Show Merry Christmas Christmas day That means a great deal to a great many people To the orthodox Christian it means the anniversary anniver-sary of the Son of GOD the Savior of mankind man-kind To other Christians not of the orthodox schools it signifies the birthday of the greatest man who ever breathed the breath of life True there has arisen in later times a grave doubt as to the date when JESUS of Nazareth was born and a strong suspicion I not belief that it was in April instead of December But as by common consent this day has been held sacred so long it matters not much so that it is properly celebrated Mass is a solemn ceremony of the Roman Catholic church Christs mass is what it name designates and Christmas is but a corruption or abbreviation of the term It is a relic of Romish ecclesiasticism ecclesiast-icism no matter by what sect it may have been adopted Christmas nowadays means a time of feasting and merriment rather than of sokunnity and religious observances All civilized nations celebrate it In the Uni ted States it has come to be as widely honored hon-ored as in England though New Years used to be the great American holiday To the little folks Christmas means the realization of many eager anticipations Then SANTA GLAUS rapidly becoming materialized as Paterfamilias in the light of increasing juvenile information brings them the good things which they have desired de-sired and perhaps whispered up the chimney chim-ney or murmured in their prayers To older people it means the expression of good will in various forms In the giving and receiving of visible manifest tions of esteem and friendship And it brings relief from the anxious days that precede it when slender purses are overtaxed over-taxed and the mind is strained in efforts to decide what to choose among the stores of tempting things spread out to view To hosts of parted friends it means reunion re-union the burying of past feuds the forming of new alliances the inbreathing of the Christian spirit peace on earth good will to all men This is the days great significance It should mean the recall of the wanderer the restoration of the repenting prodigal the knitting together to-gether of sundered family ties Why should not Christmas be a season of fun and jollity and feasting and amusement amuse-ment to nI I there anything in the legendary song of the angels or in the life of the great Nazarene that forbids mirth and merriment Tidings of great joy were in the great message The son of man came eating aud drinking and graced marriage festivities with his genial presence I Christmas should be a time of gladness J for the poor He whose coming into the I I I world we c celebrate left them as a legacy to his disciples The poor ye have always al-ways with o At this festive seaason I in a place where there is an abundance of good cheer no living being ought t suffer suf-fer lack h I The holy and the mistletoe are Christmas I Christ-mas regalia in the old world and they are coming into vogue in the new There is more significance in the mistletoe bough than is generally understood Old Norse mythology made it a plant of evil The firegod Loki enraged Baldur the summer sum-mer god by aid of Hodr the god of darkness i dark-ness learned how t assail him He had been made exempt from ill from the four elements but the insignificant mistletoe had been overlooked in the arrangement and an arrow made of its stem was hurled I at Baldur and pierced him to death The other gods combined restored him to life and placed the mistletoe in his mothers Freyjas power She hung ithigh on the trees out of touch of earth and the reach of Loki assembling under it and giving the kiss of amity and good will with promise of no future harm Kissing under the mistletoe then should be governed by the spirit of peaco and fraternity and express all that i originally orig-inally implied For whether in Christendom Chris-tendom or in heathendom the day we celebrate cel-ebrate means love forgiveness and unity un-ity peace on earth good will to menTHE men-THE HERALD wishes all people and especially es-pecially its supporters health joy and plenty on this good Christmas day and hopes that the time is not yet for distant when the angelic anthem shall be sung in concert by all nations ana tongues united happy and free filling the firma nent with harmony and the whole world with everlasting joy |