The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1910-12-25
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lHeN WSiS iiSiiS w
Thoughtfulness and Love.
Leave the wealthy to their own!
They don't need your care.
Let your loving smile atone
For the cupboard bare.
Seek the children of the poor,
Make their need your cause,
And you'll make your wreathes Sc
cure,
Mister Santa Claus.
John Kendrick Bangs.
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The twenty-fifth of December. rath'
er the week about that time, has
been celebrated for many ages with
rejoicing. Long before the Christian
era. the pagan astronomers decide1l
that these were the shortest days
before the sun returned to northern
lands to bring another spring and
seed time and harvest. The dreary
winter was at its worst, and Il e
coming days would have longer
hours of light and sunshine and the
re-awakening of nature. Therefore
sing and be joyful. The Egyptians
held, a festival in honor of the birth
of their god Horus. The Romans
called it the birthday of the in
vincible SUM- and dedicated it to
Bacchus, rejoicing with him that the
sun was about to return and revivify
the vineyards. The tersians held a
festival of uncommon splendor as
the birthday of Mithras, the medi-
atOr, a spirit of the sun. In the
north country among the worship
ers of Odin it was nature festival
of riotous feasting, because the fast
of winter was approaching its end.
1t has been time of universal eel
ebration according to ancient his.
tory since the beginning, and OBJ
scure tribes in remote nations have
legends of their own about what
We call Christmastide, the feast Of
peace and good will
AS Christianity brought its bless.
ings to follow the good of past re-
ligions, it seems only right that the
birth of Christ should come at
time of general rejoicing. 1t made it
easier for the pagans to turn to the
Saviour of Light, at time when
the returning sunshine in the skies
was symbolical of the feeling of
brotherly Kindness which was taught
in the love OF a little child. And so
as early as the second century the
church celebrated Christmas day
when the heather were honoring
their gods.
The Christmas tree finds its an
cestor in the German ash Ygdrasil,
a great !ree whose top reached to
Waihalla, the home of the go1s, and
whose roots were fast in the earth.
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The Prize Penman.
The importance of the Three RS"
on tine public school curriculum is
one of the vital questions in the
educational world today; just what
can be eliminated from the curricu-
lum to give more time to the study
of these elemental branches is a
debatabe point among educators.
Our own City Superintendent Ev-
ans in the past nine weeks has striv-
en- 10 impress the twenty-five hun.
dred pupils of our schools with the
importance of legible handwriting,
and as a stimulus to their efforts Of
fered prize to the pupil who should
write the best hand at a contest
to be waged just before the Christ
mas holidays.
With the conscientious effort that
characterizes most of our boys and
girls, they went to work and a
marked improvement was noted
throughout every ward.
AS the day for the contest drew
near, from each ward one pupil
was selected, who should represent
them in the closing contest.
The four pupils met Friday and
were given a thorough test with Mr..
Selvidge of Selvidge Business Col.
lege and other expert penmen as
judges.
To Miss Halle Hunt of the Second
Ward School, pupil of Mrs. Chas.
Won Weisse, was given the prize
as the very best penman IN the
A,dmore public school