The White Falcon - 16.04.1993, Blaðsíða 3

FYls (For Your Information)
m
The Sun Group Dinner will be held tomor-
w at 6:30 p.m. in quarters 1069-D, Coral
ea Housing. All single and unaccompanied
are invited to bring a friend. For more infor-
mation, call JJ or Debbie at ext 4780.
A support group for parents who have suf-
fered the loss of a child will begin Monday at
7 p.m. Call ext. 4111 for more information.
A weekly breakfast fellowship with Chap-
lain Young will start Wednesday at 6:30 a.m.
in the galley.
NAS Legal has new office hours due to a
change in training times. Legal will be open
Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to
noon and 1:30 to 5 p.m. and Friday from 8
a.m. to noon. For more information, call ext.
7900.
The High School Advisory Committee
(SAC) elections will be held until April 23.
Nominations for two parent representatives
and two teacher representatives must be sub-
mitted to the high school office no later than
Monday. A one paragraph, typed statement
about qualifications should be included. For
more information, contact Anne Allen at ext.
7400 or LT Conoscenti at ext. 2780.
The High School Advisory Committee
(SAC) will hold a meeting April 27, at 4 p.m.
in the school library. Come out and meet with
your parent, student and teacher representa-
Lyle Bytes: Living out your faith
By Chaplain James V. Asparro
The holocaust was one of the most shame-
ful episodes in human history. It engulfed not
only Jews, but all those unfortunate enough
to live under the cloud of Nazi domination.
The Jews to Europe, however, were singled
jut for persecution for one reason, their iden-
y as a people.
The shame of the holocaust is not unprece-
dented. There have been massacres in this
century, such as the wholesale destruction of
the Armenians by the Turks, and “Ethnic
cleansing” in former Yugoslavia.
Nazi Germany made the destruction of the
Jewish people a cornerstone of state policy
and power. The Nazi state enrolled its entire
civilian population in a conspiracy of silence
about the elimination of other civilians.
One lesson of the holocaust is that each
individual is responsible not only for his or
her actions but the consequences. Many of
these civilians attended church on Sunday
and wore Easter bonnets, though few of those
citizens ever admitted to individual responsi-
bility for what happened.
Another lesson of the holocaust is to re-
member that having faith in God is one thing,
tives in an open discussion forum. For more
information, contact LT Conoscenti at ext.
4580 or Anne Allen at ext. 7400.
The Community Bank is offering a new/
nearly new car loan ‘special’ until the end of
May. For more information, call Stephanie at
ext. 4625/4270.
The A.T. Mahan Elementary School will
be having a number of new teachers for the
upcoming school year. If you are interested
in being a sponsor call ext. 7412/7534.
The Family Service Center is offering spe-
cial seminars during April for Child Abuse
Prevention Month. If your group or com-
mand is interested call ext. 4401.
but living our faith is another. We should not
just pay lip service to the fact that absolute
power should go to God alone. No human
being should ever be given absolute authority
to make the state implement right or wrong
behavior.
God is infallible, God can’t make mis-
takes, God is pure goodness. Human beings
can be good and they can be bad, even evil.
The holocaust will never happen again if we
not only have faith in God, but live according
to our faith and never allow anyone to occupy
in our minds such a high place as that re-
served for God alone.
An Icelandic holiday - the first day of summer
The first day of summer in Iceland this year
is April 22. It is of great importance to all
Icelanders that the spring and summer bring
good weather. Consequently, persistent at-
tempts are made at forecasting.
In that connection, the arrival and behavior
of migratory birds are thought to be good
weather predictors, especially that of the
golden plover, the whimbrel and the common
snipe. There is a general consensus that all
the cold spells of spring are over when the
long cry of the whimbrel is heard:
When you hear the whimbrel cry
winter's trials have passed on by.
The raven has some significance too, and it
is considered to be significant where the bird
builds its nest. If it builds away from the
kthem winds or close to human habitation,
I spells can be expected. But if the raven
ts in poorly sheltered places or far from
any farmhouse, people expect good weather.
In all parts of the country, it will be ob-
served even if there is frost during the night
before the first day of summer. If the summer
and winter have “frozen together”, it is re-
garded as a good sign.
Historically, all except the most necessary
work was halted on this day. Where there
was fishing, the boat tours would be made
very short. People generally donned their
holiday clothes after the morning chores.
In a good many places, however, it was
customary to make a symbolical beginning
of some spring work, such as manuring the
home fields. It was also common for the
cows to be let out of their bams for the first
time on this day in order to watch them frolic
and to let them breathe the summer air.
Summer presents (Sumargjof) were very
peculiar to Iceland. They seem to antedate
even Christmas presents as a custom among
the common people. The oldest known ex-
ample is from 1545, when Bishop Gissur
Einarsson brought summer gifts for the
members of his household. By the middle of
the nineteenth century, this seems to have
become general practice, at least in the north
and east. Today, this custom is on a decline
again.
Children were not expected to work on the
first day of summer. For that reason, children
from neighboring farms would sometimes
get together to play games, at times even
adults would participate. The elderly would
also visit each other on this day and exchange
gifts.
After the turn of the century, the youth
movement adopted this day as the one with
speeches, poetry readings, sports, singing,
dancing and even dramatic performances.
Today, young scouts still parade the streets
of all larger towns in Iceland. Parades start at
about 10 a.m. Scouts will lead the way
followed by a band, flag bearers, more scouts
and then the general public.
The first day of summer is a day off for the
common worker, and most stores are closed.
April 16,1993
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