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Show "GOD BLESS US I'PE VERY ONE fj. k FRANCES & -Ml W MARSHALL jM$h& M A G A Z I N E CV l,, writer not long ago made the y -statement that yfyf- the real Christ- h ,W mas spirit was as de- J I JJL ceased as old Marley's" 1 S'w'x ghost dead as the pro- 4SQy.' verblal doornail or dead- AJpfiA er. "We are shekel-mad," '$fj he said in substance; "we modern men and women ; even our children have become too sophisticated v to believe In Us milk and water myths " A man who will deliberately and with malice aforethought sit down before be-fore his wheezy old typing machine and whack out mildewed sentiments of that kind, without a single qualify ing phrase attached, Is either a bora moron or a shameless glutton. Either he came into the world with light mental men-tal luggage or else he wrote that article ar-ticle the day after the Christmas feast three helpings of juicy, brown turkey nestling close to a sugary pyramid of cranberries, fragrant giblet gravy and biscuits southern style done to a golden turn; a feast in which a steaming, steam-ing, raisin-studded and spice-spiked plum pudding played a stellar role. This is a day of "movements." Suppose Sup-pose we start a brand new one. Suppose Sup-pose we go out aud run to earth every sour, dyspeptic, disillusioned, kill-joy old Scrooge in the land, tie ropes of popcorn, scarlet ribbons and tinsel securely se-curely around each scrawny old neck and hang them high as Hainan on the biggest, brightest Christmas tree that ever made happy the hearts of tiny boys and girls. (And serve them right.) And we'll let them screech, "Humbug! Humbug!" as loudly as they choose once they are safely strung up. This would be a sad world, Indeed, were it not for the other kind of folk. Thanks be to the gods that have kept alive the beautiful, child-like, generous spirit of them those wonderful ones, ever young, ever remembering, though their heads be as silver, who believe in Christmas ; who believe in Santa Claus, in little laughing children ; in friendship's vows renewed ; who believe be-lieve in making the eyes of the best Deiovea to smne niie the (Jhnstmas stars themselves. And here are three lusty cheers for the men and women who stand boldly forth and stoutly maintain that "Ole Chris'mus" has changed not one jot or tittle throughout the ages that it will never change as long as childhood lasts in the world, as long as family ties bind and friendship's faith remains. Bless their loving hearts ! May their Christmas wish come true, be they rich or poor, of high or low degree, and in whatever place they bless with their sweet presence. Christmas was surely meant to be a season of joy and laughter, as well as one in which we glorify the birth of Brought in Loads of Scarlet-Berried Holly and Mistletoe. the blessed Savior. Throughout the centuries a spirit of revelry has marked the tide of Yule. The observance of an annual season of merrymaking dates back even farther than the advent ad-vent of Christianity. It is said that long ere the birth of the Babe of Bethlehem the ancient pagans celebrated cele-brated a yearly feast near the winter solstice. Romans called this the Saturnalia. Satur-nalia. It was marked with much wine-drinking, wine-drinking, dancing and eating. In the - ancient countries of the North huge fires were kindled and as their leaping flames shot skyward human hu-man beings were sacrificed upon the allars to Thor and Oden. The Goths and Saxons called this the festival of Yule. The Teutons selected a huge tree which they raised amid much chanting and shouting, In honor of the god of the sun. Bright objects and lights were placed in its branches to represent repre-sent the light of day, the moon and stars. Anlmnls were fastened to the branches, historians say, that the pa gan gods might be propitiated In favor of their savage worshipers. So we know that the Christmas celebrations cele-brations were not In the beginning of religious significance. But with Christianity's Chris-tianity's dawn the many old customs that remained were given a religious symbolism. There are a number of our present-day customs that are picturesque pic-turesque and Interesting because of their great antiquity. When we tramp into the winter woods and bring home loads of scarlet-berried holly and mistletoe we are merely following In the footsteps of our pagan ancestors. When we wreathe our doorsills and windows with the beautiful, waxy white clusters of mistletoe, when we ornament the mantle man-tle above the bright fire with its dark-green dark-green clusters we are but unconsciously unconscious-ly repeating the pagan custom of old when the Druids, the ancient priests, performed their mystical rites upon their forest altars. The cutting and burning of the Yule log Is, today, as important as a feature of the Christmas celebrations of the manor homes of "Merrle England" as it was before the world knew the meaning of a true Christian observance observ-ance of the season. The cheery, heartening heart-ening salutation "Merry Christmas !" originated in England. This greeting has never been known to fail in bringing bring-ing a smile to even the most woe-be-gone countenance. And an English Christmas is, indeed, a wonderful thing to experience. Even the very tales of the Englishman's Yuletide make our hearts beat faster and our imaginations run riot. The time has not yet arrived when Dickens' Dick-ens' "Christmas Carol" with its descriptions descrip-tions of the Christmas market stalls with their long rows of hanging geese decorated with bunches of sage and onions, of tarts, puddings and sweet--meats will lose its delicious charm aud mouth-watering powers. . And who can write about Christmas without thinking of the humble, though none the less delectable dinner presld- yiw Carols Sung by Waits Who Went From House to House. ed over by proud Bob Cratchet and Tiny Tim seated at the board with his frail, small fingers clasping his spoon and repeating honest Bob's blessing as he gazed upon his adoring family "God bless us, every one !' Poor little Tim with his crutch across his knee! Some authorities state that the Christmas tree as we know it originated originat-ed in Scandinavia. Others claim that the Germans first made use of it. Certain Cer-tain it Is that we, in our own land, did not have our brightly decorated trees until after the German Immigrant arrived. ar-rived. Christmas carols are sung in many lands; in England, in France where they are called "noels," in Wales, Ireland Ire-land and Italy and in many other countries. In Italy, at the season of Advent, the Calabrian shepherds troop down from their hills and chant their unusual mountain songs in the cities. The word "carol" is derived from "contare," meaning to sing and "rola," an interjection of joy; therefore it is not a musical form peculiarly belonging belong-ing to Christmas, although It is usually usual-ly associated with this season. One of the most ancient, if not the very oldest carol of a religious riature Is the exquisite, ex-quisite, "Wliile Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night." It was written writ-ten by Nahum Tate, England's poet laureate in 1692. Quaint old English carols that are still sung are: "God Rest You, Merry Gentlemen," "Good King Wencesles" and "The Holly and Ivy." These were sung by the waits who went from house to house in the old days. A whole book could be made interesting by recounting the customs of the ancient an-cient carol singers of the different lands. In connection with the Christmas candle which has been used as a beautiful beau-tiful symbol In many countries from ancient days to the present it Is interesting inter-esting to know that even the gypsies, those wandering, mysterious vagabonds vaga-bonds of unknown origin and self-confessed paganism, have a legend about a burning candle that was set at a certain cer-tain season to light the way of a mother and child across the darkness of a desert land. This legend is to he frtund somewhere In an old book perhaps per-haps it was recounted by George Borrow Bor-row but the writer of these lines has been unable to locate it again. After all, it is the spirit of any observance ob-servance that truly counts. (, 1924, Western Newspaper Union.) |
