Message from the President Jon Jerotz

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1 Newsletter of the Olivenhain Town Council December, 2011 Message from the President Jon Jerotz By the time you receive this Newsletter in the mail, or your box, Thanksgiving will already be behind us and for me already missed. I love the smell of Turkey cooking in the oven, stuffing, yams and all the other side dishes filling the air with the wonderful aroma of what is truly the start of the holiday season. I do not miss my stomach being pushed out a couple extra inches because I had to have seconds of all of the above, but can you blame me? Oh the holidays! Black Friday and Cyber Monday are here, too many people vying for the same one out of ten toy of the year the store had at the special price for five hours. Can you believe the stores opening at midnight for an all night shopping experience? Well, no thanks, but maybe I am just getting old, the only thing I will shop for at midnight is a heat pad for my wife that is in labor, (well a few years ago I did and I think it was closer to 2am) and since she is not pregnant, I won t have to worry about that anytime soon! Is shopping all night really the holiday spirit? I think not! Holiday spirit is giving to the community that you live in, like Mary Jo Nortman giving once again to our great community in putting together yet another Craft Fair. Yes, it may have been raining that day and yes maybe some folks had to pack it in early to get out of the downpours, but that is Holiday spirit, showing up, setting up and making the best of the day! Thank you to the Nortman s who year after year take the reins and make the Craft Fair a special day in Olivenhain. I know the community thanks you as well! Holiday spirit is slowing down on the roads, letting a car in front of you changing lanes, opening a door for someone, donating to a special charity, or just giving your time to help someone who might need it. In the last month of the year, let us all slow down a notch; let the days just not speed on by us, but cherish the moments you have as we near the end of this year. Cherish the time with co-workers, friends and family. Get to know someone new, meet a neighbor, go out of your comfort zone to smile and chat it up with a new acquaintance. If you would like to meet some new people and see some friendly faces, a perfect time to do this is coming up at our very own annual Wine Tasting Event on December 14th at 6:30pm. We will have wines from unlikely places and you will be able to sample them to your delight for a mere $10 which includes your very own Olivenhain wine glass. This has grown to be a blockbuster evening so please join us for our last event of the year and spread your holiday cheer. I have always loved Christmas growing up and still do to this day. We all have our special holiday memories no matter what you celebrate and how you celebrate it. I enjoy putting the lights up and around the house, setting up the Christmas tree and decorating it with a fire burning and music playing. It is a family time to really cherish. Sometimes I think that Christmas is just for the kids, but you know, that is just not the case. It is the time of the year to spoil a loved one, surprise them with a gift they may never suspect, that is the joy of it all. Spend some time relaxing, putting the smart phone down, (except of course to video something fun) and I once could not contain myself the night before Christmas, at least I thought I never even fell asleep but of course I did. Now, I get to see the excitement in my own kids eyes with Santa Claus, (who is a GIANT) in my sons eyes! I cannot wait to go again this year for photos with Santa and see if maybe we can coax a smile out of them. Take a ride on the Santa Train, did you know that Santa visits our Coaster for day? I am very excited to be a Judge at the Encinitas Holiday Parade this year celebrating the 25th year since being incorporated. All of these things are so special to me and will not be forgotten memories. This is the Holiday Spirit! As time moves on and families grow, holiday traditions remain and grow as well. I know this Christmas will be a wonder of smiles and laughter and most importantly love in my household as we open the presents and let the kids have fun with their new toys. As my kids get older each year, I think Christmas will become even more exciting and adventurous as we keep our family tradition. I am looking forward as well to jumping on a plane Christmas night and waking up on the East Coast in the morning when we land, where we might, just might, have our White Christmas. I want to take this moment to wish each and every one of you, a safe, happy, joy filled and most importantly healthy Holiday Season! I am thankful to live in such an amazing community like Olivenhain, thank you for making it what it is! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and keep that Holiday Spirit! 1

Colony Olivenhain History Book In 1981, Richard Bumann, descendent of one of the original colonists, published a local history book titled Colony Olivenhain.

able to use all the proceeds from the sale for renovation and repair of the Germania Hotel.

Olivenhain Cookbook The Colony Olivenhain Cookbook compiled by Debbie McCauley has over 500 recipes collected from members of the community.

