membership Report

4. Suggestions (If you have a suggestion but cannot

attend the meeting, you can put it in written form

and give it to one of the current officers).

We hope to see you at the meeting!

Bill Evans

Temporary President

Leaves are still falling, green, yellow, orange and brown.

Soon snow will be blowing. But we are staying comfortable

inside while we quilt , and enjoy the fellowship. We elected

new officers. Our president is now Pauline Stone, and our

vice president is Jyeton Lowery.

We still have several people with health problems, and a few

have had surgery and are recovering. We sure miss them.

Bessie had back surgery, and is home and doing much better.

Corine is still doing her therapy for her shoulder. Helen is

very well, and Seba is feeling much better. Pam is still travel-

ing, but comes back when she is home. Shaista Layeeque has

moved back to Pakistan, her home country. We sure miss our

friends when they are gone. We hope everyone is back soon.

We would love to have new quilters and visitors come to see

our new quilts. Few things are impossible to diligence and

skill. Great works are performed, not by strength, but perse-

verance.

Simple Quilting Tips

* When basting quilt layers together using long stitches, be

sure to use a thread that contrasts with the quilt so you can

easily see it and remove it later.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:21 NIV

- Juanita Cato

Quilters Pool Club

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN DECEMBER

Louita Collier - 12/10

Jeannine Bewley - 12/15

Iris Eldridge - 12/26


Katherine Revious - 12/29

Games & More

Winners First Monday Winners Last Wednesday

Edna Faulkner / Tom Nance Jim Pope / Edna Faulkner

Runners Up Runners Up

Jim Pope / Bill Sliter Tom Nance / Glynn Carver

Winners Third Monday

Glynn Carver / Jim Albert

Runners Up

Bill Sliter / James Stroud

Come and join us, we would love to have more players!!! We

play Mon. - Fri. from 8:00am - 11:00am. We also have three

tournaments the 1st and 3rd Mon., and the last Wed.

Dominoes

Christmas Cheer

Christmas snow, lights aglow

Jesus’ birth, Peace on Earth,

Winter snow, the wind did blow,

On ice drive slow, to Games & More go!

Come and join in the card playing fun! We play table

games Mon, Tues, & Fri. Come celebrate the December

birthdays with us on Dec. 6th.

RWP Games & More Reporter

Shaista Layeeque, world traveler and

member of ASCA, took part in all ta-

ble games, including dominoes, bridge,

samba, quilting and crocheting, and

will be missed. She was most friendly

and helpful in all games, especially

dominoes. samba and crochet. Her

father was a bridge champion. She has

returned home to Pakistan after a 22

hour flight.

Continued at top of next page

Shaista has 3 daughters, 1 son, and 8 grandchildren.

She has been here for 2 years with her daughter Dr. R.

Rahmon. She will be missed, and we wish her all the

best!

RWP Reporter

Amarillo Senior Citizens Association members

Loretta W. Cole and Carol W. Brigman, and Games

& More and ASCA member Ramona W. Price re-

cently lost their brother James N. (Jim) White on Oct.

29, 2013. He was 82 years old. Our thoughts and

prayers are with his family.


DOMINOES

President: Jim Pope 373-5121

Meets every Monday - Friday 8:00AM - 11:00AM

No dues or fees except for tournaments.

“42” CLUB

President: Sharon Goar 570-6917

Meets every Tuesday and Thursday 12:30PM - 3:00PM

Cost: $.50 each time.

“88” CLUB

President: Joy Rainey 359-3643

Meets every Wednesday 12:00PM - 3:00PM

Cost: $2.00 per month.

TABLE TENNIS

Contact: Betty McSpadden 359-0865

Meets every Tuesday and Thursday 6:00PM - 8:00PM

Saturday 2:00PM - 4:00PM

Cost: $1.00 each time.

POKER CLUB

President: Ken Worsham 418-4497

Wednesday: Texas Hold’em 2:00 PM - 4:00PM

Thursday: Dealers Choice 2:00PM - 4:00PM

Cost: $1.00 each time. (Awards on Point System)

QUILTERS

President: Pauline Stone 355-3557

Meets Tuesday and Friday 8:30AM - 2:30PM

GAMES AND MORE

President: Carolyn Wilson 353-2085

Monday: 1:00PM - Mexican Train, Hand & Foot, Back Alley

Tuesday: 1:00PM - Back Alley

Friday: 12:00PM - Samba, Hand & Foot

No dues or fees.

