Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1904-12-20
OFFICIAL PAPER OF COUNTY

BY William Rosser Cobbe,

BY William Rosser Cobbe.
1T is not so easy to determine why
Christmas should be the greatest
= festival day of the church and Of
the people. AT first thought one might
say that, logically, Easter or Ascen-
sion day should have priority. Mans
whole being Graves immortality, and
the only satisfactory answer to Jobs
earnest query: IF man die, shall he
live again." is found in the words OF
the angel at the tomb of Jesus at the
early Dawn of that first Easter morn:
He Is not here! He is risen!" Con-
Armatory of this was His visible ascen-
sion into heaven, as witnessed by Peter
and others of the apostles and by
number of His disciples.
Christmas, of itself has to do with
the birth of man-child, only. Yet
the herald song of the angels at that
birth has come down through the ages,
repeated by the glad voices of children
and of age. 1t was the beginning Of
life which during it's short course ex-
emplifed the most virtuous living and
that gave forth the most sublime teach
Ing ever seen or heard of by mortal.
Perhaps the romance Of His birth has
something to do with the interest
which attaches to the day. The youth
ful virgin-wife journeying with her
carpenter husband through the hill
country from the village Of Nazareth
to the proud and great city of Jerusa-
lem; the crowded inns, which forced
them to drag their weary feet four
miles away to the little village of Beth
1ehem, where they could ind shelter
In the stable Of an inn, among surly
Camels and lowing cattle; the birth
OF the child Jesus in manager; the
announcement to the shepherds: the
song Of the heavenly choir; the won
derful star in the east and the visit
Of the magi bearing gifts for the
young child, and the efforts OF King
Herod to find and kill the child Jesus
all these strange incidents appeal
strongly to the young, who hear the
story told over and over again, until
It is engrafted into their very being
and never loses its freshness and
brightness throughout life.
Then, too, with the lapse Of time
there came to be engrafted in the OBJ
servance of the day the bestowing of
gifts upon the children OF the house.
hold, in imitation Of the gifts brought
by the magi to the child Jesus Sub
seQuently the giving OF gifts was ex-
tended to the adults of the household,
and Christmas grew into a day OF
home bringing and home festivities az
well as of devotional church service.
There Is that peculiarly attractive to
motherhood in the child Jesus. Each
mother as she thinks Of the Christ
child grows more tender in her sym.
patty for Mary and her love for ths
Child. The mother Of the middle ages
a. well as the mother Of this genera
ton, never wearies of telling her OF
spring the pathetic story Of the birth
IN the manager at Bethlehem, and the
J bearing of that story upon human life
and human character. That story
never has lost its charm and never
will lose it. SO long as there are moth
ers in the world.
Il would seem to be the practice of ma
lions to commemorate the anniversary
Of the birth of hero rather than tha
Of some great deed or deeds Of his
Thus 1t IL In this country, as in tn,
case Of Washington, Lincoln an,
Grant. So it is with the advent o
Christ into the world This event L
given prominence as being the be
ginning of career which abounded II
incident, in miracles, In sublime teach
ing and watch closed in a tragedy *
terrible that it caused the sun to dark
On and the earth to quake and restor,
its dead TO life The natal day com
prehends the entire life OF benevolence
OF mercy, kinuliness and intense sui
fering. 1t is given place above an
before any single event, in that tn
birth suggests all that He did, all tina
He endured. The manger at Bethls
hem points unerringly to Calvary,
the tomb OF Joseph Of Arimathea an
70 the ascension. One meditates o
tho Christmas day and is lessons, an
thought follows the babe to youth an
manhood It sees Him ON tbs Noun
OF Beatitudes. as He utters the grand
ct sermon ever preached It follow
Him in His journeyings. in which th
dead are made alive and the blind a,
made to seq. It sees Him before PLAT
and the scourging. the crown OF thorn
the driven nails and the thrust spe;
follow.
Yet Christmas is glad day ar
should be joyous one. The suffe
ings Of the Christ are ended. F
brought glad tidings Of great Joy to a
the people. He introduced new reli
ion and new and higher civiliz'
ton. He confirmed hope OF immo
tally into sublime faith, and made Il
world brighter and better and gla
der.
MIGHT HAVE KNOWN BETTE1
E4sss,'iIZ 7z5