2 Colony Olivenhain History Book In 1981, Richard Bumann, descendent of one of the original colonists, published a local history book titled Colony Olivenhain. The original printing sold out long ago, but thanks to a very generous donation by publishers Kristina and Reid Tracy, the Olivenhain Town Council has made this book available once again, and will be able to use all the proceeds from the sale for renovation and repair of the Germania Hotel. You can order using the order form on the cover sheet, or stop by and pick one up at the Postal Corner in Olivenhain Platz, on the corner of Rancho Santa Fe Road and Encinitas Boulevard. Olivenhain Cookbook The Colony Olivenhain Cookbook compiled by Debbie McCauley has over 500 recipes collected from members of the community. All the proceeds from the sales of this cookbook go to renovate the Germania Hotel. The cost is $15 (including tax), and you can pick them up at the Postal Corner in the Olivenhain Platz at the corner of Rancho Santa Fe Road and Encinitas Boulevard and at Olson's Car Wash on El Camino Real. Beer Steins Colony Olivenhain Beer Steins are available at Postal Corner for $13 plus tax for a 25 oz. Stein. These are the best Beer Steins ever! License Plate Frames Chrome license plate frames are available at the Postal Corner in Olivenhain Platz. for $30 plus tax. All proceeds go toward maintenance of the Meeting Hall, the Germania Hotel, and the Meeting Hall grounds. From our homes to yours A wonderful Holiday Season and a very Happy New Year to everyone in the Olivenhain Valley!! Many thanks to EDCO for their donation of a dumpster and trash collection for the Olivenhain Meeting Hall. Many thanks to Van Slyke Landscape, Inc. for their donation of monthly grounds maintenance for the Olivenhain Meeting Hall. VAN SLYKE LANDSCAPE, INC LANDSCAPE DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE Specializing in custom residential landscape design, installation and maintenance. Fully licensed and insured with 35 years experience in the Olivenhain, Encinitas, Carlsbad and Rancho Santa Fe areas. PAUL C. VAN SLYKE, PRES. 442 RANCHO SANTA FE RD BUS OLIVENHAIN, CA FAX WEB SITE: vanslykelandscape.com vanslykelandscape@cox.net To advertise in the OTC newsletter, send a JPEG format file, business card, or your ad copy to newsletter@olivenhain.org) with a check payable to: Olivenhain Town Council, 423 Rancho Santa Fe Road, Olivenhain, CA (For best quality, your JPEG file or text copy with the word newsletter in the subject line). Newsletter Advertising $45 for 3 months for a business card-sized ad (add $15 for each additional consecutive month, $180 for 1 year), $75 for a double-sized ad (add $25 for each additional consecutive month, $300 for 1 year), or $150 for a 1/2 page ad for 3 months ($50 each additional consecutive month, $600 per year). 2

