Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-25
HAPPINESS FOR CHILDREN:
MEMORIES FOR ELDERS
Exchanging Of Gifts and of Good
Wishes.
CONTRASTS WITH LONG AGO
Comparisons of Costly Playthings
Given to Little Folks and the Toys
Of Their Grandfathers.
Christmas Day- 1000

Christmas Day. 1909.
Peace on earth, good will to
men,"
This sentiment, written more
than 300 years ago, cannot be
improved upon.
So it is meet and proper today,
with those words ringing down
the centuries of time, that all
hearts should be filled with peace
and. all souls should overflow with
love to God and to mankind.
The greeting of the day,
Merry Christmas" should be
more than passing comment. 1t
should carry with it the precept
of peace and good will.
The hearts of all should abound
with charity. The spirit of MAX
ing others happy should be the
Christmas spirit.
Thoughts of Yuletide.
The story of the day is as old as Chris
tendon. 1t has been told and retold
many times. But its lessons should be
many. They should find practical appli-
cation not alone on Christmas day, but
on every day OF the year.
To some men and women. whose hair
has been whitened By the SHOWS Of time
and whose forms are bent and thejs-steps
feeble, Christmas Is ever a day Of retro
spect. Memory pictures move backward
like retrogressing films OF some weird
moving-picture show.
There is the old homestead The ruddy
glow from the yule log on the hearth
rire. An old-fashioned snowstorm is in
progress. and roof and tree, field and glen
are carpeted with white. From without
come the glad shouts and laughter Of
those who are now grandpa and grand
ma, then old-time children In quaint old
time garb. They are coasting, or may
hap engaged in a SNOWFALL battle.
In one corner Of the living room is the
Christmas tree-for what would an old
fashioned Christmas have been without
the bonny tree with its red. white and
blue candles and its many-colored deco
rative trifies?
From the distance, through the stained
glass windows of the village church.
come the voices of the singers as they
give praise to God i'm Christmas carols
There is still another sound in the outer
snOw-lauen air. 1t is tine jingiing OF
sieigh beiis, accompaniment to the aeo-
iian chorus of the wintry winds.
Memories of the Elders.
These are pictures presented to the
minds of white-haired children of another
age today. The charming memories of
the old-time Christmas form q companion
piece.
With the charm of the retrospection
there come memories. freighted with sad
ness, OF many loved faces of yore which
are missing from the scenes today In the
homes of Washington.
In perplexing contradistinction to the
old-fashioned Christmas Is the present
twentieth-century celebration. That "the
times have changed" is most patent. The
homeliness Of yore has given away to in
novations too numerous to think about.
The family chaise-that queer vehicle
of bygone days-has been supplanted by
swift automobiles. Airships navigate the
atmosphere It is the horseless age. It
Is also the aerial age. This Is q period
of strenuosity, likewise one OF rapid
progress.
Toys Oh NOW 1uo 4uSu.
The boys and girls Of former times were
wont to receive in their stockings. Christ
mas morning. such crude toys as q yell
low monkey climbing a purple stick:
jack in -the-box. which furnished q world
Of amusement: dolls OF unnatural shapes
and sizes. coiors and styles. Some Of the
dollies were made Of wood and reSembled
exaggerated reproductions OF Fiji dolls
Others were of china, and still others
of paper. Robinson Crusoe." Little
Red Riding Hood lack. the Giant
Killer and similar books were the juve-
nile standards for Christmas times.
The boy of 1909 has his flying machine
which really flies. The girl of 1860 has
her dollie that can do almost everything
and lingerie and imported Paris hats
from real stores.
There are moving picture machines
real, truly ones-for boys and girls. Elec.
trio toys are marvels OF the wizard pro.
fession. Miniature automobiles are in
vogue for the young of the twentieth GEN.
tury. The books are written along new
and modern lines
Everything is different now. The In
ventive genius OF man Is constantly taxed
to keep abreast Of the demands OF both
old and young in this piping. progressive
period.
Spirit Of Christmas.
But there is one thing about Christmas
that neither man nor time can change.
1t is the spirit OF the day.
Born in the stable with the infant Je-
sus, il is as lasting as eternity and az
true as the Christian faith. In its COM
position charity blends with love and love
merses into appreciation to the Great
Father, whose merctes are as nny IN
evidence today as they were when the
star shone brightly and attracted the
shepherds to the infant king.
These are the unchangeables. They are
not of man. but OF God.
Then, today, while happiness 10 rife.
and good deeds are being done. let not
the sentiment Of Bethiehem be lost sight