ASCA BRIDGE

President: Bob Higby 353-2067

Meets Monday and Saturday 12:30PM - 3:30PM

Cost: $1.10 each time.

BEGINNING BRIDGE

Contact: June Bedell 355-0274

Roena Key 654-8833

Meets Tuesdays 1:00PM - 4:00PM

This group has multiple levels of Bridge players, new and still

learning.

SWINGING SENIORS LINE DANCERS

President: Janete Reese 358-8808

Meets every Tuesday and Friday 9:30AM - 11:00AM

Cost: $1.00 each time. First 2 times in attendance are free.

BINGO

ASCA Office 374-5500

Join us on Wednesdays at 10:00AM.

Everyone is welcome!

POOL CLUB

President: Bill Evans 373-6740

Open to play any day and hours ASCA is open. Monthly

tournaments scheduled.

Cost: $3.50 per month (Three Month Minimum), or $35 per

year.

PUZZLE CORNER


Everyone is invited to stop by and put a piece of the puzzle in

progress.

GOOD TIME COUNTRY WESTERN DANCE CLUB


Meet every Friday night 7:30PM - 10:00PM

Music from Blue Denim 2

Cost: Dues are $20.00 per year; Dance is $6.00 for members,

$7.00 for non-members.

Amarillo Senior Citizens Association • 1220 S. Polk, Amarillo TX, 79101 • 806-374-5500

WEDNESDAY BRIDGE

President: Kay Mayo 355-5653

Meets Wednesday 12:30PM - 4:00PM CROCHET CLUB

President: Lou Ann Cagle 655-2584

Meets Thursday at 1:00PM DUPLICATE BRIDGE

President: Carolyn Blum 359-5307

Meets Wednesday 1:00PM

December 1, 2013

Dear Friends,

The holiday season stirs up pleasurable images of families together enjoying each others company. But

for some seniors, distance, illness or finances prevent them from going to spend time with family

members.

The Amarillo Senior Center is a very important part of many older adults’ lives. Numerous members

come to the Center every day to eat lunch, socialize with friends and often spend the rest of the afternoon

engaged in activities offered at the Center. For some seniors, this is the only meal they will have for the

day.

Far more important than any achievement or event is the fact that we have a place where we can gather,

grow and share the events in our lives, whether they are sad or joyous.

Today we are writing to ask for your help in the short term. Membership dues alone are not enough to

support our center. They don’t cover our operating expenses, much less the myriad of programs and

support services we provide. Your participation in any amount in our End of Year Appeal is crucial to

maintaining ASCA, which is more than a building, more than a place for social gatherings.

It’s the destination of choice for active seniors over 55.

The need to support senior citizens will only escalate through time. Will you please assist us as this need

increases? Your gift will make a difference in someone’s life.

We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2014.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Moss Charlene Cole

ASCA Board President Interim Executive Director

MEMORIAL DONATIONS

Loretta W. Cole, Carol W. Brigman and Ramona W. Price in

Honor of James N. (Jim) White


POTLUCK DINNER

Christmas Potluck / Bingo will be Monday, December 16th at

5:30 PM. Ham will be furnished. Bring a dish (enough to

serve 10 people) to go with ham. The cost is $5.50 for each

person not bringing food. We hope you can all come and

enjoy!

Genece Files, Beverly Faubion, Billy G. Hill, Guy Don

Stone, Richard Briley, Dolly Bruce

NOVEMBER NEW MEMBERS

America Supports You Texas had a great turnout for their

Veteran Day Breakfast fundraiser at ASCA on Sunday,

November 9th before the Veterans Day Parade.

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU TEXAS

We will be having a mesh wreath making class on Tuesday,

December 10th at 1:00 pm. The class will be taught by Jackie

Farrell, County Extension Agent with Texas A&M AgriLife

Extension, Randall County. The registration fee is $15 dollars

plus the cost of supplies. You may get a list of supplies in the

ASCA office. To register, please call 806-468-5543, or email

[email protected]. We hope to see you there!

MESH WREATH CLASS

Marlene Gilliam is an accomplished singer and songwriter,

and the daughter of the late Hawkshaw Hawkins, of the

WWVA Jamboree and the WSM Grand Ole Opry. She will

be here at ASCA on Wednesday, December 11th to sing

some wonderful Gospel music. Please join us in the ASCA

Main Hall at 11:00 pm to hear her wonderful gospel music!

