How often we miss the real meaning of Christmas. Oh, we observe all the customs. we sing all the carols .We read all the Gospel accounts. We attend all the church services. Yet, we miss the real meaning of Christmas. The reason is a simple one: we take this all as a pleasant tale of once long ago, and forget what it says to us today. We see only the shepherds, the wisemen, Mary, Joseph, and the infant in the manger and forget that they are not the main characters in the Christmas drama at all. The main character is God!

Toasts are a tradition at Christmas as you gather with family and friends. The wassail bowl, a forerunner of our modern holiday punch bowl, stems from medieval Christmas celebrations. Wassail comes from an old English word meaning "be thou whole." From this early Christmas toast a favorite holiday recipe for the wassail bowl developed.

We pass through Gold Star Hall of the Memorial Union regularly on our way to class or the Commons. But many of us have never noticed the story told by 12 vibrantly colorful stained glass windows high on the walls.

This familiar strain of an old New England fold song reflects some of the gaiety in the simple life of these pioneers. Although the New England colonists first settled on Massachusetts Bay nearly three centuries ago, you see reminders of them today in such treasures as "The Twelve Days of Christmas." It was once thought that the test of true love could be found in the number, variety and degree of difficulty in obtaining gifts for one another, which is the background of this holiday song.

For Christmas table centerpieces, new ornaments on your Christmas tree or feminine appeal on gifts, make these wispy little angels that could easily have dropped from a cloud or floated in on a snowflake.