The Tupelo journal., 1902-12-26

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1t is very common everywhere to cele-
brate birthdays. Americans make a
big fuss over W~ashington's birthday
because he was called the father OF his
country. My folks make a little fuss
over my birthday, and my good wife's
birthday. They don't too horns nor
pop firecrackers, but they have an
extra good dinner and fix up a pleas
ant surprise Of some sort. We used to
surprise the children with a little
present, like a pocketknife, or a pair
of scissors, or sleeve buttons, or some-
thing, but SO many children came along
that there was a birthday in sight al
most all the time, and as we got rich
IN children we got poor in money and
had to skip over sometimes. The
Fourth of July was the birthday OF q
nation and SO the nation always cele-
brates that day.
Christians began to observe Christ
mas about 1900 years ago at Jerusa-
lem and Rome. They had service in
the churches and made it a day of re-
Joicing. In course of time the young
peiple rather lost sight of the sacred
ness of the day and the devotion that
was due to the occasion, and made it a
day of frolic and feasting. They sang
hilarious songs, because they said the
shepherds sang songs at Bethlehem.
They made presents to each other be-
u they said the wise men from the
east brought presents to the young
child and its mother. They kept up
their festivities all night because the
Saviour was born at midnight. The
Roman Catholic church has observed
these annual celebrations for GEN.
turtles, II the Church of England took
them up, and SO did the Protestants
in Germany and other countries.
Christians everywhere adopted them,
and Christmas day became a universal
holiday except among the Puritans of
New England, who forbade it under
penalties. They never frolicked or
made merry over anything. In a great
painting of the nativity by Raphael,
there is seen a shepherd at the door
playing on a bagpipe. The Tyrolese
who live on the mountain slopes of
Italy always come down to the valleys
on Christmas eve, and they come car
ding sweet songs and playing on mu-
steal instruments, and spend the night
in innocent festivities. A century or
SO ago there were many curious super
stitionS about Christmas. 1t was be-
Geved hat an OK or an ass hat were
near by when the Saviour was born
bent their knees in supplication, and
SO they said the animals all went to
prayer every Christmas night. OF
course, they might have known better
if they had watched all night to see,
but when folks love a superstition they
humor it. If a child believes in ghosts
he is sure to see them, whether
they are there or not. Those old-time
people believed that when the rooster
crowed for midnight on Christmas
night all the wizards and witches and
hobgoblins and evil spirits fed away
from the habitations of men and hid
in caves and hollow trees and deserted
houses, and stayed there for IL days.
And now let us all get ready to wish
a happy New Year to everybody, and
my opinion is that we can all make it
happy if we try. Let's try. Let's turn
over a new leaf. Let's have a Christ
mas all the year long. Let's keep the
family hearth always bright and pleas
ant. Fussing and fretting don't pay.
Solomon says it's like water dropping
on a rock-it will wear away a stone.
The home of an unhappy, ~discordant
family is no home at all. 1t amt even
a decent ~purgatory. The children
won't stay there any longer han pos
sible. They will emigrate and L don't
blame 'em.-Bill Arp, in Atlanta Gin
stitution.