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4 Christmas Facts and Figures Christmas became a national holiday in America on June 26, In 1907, Oklahoma became the last US state to declare Christmas a legal holiday. In 1647, the English parliament passed a law that made Christmas illegal. Festivities were banned by Puritan leader, Oliver Cromwell, who considered feasting and revelry, on what was supposed to be a holy day, to be immoral. The ban was lifted only when the Puritans lost power in "Wassail" comes from the Old Norse "ves heill"--to be of good health. This evolved into the tradition of visiting neighbors on Christmas Eve and drinking to their health. Evergreens are symbolic of enduring and renewed life, which is why we decorate our homes with them at Christmas time. The fetching in of green branches is a magical rite to ensure the return of vegetation at winter s end. Our modern day Christmas tree is the centerpiece of this belief. By tradition, Christmas decorations should not be erected prior to Christmas Eve, lest this visible proof of anticipation of a festival anger capricious forces. Evergreens especially (ant that includes your tree) should not be brought into the house before this time. Comfort should therefore be drawn from the knowledge that greedy merchants who put of their Christmas finery in early November daily court the malicious attentions of evil spirits. America's official national Christmas tree is located in King's Canyon National Park in California. The tree, a giant sequoia called the "General Grant Tree," is over 300 feet (90 meters) high. It was made the official Christmas tree in An artificial spider and web are often included in the decorations on Ukrainian Christmas trees. A spider web found on Christmas morning is believed to bring good luck. Tinsel became a popular Christmas tree adornment after a mythical spider created sprawling webs from branch to branch. It is believe the Christ Child changed the webs to a silver color. In Austria & Germany during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the tops of evergreens were cut and hung upside down in a living room corner. They were decorated with apples, nuts and strips of red paper. In Mexico, the poinsettia plant is called 'Flower of the Holy Night'. The poinsettia plant was brought into the United States from Mexico by Joel Poinsett in the early 1800's. Australian priests suggest saying 'Happy Christmas' instead of Merry Christmas since 'merry' often referred to drinking alcohol. Based on a 1999 estimated population count of North America and Europe, on Christmas Eve of that year Santa Claus had to visit 42,466,666 homes in a 12-hour period - that's 983 homes per second. Santa has a calculated 31 hours to deliver gifts thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west. We give gifts because the three wise men brought baby Jesus three presents - gold, frankincense and myrrh. Frankincense is a sweet smelling gum resin derived from certain Boswellia trees which, at the time of Christ, grew in Arabia, India, and Ethiopia. Tradition says that it was presented to the Christ Child by Balthasar, the black king from Ethiopia or Saba. The frankincense trade was at its height during the days of the Roman Empire. At that time this resin was considered as valuable as gems or precious metals. The Romans burned frankincense on their altars and at cremations. Myrrh is an aromatic gum resin which oozes from gashes cut in the bark of a small desert tree known as Commifera Myrrha or the dindin tree. The myrrh hardens into tear-dropped shaped chunks and is then powdered or made into ointments or perfumes. This tree is about 5-15 feet tall and 1 foot in diameter. Legend says Caspar brought the gift of myrrh from Europe or Tarsus and placed it before the Christ Child. Myrrh was an extremely valuable commodity during biblical times and was imported from India and Arabia. Christmas presents were known in antiquity among kings and chieftains, especially on the European continent. However, they have been common among ordinary people in Iceland only during the past 100 or so years. The tradition of hanging stockings over the fireplace derived from Dutch children placing their shoes next to the fireplace on Christmas Eve. Stockings later replaced the shoes. Santa Claus has many different names around the world including Father Christmas in the UK, Pere Noel in France, Kriss Kringle in Germany, La Befana in Italy, Julinesse in Denmark, Dedushka Moroz (meaning Grandfather Frost) in Russia and the Three Kings in Spain and Mexico. The typical image we have of Santa Claus dressed in red clothes with white fur trim, is an amalgamation of cultural input over many years. Some people claim the image of Santa we know today is from Coca-cola advertising, but this simply isn't true. The standard Santa garb was well established by the 1920s and it wasn't until the 1930s that Coca-cola first used the Santa Claus design in their advertising. 4

