The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1898-01-07
Birthday


The lconoclast makes the following
very pertinent observation:
This years crop Of Christmas acct
dents appears to be up the average
As an angelmakor Christmas outcIasses
1T Patrick day and is almost equal 10
the Fourth Of July. The North ceie'
brates the birth Of our dear Lord by
stuiling itself to the bursting point with
plum pudding, while the South mani
tests its appreciation Of God 8 mercy by
blowing itself TO pieces with gun.
powder Dozens Of people were killed,
hundreds lost more or less important
portions Of their anatomy, while a
great army of new made dyspcptics
goes marching onward to the grave !
cannot understand what either plum
pudding or gunpoWder has to do with
saying grace, That man must be very
gross who can celebrate with gluttOuy
and drunkenness the birth of the Re
deemcr Why should any one desire
to transform the world into murder
Ous pandem0ninm because Of the ar
rival Of the Prince Of Peace? Trnth TO
tell Christmas has become Il secular
holiday rather than day for religious
rejoicing, and Deists, Atheists and Az
nOstics take as much interest in It's oh
seryAtiOn as do those who believe in the |
divinity of the Babe Of Bethlehem
More people get drunk on Christmas |
thnn on any other day in the year IT
il q time of violence and blood rather |
than Of peace on earth, good will to
men" move that we switch, and in
stead Of celebrating the nativity Of
Christ observe the birth Of BacChus.
We will then be privileged to drink IN
til we are drunken We can then stuff
ourselves with the good things Of earth
andsbc consistent. ave can then explode
cannon crac,:ors, fire anyila and whoop
with our mouths open without be
ing guilty Of the slightest disrcspect TO
our God. But what must Christ Jesus
think rs lie looks over the jasper walls,
Of this high royol, supposedly held asa
sacrament? Surely he must be sorry
he was ever born Of woman, But glut
tony and drunkenness and fireworks
are not the full extent Of a so-called
Christian worlds offending We have
perverted the cOmmunistic doctrine Of
Christ in our practice Of giving Christ
mas presents, So long as custom con
fined gifts to immediate relatives and
it was well enough, for the
Iargesse was usually selected with dis
erection and prompted by love but it
has now become the practice to send
gifts to pretty much the entire circle Of
ones acquaintance. The result is the
expenditure of tons of millions of
money annually in the purchase of use
less plunder And the worst Of it is
hat presents are usually given on the
plan-the custom has well
nigh left the realm of sentiment and
into social tyranny or
brute seltishness, The homes Of this
and are Uttered today with trash which
he recipients did not want and cannot
Use, And half the people who incurred
his foolish expense are suffering the in
of poverty, On the day
fter Christmas a lady showed me her
resents, They made Il truly imposing
lie, There's not solitary thing in
he entire load, said she, for which |
ave the slightest use cannot retain :
luch of the stuff as keepsakes because
the bulk, and I'm neither privileged
sell it nor give ii away | would
ave appreciated rose or Il ribbon
ON one | love more than all this
umperyffrom people who are for the
ost part mere acquaintance. And |?
h | adhered to the custom went
'oke buying lot of useless truck with
hich to cucumber others And now
at Christmas is over and we contem,
ate our thin purses and impossible
esents, we all wonder why that mon
Or custom doesn't permit us to exer-
Sc little common sepse. ChriStn1 No.
becoming ever m Ire .,aal NJ