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Show 4 By JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN jV'CTt f OR nineteen centuries the palnt- Vynj 1 Ul er's brush, the graver's tool I fJ anI the sculptor's chisel have J L been busy with the representa-jTfM'yKi representa-jTfM'yKi tIonS of JesiTS ChrIst- But In rAir)yi aI1 the worI(I is tliere a likeness wTmOTS-vS of Him with any credible claim Kf to authenticity? To one who la not satisfied with the efforts of the artists and sculptors of all ages la recommended recom-mended the word picture which Is attributed to Publius Lentnlus, who Is said to have been a Roman centurion In Palestine during His lifetime. The centurion captain of one of the sixty com- ' panles into which the Roman legion was divided had his virtues as well as his vice He was as efficient and as "hard-boiled" as a modern sergeant ser-geant of the United States marines. His passion was service to Rome. And ln statement of fact to his superiors he was of necessity and by tradition tradi-tion and training as literally exact as lay within him to be. And here Is the statement of Publlng Lentnlus, the Roman centurion ln Palestine, as It has come down to us through the ages : There has appeared In this, our day, a man of grreat virtue, named Jesus Christ, who Is yet llvlngr amongst us. and with the Gentiles Is accepted as a prophet of truth, but His own disciples call Him the Son' of God. He ralseth the dead and cureth all manner of diseases; a man of stature Bomewhat tall and comely, with a very reverent countenance; such as the beholder may both love and fear; His hair Is of the color of a Albert, full ripe, and plain down to His ears, but from His ears downward somewhat curled, and more orient of color, waving about His shoulders. In the midst of His head goeth a seam or partition of hair, after the manner man-ner of the Nazarltes; His forehead very smooth and plain; His face, nose and mouth so framed as nothing: can be reprehended; His beard somewhat thick, agreeable to the hair of His head for color, not of any grreat length, but forked ln the middle; of an Innocent and mature look; His eyes gray, clear and quick. In reproving He is terrible; in admonishing courteous and fair spoken, pleasant In speech, amidst gravity. It cannot be remembered that any have seen Him laugh, but many have seen Him weep. In proportion of body, well shaped and straight; his hands and arms most beauteous to behold; In speaking very temperate, modest and wise; a man of singular -virtue, surpassing the children of men. UP TO the Thirteenth century the pictures of Jesus Christ and of the Nativity were formal, impersonal and conventional. But In 1223 was held what may be regarded as the first Christmas celebration, cele-bration, Inasmuch as it marked the linking of the church observance of the birth of Jesus with the popular midwinter festival that had come down from the Romans and the Barbarians of Britain and the Continent It was staged by St. Francis of Assisi, of beloved memory, in a grotto near Grecclo-ln the Abruzzl mountains of Italy. A pageant at midnight portrayed the Nativity straw-filled straw-filled manger, ox and ass; adoring shepherds and Wise Men and all. Thomas of Celano, wbo was among the worshipers, writes that they saw a smiling babe appear ln the arms of St. Francis as he bent over the manger. The report of this miracle spread over the land and a convent still extant was built to commemorate It Giotto painted paint-ed a picture of It In a human sort of way. And this celebration and this picture was the source from which sprang the countless masterpieces representing rep-resenting the Nativity and the Adoration by the great artists of all the world. The "Madonna and Child" Is a reproduction of the work of Luca dclla Robbia (Luca dl Slmone dl Marco della Robbia of Florence. 110O-S2). This famous Italian sculptor was the founder or a school which he and his family pr.pulari7.ed for a century or more. He worked with terra cotta figures" In white and with colored draperies. "NK grave at least Is sure of dernrntlons at vJ'd'i retinas time. That one Is the grave of Dr Clement C. Moore, the author of " Twas the NWht Before Christmas." His grave is In Trinity ' 1 cemetery, New York city. The photograph shows the Moore family plot, with Doctor Moore's grave at the left The children of the Sunday school of the Chapel of the Intercession decorate Ms grave every year and on Christmas Day sing carols and place fresh decorations. Doctor Moore's writing of the famou9 poem and its publication are a story In themselves. Doctor Moore (1779-1863) was born in New York, the son of Bishop Benjamin Moore, once rector of Old Trinity, the second Protestant Episcopal bishop of the diocese of New York and the third president of Columbia university. Dr. Clement O. Moore was graduated from Columbia and studied for the ' ministry, but was not ordained. In 1821 he became professor of Biblical learning In the General Theological Theo-logical seminary, New York. There he served until his death. He was a noted scholar and complied com-plied the first Hebrew-English lexicon published ln America. In 1822 he wrote the famous poem as a Christmas Christ-mas gift to his children. A visitor made a copy of it, with the result that the next Christmas It was published anonymously in the Troy (N. Y.) Sentinel. It went over the whale country ln nb time and then spread all over the world. Doctor Moore was vexed over Its publication, but finally admitted authorship. Now his scholarly lexicon Is forgotten. But his poem has made his name Immortal. TNCREDB3LY prosperous are the American peo- pie these days. Their wealth Is shown In many ways, but In no way more strikingly than by their expenditure for Christmas gifts. Experts estimate that their ante-Christmas shopping the country over will total between seven and eight billions of dollars this year. One reason why they are able to spend such a staggering sum Is that untold thousands