Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1910-12-14
TRUE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT.
Very Valuable Paper Written
By Mrs. Mary Nance Dam
ielPublished In The Pro-
gressive Farmer.

This morning as l sit by warm
oak fire, almost on the eve OF Christ
mas, the question comes to mind:
What will Christmas 1910, mean
to our rural homes? Will it be a
season, ofsmad ,.reveiry, or will it be
ajsaaseR thsh ghtfulness, of sane
obserEsssSf the anniversary of the
one creative in the worlds his.
cory for the past two thousand
years? Will it mean joy and glad,
ness, a,smile for the unfortunate, a
helping hand for the needy, a be-
nevolent spirit among all mankind
in short, season OF inspiration to-
wards better living and serving; or
will the spirit of the Christ Child
be excluded by a spirit of aimless
carousal?.
1 HAl parents who read these
words to cali around them the little
lives that brighten their homes and
explain, to them the real meaning of
Christmas. Tell the children why
the civilized world celebrates the
season with glad hearts, and breathes
sympathetic kindness towards all
mankind on the day that brought to
earth the little boy Jesus. Tell them
what progress the world has made
IN III noble thought and action since
the hearts of Joseph and Mary
leaped for joy at the birth of their
child in the manger of Bethlehem.
1t does not require great amount
of wealth for Christmas to mean
what it should to the rural home.
Ofttimes money defeats the real spir
it of Christmas. Happily, the coun-
try home is spared many vices that
infest and menace life in the large
cities. i am glad to believe that but
few country parents would suffer
Christmas desecrated by their loved
ones as is true among many of the
wealthy of our large cities.
With the delightful pure air and
bright sunshine of our country
home, with an unprecedented re-
turn from the South's staple crop
with peace, and plenty on every
hand-the country fireside should
be a very happy, place at the close
of this good year. Think again and
again of the enormous yield the
year has witnessed, of the ss.tisfac-
tory returns for all farm produce,
of the snug bank account to begin
the new year with, and remember
the Author of these blessings. (
But do not leave the impression
with any that these blessings are
complete within themselves; They
entail additional responsibilities. The
man with ten talents has more to
use and more to gather in order to
measure up to his Lords require
ments than has the man with but
one talent. And so, this present
prosperity of our rural Southland
calls aloud for new girding, to
the end that it may occupy the i'm
portant niche in the nations life
which circumstances decree it
should. We need the best energies
of the ten-talent man, and we need
the best energies of the one-talent
man; we need the best effort of
everybody willing to do mans
part, towards banishing ignorance
and promoting intelligence. The
rude, uncomfortable school-houses,
with rude furniture and ruder teach
ers, must give place to comfortable
buildings with modern furniture and
competent instructors. Competence,
not kinship to trustees or patrons,
must determine what teacher is to
be employed. The $50 competent
teacher must be recognized as cheap
er in fact than the incompetent
one at S15. The school grounds
must be looked after and beautified,
the school houses must be planted, /,
the school made fit to live in and
calculated to inspire worthy ambi-
tions in the inlpressionable minds of
the children, if indeed such is to be
the result.
1t is all right to utter prayer OF
thanks for the rich blessings of the
past, and this should be done in all
sincerity; but the force of that
prayer should be felt in renewed sac,
tivity towards better things, nobler
striving for the beckoningifuture
We must be up and doing if we are
to fill our proper place in the life OF
the nation. The time has struck
high twelve for the noblest possible
action against the malefactors OF
ignorance TO the end that they may
be relegated to the rear and intelii'
gence enthroned in every avocatlon
in the great new south we-love SC
we'll.
] have no patience with leaders Of
private or public life who would dc
less than their level best to inspire
and lead every man, woman, boy
and girl to the expending of his OF