MARLENE GILLIAM GOSPEL MUSIC

MEDICARE FRAUD

Laurie McAfee from the Area Agency on Aging will be here

Wednesday, December 11th at 3:00 pm in the North Seminar, to

give a presentation on Medicare fraud. Medicare fraud, waste

and abuse affects every American by draining critical resources

from our health care system. Last year alone, the Medicare pro-

gram and beneficiaries lost $60-$90 billion as older adults were

targeted by scam artists. Please register for this class in the

ASCA office, or call 374-5500.

Make your plans now for the Grand Canyon in April!


Susan Richardson

Carla O’Brien

ASCA Board of Directors

PRESIDENT - Stephanie Moss

VICE PRESIDENT - Charlene Cole

TREASURER - Janete Reese

SECRETARY - Myrt Feagley

DIRECTOR EMERITUS - James Jones

Betty McSpadden

Margaret Dean

Ken Pounds

Ramona Price

Bill Cornett

Charlie Cox

FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES

Family Support Services will be here on Thursday, December

12th at 1:00 pm in the North Seminar, to give a presentation for

volunteers, focused on women. If you are interested in volun-

teering please come by for this 30-40 minute presentation.

FOR RENT in Palisades, furnished 1 bedroom

apartment for senior lady $575/month

includes utilities, share washer & dryer. Details

call Donald Beierle, 806-220-7072.

PART TIME HELP, experienced to advertise

on YouTube, Twitter & Facebook. Details call

Donald Beierle, 806-220-7072.


ACROSS

2 They help Santa

3 He has a very shiny nose

7 Kind of songs we sing at Christmas

8 We put these on the tree and around the house

9 The reindeer pull this

10 We are given these

12 Bright and shiny, we turn them on

14 We send these by post

DOWN

1 Jingle …

4 Dasher …, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner,

and Blitzen

5 We hang these by the chimney

6 The day after Christmas

11 We decorate this with baubles

13 This sometimes goes on top of the Christmas tree

A quick test of intelligence. Don’t cheat, because if you do, the test will be no fun!!! There are no tricks. Read the sentence

below.

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE OF YEARS.

Now, count aloud the F’s in that sentence. Important, count them ONLY ONCE: DO NOT GO BACK and count them again.

ANSWER: One of average intelligence finds three of them. If you spotted four, you’re above average. If you got five,

you can turn your nose at most anybody. If you caught six, you are a genius. There is no catch. Many people forget

the “OF”s. The human brain tends to see them as V’s and not F’s.

P a g e 1 0 B e c a u s e y o u h a v e a l o t o f l i v i n g t o d o A S C A N e w s

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Christmas Word Search

Sudoku: Easy Sudoku: Medium

Medium Answer

Easy Answer

P a g e 1 1 B e c a u s e y o u h a v e a l o t o f l i v i n g t o d o A S C A N e w s

Unscramble the words and fill in the boxes. Place each letter with the corresponding

number in the spaces at the bottom to make a sentence. All unscrambled words begin

with the letter “S”.

SFCRA

SAOENS

SVEHOL

ESASTK

SEDL

SIGLEH BSLEL

NSOFEAWLK

SONNWMA

SORONMTWS

30 11 10

21 9 13

19 3

4 12 18 20

25 7

5 29

28 1 8 15

2 27 14 17 23

6 22 24 16 26

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

.•.

• 18 19 16 20 21 22 5 23 24 25 10 26 27 28 24 29 30

ANSWER: One kind word can warm three winter months.

(Physical Address)

1220 S. Polk, Amarillo, TX 79101 (Mailing Address) 1217 S. Tyler, Amarillo, TX 79101 806-374-5500 Fax 806-379-8028 www.amarilloseniorcitizens.com

Amarillo’s Senior Community

A S C A

MARK YOUR CALENDAR DECEMBER 2013

• Our Christmas potluck dinner will be on December 16th at 5:30 PM in the Main Hall, we will also

play bingo. The ham will be provided. We hope to see you all there!

• The ASCA Bridge Christmas party will be on Saturday, December 7th at 10:00 AM in the

Conference Center. The Swinging Seniors’ party will be December 14th at 4:30 PM in the Main

Hall. The Pool Club will have their annual meeting on Tuesday, December 3rd at 12:00 PM in the

Conference Center.

• Wednesday, December 18, ASCA Board Meeting at 4PM in the North Seminar.

• Thursday, December 19, President’s Meeting at 10AM in Room 119D in the ASCA Office.

Documents

A S C A - Amarillo Senior Citizens - Welcome to the ... S C A Amarillo Senior Citizens Association Christmas is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial