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Show iSwas more treasured than any modern doll that can say "Mama", go to sleep and perhaps require a diaper. Children who received a slate pencil or a shell-box, a little affair dinner costing- 25 cents. Gifts, if any, generally were in the form of utilitarian mittens, mufflers or home-made boots. For the women there might be a piece of intricate handiwork to which M " r " A :"A' ' ' r jr r Sr, ;,,r, r 4 s ' t , , ) : I "S - '4 V - A 1 J - r ' ' A ,'x MjVLAi WAITS J.'OK C'lllilfsTlVIAS . . . Jle knows that Santa is not going to fail linn, and that before long the genial saint will drop down the chimney anil leave presents for all good boys, girls anil dogs. U ' A:" I ;h . ;C1 -f . h , C ? 1 ; ..ss. : - 4? 2; ' 1 r : - , v - a? rf - rir Christmas With Pioneers Had Religious Meaning JUST IN TIME . . . Youngsters all over America will sleep with one eye open on Christmas Eve if they are lucky they might see Santa's feet as he hurries on his way. These youngsters arrived in time to hear, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight." Christmas on the frontier, as new bands of pioneers pushed ever westward to carve an empire out of virgin plains and wildernesses, was in marked contrast to the present holiday. There was more meaning then in the words of The Book concerning concern-ing shepherds in a certain country watching their flocks by night. The solitudes, the closeness of the stars, the virginity of the new world and its humble people made one feel that time had stood still. Christmas in those days somehow seemed much closer to that first Christmas. Those bleak plains could be the ones the Wise Men crossed, this the Night and yon sleeping village, Bethlehem. The faith of the trail breakers was that of the Wise Men. On Christmas Eve the pioneer folks would gather in a crude little church or schoolhouse where children recited their pieces and sang songs about the birth of the Christ Child. Santa would hand out mosquito-bar sacks of candy, a golden orange or an apple to each one, and childhood rapture would make that meager offering truly a gift of gold and frankincense. frankin-cense. Home-made sleds and sleighs skimmed over the snowy countryside country-side with sleigh bells jingling accompaniment ac-companiment to the caroling of "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells." Except in the forest regions, few children enjoyed the sight of a Christmas tree. But always they hung up their stockings, an old custom of their forefathers.. It was a lucky boy who awoke Christmas morning to find a new jack-knife in his stocking; a lucky girl who received a string of beads or a calico doll from Santa Claus. But that doll, made from spare strips of bright cloth, probably covered with shells and containing a small mirror, were the special favorite of Santa. For goodies, no Christmas was complete without its pans of popcorn pop-corn and ropes of molasses taffy. In rare cases there might be a bag of candy. 1 5some enterprising friend had devoted de-voted her spare time for months. Throughout the holiday season a candle burned in the attic window, win-dow, guiding late-faring travelers to 'shelter the Star of Bethlehem on the frontier. But withall these hardy folks had In the isolated cabins it wasn't so easy to gather with one's neighbors to celebrate. There were wolves in the timber and being caught in a sudden storm, on the pioneer trails spelled death. Christmas in some places meant a bobsled ride or perhaps a square dance, often followed by a turkey $as much fun as their great-grandsons and daughters who again this year will celebrate by exchanging elaborate gifts, dancing to name bands, feasting with no worries that tomorrow there may be nothing noth-ing in the electric refrigerator. |