St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-25
CHRISTMAS IN INDIA.

has almost faded from some minds. If.
indeed. it ever had place there, and to
these the day has become purely secu-
lar; an institution for the perfunctory
interchange OF gifts, more or less ex-
pensive, aud a perfect nuisance for that
reason. " omen have nervous prustra-
ton after their "Chi iStmaS shOpping."
ana every year they put less heart into 1t.
W hat shall be- done about ii? A revul-
Sion Is sure 10 cutitt'. and in time the eX-
changing of Christmas presents may be
forbidden by law! We never do things
III moderation. How we ran TO gorgeous
gift cards at one time. The ca us when
they first came in were small and taste
jul, We appropriate as reminders.
They gradually grew as big as
house and tawdry, made OF plush
painted and iriuged and furDel-
owed; placed in boxes as being
Too choice To stand the wear and (. ar Of
common everyday handling. Ihese
Seil>eiess Things grew at last 10 be pests;
there were birthday cards, ThahKsgiv-
Ing cards, Fourth of July cardS-untii
hnally The card mania was one of The
bores OF the period. II has died out now
for want of support, and The tringed
ana plush varieties are quite out OF ST.
clety. Good TASTE has prevailed, and we
are hO longer vulgar III respect of Tip
ptry things which meant nothing, and
Uttered up ones tables and shelves.
Soft has been, in sense,with Christ
mas presents; and the reaction mas Set
IN in some quarters, although there are
wild-eyed, frantic shoppers at their
wits ends to Know what TO get" for
some unIntertsling person, in whom
they take not tile fainLest pleasure, and
who they know will not care one rap
for tie present. Eight people left 10
give TO-" signs WORKOUT creature,
looking reauy to drop down and
ale from fatigue, land not the
Iaintest idea what to get" Buying
for people OF whose tastes or needs she
has 10 idea; spending time and labor
anu money III Il mistaken notion of
duty! The miserable eight, too, for
whom she is struggling, ara in equally
painful dIlemnlas regarding her aud the
o,her seven, and ten tu one they juotie
one another at the SAME cOunltr. and
exchange condolences on their eDfee-
bled cOnditi II. low worse than foolish
IL all is! here is nothing SWeeIer or
more charming than giving to those
one loves: working tor them, trying 10
please them, making sacrifices for them:
and there Is certainly nothing mure
ridiculous than an interchange, pure
spontaneous, iiOr heartfelt, and not even
bestowed cheeriully. TO make Christ
mas buslnessike and mechanical is To
roo il of all its soul and of every trace
of its significance. The angels
above singing peace OIL earth, and
we below juStllng and Surging
and scrambling about like maniacs TO
show our good will toward men. What
IA farce 1t is! But there is another side
to the picture, which is as delightful as
the first Is unpleasllg, and strange 10
say, both faces are often combined i'll
one person. | he very Same Women who
work YEARLY and grudgingly for their
rich relations at Christmas give freely
and gladly 10 the poor not only of their
substance. but of their time and labor.
That is the true spirit which the season
should inStlil. amt the event which
Christmas commentaries i'll itself
teaches the lesson, If we do not blind
ourselves to it by Overmuch display.
confess to great habit of contrast
ing things and people and countries,
and find myself constantly thinking
of lands where there is no Christmas, as
we deem such; where the flowers arr in
bloom and tile trees in tull leaf; where
fire in the CRATE is an absurdity and
where SHOW and lee are unknown.
Christmas III the tropics is about as
lonesome festival as can we'll be i'm
0gIned. and the efforts of aliens
at call up yuletide spirits
are really piaintive. The pre-
tense is tiful. In lndia-that is to
say. in the plains-it is cold enough at
/ Christmas to cause the natives to Shrivel.
hut not cold enough to brace up The
Europeans except, perhaps, to the ex
tent of making them walk little and
ride longer. As Phil Robinson says"
''Our Christmas eve in India is a strange
affair. Instead of church bells we have
jackals, and instead of holly berries
the moon convo!vulus." Now, The
moon cOnyOlyulus, white ana Sail
cer-llke as it iS-it is sup
Io>rd to represent the pale face of
maiden uplurned to receive her truant
lovers kiss WHEN he comes back-is not
an emblem of jol.ity by any means; it
is gnO>t-like and weird. Nothing, in
fact, suggests mirth at Christmas time
IN India Nov that the crisp morning
air lends vigor to English. limbs our
Aryan brother creepS about his daily
avucations with the deSicated appear
ance of a frozen frog or sits in dornouse
torpidity, with his knees about his
ears" The Englshman has his revenge
now-for in the hot weather tile adj
vantage was on tile side OF the indi-
gpnOus Hindoo-and he laughs To see
the Aryan, much bundled as to his
head and very cold anu shivery as 10 his
lower extrenities, 50 silent and misera-
lily by. ION December morning the
pompous chuprassi has no more self
respect than sparrow or bill-sheep
(Which leads the whole flock aside at
meeting IA small pony on the narrow
path. and child may play with
constable as men handle ALTERNATING
cobra"
We may make strange boasts nova
days III this fitful climate of ours, and