The Washington weekly post., 1900-12-25

!
family love and good deeds that custom
has attached to the day. He bade all Dc
joyous. and particularly insisted tha
/ Christmas be made the happiest day IL
the year for the young folks. DIR. Tai
mage took for his text, Colossians, ills
IN respect of a holy day." and said:
What the Bible here and elsewhere
calls a holy day, we, by change of OnC
letter ard change of pronunciation, cal
/ holiday. But, by change of spelling anc
| accentuation, we cannot change the fac
that holidays have great significance. \:
| long as the world stands, Christmas Day
and New Years Day. and Easter Day
will be charged and surcharged with sol
emn suggestiveness and holy mirth
! Whether you take the old style Of my tex
and call them holy days or the moderr
/ style and call them holidays, they some
I how set all my nerves a-tingle and M
deeper emotions into profoundest agtta'
| ton. About ten days make up the holI-
days which begin this Sabbath in church
! observance, and will not end until Wed
nesday of next week. How shall we spend
them? AT haphazard and without specia
direction, and they leaving. as they sc
away from us, physical fatigue and men
tai exhaustion, the effect of late hours
and recklessness of diet adding another
chapter 10 the moral and spiritual and
eternal disasters which have resulted
from misspent holidays? Oh. no! A stou!
and resounding no! for all the holidays.
| Il propose that we divide this holiday
season into three chapters. The first parl
a chapter of illustrious birthday; the sec
ond part a chapter of annual decadenCe
1 the third part a chapter of chronological
introduction. First, then, a chapter Of H.
| lustriOus birthday. Amid a thousand
mercies we celebrate the Nativity. BY
| lOng-established custom we exhort each
other to healthful merriment. BY gift, -
/ Christmas trees which blossom and fruit
/ in one night, by early morning surprise
/ by clusters of lighted candles, by chill
/ dren's procession, by sound of instruments
sometimes more blatant than musical, We
make up the night and prolong the day
/ Not day of any year but has been mark
ed by the nativity of some good or great
soul. Among discOVerers, the birthday OF
l Humboldt was September II and of David
Livingstone March 49, Among astronomers
/ the birthday of Isaac Newton was De-
/ cember 25 and of Herschel November H.
/ Among orators, the birthday of Cicero
was January and of Chrysostom Janu-
ary IA. Among prison reformers, the
/
| 2 and of Elizabeth Fry May l. Among
painters, the birthday of Raphael was
] March S and of Michael Angelo March 6
Among statesmen, the birthday of Wash
dngton was February Y, OF Hamilton Mag
/ 8, ard of Jefferson April 2. Among con-
| secrated souls, the birthday of Mrs. He.
| mans was September ., of Lucretia Mott
January 3, and of Isabella Graham July %
Greatest Birthday of the Calendar.
"But what are all those BIRTHDAYS conn.,
pared with December ., for on or about
| that day was born one who eclipsed all
the great names of all the centuries
Jesus of Bethlehem. Jesus CT Nazareth,
Jesus of GOlgotha, Jesus of Olivet, Jesus
OF the heavenly throne?
For thousands of years the world had
been waiting for a delverer-waitine
while empires rose and fell. COnquerors
came and made the world worse instead
of making IL better, still the centuries
watched and waited, looking for a rescuer
They looked for him on thrones, looked
| for him in imperial robe, looked for him
| at the head of armies. The cattle stood
nearer to him than the angels, for the
| former were In the adjoining stall, while
the latter were in the clouds. A parentage
| of peasantry. No room for him in the inn
because there was TO one to pay the no
| tel expense; yet the pointing star and the
angelic cantata showed that heaven made
| up in appreciation of his work what the
world lacked. Christ's cradle was as won
| derful as His cross. Persuade me of the
| one and l am not surprised at the other
The door by which He entered was as
tremendous as the door by which h
| came out. Most admired being is He
| among the nations.
THE greatest pictures have been made
| about scenes in His lifetime. The great.
est sacrifices on field of battle or In hos
pital or on long march or In martvrdom
have been inspired by His self-abnegation
The finest words Of eloquence ever spoken
have been uttered in the proclamation ot
His gospel. The grandest oratorios that
have ever rolled from orchestra were de.
| scriptive Of His life and death. Their
nave oeen other orators. but none like
| him VINO 'Spake as never man snake
| There have been other reforFners buf none
| IKE Him who VIII not have completed His
| mission until the last prison is yenfflated
ana the last blind eye opened, and the last
oeaI ear unstopped, and the last Iame
Ioot BOUNDS Ike roe and the last ease
| OF dementia shall come TO It's ri,rht mind
Ihefe nave been other discoverers la,
none IKE Him, able to lind bow man M
pc Just with God. There have been othey
uelvtreFs, Dut none Ike Him, the ran
| soIner or nations. There have besn otbn,
painters. but none like Him who nrt ~
image or God on a lost soul No yUorIa,
we celebrate His birth Protestant chnrch
CatnohG church, Greek church. 81 Isasc,s
oI % 81 petersburg, 81. Peters at Rome
aon' joining all our American catbedrais
ana churches and log-cahIn unastt,a.
houses and homes in keeping His ..s,,s pre-erni.
nent birth-festivaI. P'e-eiiii-
Heaven Marked Ills Hyr,h..,.
| Elaborate and prolonged efforts bavs
neen made 10 show that the star IN,
pointed TO the manger in which Chris,
was porn was not what IL appeared IN r..
Dht conjunction Of Jupiter and Saturn
our wise men or the West say tbat tha
wise men or the East were pnistaker
astronomers. you know. can caleuIats
backward as Well as forward ana a.
| they can tell what viii occur a bundred
years from now among the heavenIv
oodles' SO they can accurately caIcuIats
backward and tell what occurred nineteen
huhdred Years ago, And Il Is true ,bs,
seven years before Christ, in chsIdeo
| ABOUT three hours before dawn. there
was conjunction OF Jupiter and Saturn
standing In Jerusalem and looking oye,
toward Bethlehem. those two stars wo,,ld
nave seemed 10 hang over that VILLAGE
and II Is suggested by a learned professo,
that the Aagi may have had yeak eyss
50 that the two stars may have lookes
IKE one In order TO take everv,bfns
supernatural out Of the story, we nav
/ TO blind the eyes OF the Magi and Intro.
duce second star to help out the Iaea
OF the one star. Bot prefer the sirnpl4
story OF the Bible. that a light OF Eoms
kind-Steilar or meteore-pointsd from N.
sky 10 the sfraW-cradle. When IL a ~
easy for God 70 make a world tina, H.
/ puts eighteen millions OF them within
one sweep Of the telescope. He could Ger.
tainly AFFORD one silyery or fiery signal 0,
some Kind 20 point the world TO the place
| where the Sovereign Of the universe lay
inearnated ana infantile. II God could
| aHord 10 make an especial eartheusk k
al the cruciiixiOn (the aklant rocks on
Mount Calvary stiil showing that thers
was convulsion OF nature al that partie-
/ Elar spot, which was felt In none Of ths
surroundingO then He could afford some.
| Thing unusual. something hrfIilans 80.