Mississippi Democrat., 1876-01-05

AMONG TnE CHILDREN.

y -
adding JOY 60 the measure OF life.
What pen can portray viyidly the
Wild JOY of the crescent mind, it,
keen expectation aud fond hope Of
rcmcmbrancc what description con
vcy an adequate idea Of that cxult-
ant anticipation the coming Of Santa
7 Clause cngcndcrs in The arlcut.
I guilclcSs fancy ct the child. What
az intoxicating, exquisite pleasure
must be the child's GA the eve uf that
coming. How provocative OF all
that j. sweet in the child's nature j.
the dciuslon that paints the Christ
mas Hing m habllrments OF fur.
drawn hy the feet reindeer team.
loaded with gifts Tor his iair subjects.
I How cruel It's 30 shattcr this fond
dvlu~ion, among the most cherished
and wurShippcd OF youth. We Of
older growth, scCrcd and hlightcd
With the worlds cruel dlsappuint.
meut, are inoculatcd with the cunta-
gion Of joy and pleasure cpidcmic
among children and, munglng with
them, lay aside all ~Cmhlancc ~ care
or dignity aud hc childagain. What
lnctlahl, pleasure one derives from
thls merging Of the sallow liic M the
fresh, piquaut and volatile nature Of
rosy youth. What heart does not
feel refreshed; what nature does not
feel tho quickcniug influences ~ the
hcart's delight; what flickering hope
doe, not brighten INTO a glow Of
promise; what life j. not ilumlncd
by the cheer the glad day hrings
forth; what religion not made pleas
urahlc anl light~omc. @. that there
were not more Of these bright. hap
~ days that the war OF conscience
with dcpravcd nature might hc
hu~hcd ctrrually Ia the tumult nf
JOY; that We might more fully aud
earnestly give the hcncdiction of
/ thanks for thc assurance uf immur
tallty which God has yuuch-aicd and
the day u,hcrcd in; that mans in-
humanity tp man might bc irrcvuc-
ably lost ln God, humanity and ten.
der care.
There j. grave doubt among chro-
biologists ~ 10 the exact date of the
birth Of Christ. 80 important an
event IN christian annals had not
been recorded by early Jewish chron-
iclcrs, probably from the fact Of Ills
low y origin. Was IL divine intcn-
ton that that illustrious birth should
hc shrouird in mystery and doubt
I la \. II. les, the Church Of Rome
instituted research into the matter
and fixed the date of birth of CHRIS
tianIty on the 25th III December.
which has been observed In chris.
tan countries w accordance with
that conclusion The ctNmolDgv ut
the word Christmas is Latin. mean
Wg au Observance or homage ron
dcryi iu honor oI tbs birth uI Christ.
7 With a. h has go r,iigluu, -ignIE-
cauuc or bearing, being merely u
/ holiday devoted to mirth. iol,ity and
pleasure. II i- traditional with H. to
~ct apart the DAY to chIldryu anl
Santa Claus, aud % the ruJuymrnt
uf dinner which derive, an un-
woutcd relish from the DAY. Ia the
I North and in Catholic cnuntric, il
has more Of "A religious significance
and !, vuld oi that hilarity incident
. 60 our celebration. Throughout an
I christian countries, however, II l.
generally celebrated ~ the day on
4 which Santa Claus makes his annual
visit to children.
The English are famous for the
festivities coming with the day.
4 Having a richer store Of lore and
tradition, the many quaint, curious
aud ancient customs observed On this
day appear very grotcsquc 20 the
4 lconoclasuc spirit OF America And
/ yet how much more prTii~cworthy y
this Keeping up of the holly-trcc
dance, the yulc song aud the mistlc-
toe games, then giving away TO ten
denotes which puts temperance 10 the
\ blush.
On the day preceding Christmas
there were four thousand persons
present and IL j. estimated that forty
thousand dollars changed hands.
The utmost order and dccorum were
observed, and be- IL said 10 the credit
OF our town that there were not one
dozen drunken men 20 be seen on
the streets. There was no bolster
Gus behavior, yelling, profanity or
demonstrations calling fsrth censure.
The colorcd people behaved most al.
mirably and were conspicuous for the
utmost good humor. in fact, good hu-
NOR prevailed among all classes and
every one seemed to be engrosed
with thoughts of the morrow. A
lively anticipation seemed to usurp
the place OF wonted sedateneSs. OF
course, fre-cTackers were ignited.
causing several teams to weigh an
chor, much 10 the amusement of all.
Twas pleasing to notice the absence
of care and trouble aud 10 observe
the smile Of pleasure that gives TO
the unaccustomed face a newer, more
becoming and brighter radiance. By