Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-12-22


red by any bitter disappontments, any impending
want. So seldom does such condition exist here in
America that when the opportunity comes ought to
make the most of it.
Along with our prosperity Americans have been gen.
too. The flood of appeals sent out by the fifty
varieties of relief COMMITTEES have not gone
needed, and this Christmas Americans will be sharing
their blessing with the unfortunate ATmenans Begans,
Polocks Russians Serbians and Syrian In the big cities
of land the kindly keen eyes of organized charity
have found the homes of the poor widows and the Grip
pied earners and the poverty stricken old folks And
by the aid of newspapers their have been brought
to the public and the public have responded instantly to
the call to help. Here in Wauseon the churches and
lodges and the Civic League seeing to it that every
family shall have Merry, Merry Christmas So far then
as make it this Christmas of 1916 will be
orable one.
The true test of Christmas comes not by such mea-
prosperity generosity however To be salts
fed with such ideal would make of Christmas fest
val sacred than the Roman festival of the Sat-
urnala which with the Winter solstce in Decembe
Christmas is best tested when it is put under the
illuminating radiance of the Star of Bethlehem There
is Latin phrase that every and then escapes the
immigration laws Of the English language and finds its
place among familiar words, that may be taken
synonymous with putting it under starlight. The
phrase under the aspect of eternity When you
consider the story of the birth of Jesus and it with
the thatched roof of the rude Syrian stable it differs
greatly from the story of the birth of children under
roof of slate shnge tile tin. But consider that
story in relation to the eternal stars and it assumes
meaning that further transcends the significance of other
mems births.
Take our celebration of Christmas this year and SUBJ
ec it to the starlight and observe the two great changes
that it. In the first place, the starlight will
rob. 1t will rob Christmas of all lttleness. 1t will take
away from your giving of gifts, any feeling that the
change of presents is swapping of articles. 1t
will rob you of that pessimism that comes with bodily
whom thp ftpr' wonder IC
worth all it costs 1t will rob your spirit of any unhoy
pride that you may cherish because you have given to
those who in need and could not return gift in kind
to you And most of ALL will that starlight rob you of the
content that with vision of the world shrunk to
the limits of your own circle of loved ones
The other change that comes over our Christmas
will be the feeling that something has been added. AS
your Christmas has been freed from it's teness
it will become elastic and expand to take in every great
thought. Exchange of presents will become the weaving
of ties by which you bind yourself your friends and by
doing become part of the great brotherhood of
kind, upon which the stars radiance falls impartiay
The WEAKNESS and exhaustion that accompany our
American ideas Of Christmas take aspect of bless
edness For toll spent gifts of love spent to help
others in making proper selections for their gifts is loves
abour and is never lost Gods pity and our pity must
surely rest upon those whose Christmas celebration has
brought no labor anxiety pains, exertions,
The charity-gft, be it basket or coat, or coal, or
payment of the rent, under the starlight,
shall humby say 1--WE are Improbable servants We have
done that which is duty to do We have done it
for His sake,
Our world will change perhaps most of all in our
Christmas celebration let the eternal light of the
star play upon it. That star which stood where the
young child was this year looking down upon strange
world half of it making holiday and half of it making
day of mourning. That star is looking down men
in dirt dugouts facing foes, trackess food
less plains facing starvation some in homes made sad by
deaths of sons brothers. husbands and fathers facing
the loneliness of years to And then that stal
wheels onward in the night to look down facing
merriment
"On the road to nowhere" lies Bethlehem, says
great Christian scholar No routes touched it,
borders No military roads invaded its quiet No busy
market drew merchants to its bazaar 1t lay obscure
village six miles from Jerusaeum, until God marked its 10
cation with star
Christmas of 1916 finds the people of the earth seek
ing for happiness and world peace. They sought in tn
halls of diplomacy and it wasn't there They thought
find in the market places of the world but they oOke
in vain They sought in the great educational center
of the world and found it not All the known avenues
peace seem closed The Star remains 1t draws men
attention more to Bethlehem And it may be tina
the kings of Europe may replace the kings of the Orient
and seek the Prince of Peace born in the town that lies
the road to somewhere
Let us get the best out of our Merry Christmas thi
year by putting under the light of the Star of Behe
hem.
WIGS.