Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1906-12-14
CHRISTMAS READING,
The Ethics of Christmas GIVING


AS the Christmas time annroaobos ~
a.. Ihns.age nind begins to bestir itself upon
the matter OF giving. The day. sacred y 9
II Is to Christendom because Of ;+s 90,
nIgillofatlon OF the birth of Christ would
SUN lose much of its real sionit;co NO
were 1t not for the fact that at tb;s M ~
Lcuiar time all minds seem bent mon
llle happiness of others. My personal ex-
Ptrlence is that the average mortal has
i nia9ly instincts and willingness to be
t useu lpI me beneht of others. If only
9ills petter side of human nature might
be developed, how many a deri-nsnd
nome would be frightened. how na',,
weary HVes would find their burdens
hg1iehed and how many little CHILDREN
would look forward to the coming ChriS+-
mas with the sure expectancy that somo-
now, some way, Santa would annear If
we could only get people to see that tho
real joy of Christmas giving is not 49, .,le
Saflly confined to ministering to those We
rove out TO doing good to those who need
assistance, then many a little miss ont
SIDE our own family circle would sacnro
Christmas dollie and many LITTLE man
now neglected would be made bannv
W WIN -, pail sled, or skates, to say nought
would be uplifted and helped
Scattered about in thousands of hon,os
are DOCKS, magazines, papers, etc. that
II sent to the boys and girls down amono
the cact OF the southwest, out on the hi@
pralrles of the Dakotas. or m amon9
the pine groves of Michigan. Wisconsin
anu NIL lInne 1s1, would bring real JOY and
comfort. There are many books in many
homes that have outlived their nsafni
ness because they have been read and
now nave no purpose III life but to orna.
ment bookshelf, that would hrino .
WOrld OF comfort to many restless. in
teilgent boy IN rural district. yisitine
III the nome of friend, my hostess one
gay brought out about three years num-
oefs OF The Youths COMPANION that
most excellent of children's papers and
was ABOUT to consign them to the flames.
moving their value. | interceded for
the boys and girls, and the heap of rnh-
DlSh, as she called it, was wrapped in
punoIes OF ten to twenty papers, and
sent here and there over the land
nave ma olten heard from those papers. and
the woman who saved them will never
know just how much joy she brought to
many an ambitious boy or girl longing
for better things. Won't you think
ABOUT this, dear reader, and at this elad
christmas time remember the weak and
less fortunate ones. l met a woman a few
days ago who, with beautiful Christian
grace, washes SIX days in the week and
cares for her home, keeps two children
IN school, and supports an aged mother
in-law. Her boy, lad of u, is restless
and full of energy, and needs entertain
ment. | saw an old lady of So living
alone and mile from the nearest neigh
Dor If only such cases were known to
the thousands of kindly people who want
to make Christmas giving practical and
helpful, L am sure they would readily
respond.
The ethics of Christmas giving is the
doing of something that represents our
own unselfsh natures, and is not repre-
sented by price, out by the benefit to the
recipient of the gift. 1t is not the one
who receives the gift alone who will be
benefited, but the satisfac tion of having
tried to help brings to the donor also a
full measure of Christmas JOY.
Who gives himself with his gift, feed ;
three
Himself. his hungry neighbor. and Me-
Prof. G. w. e. Hill, in The Pilgrim