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Show HI H The Hallowed Anniversary. H Aside from the sanctity of Christmas day, it H is in a merely worldly sense the most delightful H of holidays. The one day when men put aside H their differences and resentments and meet on H common ground; the one day when in the uiil-dren's uiil-dren's domain earth is made to be a little heaven. Christmas bells are most sweet as they ring out on tho air, Christmas carols are most sweet"as trained voices sing them; organ and choir have a pomp on Christmas day which it is a splendor to hear, but none of them compare with the babble of children's voices as they count their treasures and try in vain to estimate their wealth on Christ-mas Christ-mas morning. The memory of the day has in after life kept many a man in the path of rectitude when half inclined to go astray. The vision of the day, all its delicious mem-H mem-H ories ,tho old home, the mother's smile, the words EH of affection, the sacred belief in Santa Claus ex-EH ex-EH panded into a belief In the goodness of God, all H make an imprespion which the buffeting of the H years cannot wear away. H The answer of the child when asked what her H Idea of heaven was, and she replied: "It Is a Place where every day is Christmas day," was filled with a wisdom beyond her years. A place of H everlasting peace and good will, a place where the hearts of men are forever filled with thankfulness H for mercies vouchsafed, that would be pretty nearly heaven. ', H So all men should hail tho day, for the glad-; glad-; H ness that it brings to the Christian World, for the j Promises it holds in its scope, for the joy that it H gives to childhood, for the joy reflected from H child to parent. Indeed tho star which came and stood above ; H tIle manger was a symbol of the joy that would come and hover over every cradle on Christmas H day. ,H It was a sign that violence was to cease, that H the old stern code which met violence with ven-!; ven-!; H geauce, was to be relaxed, that the hearts of men ; H were to be softened, that there was to be a new ,; H sense of responsibility upon men to be just and to S H temper justice with mercy. H Its first coming was an epoch, Its every return H (lraWB men nearer to each other and helps pre pare the wo,n to hear again: Glory to God in the highest, and to men peace and good will. |