Archive : December 2012

Origins of Christmas customs

  Every year, letter-to-the editor writers expound on the fact that Christmas grew from pagan celebrations of the winter solstice. Christians yawn. Although this evolution is generally ignored, Christians do know about it.

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Join Santa in mirthful laughter

  It’s the merriest season of the year, so here’s a few Christmas laughs to get you in the mood: • Whoever said, “Talk is cheap,” never listened to a youngster telling his parents what...

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Some reasons to be thankful at Christmas time

  With the Christmas season upon us, several REALTORS® took the time to share their thoughts on what they’re most thankful for, and what they’ll be doing to make a difference at Christmas and in the New Year.

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A “real” tree for the family

  What she said at a recent press conference celebrating the city’s 12 aboriginal families becoming homeowners though the Manitoba Real Estate Association (MREA)-established Manitoba Tipi Mitawa program, struck me as int...

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Santa’s reindeer and other Christmas trivia

This might be a surprising little “did-you-know” revelation about Santa’s sleigh-pullers: According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game,  both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer eac...

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The language of Christmas

As Christmas approaches, we’re beset with words and expressions seldom heard at any other time. Let’s see where some of these came from. Carol has an interesting history. It originated in Old French as carole, altho...

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Weather outside is frightful

Prognasicators earlier predicted Manitoba would experience normal to very cold weather conditions across the province during the winter of 2012-13. So far, they have been right on the mark. It’s been cold and there has been a lot of s...

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City-wide property assessment information

The city’s assessment and taxation department has been taking a fresh look at your property and is now determining what its value on the open market was as of April 1, 2012. This is the second time the department is using a two-year p...

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