THE MICHIGAN DAILY I Claim Santa as Soviet Concept Wonderland BEATNIK BARGAINS: Shoppers Find Gifts for Sick, Sick, Ill SCOW (P) - The Russians' invent Christmas, but they sist that Grandfather Frost r known as Santa Claus) is :-in-the-wool Russian inven- ,ndfather Frost, known as Mai oz" here, loops and acts anta Claus. He' has the same- cheeks, flowing beard, and owing bag of gifts. the Russians say his origin re Russian folklore without eligious overtones, imported mestic. e Russians started celebrating tmas soon after Christianity from Byzantium in the tenth' century and incorporated much old pagan folklore, including Grandfather Frost, into the Chris- tian ritual.. Even today . in atheist Soviet (Russia, almost everybody cele- brates Christmas. To avoid the "stigma" of religious connotation, however, they call it New Year's. Even Christmas trees are called "New Year trees"in Russia today. Current Christmas (or New Year) celebrations in Russia smack of the pagan days. They lack the. carefree flavor of pre-revolution- ary times and are much more highly organized, in keeping with the spirit of the times here. Even the Kremlin, the once for- bidding fortress of Stalin's day, and the House of Unions, scene of the purge trials of the 1930's, have' gotten into the act. Mammoth par- ties are staged in them and tens of thousands of Moscow children stream through, singing and danc- ing, for the two-week run of the holidays. Grandfather Frost delivers his gifts to these children in person, just as Santa does in the West, but with one difference. "Grandfather Frost is too digni- fied to come down the chimhey," one Russian explained. L C C C C V , V C . " y ti LITTLE BROTHER'S or SISTER'S GIFT? 1" 3 COLONIAL ANTIQUE KITS ranging from 2.95 to 8.95 PAINT BY NUMBERS $1 and up H-0 TRAINS as low as 10.95 By MICHAEL BURNS Shoppers looking for gifts for the sick, sick, sick! will find a large selection from which to choose this year. By shopping at some of the main street stores and a few out- of-the-way basements (which have been converted for the ex- press purpose of selling banned items to the beat and to those of the college crowd who crave the unusual and insane) one can find a number of articles guaranteed to please the indiscriminate and bold. Perhaps the most practical item encountered by The Daily -in a search to lielp Christmas shop- pers was a very unusual Christ- mas stocking. Although it will be too late to use this year, the stocking has definite value to 'the one who receives it when next Christmas rolls around. Rubber Stocking The stocking is made of rubber and so when Santa Claus tries to fill it with goodies, he will never finish as the stocking expands to hold all that the jolly old man has in his pack and more besides: a very practical gift for that greedy roommate, Crazy drinking mugs and glasses in all varieties are available for the sober students of the Univer- sity. One such mug has an egg in the bottom for those who prefer egg in their beer without having to buy the egg. Another features a glass cover attached to the top for those who like to be sociable but don't care to indulge. A local salesman for these items reported total sales so far - zero. Remember Fishermen The prevaricating fisherman has not been forgotten by the manufacturers of Yuletide gifts. A handsome ruler. which is con- veniently scaled to measure two inches to the standard inch will prove to be invaluable to the Izaak Walton who has trouble convincing his friends of the size of his catch. Mink fish scalers are also on sale to add a touch of luxury to an unpleasant chore. Stuffed animals for the coed are always very popular. Realizing this, , one rather hard-to-locate store is featuring life-size stuffed beasts. Starting with stuffed liz-1 ards and tarantulas, they range in size all the way up to elephants and giraffes for those who crave the company of furry friends. Of course, back scratchers (Chi- nese and otherwise) have always provided the perfect gift for those who have everything. ,The new crop for this season features real mummified hands. Their quality is definitely better than those cur- rently offered, but the only draw- back is that the finger nails are rather easily dislodged and, un- fortunately, are irreplaceable. Wineskins of human skin are offered by this same manufactur- er who refuses to disclose the source of his raw materials. These definitely will be in style at all beatnik parties so be certain that you give that special beatnik one of these and make his holi- day season happy. This concludes The Daily's guide to unique and unusual gifts for the sick. Be ,sure and shop at the store with the coffin on the door for the finest in quality prod- ucts of this nature. For the really sick, however, a gift of a custom prescription will show them your thoughtfulpess in this season of happiness and festivity. SKIN FOR WINE ... human variety S'tore Owner Dreams Plan for Miss By: SANDRA,,JOHNSON Quite casually, the owner of a hardware 'store told. how he ac- tually, "dreamed up the idea last night" of, putting. his Santa Claus in a rocket ship in front of his store. Over at the lumber yard the missile is now being built. When completed, it is, to be as tall as the hardware store marquee. Santa will sit in the cockpit where all the Christmas shoppers can see him through the win- dows. While, the parents watch and listen outside, the children can, climb up and- tell him. what they want for Christmas. Small businessmen must use their own ingenuity 'in designing. Christmas decorations. There are many companies which special- ize in decorating stores for holi- day seasons, but some shops flnd it too expensive to hire one of these. J MODELS and HOBBY KITS Beaver's Bike & Hardware ti K ,: F H F S, r" S S E" fS 'S 605 Church Street: STYMIED NO 5-6607 V. !I .5 !( , s, FOR NEW IDEAS? M SKIING BECKONS-It's ski-time in the state, and snow-covered hills are inviting for the enthusiastic athlete. The Michigan Tourist Council, in Lansing, has issued a ski map to help in the. selection of a winter sports center. The map, which lists 71 skiing, skating and tobogganing centers, is free on request. GIVE A GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR ANY AMOUNT I .« . : . 1 YI