Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1900-12-24
LADIES' COLUMN
THE CHRISTMAS THAT REMAINS.

/ "Our hearts are usually very much
! larger at Christmas than our purses"
writes Edward w. Box in the Deem
| Der number of the Ladies' Home Jour
! nal. ''The desire is to rem ember
everybody that we know. But our
means do not generally allow US to do
it. So we often pass entirely by at
| Christmas people to whom a simple
| "Merry Christmas and nothing more
would mean a world of cheer and
light -heartedness. Because we can
not give what we would like to we
think we should not give at all. The
truth is, whether we choose to ac-
knowledge it in so many words or not,
that we have grown SO commercially
and so artifcially minded in this
country that thousands of us are
prone to measure our Christmas pres
ents by the yardstick Of intrinsic
valen, or by what the recipients will
think of them. We seem to have en-
tireIy lost sight of the fact that we
can always give something. And if
we gave that something we would
really come closer to the real spirit Of
Christmas giving. A few cheerful
words filed with that expression of
strong good will, that is like sweet
perfume, have meaning that only
few realize. There is nothing SO
pleasant in this world as the feeling
that one is remembered, and this a
few written words will often convey
more strongly than gift. Yet we
Invariably put the gift first. Our re-
membrance must take some form, we
think, other than a mere verbal or
written expression. And that is the
artificial within US: not the natural.
EThe simplest things are the things
that really appeal to us most and that
is only because when we are simple
we are natural. An enjoyment that is
natural is always the deepest and
truest. The moment the artificial,
the conventional comes into our lives,
that MON nt the sweetest realizations
go out. [ knew of a woman of means
with whom the hearts most natural,
simplest and sweetest desires had
grown cold by having every wish
gratifed. AS her life became surfeit
ed she extended the same artificial
method to her children. After a time
when Christmas came around she
could no longer think of anything to
give them. Yet the eldest child, girl,
was but nineteen. So she resorted to
the idea Of giving to each one of her
children one hundred dollars in gold
upon each recurring Christmas. She
told them to buy "anything they
wanted" It would save her '4lot of
trouble" she said. But the children
had everything they wanted and the
money took away from Christmas all
the pleasure which the day had ever
meant for them. There was nothing
they could give their mother. She
had everything" There was moth
ingthe mother could give her children.
They had "everything." The gold
seemed to clink harsh and cold to the
eldest girl, and one Christmas, in
opening an old trunk, she found
wonderful shelI-box that had a look
ing glass inside, which, many Christ
masses before her mother had given |
her. Their possessions were then as
few as later they were abundant. A |
pincush1on was inside the box. The |
stitches were bad, but her mother had |
made them, and the daughters heart |
knew there wasn't one stitch that |
wasn't put in with love and gladness. /
The girl of millions remembered the !
Christmas: she remembered the box: |
she recalled what delight it gave her.
The she'll box still exists. Some of it's |
wonderful shells lose their glue to the |
touch now. To the girl it is precious
now that her mother has gone. In |
the box there are a faded photograph, !
a lock of hair and some little trinkets
But the trinkets are those Of the days
before riches came. That Christmas
only remained with her: the Christ
mas Of the old shell-box blots out
from memory all those of gold and
plenty that followed.
This Christmas is particularly i'm
pressive because it is the last of
century of Christmases. Why isn't it
a good time to change about and go
back bit to the first Christmas of
earlier centuries? Why not respond
a little to our natural selves: the
selves that we're given to US as chill
dren? In other words, why not be
simpler. and be true to ourselves?