The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-12-10
ANNIE EEHDRlGK WALKER
eeoepeeeeoeeeeeeepeeeeee Observation-Disclosures

THERE IS a clever little story in one of
the holiday magazines, on the Fashion
able Christmas"
"Chrftmas cheer like the noble dish as
ISOLATED with 1t in all normally constituted
minds, ought to be a matter or recipe.
Take so much snow, so many relatives and
friends such a house, so much holly; add
a pinch of church and dash of merriment,
flavor with presents in quantities to suit,
and an admirable compound should unfail-
inSly result"
The story, however tells of the ingredient
that was lost, 1.-THE mysterious missing in
gredient, whose absence always seem to
spoil what should be the gladest day of the
year Then follows the different recipes
for a successful Christmas for the man
and woman of fashion. The season at the
country house, declares the fashionable wo-
man, is not at all what one anticipates,
and admits that with all the sixteen guests
there is yet missing ingredient. The
typical club man, hunting for the missing
ingredient, says, reflectively: christmas
is a bad day. A fellow recollects his inno-
cent boyhood and all that and he has to
drink too many happy returns and all
that. and he realizes he is getting old and
has not amounted to much, and he wishes
he had married at twenty and could mar
shall a nice, rosy family into church. and
carve a turkey at his own table.
The man with the fashionable wife, and
the big house to keep up, declares that
Chritmas would he a fine day II there were
no servants to live up to.
In view of these cultivated opinions on
the ingredients of Christmas cheer, con-
cludes the author, chow absurd seems the
story from the tenements. The children all
home and himself not drnking-and Christ
mas would be a grand time
With the holiday magazines full of sug-
gestions as to the proper way of spending
II,t4- 4l,A ttrhto AIr n f1xHra1 ri
Box expresses in his journal will be APP
proved by many upon whom the Christ
mas season falls heavily.
Mr.. Box says that there must be some
radical and growing departure from the
right and best way of celebrating Christ
mas when each recurring year we hear
larger number of men saying: well, I'll
he truly thankful when this Christmas
business is over" And they are led to this
remark generally by seeing their wives,
mothers, sisters or daughters reach Christ
mas Day utterly tired out with the pros
pect of a selge of Illness as soon as Christ
mas is over. And it must be confessed that
this state of affairs exists in thousands of
homes. Women themselves frequently ac-
knowledge their satisfaction when the day
is over. Now there is always something
wrong when we make burden of pleas
ures. And if one of our sources of pleasure
in the calendars greatest gala day is de-
rived from feeling of thankfuness that it
is over there is something askew either in
the way we prepare for or spend the day.
Mr., Box solves in a measure the problem
by his advocacy of simplicity.
Much as we need simplicity in all the
phases of our living, its greatest need is
sometimes felt at Christmas. And 1t seems
a pity that we cannot make a beginning
there. We could if we would simplify this
question of presents; If we would leave out
OF our consideration all but the natural
Dromptings of our hearts. If ever material
considerations should be dismissed from
our minds and lives, 1T should be in con-
nection with Christmas. If ever our friends
should see our hearts-our real inner
selves-it should be on Christmas Day. Not
that we should be other than our real
selves on other days. But as it is, we are
not our actual selves on the day of all days
when we should be.
"See how we strive that our present of
this year Shall surpass the one we gave last
year! See how instinctively we think of
the material value of what we give, and
actually of what we receive! See how we
wrong ourselves by leaving needful things
undone and inviting illness because we feel
we must give something of our own making
to a friend when really sigh goes into
each stitch, instead of being frank with
ourselves, and pleasing our friends infinite
" at far less cost to our health. Every
woman knows what I mean by this the
great evil of making things for Christmas
presents when really neither the time nor
the strength can be spared"