The times., 1897-12-25
SATURDAY, DECEMBER %, 1897.
Christmas : Day.

When the pa gan festival of Yule was
turned int the Christ-mass, the high feSti
val Of the Christian year, it is quite pos
Sible th5t the people who supcrinfended
the change did not anticipate that the,'
were giving to the world the most truly
ethical aud religious holiday OF the whole
calendar. Whatever pomp and ceremony
has clustered about the observance OF
Christmas, however elaborate or however
simple that observance might he, there
has always been as its core and center
the thought OF something higher and finer,
purer and sweeter, than the ordinary work
aday life: something, moreover, which is
not to be kept apart sacred, or ador.d
as unr nreachable, but is to be brought :n,o
common human existence TO sweeten and
enrich its meaning 1t is, in short, the
most human as well AZ the most spiritual
OF all church festivals, and the one which
appeals u.ust strongly to ordinary. human
people
As a matter Of fact, Christmas is aim ost
the only day on which this hustlmg
American business world of ours is brought
TO pause. 1t is the only day on which
people are actually ashamed to be selfish.
They car cheat their brethren, and over
reach the simple, andcrush dow the weak,
and fight and gra b and ella " for the largest
share of the ducats and the biggest space
OF advertising and the highest place in the
l,4as
Christmas Day it takes very mean
man, indeed, to refrain from letting out
his puIse-StringS, opening his heart, ana
suftening his voice and his temper. At
ChrStn as time people by some occult
influence step calculating how they may
save penny, and although they almost in
variably find that they have spent about
twice as much as they expected, there is
not much grumbiEg, at any rate till the
holiday is safely over They are, in fact.
thinking less about what they are to get
than about what they can give, and ac-
tually. for this one day in the year, try
10 maze others have a good time without
thinking whether OF not it viii pay.
There ale great nan yreckless mortaIs
who v-ouldnot mind having Christina Day
more than once year, Theylike tooonsider
their neighbors and look koutforsomebodyi- yi-c-
sides themselves and spill money around
BOW and then without thinking whether
it will come hack TO them double. aut
the spiri OF the time forces them into step
hnt a,rit no m ia
their generosity on most occasions with he
argument that generosity would be lad
business. But on Chris tmas Day this
argument seems to lose its SAVIOR Even
the political economists who clme to ;he
rescue of the mean man and the confusion
OF the philsnthropist every now and than
with the argument that giving domoralizes
the poor, are willing that the poor should
be detnoralized once year. or if they
not willing they keep still about it. f,T
nobody would listen to them long enough 10
know what tic conversation was about,
And so we all go around in a beanfi d,
blundcr headed. semi-cataleptic ua nee.
walking into people without knowing IL,
being iostled and hustled without resent
ing it, ana feeling more delighted 1Ver
being allowed to spend our money wi.ho'-t
being abused for extravaganza than We
can possibly feel On any otler day of ,he
year.
Christmas is a tirne OF divine unrea son,
which may prove only higher and hoiier
wisdom, If we ever stop knocking each
otiter ahcut for o little while so that we
can thitk the matter over 1t may be thar
the millennium which many people de-
voutly desire, and at which other people
scofr with more or less jovial siepticisn,
is only al era arranged on the principle Of
Santa Claus, time when for that 50 yine
'Seh PIE Stl walton is the first law of na-
ture" shall be substituted that other, Al
truism is the first and the last law or
nations At any rate, we have Christ
mas Day, and this little leaven may in
time heaven the whole big, heterogeneous
lump.