The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1885-12-24
Christmas.

time, tomorrow morning Christmas
dawns upon the civilized world jew
eled with gladness and hope.
Eat, drink and be merry would
seem to be an appropriate motto for
the festival homes of the holiday
season. IL is a gala time with the
children, who are on the tiptoe OF
happy expectation, for Santa Claus
never forgets his little people, but
always brings them some good thing,
a happy custom. All that is best
and sweetest in mans nature re,
spends to the unquestioning faith of
childhood, and he would be indeed a
morose and sullen subject, whose
best instincts did not respond to the
felicitous faith of the child. AS Vol
taire said of Christianity, if there
were none humanity would have to
invent one.
Thus it may be said OF Christmas;
for the sake of keeping the sweetest
traits of childhood Christmas would
have to be invented to bring out all
that is lovable, fascinating in the
God given solace of maturity. In the
child's enjoyment, faith, and delight
of Santa Claus and his fairy processes
the saddest of men live over again
the sweetest moments that are given
to mortals-the full-grown rose closes
and becomes a bud again, and dry,
empty, cold and purposeless is the
heart and brain that is not capable of
taking part in the childish joy, glory
ing in the childish glory that make
Santa Claus as real as the most
adored household tradition. Natures
chemistry, which is potent in trans
forming the material things of life,
is never so powerful as when it brings
human nature in rapture before that
altar whose devotions are in child
like faith.
Christmas comes to us radiant with
love. 1t is full of the presence of
Joy. It holds out to mankind the
most blessed of hopes. 1t is rock
for the feet of the weary pilgrim,
whereon he may stand, and in the
memories of the day, behold the
benefcence which promises the uni
versal brotherhood of man. The star
that shone from Bethlehem is becom-
ing the beacon light of all the world;
farther and farther its rays are dis
pelling the darkness, and from the
orient to the occident, from the artic
to the antartio circle, the day is COM
ing when the heavens will be illumi-
mated with the intelligence, the kind
ness and love which breathe through
the words-sPeace on Earth Good
viii to Men,"
AS we close this article we deeply
realize that with the birth of to-
morrow morning, in many of the
homes of our readers there viii be
unalloyed joy and gladness, and
family circles will gather around the
cheerful board unbroken, none of the
loved ones absent, from the venera-
BILE father down to the youngestlove-
blossom of the family. With these
viii be the merry laugh, the delight
some memories, the cheerful congrat-
ulations, and love-speaking presents.
In the midst of these cheerful happy
scenes, the Bossier Banner makes its
appearance and begs leave to rejoice
with those who rejoice.
In other households there will be
that even the precious greet
ing of tomorrow morning cannot re-
move. Mingling with the remem-
brance of many joys and blessings
will be the sad memories of absent
ones. Around the Christmas table
will be seen seats once occupied !;
there is q broken link in the silver
chain at the hearths. Some of these
absent ones may have been nipped
n the early budding Of Life; some
AVE gone down to the grave in rich
nd venerable old age. They are
rome, and their absence viii be Pc
=