Norwich bulletin., 1914-12-19
PRE-cHRIsTMAs OBSERVATIONS

Joseph also went up from Galilee because he was of the house
 An! Now we sit up and take mo- ticei Here is member of the royal line-on7y in those old days did they realize how much that meant!- doubtless? No! the scribe does not so inform us! The descendant of King David went, not with great entourage, not with imposing splendor, but ito be
 enrolled with Mary, his espoused
 wife"
 The traveller was but a poor rela-
 tion, after all; for the narrative tells
 briefly that he and his companion, whose condition was such as might excite compassion in almost any be- holder, were not housed with the great ones of the cavalcade: but sought shelter in a rude stable" be- cause there was no room for them In | the inn"
 But while the rich and powerful l slept, the dumb beasts who lent their
 warmth to the weary and forgotten pilgrims. intent on obeying the law, witnessed strange happenings. The narrator. hurryipg along with his
 story, tells us merely of the First born, wrapped in swaddling clothes l and laid in the manager. And then he shifts the scene to the exterior of the | uncomfortable stable, to where shep- herds are keeping the night-waches | over their fiocks. Crude. uncouth | shepherds. too, who would not have | figured with much grace among the rich guests at the inn!
 i But they are seod enough company | for an angel of the Lord, who, after 1 dazzling and terrifying them by a sudden brightness which shines T l-rf- -k- | those dreaming great ones were not
 accounted worthy to hearis Puts them wise, as we say nowodays, to a secret 1 destined to have an effect on more | millions of mortals and their destin- | ies than any other ever impartedi | We know the rest How the awed | and crude listeners, overwhelmed by the wonderful tidings of great joy, were treated to a concert in which the chorus was "a multitude of the heavenly army. praising God and say | ing: Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men of good will" :"
 And when Saint Luke has told his part of the story, dramatically, con- cisely, like the schooled reporter that he was. along comes Saint Matthew.
 to describe for us the first Christmas
 giving; how the Wise Men, seeking
 the star, find beneath 1t the Infant in
 the manager, rejoicing with exceeding |
 ing on Him their gifts of gold. and
 frankincense and myrrh-
 That is what makes Christmas
 primarily the childnen's festival! The
 day of the Mother and the Child.
 When the ice-crust about the hardest
 heart melts and tears come in the
 coldest eye, at any mention of child who, on that day, misses the gifts which are his right.
 Mother may be gray-haired, hel
 sons may be judges, or clergymen, ol but when they come home and kiss her, on Christmas day, though they bt 1 grand-fathers themselves, they art 7 ! again her babies, for whom she hung
 red mittens on the juniper tree whicf l they had cut on the side hill, or fol l whom she put red-topped boots at thu
 foot of the tree. and who shouted l when the plum pudding was brought
 in, at dinner.
 day, Father stands always in tht
 background, like the gentle and self
 contained Joseph, giving way tt
 Mother and the children. Poo , Father! who growls little. becaus' he maintains that his part of Christ mas is chiefly paying the bills fo
 everybody else's good timei But h ! is happy, neverthelesst
 The erustiest man will say with 2 snarl, Here, Mariai Get some Christ
 mas grimcracks for them Bell kids They're little divvles, and I'll bet m. hat they stole my best peaches ant I Iamed the Plymouth Rock rooster But their mother is sick and thei . father is laid off from work becaus of this internal wari Here's a bill %Get them some new duds an things
 Little ratsi I 'spOSe if they did ham ! up their stockin's they be that full ( T holes tn presents d drop out'n tl
 toesi But see them today. watchin
 tn toys in Crimes winder with ther
 hungry eyes O. theirn. An Gee! $ know how it used t be. when wu a kid, with Christmas comin'i AT ). you ain't much of a church member i :, you can't make them kiddies a mine s pie, or somethin'!
 r And so it goes!s Christmas tim not only joits trade out of a rut, bu = Humanity out of its lethargy W = love to hear the Christmas Carol reaC e and we deride old Scrooge. But mos e of all, we lay our gifts at the foot C
 the child. because of one Child WhoI a the angel bade us crown as Kingl e Everywhere the picture of che Beth 3, tehen4 stable is brought forward to tn l. light. and the busiest are made n pause, to assume a new mental att IS tude of attention, of reverence. I'll ,r tradesmen are quick to seize it's key h 'F'or the Children" they mark the 'f goods-sure that they have found tt Ie straightest road to the hearts-an
 the purses--of the children's elders! T- Especially is Christmas significar es this year to us, with shelter, hom d friends, when millions have lost the 10 all!