have been saving for It all the year through what has come to be known as the "Christmas Bank." In Chicago, for example, a canvass of the larger banks of the city shows that they distributed approximately J25,000,000 In Christinas savings early this month. This was an Increase of five millions over 1924 and of ten millions over 1923. This, however, merely Indicates Indi-cates the growing popularity of the "Christmas Bank" plan. It gives no real Idea of the amount Involved. For the plan has been ln operation In practically every large Industrial establishment, without recourse to the banks. SO RICH are the American people nnd so fast and furious Is the Christmas spending that they do not even take the pains to see that their gift sent by mall are prqperly wrapped and addressed. Of course all are ntft careless about It, but Uncle Sam, postmaster, has a bad time during the holidays. holi-days. Extra clerks cost him a million dollars and no small part of this extra force is kept busy handling poorly wrapped and Improperly addressed ad-dressed packages. Many thousands ot Christmas gifts this year as every year will be sold by Uncle Sam Insteud of going Into the Christmas stockings for which the givers Intended them. The unaddressed department of the inquiry section of the post office in the large cities resembles a warehouse. ware-house. And at that Uncle Sam's experts have a positive genius for soiTlug mysteries nnd sending lost packages on their way. In about 300 cases out of 1,000 letters or cards Inside srve as the paving clue. Some gifts cannot be held long alligators from Florida, for example, fruit, mushrooms, mush-rooms, live chickens and turkeys. TlieKe are quickly sold nnd the sale price held In a fund which is ultimately turned Into the treasury. When all efforts have been exhausted the unidentified and unclaimed packages are sold nt nin tlon by nn auctioneer who bus lit'le Christinas sentiment he gels rid of about 100 lots an hour. f H KISTMA S Day has many Important aspect! from many Important viewpoints but don't let us overlook the turkey. DoesD't Picture No. 8 make your mouth water? It does, of course! otherwise you are not normal and should be put ln solitary confinement for about 4S hours beginning be-ginning Christmas Eve. Nature apparently created the turkey especially for the family feasts of Clu-lstmas and Thanksgiving. .i And here's an odd thing: It was America that gave the world the turkey, yet this delicious piece de resistance of the Christmas feast Is getting get-ting scarcer year by year. Not only is the production produc-tion of turkeys not keeping up with the Increase In population, but Is actually decreasing year by year. We are raising not more than something some-thing like 4,000,000 turkeys a year nowadays, which Is not enough to go around among a population of more than 100,000,000. Chicago, for example, probably paid $250,000 more this year than last for Its Thanksgiving turkeys. , A good guess is that the near future will see us raising wild turkeys on a large scale. The experiment has been tried In several places and gives evidence of proving successful. The domesticated domesti-cated turkey is a hard bird to raise. The wild turkey, on tho other hand, seems to be able to take care of himself and to multiply with room' and natural conditions. History shows that tho North American continent was Just alive with wild turkeys once upon a time. RTISTLETOE as a time-honored part of tho festivities of Christmas may be doomed so the rising generation should make hay wbllo the sun shines or words to that effect. Mistletoe Is supposed to have been a sacred plant, much affected by the Druids In their mystic ceremonies In old Gaul and Britain. For this reason It was under the frown of the church. As late us the Nineteenth century It was forbidden in English churches and still may be I Now It Is rapidly disappearing because of Christmas demands. And on top of this the United States Department of Agriculture has declared war on the mistletoe In the national forests and expresses the hope that within ten years It may be eradicated. Von see, the mistletoe Is a parusltic plant, which flourishes on the life sap of the tree on which It grows. So the Agricultural department has declared it a forest pest. However, the main supply comes from the South, where the national forests are Inconsiderable. And Oklahoma remains a final refuge for the mistletoe devotee for there It Is the state flower. "MIRISTMAS time again emphasizes the fact that all tho world except Young America-Is America-Is Increasingly reading the Bible. The printing presses are busy day and night and yet cannot supply the demand. More than .'!0,OO0,(KH) volumes vol-umes have been. printed and distributed this year. Evary day brings word of new editions, of new forir.s, of new translations. The.'e are something like 1,000 languages and dialects In the world. The whole Bible has been published In 1.7.1; the New Testament In 13S more; portions consisting of at least one book In 428 more. From Albanian. Arabic and Bulu to Yiddish, Znpotec and Zulu almost every tongue has Its Bible. Yesterday this American Bible society gave an order for .'l.ooo.ooo copies of six separate books of the Scriptures-Mark, Scriptures-Mark, Luke, John, Acts and I'roverbs each tiny book to be sold In America and South Anieriri, for one cent! Today a French publisher announces an edition of thirty voIuiiikh, with Hebrew and Greek texts opposite the French. Tomorrow tliere wlU nppmr a translatlin of some new tongue or dialect China, torn by civil strife, Increasingly demands the Bible. Russia la the only forbidden ground; the Soviet authorities will not permit It to cross the frontier. This increasing world-wide demand for the Bible emphasizes anew that Christianity Is still the driving driv-ing force of civilization; that tho central fact of Christianity Is Jesus Christ Ills life and person, and that the Holy Script ores are the fount and Inspiration of Christmas Pay. |