The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1911-12-21
FACTS ABOUT CHRISTMAS
The Air 10 Full of Well
Known Signs Of the Holi-
day
BUT EGGS ARE ABSENT

ainlstraason-Iiow We Miss Nr.
Bryan-Has Been IN He'd Forsy
Nesr~-why Christmas Ought 90
lie Kept as Religious Holiday-
santa Claus l. - Great Cssiz~n--
When Christmas Was First o~le-
hraetd and How the Christians
Were nurned Up In Their Church
Other Topics Discussed.
BilsinsYile. y. C.. Dec. Is. 1911.
Correspondence OF The Caucasian
Enterprise.l
don't hev te. look at the calendar
ter tell that Christmas IL not far OF.
fer thar air a-plenty ov signs. signs
that no one kin fail 10 understand.
An Just think. We've got az flne a
lot OF hens so far N looks goes. az
you could find In a days travel, an
nary egg fer Christmas cake, The
I
up yonder In price. too; 30 or 40
cents a dozen. or $50 or $40. | forget
which. At any rate. no eggs air in
site for bakin' cake. an them other
articles so necessary along ahou:
Christmas. We will be bound ter
bring some more charges ergin the
Taft administration. II Mr.. Bryan
had been pullin' the wires things
would hev bin different an eggs
would hev bin goin' a-beggin' at 6
or s cents dozen. But some ov my
nabors air mean enuff ter say that
the s or cents would hev bin miss
in, so most people would bin with
out eggs anyway. So what air you
goin' ter do in sich cases? II you
air not pleased, you kin do like the
man I wuz readin' erbout not long
ago. He lives away up in New
Hampshire. Some forty years ago.
when he wuz about thirty years ov
age he deeidad 10 gi.zmarriad. He
told hiz father an the old man OBJ
jected. The son went to bed an iz
still in bed, havia' lain thar fer forty
years. So IL any ov your readers air
not pleased with the administration
ov political affairs in this country,
they can go TO bed an sleep hit off.
Christmas day hez bin celebrated
some 1910 times. Hit IL the most
sacred ov awl the holidays. An yet
our manner ov celebration. speakin'
in a general way, IL CROWN worse
awl the time. An this country IL no
exception to the general rule. Wher-
ever any noticeable effort IL made to
celebrate the Christmas holidays, an
most countries do observe the day in
some manner, be 1t a Christian or
pagan land, large or small, hit liz the
time ov awl times for drunken rev.
elry, flddlin' an dancin', boisterous
noise an everythin'-exceptt the right
way. While hit IL time that many
city, town, an country churches have
religious services in these late years,
the tendency IL TO the other direc-
ton.
Santa Claus, the very busy individ-
ual who liz supposed to travel with
great speed an climb down the inside
ov many thousands ov<<himneys after
midnight on the morning ov the 25th
ov December an f1ll millions ov
stockings with nice things such az
fruit, nuts, candy and toys, still
manages to cover most ov the known
n C1
with a lavish hand. AZ he gets
around so fast an visits so many
homes he must be an expert in hand
lin airships or somethin' ov the sort.
for most ov hiz visits are made be-
tween he hours ov eleven p. m and 5
a. m. Thus in about six hours your
Uncle Santa Claus actually visits sew
eral million homes, climbs down the
chimneys an fills nearly awl the
stockings found hanging before the
fireplace or in any position. An re-
member that aw1 ov this work IL done
in one mite, for he can't afford TO put
in more time. Children air more or
less impatient an awl expect an de-
mand promptness about Christmas
presents.
The first record of Christmas OBJ
servance wuZ a little more than a
hundred years after Christ The
early Christians were not allowed to
observe the day in safety. Before
the day ov Constantine many cruel
ties are said to hev bin practiced up
on those who desired to observe the
sacred holiday. The ancient ruler.
Dioelesian, having found large con-
gregatfon assembled in a church
celebrating the nativity of Christ or
dered the doors closed an the church
set on fire an the entire congrega-
ton wuz burned with the church.
You will say that this act wuz very
cruel an wicked. OF course hit wuz.
But hit simply proves that wicked
ness IL az old az Christianity, IL not
a little older, an that you cannot
disagree with some people at all un-