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Show Missionary Thanks Seminary Semi-nary for Christmas Present Before Christmas the Seminary students each made a small contribution contri-bution to send as a Christmas present pres-ent to the rtwelve missionaries who are gone from the Alpine Stake. The missionaries were . invited to use this money for their Christmas dinners and .to use the ..small balance bal-ance to keep up their .correspondence. .correspon-dence. This letter from Brother Will Ashby was the .first to be received from the missionaries ;in foreign countries. Valence, prance . .December 27, 1937. Dear Comrades' A thousand thanks to each ctf you for your Christmas present, "you would be interested , to know that: it was spent in buying presents and such for Pere Noel ;(Santa Glaus) to give at our Mutual Christmas program, but that is beside the point and too long a story anyway. That way, I felt, it would really .do some missionary work. I hope you approve. ap-prove. I feel sure you would if you had seen the effect those presents had Let me congratulate you folks on your wide-awake attitude and your insight into the working of a missionary's mis-sionary's mind. Notes like yours showing your interest do a great deal toward helping a missionary to do his very best for the advancement advance-ment of the work. Apart from that they make Mormons and Utah seems a bit closer and reveal the real Christian spirit there. You may be interested in the meager discription that I can give of Christmas a la francaise (in France). Christmas day is much like in America. lit is rather the eve that is celebrated. It commences com-mences with a family dinner. After which a show for the adults or placing the wooden shoes, (they don't use stockings here), is the general thing. After the show the older people go to mid-night mass. It seems that this is one night when the Protestants as well as the Catholics attend the Catholic church in a body. Usually there are forty or so in attendance but Christmas Eve more than thirty times that many are seated in those queer old Gothic churches. The isles are packed and there are people peo-ple standing on the steps and even in the street outside in hope. It is a real feast for the sight. The cures flowing white silk robe is decorated dec-orated with a large green cross in front and in back. He wears a string of beads and a golden cross around his neck, on his feet he wears sandals, and his hair is cut short with the customary rings shaved around the crown of his head. The deacons, too, are in bright silk costumes, usually a bright orange-red, with skull cap to match. They carry, from time to time, some of the 1,000 one yard long, candles that are burned as part of the rite and to illuminate the statues of the "Virgin Mary" the cross, and other sainted objects and persons done in gold. The ritual itself is weird. The cure signs in Latin in a monotone with his back to the audience. Other times he faces the audience mechanically crosses himself and touches, lightly the ends of his fingers together, as in the old position posi-tion of prayer. Then, draws them apart tUl they are even with his shoulders. This he slowly and reverently rev-erently repeats. Very noticeable is the fact that each time he walks directly in front of the cross or the statue of "Mary," he kneels on one knee. Also striking is the fact that he alone eats the bread and drinks the wine of the sacrament. It's queer, bien queer. You'll have to see it to appreciate it. There is a story, current around here that several pastors got together to-gether for a conference and to show their spirit of friendliness, they et-ch poured their quart of sacramental sac-ramental wine in the same container contain-er to mix. When they each drank their quart of the mixture in their usual ceremony fit was noticed that some chemical reaction had taken place) they became too drunk to stand. Another storx has it that the town drunkard got himself elected to the curate so he could have free wine. Pardon, however, my departure from the Christmas customs here. After about one hour and a half of church service, they all dash for the big cafes. There they dance and disipate, drink, smoke, etc. till day light. The Christmas Eve dance is a carnival and is a wild commemoration commemo-ration of Christ to say the least. Before clo.-.ing let rne add one idea which may help one of you, who, like rne after so many years of reading nothing but books published pub-lished by the church, doubts if the church tells exactl the truth. I, too, once wondered If the church inis;ht stretch a point, or choose only favorable incidents to illustrate illus-trate the problems at hand. To hlrn I give this as rny tistlmony that since I've be-n avay I've found the L. ). H, writers have erred In the other direction. 'Iliey have not put things strong enough. They have riot praised L. I). H. and I,. I). H. rl'i':trin-s high enough. Needless to r.ay the more I S'-e arid study others n-llglons, the more firmly I know thai, the C. J. C. h. I). '. I.", the only rea.l Church of Christ. Miiv you continue to progress In the worthiness of Clod's blessings. fllnccrely, William Ashby. An revolr and thanks ngaln. Mildred Anderson, Class Reporter, |