The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1909-12-25
the CHRISTMAS SPIRIT
Continued from hrst psge.)

y haNN tN3N - Wv WV
least Of these, my children, ye have
done II unto me-" Some prophetic
sight Of these things must have come
to those simple men Of the wilds who
stood by the manger that night, and
worshipod. In the intervening cycles
tho influence Of that Christ has all
but civilized the world, His impress is
found in the laws Of all nations, IL Is
the Inspiration Of all civilization, IL
will I'LL ;he lives Of countless millions
yet unborn. His birth there In the
stable gave a rude setting to the I'm.
mortal truth Of the divinity Of moth.
erhood, and the homcly lesson that IL
is to the very poor that the people Of
all times look for It's really great.
o
Christmas, the feast Of Christ 5 birth,
Is observed all over the world, by the
Christian peoples, aud by myriads who
do not claim TO be Christians at all In
the common meaning Of the word, ON
INV SUN VI DtNNhAOtAs ~ NhHf hNhVAh
ing to many authorities, not celebrat.
cd In the first centuries of the Christ
ian church, as the Christian usage In
general was TO celebrate the death Of
remarkable persons rather than their
birth. The death Of the martyr Steph.
en-, aud the massacre Of the innocents
ut Bathlehem, had already long been
celebrated, when, perhaps, In opposi.
ton to the doctrine Vt the Manichacans
respecting the birth of the Savior, u
feast was established in memory Of
this event in the Fourth century. In
the hfth century tue Western Church
ordered IT to DO celebrated forever ON
the day Of the old Roman foas, of Sol,
though no certain knowledge vi the
day Of Christ : birth existed. Among
the German aud Celtic tribes, the win.
ter s~olstice was considered an import.
ant point Of the year, and they held
their chief festival vi Yule was to com.
memorate it. he holly, the mistletoe
and the wassail bowl relate more to
paganism than to Christianity, though
this fact has been lost sight Of happily
in the passage Of time, and given II far
better and more wholesome meaning
than they had in the first place. In the
far east, under another calendar, Christ.
mas was celebrated on the 9th Of Janu.
AIRY. AS told in the Gospel OF st. Luke,
Christ was born during the night, and
therefore divine service was performed
on the night of Dec. 24.25 whence
comes the Significance Of Christmas
eve), from which circumstance Christ.
mas Is called Ia German Weihnachten,
n contraction vi the old German 20
with nahten, on the holy or consecrated
nights. The feasts Of the martyr Steph.
en- and the evangelist st. JohL were
united with 1t, and Il feast Of three
days continuance was thus formed. In
tho ecclesiastical year this feastival
gives name to a period extending from
the first Sunday Of Advent TO the Feast
Of Epiphany, January q. In the Roman
Catholic church, priests are allowed TO
celebrate three masses, against the rule
which prevails every other day in the
year. The custom Of making presents
AT Christmas is derived from an old
eatLcn usage, adapted early and con.
secratej by the parallel life Of st, Mich.
Olas, AID the instinct Of the ages, TO
e., p'Vy u sacrel festival for u renew
al OF the human covenant, perhaps the
wisest OF all human steps. The Chris..
mas tree is Of unknown antiquity, for
It, too, was an adaptation from the
remote ages, and d wise one for the
reason Just stated. u is frs; recorded
ain0rs the Romans, though some nc.
credit 10 the ~legendiul Germans. 1t is
ca-'aiH that the English use Of it pass.
ed from the Teu'o1 to the Saxon, and
thence around tie world. The lights
Of the Christmas tire. will tonight GLEN
IA mill Ons Of homes and churches anil
halls, aud from It's branches shower
gifts that give mute evidence of the
Immortality Of love will pass. 1t is a
matter of absolutely no consequence
that 80 many Of the attendant phases
Of Christmas day are Of ~extraneous orr.
gin. What difference does IL make,
since back and beyond it all is the
lesson OF Bethlehem and that which
came afteri The wise men of the ages,
and humanity itself, has been wise in
this blending Of the real and the myth,
since 1t all works out for the common
good.
II is tho Christmas spirit that really
counts, and IL IL by no means confined
to those that dwell within the tents
Of Abraham. II is an intangible es-
senee that ereeps into the hearts Of all
men, and opens them wide to that love
which makes life worth living-that
alone. II has but little TO do with the
historical and ecclesiastical significance
Of the day. Perhaps it is in itself q
part Of the divine plan to turn the hu.
man heart to God by the simplest and
easiest way, trusting to the individual
intelligence to retain it. Whether
there Is retention or not, the day Ia
justified In the spirit, for IL has COM
by a species Of blessed evolution &c
mean just this t%hing--a time upon
which peace and good will is every.
where. when the tendrils Of the human