Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-12-24
CHAT

A merry Christmas to everyone of you.
May your day indeed be merry, and no
event occur to mar your pleasure.
There Is no occasion that calls for more
happiness and merriment than this day
we celebrate as Christ's birthday. This
Is not the time to be sad. even the an
gels I'm heaven came 10 our earth and
sang Of the glad tidings and told the good
news.
There's song in the air.
A star in the sky
And in every heart should be a paean
OF praise that a dear little babe was sent
TO gladden. the heart OF the world.
How full OF the spirit OF giving the
world gets at this time Is it because we
expect gifts i'm return? Not bit of IL.
know there is lot OF talk about" swap
ping gifts. but when YOU pin the most
Of the people down TO facts they give be-
cause there is something IN the heart
that prompts IT, The Giver of all good
gifts puts that desire of dividing into the
hearts Of almost all OF US. from the very
rich to the poorest / shall never forget
a young girl who made a dollar and used
every cent OF II In presents for her
friends She bought some ribbon rem
nants and a little sachet powder, but the
love and self-sacrifice that those dainty
stitches fastened in the gifts can never be
estimated Don't get the idea in your
head that the gift is valued for the cost,
for e IS not lis the good wishes that
accompany 1t and the earnest endeavor~to
make a little happiness for that person
subscriber asks me to explain why
there is confusion about Christ's birth
day. When we stop to think of II the
reason is very clear. Those were very
humble people and even among the great
OF that land birthdays were not as no.
ticeably celebrated as in this day Major
Harmony of the Gospels puts the actual
date as February 4. Aiother as occurring
In December Some claim that Decem-
Der q was a heather festival and that the
Christians began by using it day to
celebrate His birth. irrespective Of the
actual date. Be that as IL may. the fact
that we have taken il as such will oe
accepted in His sight. II was after all
who had personally known him were gone
that this was done. and the date had TO
be approximated. In those early years
Christians dared not have regular gather
ing places. even had they not been poor.
They met at private houses and even in
the catacombs. among the dead Chris
tfan life in that early time. after the
apostles were gone had its tribulations.
these did not stop with the martyrdom
or the early members. Yet Christian life
as a whole is depicted by contemporaries
in bright colors. as IL after the sun or
Apostolic Christianity mad gone down
there remained a spiritual afterglow.
Many testimonies are left US Of the pu-
rity. devotion, charity. industry, high
mechanical skill and benehcence of the
Christians OF that time who did good
70 their prosecutors and ''cOmforted
those who made them grieve."
If we do not wear smiling faces and
carry songs in our own hearts how can
we help the world? The long faced and
complaining Christian is not the one to
see the needs OF others. they are too
self-centered-
To be truly happy. and helpful we
must say with Tiny Tim. God bless
everybody" and set to work to help
God scatter those blessings. wor words
without deeds amount 10 nothing.
Faithfully yours.
LIZZIE o. THOMAS