The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-12-25

CHRISTMAS.


ale of the rich, and it was this riotous
character that made the old Christmas
find small favor In the eyes of the New
England Puritans. while it tourished
among the more convivisl. or at least less
austere, colonists of New York and the
South. The sober Puritan believed in de-
vout days Of thanksgiving and fast, but
the old turbulent English Christmas. such
as Walter Scott describes in The Monas-
terry" never found favor with the Puri-
tans until it lost largely ITS animal coinci-
dents of noisy sport and coarse cornwall
ity; until from q day devoted to heavy
feeding and deep drinking il had put on
its modern dress Of charity and spiritual
commemoration of Christ Since this
great change in the character of Christmas
it has been made a. much religious and
secular holiday in New England a. il al
ways vas among the more mercurial peo-
pie Of New York and the old South.
Christmas has gradually become the
"ChiIdren's Hour" The moral and spirit
ual refinement OF people may be gagged
by the gentieness. justice and humanity
pains it takes to make the children happy,
and our own time bears well this test in
the increasing effort TO make Christ a
sweet memory 70 the innocent, imagina-
tive children, who watch and yearn for
the coming of the Messiah in the shape of
Santa Claus. And why not2 There il
beautiful poetic justice in making Christ
ha o{ ~
sweetest words of the Founder OF Chris
tianity. words that most of all make Him
near and dear TO the human heart, were
spoken of little children. Their lovely
innocence is painted in the words "0f
such is the Kingdom of Heaven" and the
compassion that child's pathetic helpless
ness always excites in a kindly bosom,
blooms like sweet and charming dower
In the utterance, "Suffer little children to
come unto me and forbid them not" The
moral and spiritual harmony of Christ's
nature has been described as the blending
of all that is noble, brave and genial in
man, with all that is lovely, tender and
compassionate in woman, and it was the
feminine side of Him that always went
".
divine charity, divine compassion, divine
fortitude stand for the divinity of "the
perfect woman nobly planned to warm and
comfort and command" Infinite mercy,
sympathy, boundless compassion and
charity for women and children have the
largest place IN the religion of humanity
preached by Him. With all our distance
from His day, how far off. how drearily
distant are the best of earth from the ten
derness Of soul which prompted that pure
majestic spirit to bless and comfort the
weeping Magdalen, to forgive enemies, to
comfort the afflicted and uplift the fallen:
to be always true and tender to the chill
dren. So Christmas in our divine rite of
commemoration has naturally become the
Children's Hour, because the great. oceanic
sensibility of Christ went out spontan-
eously TO little children, as material sym
bols of that innocence of heart that is the
ultimate aspiration of those who conscien-
tiously try to follow Christ.
Christmas is better than Thanksgiving
because of its sweet ceremonies ana the
poetic beauty and religious lift of it.
ancient legend that, transcending al
theologic and clashing creeds, ali the
cerements and excrements of medieval &C.
clesissticism, is a story old, yet ever new,
# the humanity of Christ, the sense and
thought of which il the immortal life of
our faith. Before this thought the mass
of men care nothing about the fate Of that
obsolete theology. which is but forlorn
attempt 10 olothe Christ in the
black robe and cowl OF medieval
metaphysicisn turned monk. We know
neither the day nor the year when
Jesus Christ was born. but il is no re-
ligious, spiritual consequence whether to-
day is historically the day of Christ's
birth; IL is Of small consequence in the
light of Christ's life and thought whether
he wrought miracles or not. for If the
working of miracles were his chief claim
to divinity. then Moses would be as
radiant figure as the Redeemer. But the
vast overpowering miracle of all He
wrought was the miracle Of His own life.
the victory of self-control, self-sacri.
fee, of un5roken, unintermitting deeds
OF mercy. Of tender compassion for the
fallen, Of serene and lofty dignity in death
Even the untutored mind grows rever.
entlal At the recital OF this exceptional
life OF consistent mercy and peace to
ali. and of this death exceptional
In its high herolsm and self-sacrifice. And
this IL is that is the central ire OF Chris
tianity that warns the world: the miracle
Of q life that loses nothing Of its humane
potency by battles about dates and
petty wrangiins over texts; that great
benignant figure of Christ talking moral.
ity so noble that the best OF Us fnd il
bitter work even today to practice it
living life that from its beginning 10 II.
end Was grace, mercy and peace; this is
The immortal influence that above naedi-
eva dogmas and hostile theoloSians Gains
the tempestuous heart of man and touches
II TO its finest issues.
Christianity and true religion, as
We End il in the ideas and acts of
Christ, is the spirit Of devotion and rever-
euce, the spirit of absolute humanity AMI
self-sacrldce. the spirit Of stfectionate ten
derness and charity for woman and loving
consideration for children: the spirit of
unexaggersted statement, the truth and
nothing but the truth, heightened BY no
strong colors, helped by 10 tswdry rhet-
oric. In his walk and talk Chris. always
acted as II he came 70 call not simply the
fools and the feeble, but the wise and