The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1896-06-26
Partial Parallels to Our Own Great Festi-
val-A Dangerous Tendency-Stimulus
Of Ideals.
Copyright, 1896. by the Author.l


Among the earliest landmarks of
civil growth in peoples, after they have
emerged from the status of first cousin
age to the apes, is the institution Of
some sort Of holiday. Even so called saw
age and barbarian tribes have had their
appointed times for the celebration Of q
legendary event or parsonage, when they
reveled in the elysium of Drunkenness
or paid less bibulous tribute to O mem
DRY or superstition. So the festival, as
one Of the many phases Of hero worship
or divinity worship (and tie two have al
ways tended to blend Ito one), must
be reckoned with as the uniform fact
which binds together the earliest dawn
and the full noontide of civilization.
1t is curious to note, however, that
these days Of jubilee have not been, ex-
cept in few cases, national or pa
triotic in strict sense. They have for
the most part had their origin in the
worship Of the gods, and been closely
identified with religious rite. This is
true of ancient and modern times alike,
Of the Egyptians and Babylonians,
whose civilization began at least 6, 600
years ago, and Of the modern Christian
nations. Even among the Greeks and
Romans, where the idea Of the state, as
the organized expression Of the civic
spirit, touched closely that Of the nine
teenth century, one can quote only
few exceptions. Yet there are some
which had q scintilla Of the Fourth Of
July sentiment, even where the reli-
gious ghost lurked in the background to
play second fiddle Among these may
be cited the feast Of the Passover, that
celebrated the final stroke Of release
which parted the Hebrews from Egyp-
tian bondage; the great national festi-
walls Of the Greeks, the Olympic, Pyth-
ian, Nemean and Isthmian, which had
great political and social significance,
and the Roman celebration of Romulus
and the founding of the city, known as
the Quirinalia.
Strange to say, there has been as great
poverty Of distinctively patriotic holt
days in modern as in ancient times. We
cannot dignity by this title the birth
days of kings, emperors and queens.
These represent but little, and nations
shed them as snakes shed their wornout
skins when death jerks the string and
the puppets are changed. IF England had
ordained national holiday perpetuating
the memory Of that meeting of the
barons at Runnymede which wrested
Magma Charta from King John, or
had honored in similar fashion the es-
Enlistment of William of Orange on
the throne; if Holland had celebrated
her independence won from the tyranny
Of Spain by an annual day Of rejoicing;
If the French republic had so named the
anniversary Of the fall Of the Bastille,
that lurid dawn of her emancipation
then we should have had partial par
allel to our own patrfoJlc FESTIVAL. Duo
it was not to be, for the reason perhaps
that none Of these or Of any other quot
able events so amply embodies the civic
embodiment of the spirit of liberty.
That spirit assumed form instinct
with the forces of life and growth yet
harnessed fast with all the restraints of
law and order. 1t was the veritable
birth Of great nation full grown, like
Minerva from the scull of Jove, burning
with the spirit of youth, yet panoplied
with the wisdom Of the ages.
There has been tendency OF latter
years to underrate the Fourth of July,
to satirize its so called buncombe and
self glorifcation, to think its sole value
is the fizzle and splutter of fireworks tc
amuse the children. This feeling has
grown dangerously since the civil war.
It has been tacitly assumed that the
great CONFUSION Of the early sixties was
almost second revolution, burying the
old one, as q landslide will sometime:
submerge ancient landmarks. There IL
more than one loud mouthed patriot to-
day in and out of the national bear gar
den at Washington who dates every
thing from 1861. Decoration" day
means far more to him than Independ
ence day, and Lincoln's birth was fal
more significant fact than that Of thu
great Virginian.
Without belittling the colossal events
which changed the course of our his
tory in so many ways, without lessen
inc one iot or title of reverence before