The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1906-12-20
A CHRISTMAS MEDITATION.
The Spirit of Christmas Making All
Things New.

Things New.
merry Christmas TO all the children,
Wherever they may chance to bel
To.fhe merriest band on the sea or the land,
Wherever The Christ child reaches his hand
and says
Little ones come unto Me-"
"Merry Christmas 10 al. the children, in palace
a. - - {,
With many q toy, and many a joy,
The dear little darlings so cunning and coy,
Each Sweetheart, or Dimple, or Dot"
Christmas is festival of gladness,
the birthday Of mans hope, carni
val OF poetry, story and song.
The Christmas season Is q time OF
family reunions, then the children in
school, factory, farm and forest re-
turn home. They go from the strug-
gle and competition Of life to the old
homestead in the valley. Around the
old fire place, boys and girls long
since grown to manhood's and wom-
and adventures OF youths golden
hours. They review the wanderings
far and near over meadows and hills.
OF happy Cristmas time, when ws
with the family circle gather about
familiar scenes and join in childhood
games. When we came walking upon
the beauty of this earth it was like a
fresh and dewy morning. Sometimes
we seemed to see mountains clad In
pure white snow. After 40 or 60 years
OF experience we see few snow traces
of bloody foot prints and impurity
few blossoms of the dawn are swept
away. Wei have felt the fighting wind
of time, which has left the flowers
drooning, but the Christmas spirit
makes things new. It is the Christ
mas spirit which makes the deserts
blossom and reveals treasurers of i'm
mortal worth. At Christmas time
we learn to prize the joys and sancti.
ty of home. God meant that we
should live in homes, In families,
where each is the servant of all, and
all are the servants OF each. The most
primitive of all churches Is the home.
There is the domestic altar over
which the father and mother preside,
there sacrifices are made, there Is the
seat of culture which moulds charao-
ter from the cradle to the grave.
Home is the best and surest place OF
preparation for career on earth and
home eternal.
Out of humble homes, with only
paper curtains and rag carpets, have
come great on. We need the home
memory aud the home rest. The
years are short enough and time goes
quickly with busy People. We work
In rush and eat In hurry. We
Americans cook In very hot oven.
We need to slow up at Christmas and
let the rush and friction and heat of
life cool down in the home. Make
home attractive. Indulge your chill
drsn In few cheerful things at
Christmas. 1t will warm the affec-
tions, nurse weakness into life and
give the home bright heart shine.
Humanity will always be interested in
Christmas, it Ia no myth; no fair
flower that withers In ycur hand; but
1t is reminder that heavenly light
was brought into this world by lit
tie child. We will need the cheer,
the heart warnings of the Christmas
tide. We need something that shall
give meaning and relish to the pro-
digious efforts and petty results of
life. The Christmas spirit gives i'm
pulse to heroic daring and al eternal
Significance to our feeting home.
What would our world be without
Christmas? In English homes it al
ways has been time of merry max.
ing. Here is verse over 400 years
old "When Cryst was born, o, Mary
free, In Bedlam in tht fayre oyte,
angellis sangen with mirth and glee
In exicelsis golriee." One of Crom-
wells majo generals describes in
lively verse Christmas:
Now all our neighbor's chimneys smoke,
And Christmas blocks are burning;
Their ovens they with baked meat choke,
And all their spits are turning.
Without the door let sorrow lie,
And II for cold it hap to die,
Wen bury 1t in Christmas pie
And ever more be merry"
Good -natured Walter Scott wrote:
England was merry England, when old
Christmas brought his sport again,
Twas Christmas broached the mightiest ale;
Twas Christmas told the merrest tale:
A Christmas gambol OF would cheer
A poor's mans heart through half the year.
Let us be more merry than olden
England, and let the songs and sto-
ries have their merry round.
Let us then welcome the spirit of
Christmas making all things new. 1t
would bid us to cease loving our self.
will and pay no more fittings to evil,
nor credit falsehood If we are pre-
vented from seeing the sun it is be-
cause there are shadows. Christmas
is the birthday of mans hope, the
coming of the spirit making things
new.
For one to live in this world
abounding in homes, beauty, plenty,
poetry, music and the Christmas gift
of God is like one who dies of thirst
while the music of warbling brooks
makes melody In his ears; 1t is like
one who dies of starvation while all
about him the graineries are filled
with golden grain.
We send Christmas greeting and
hope that the Christmas spirit may
persuade the lives of old and young.
of friends at home and of those far
away. Come then, let us fling away
on Christmas night our cares and let
us forget the burdens of many years
OF time. LET all our neighbours
chimneys smoke" and we will 90
home and be boys and girls again |
with Christmas play and spirit TO
cheer our poor hearts through all
the year. W. @. Gilmore
Loo