The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1904-12-22
NEW YEAR THOUGHTS
The Past Is Merely the E:xpr.....

ne Past t Is M l;yin1 the EXPRESSION ),
Commemoration of the har,n.,
i,r rs IS tmrnnental purely. since tb u The
n history. nor Is 1t the anni,,ane,al epoch
'lrth or death Of any hero, II ~ Of thu
apart Tor the performance or an not act
iuties, nor the teaching OF anv SPECIFIC
lesson; yet New Year is OBSERVE particular
Il Is true. and without any caraa' quietly
All parts OF the United States "'llal in
In looking for the heeinnln-
pFactce' n must 30 into the nrah, snls
past. Tor New Year is the mas.% Fnlklsssor.c
nf all the days which men hava ; slgfeient
'or special distinction. II, ;hasss apar.
days, though. 1t began with the tofIner
spring, when the buds and len Wa VENT OF
to open and the voices of the pegan
were heard again. The Lstina6 birds
whom came the months now n.a, IRON
brated their New Year as the n.SI. cels-
er tina they q done. In Marohs old.
explains why December, meanIne !. Inia
month, should be twelfth in our c, ,.en.a"
Inc day, then, neither a festival ,anuar.
rast; not one to keep alive the AZ msr a
palrio'iSth. as the Fourth of July, Or "
oeaI IN remembrance, as Christmas ", "
80" VI " |hflat, lS, neyertha,a,.
universally observed, because ~ ON s''eas'
1t did stand for a most bea,,titu ne lfns
ment-the revivify.ng OF nature senu'
Fingered the Punishment or cola - aar-
the sterile winter; it gave assura Wv os
harvest for man. who could SEQ l.. - q
bursting OF the seeds autumn dovs :, wa
ness. LUZ.
Ihus was 1t with the Chaldean o,s,..
or the civilized peoples, whence na"'
Apraham, the founder OF the Jewish ma
ton. They We're as puzzled as noao.n
are over the mystery of death. and ~.
greater mystery. life. or the genor,,na'
principle they made a god and worsS,n,,
II. The presence of their god w,s trt
seen. as they taught, In the new arb ~,
on by the trees, in the tiny spears =,
green grass which peeped throupb ~.
sere blades of the previous year. ana w
the many colored little f'owers thai ~. ~
tied confidinSly beside the grass biada,
They knew their god lived and NO,
pleased with his people. They broke to,th
into rejoicing which lasted many dav,
There was worship in the Temples .ns
the groves, and infinite g!adness everv'
where. Through century after csntnsy
this religious and festival observance w,,
had, and the remain Of it'are seen TO-DAY
in the chief holy day or the great Cath.
Ole church during the vcrnal season al
though now held IN commemoration az a
gTander and more glorious event.
The New York observance, then ia rhs
survival of a day beyond the period q, II,
effective use. Once Il sublime object leo
son, IL remains solely as a record Of N.
beginning OF a new year. arbitrarily fixed
by man. Its position is n peculiar one
1t .s neither the beginning of any one Of
the four seasons. nor the end Of any on,
OF them. 1t is not the commencement
necessarily, Of a week. even. It does but
assert for man that by his choice OF com
putation a Now Year has begun.
Yet, as to the ancient. so to the modern
New Year teaches. after all, the some les
son. Ittells tht the old year Is dead, anc
the New Year !s born. 1t declares N,
mortality of all things. and it proves tina
the mortal shall put on Immortality. /
teaches the higher lesson that out o.
death comes life; chat the dying year doe,
but make way for the living year. ant
that the Chasm is invisible between hi
dying and the dead. A single tick, JUS
one tick of the clock. and in the minu,
interval tite Old Year was and the New
Year IS, and from this lesscn one ma,
learn that the sum OF all the lives tina
have been IS but the expression OF III
live that are, just rs the resul OF all tn
years that have been is found in the Nev
Year Just begun.
William Rosser Cobbe,