Evening star., 1915-12-19
LIGHTED TAPERs.

OFT as the dew upon the earth
~ falls the sense of mystery over
~ the heart, refreshing it after the
hours Of brightness, purifying it by
the newer beauty of higher sphere.
No flower may refuse it's drink of dew,
no heart its sense of mystery.
Even as the too hot glare Of day
would wither the flower were it not
for the timely coming of dew time. does
1t not seem that the overbrilliance of
honors not it's dewy evening time of
mystery?
Old, old as the earliest time of the
mythical half gods, the human mind
has harbored mystery-that nebulous.
inefable state which exists between
Deity and man. The conception of 1t
hardened from the great myths into
forms. as the big simplicity of early
races waned; but in all the varying ex-
pressions of belief 1t has remaiped
ever inexhaustible. illimitable.
Out of this illimitable dewfall of
mystery at last arose the birth, which
by its completeness in the idea of the
word made flesh. while still leaving the
understanding vei1ed, SufficeS for the
world to worship.
The greatness of the old myths, how
ever, has not been tramp1ed under foot.
From the ghostly heather tapers burn
ing in the recesses of the ages, Christ
mas candles are still lighted. OF old.
at the time of the winter solstice, when
the hidden forces of nature first stir
into life again, the Saturnalia was Gel
ebrated, heather orgy lasting, as the
Christmastide now lasts. through a
fortnight of festival Many of our
present customs were theirs, but the
spirit OF their merrymaking led them
into excesses until, the legend says,
they reached the point of sarificing
children.
this season becames the springtime of
Christianity. AS the winter fires died
down the new fires were kindled to
burn and cleanse the season of the old
festival. From the very candles upon
the altar of Saturn, as they -fared and
fiickered before they died out, the
earnest hands of the earliest priests of
Christ lighted new tapers in the very
purity of their worship Of Gods child.
Light all the olden tapers afresh;
| light all the hearts of earth over again,
wonderfully, with the final. immortal
| flame of verify Light with them the
little children's steps as they go from
| tree to tree, exchanging, bearing away
their gifts, breaking into morning carols
| Of the midnight JOY.
| They carol now about the Holy Babe
with refrain Of strange homeliness cal
| ling Him:
| Child in hay and straw
which suggests the last wrenchinS away
of attributes from the pagan belief so near
to. and tapping little over. the bright
| Christian one in it's early dawn.
| For the feet of the old god were wrapped
| in woollen clothes, to detain him, doubt
| less. uy,on earth. So the eyes of the
people were not dazzled by sudden new
| visions, but turned lovingly to where the
| new Brilliance law wrapped familiarly
| in the .,waddling clothes Of real infancy.
| It lis the children who rejoice most at
the great birth, for thex accept it with
all its mystery undaunted, and would
| take the child God into their arms
with the same intimacy due to one of
their own little kind. For them the
creche contains the heaven quite SIM
ply: while for their elders looking on
worshipfully, marveling yet at the
mystery, it is the silent solution.
| The happiest thought for the world
| today is of that picture of new chill
dren, holding their Christmas tapers
for the, priests to kindle at the flame
| of fallen affairs, when at that long-past
season of the winter solstice they first
sang the tarols that are ringing now
over the earth So they kindled our
new undying fires of sweetness and
light A w.