Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1896-12-18
Christmas for Older Folk.

Christmas is the anniversary of the birth
of child. All the dear, familiar Christ
mas story told in the Gospel is the story of
the babe of Bethlehem; and so it has natu-
rally come to pass that the Christmas festi-
val is especially given up to the young peo-
pie. But the day is 80 great, so rich, so
joyous, that there is enough of it for young
and old too. We have all heard a great
deal about Santa Claus, and Sunday school
concerts, and Christmas trees, and the ivy
and the holly, about cake and candy, dolls,
skates and Jack-in-the-boxes; have heard
so much and seen so much, perhaps remem-
Der so much, of such things that there is
danger lest good many of us who are NJ
longer on the sunny side of life's meridian
come to almost feel that we have no lorger
any real share in Christmas privileges, ex-
cept that of paying the bills But mel We
will not have it so. Christmas is oars just
as much as it ever was, just as much as it
is that of the veriest youngsterL
Christmas is the time when I'VE discover
delightful secret We thought we were,
if not actually growing cd, at any rate
getting on in years" We find it was all
mistake. We only imagined it because
the countipgs of the years had begun to
foot up quite a sum. But what of that
Let US test the matter by some real proofs
Can we laugh as gleefuIly as we ever couldi
Yes. Is the merry shout of little children as
musical in our ears as it used to be when we
went 10 school and did our full share of the
shoutingl Every bit; little more so if any
thing. But the roast goose, the plum pud-
ding and The mince pies, have they the
flavor of former daysl Do our mouths water
as we tk.nk about theml Well, that is a lit
tie moe severe test, but. on the whole, yes.
o, yes, indeedl Now that we come to thiuk
aboat it, the same old hunger comes ba. :,
We smell the unforgotten fragrance, apr :
Ete is sharpened on memory's grindstone,
1--WE are half afraid we shall not be able to
wait quietly for dinner time tomorrow.
We must be on our guard lest in the exuber-
ance of spirits and the excess of hunger
we shall call for something before we are
helped, and violate the precept that child
rem Should be seen and not heard.
The Joy of Christmastide is not all in the
gifts of good cheer, nor yet in songs and
games and dancing and the naturalization
of sleighbells. The day and the festival
season as whole have precious, welcome
messages for busy, burdened humankind.
Christmas bids us learn how to turn evil in
side out and find good inside. 1t is cold, or
it is storming or it is raw and chilling
weather. Goodl If it were not SO the. blaz-
ing hearth, the genial indoor warmth, the
defiance UhaU we bid to the frost king would
not be nearly so delightful. But the days
are short and the night comes on apace.
Better yeti So much the longer and the
merrier shall be the evening hours when we
gather around the lighted lamps and sip the
sweets from the flowers of affection. But
Christmas is such an old, old storyl Best
of ALI 1t is 80 old that it must be immortal,
or it would have died long ago. And so,
by linking ourselves with Christmas, by
taking into our hearts its Joy and into our
homes its divine teachings, we shall share
the happy lot of the most precious of all
festivals in the circling year, which is al
ways growing older, yet perpetually renews
its youth.