The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-25
NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
THOUSANDS OF BUSY SHOPPERS
THRONGED THE STREETS.
Children Especially Will Welcome the
Coming of the Dawn-VariOus
Holiday Celebrations.

the cynicism of dispelled illusions, argued
briskly with the other. big, broad-shoul-
dered fellow, who laughed like boy and
talked like d man.
Believe me-" said he of the shattered
ideals, there is no greater farce than the
way we celebrate the birth of Christ. Our
modern Christmas is meaningless, artificial,
ridiculous. 1t has lost all of the sacred
element and has come to be a vulgar
scramble for insincere membranes. 1t is
a heyday for shopkeepers and a day of
irritation for other men. The church does
its best to preserve the old mysterious
sweetness, but the effort, while creditable,
is a fiat failure"
You are a veritable old Scrooge," said
the merry man with laugh like the ring
of a bell. 'If 1 thought you meant all
that rot L would be tempted to kick you;
but you don't. Why, look around you on
every side and if you don't see thousand
evidences of real happiness, of real hearty
enjoyment 1 will cheerfully buy. Christ
mas is Christmas; it always has been the
day of days and always will be-
NO but do mean it, said the other.
TITS because do look around me and OBJ
serve that 1 am all the more convinced
of men and women who are doing the best
they can to look pleased and to keep up
the appearance of joy, but despite it they
let slip signs of their real detestation of
the holiday. It's pathetic but nevertheless
true. l see hundreds of men who 1 know
hardly able to make living forced by
the tyranny of custom to spend extrava-
CANT amounts for presents to people, who
~ he mo how
waste their substance on people who dOn't
care really a snap of the finger for them
ana VINO VIII probably sheer at the tawdry-
ness of the gift when ii is received.
A PESSIMISTIC VIEW.
Besides" he continued YEARLY, mote
the foolish things that are given and re-
ceived. AS matter of fact, are not nine
Christmas gifts out of ten utterly useless,
not even ornamental? Such a custom is
directly against all laws of political econ
omy. How in the world are we going TO
better existing conditions if people gen.
orally persist in such wasteful, imprac-
ticable expenditures? Please tell me what
spirit of Christmas is there in a gift of a
pair of gaudy slippers, a thousand-dollar
automobile, a building lot, a set of En-
cyclopedia Britannica from people who give
simply with the hope of getting something
in return; and, despite all hypocritical as
sertions to the contrary, L believe most
people give with that hope. There are
more secret heart aches on Christmas
morning than on any other morning in
the year No one is ever satisfied. Every
one always expects something better than
was received. There is always vinegary
feeling of disappointment, necessarily re-
pressed, but still there, curdling the milk
of human Kindness
You forget in your interesting TRADE one
very happy element of society,"" put in
'One humanity
is little concerned with extravaganza, van
ity and political economy. A part that is
satisfied with little, only a little more
joyful at much-the boys and girls. Even
If l admit that you are right about some
| of the Christmas shams you can't deny
that it is the time of ali times to that
| part of mankind which runs about in
! knickerbockers or with braids down its
back. They, at least, are sincere; they
have the true spirit"
Il grant you so MUCH said the enemy
! of the day, that the little people are
the only ones who don't go about with a
smirk on their faces and rage in their
you that i say at the same time that
Christmas is come to be a mere species
of modern carnival, hardly different from
Mardi Gras. The spirit of Christ is out of
it. What had He to do with such things
as now characterize It? Who in ten men
carving a Christmas turkey at the heavy
think of the Babe of Bethlehem
You reason like a priest said the
defender>of the faith as the waiter brought
the check, "but it rings false. 1t is mar
row. 1t is peSSimistic. More than that,
upon my word, ii is untrue. L can't tell
you why in so many words, but l know
we still have the Christmas-tide among
us; that whenever the season falls men
grow a little softer, little gentler, a
little more compassionate. The warning
notes of the old battle for bread die down
harmony which soothes at least for a cay.
There are sore hearts in plenty, 1 know;
but ii is not the day that makes the pain.
Misfortunes fall alike upon the 18th of
December or the LIST of May. There may
be insincerity, falseness, extravaganza,
hatred. anger, wretchedness and other
woes, but 1 know that if the Divine hand
were to reach down and strike Christmas
| from the days of men there would be
twice the sorrows that men now bear.
Decry it If you must and blast IT with
] your cynicism, but you are happily one OF
the few and not Of the many. It's good
! day, a jolly day. and it yet means, Peace
on earth. good will toward men,.
THE CYNIC AT FAULT.
If street scenes and the throbbing life OF
the busy stores can be taken as evidence
| CT the Christmas spirit in Indianapolis the
| cynic was at fault the other man more
| than right. Standing on corner of a
| thoroughfare where a steady stream OF
| Christmas eve shoppers flowed by was like
! taking a mental shower bath 1t was brac-
! ing, it furnishing food for optimism. There
| were few faces that were marked by un-
| happiness. There were thousands of coun-
tenances that glowed with happiness. Each
! man and each woman who came by looked
| as If he she had concealed somewhere
/ a particularly delightful secret almost I'M
/ possible TO keep within bounds. If there
were sore hearts, some kind of balm had
/ been applied. If there were many thinneC
purses the owners of them must have bar
1 tered the contents for goods entirely sat
/ isfactory. Even the policemen on their
beats tempered gruffness with geniality
/ and wished Merry Christmas" to pass
| ing acquaintance.
One of the best indications of the Christ
mas spirit was furnished by the prosperity
/ of the sinking street beggar. His mum
! bled monotone of misfortune was listened
/ TO. and dimes and quarters were dropped
| freely into his eager palm. Most men
when a sodden piece Of humanity sloucheS
/ up and says, Say. Pardner. I've had a lit.
/ tie bad luck; can't you help me out?" fee
/ like knocking the mendicant down or call
| ing a policeman. The spirit of the evening
/ removed that feeling. in part at least, and
/ instead the coin was given with a 'Oh well
why not, its Christmas anyway"
In the big department stores where shop
/ pers We're packed so tightly that there
/ was an elbow 10 every rib, both buyers and
sellers seemed influenced by the season
Long waits. while standing bruised
| toes, were not sufficient 10 sour temper:
or provoke short words. The clerks who
/ labored as they never labored before in
! threw in the best wishes of the day with