Daily Kennebec journal., 1913-11-20
What Are You Giving?

With Christmas season at hand, the
"Spugs" (Society for the Prevention
of Useless Giving) and do your shop
ping early" folk are busy. They are
slowly spreading sentiment that is
worth While, but with their doctrine,
it seems to us, should go the real
spirit of the occasion-the Christ
spirit of love, recalled not by expen-
sive and meaningless gifts to square
obligations, but BY tender reminders
of good will, on the anniversary of
grow, and to ultimately overcome.
DIR. O. S. Marden the famous author
and inspirational philosopher has
dealt with the subject beautifully, i'll
an article in December Pictorial Re-
view which we are privileged TO quote
by courtesy of the publishers. He
writes;
l know of a little girl who was
greatly distressed because she had no
Christmas gift fer her grandmother
whom she dearly loved. She had only
four precious pennies which she had
been = long time in saving, but she
found that even if she spent these for
a present she could not pay the post
age on it, So she decided to buy a
two-eent stamp and spend the other
two cents for sheet of paper and an
envelope. and this is the letter she
wrote: Il have no gift to send you,
my dear Grandma, but | do want you
to know that | love you, love you,
love you. and here are hundred
kisses" The grandmother, with tears
in her eyes, said that none of her
Christmas gifts gave her so much
pleasure as this simple love missive.
Most of us strain too much in our
Christmas giving. We think too
much about the value of the gift it.
self and not enough about the spirit
of good will. the real Christ spirit,
that should accompany the gift. Have
you ever thought of the wonderful
amount of Christmas cheer you can
scatter even if you have very little
of this worlds goods? 1t is really
astonishing how many people we can
make happy and how much we can DO
to help others even when we thlhk
we have nothing to give. No one IS
so poor that he cannot give some
thing to brighten other lives.
We are apt to place entirely too
great an emphasis upon what money
win do at Christmas. 1t will not sup
ply the only thing or the best thlns
we can give. To give ourselves is
often of infinitely more value. Many
people set aside "A certain amount OF
money for Christmas gifts and when
these are purchased and sent away
they consider the Christmas ordea
over. They seem to think that II
they send to the needy little check
some groceries. coal. clothing OF
some cast-off things they had stored
AWAY i'm their homes, they have ols-
charged their Christmas duty. TheY
do not seem to realize that merely
giving things does not put YOU in mar
nonv with the true Christmas splrl'
that YOU must give yourself, Noui
evmpaihv, your helpful spirit, with
your gift
If YOU feel that you are too poor
10 buv Christmas gifts, just sit doWf
and think what YOU can do to make
others happy Try to think Wha'
thought gifts. heart gifts, sympathS
Gifts. love gifts announcement glfts
vo,t can bestow without money. MANY
: . heart has starved amid plenty, sur
rounded by luxury, because the lam
iehed affections were not fed, aho
there is nothing else for which TN
human heart SO yearns ana munger
ae sylnpathy and love-things WhlGi
money has no power to purchase. II
faet. the most precious things ina
come 10 human being are unput
! chasable with money only Una
which comes from the heart can tees
another's heart hunger; only near
can feed a heart.
"what can we do for you aske
a church investigator of poor OF o.
! sonl whom he found on pailet o
straw in an attic. He thought sh
woald say. Bread, bread, coal, COY
erinr. for she lacked All these
what do you want?" was agar
aelzea Folks" she mummufee
send some one to talk to me- an
1 lonely -
! -, e., ss,,to tswuepss sets us t