5 Father Christmas was apparently born in Turkey in the fourth century, but no-one is sure when he moved to the North Pole. Father Christmas has two addresses, Edinburgh and the North Pole. Letters addressed to 'TOYLAND' or 'SNOWLAND' go to Edinburgh, but letters addressed to 'THE NORTH POLE' have to be sent there because there really is such a place! Kris Kringel, a man in his 40s, lives in North Pole, Alaska, and delivers pizzas for a living. He drives a 1984 Ford Tempo. Hallmark introduced its first Christmas cards in 1915, five years after the founding of the company. The first Christmas stamp was released in Canada in In 1937, the first postage stamp to commemorate Christmas was issued in Austria. In Germany, Twelfth Night is known as 'Three Kings Day'. It is not until Twelfth Night (the Feast of the Epiphany) that the figures of the Three Kings are supposed to be added to the Christmas crib. Candy canes began as straight white sticks of sugar candy used to decorated the Christmas trees. A choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral decided have the ends bent to depict a shepherd's crook and he would pass them out to the children to keep them quiet during the services. It wasn't until about the 20th century that candy canes acquired their red stripes. The red stripe in the candy cane was intended by the inventor as the blood of Christ. During the Christmas/Hanukkah season, more than 1.76 billion candy canes will be made. Christmas crackers were invented by Thomas Smith. He had imported some French novelties to sell as Christmas gifts, but these were not popular until he wrapped them up and added a snapper. We kiss under the mistletoe because in Scandinavian legends it was the symbol of love. Mistletoe myth states should a woman appearing under the mistletoe not receive a kiss, she will not marry the following year. More diamonds are purchased at Christmas-time (31 percent) than during any other holiday or occasion during the year. Oklahoma was the last state to proclaim Christmas day as a legal holiday in in 3 men will wait until Christmas Eve to finish their shopping. 1 in 6 men would like to get rid of all the "gift-giving nonsense." A Christmas club, a savings account in which a person deposits a fixed amount of money regularly to be used at Christmas for shopping, came about around According to a 1995 survey, 7 out of 10 British dogs get Christmas gifts from their doting owners. On Christmas Eve in 2001, the Bethlehem Hotel had 208 of its 210 rooms free. The abbreviation of Xmas for Christmas is not irreligious. The first letter of the word Christ in Greek is CHI, which is identical to our X. Xmas was originally an ecclesiastical abbreviation that was used in tables and charts. Christmas Truce of 1914 During World War I, in the winter of 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders, one of the most unusual events in all of human history took place. The Germans had been in a fierce battle with the British and French. Both siders were dug in, safe in muddy, man -made trenches six to eight feet deep that seems to stretch forever. Suddenly, German troops began to put up small Christmas trees, lit with candles, outside their trenches. Then they began to sing songs. Across the way, in the no man s land between them, came songs from the British and French troops. Incredibly, many of the Germans were able to speak good enough English to propose a Christmas truce. By Christmas morning, the no man s land between the trenches was filled with fraternizing soldiers, sharing rations and gifts, singing, and (more solemnly) burying their dead between the lines. Soon they were even playing soccer, mostly with improvised balls. It didn t last forever. The spontaneous truce was largely over by New Year s Day. But for a few precious moments there was peace on earth and good will toward men. All because the focus was on Christmas. May you all, whatever your religious beliefs, enjoy the spirit of the holiday season! Monthly Meetings No December General Meeting Come to the Wine Tasting Party! Board Meeting Tuesday, December 20, 2011, 7:00 PM Olivenhain Meeting Hall 5

City Council and Commission Schedules Council/Commission Regular Schedule Encinitas City Council 2 nd, 3 rd, and 4 th Wednesday at 6:00 PM, Council Chambers Planning Commission 1st and 3rd Thursdays

Commission 3rd Friday at 1:00 PM, Council Chambers Commission for the Arts 1st Monday at 5:30 PM, Council Chambers Youth Commission 1st Wednesday at 4:30 PM, Council Chambers City of Encinitas

6 City Council and Commission Schedules Council/Commission Regular Schedule Encinitas City Council 2 nd, 3 rd, and 4 th Wednesday at 6:00 PM, Council Chambers Planning Commission 1st and 3rd Thursdays at 6:00 PM, Council Chambers Traffic Commission 2nd Monday, 4th Monday optional at 5:30 PM, Council Chambers Parks and Recreation Commission 3rd Tuesday at 5:00 PM, Council Chambers Senior Citizen Commission 3rd Friday at 1:00 PM, Council Chambers Commission for the Arts 1st Monday at 5:30 PM, Council Chambers Youth Commission 1st Wednesday at 4:30 PM, Council Chambers City of Encinitas Contact Information Jim Bond, Mayor jbond@ci.encinitas.ca.us Jerome Stocks, Deputy Mayor jstocks@ci.encinitas.ca.us Teresa Barth, Council Member tbarth@ci.encinitas.ca.us Kristin Gaspar, Council Member kgaspar@ci.encinitas.ca.us Phil Cotton, City Manager citymanager@ci.encinitas.ca.us Doug Goad, Parks and Recreation Commissioner thegoads@aol.com Tony Brandenburg, Planning Commissioner president@olivenhain.org Peter Kohl, Olivenhain Traffic Commissioner peter_kohl@sbcglobal.com 6

From the President Tony Brandenburg

Newsletter of the Olivenhain Town Council May, 2011 From the President Tony Brandenburg Because of scheduling conflicts and a variety of other factors please take note there will be no general meeting