Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-11-19
THE CHILDREN AND THE HOLI-
DAYS

erS, back some years ago when as a
child, you looked forward to the diff
iferent holidays. Each season had its
day of festivities set apart, and each
festive day it's special significance
Hooked forward to with anticipatory
pleasure and then realized with equal
joy.
April 1st heads the years procession
of children's holidays. A very un-
important day you will say with your
worldly adult experience, but don
you remember how you loved to plan
your jokes ahead and finally when
the day arrived, salt your fathers
glass of water and gleefully cry,
l"April Fool!" when he made a wry
face after drinking it. And the quips
and quirks that passed between you
and your little friends. Wasn't it
| fun?
And then July 4th. How you saved
your pennies to buy fire crackers, tor
pedoes, punk and niger chasers, and
everything that made noise. And
in the evening the grown-ups would
shoot the big dangerous cannon-crack
les and fireworks and maybe you
would be allowed to set off one or
two and you would apply the
match with spasmodic jerk of joy or
fear and perhaps next day exhibit,
with a swagger, blistered thumb.
Wasn't it delicious?
The pranks of Halloween were
talked of for weeks, and the Thanks
giving dinner long anticipated (and
dreamed of later.
! But Christmas was the crowning
joy of all. Nothing could quite equal
] it. Immediately after Thanksgiving
the air became saturated with the
Christmas spirit; you talked of Santa
Claus necessarily at home and abroad
You shopped with mother in stores of
radiant splendor to your eyes, and
| bought fathers gift, and then you
went with father to buy mothers gift
ana all the time you were casting a
speculative and covetous eye on the
toy department choosing just what you
wanted Santa Claus to bring you for
you wrote him many many letters. And
if yCu were little older beyond the
Santa age, you planned your little
list of gifts for your playmates, won
dering at the same time what they
would give you.
The spirit of the time caught you
up and whirled you through a world
of holly, mistletoe, whisperings, mys-
terious packages and good cheer un-
til you were on tiptoes of delight and
joyousness, and knew you couldn't
wait for the big day. And when
Christmas eve finally arrived you hung
up your stocking, crawled into bed,
and curled down, shivers of joy run
| ming down your spine, and you
squeezed your eyes shut trying to go
right to sleep while visions of sug-
ar plums danced in your head" And
next morning-well, words can not
express the next morning, but wasn't
| it glorious?
And looking back, fathers and
mothers, doesn't it make you won
der il your children are having the
same good times in the same old way?
Are they getting the same keen young
enjoyment out of the holidays espec-
tally the more important ones in their
childish eyes. You will agree that
the old fashioned Fourth of July is
a thing of the past and rightly so, we
must agree too, because the accidents
on that day are rare now compared to
/
! ly handling cannon fire crackers, etc.
But from the child's standpoint isn't
the pep and vim gone to a certain
extent for it was the spirit of dan
ger that held them.
The laws governing Halloween these
times for the protection of property
while right and just have made the
holiday tame in comparison to the
old days. The mischievous element
still maintains, but taking a gate in
those times and hanging it on a tele-
phone pole promoted sensation OF
dare deviltry unsurpassed. But the
laws governing these holidays now are
right because they are for the pro.
lection of society.
And now Christmas. There are nc
laws modifying the modern child's
Christmas but sometimes one is led
to think that the modern child's
christmas is threatened too, and
entS. are we not, at least some o1
us unconsciously, making laws fol
Yourselves and our children in connec.
tion with this happiest holiday of all
Are we not, with our war saving, wal
lcentered adult minds, inclined to say
to the children, ''Now, we won't have
much of a Christmas this year. We
must think of the poor soldiers in
the trenches and the poor little chill
dren across the water" or Every
thing costs so much this year, we
can expect but very little from San
ia Claus" Our children weigh this
in their fertile little brains and a
little feeling of disappointment and
sadness creeps in to mar the festive
season. Disappointment because they
must sacrifice in giving as we'll as
receiving, for children love to plan
their secrets and then realize the
joy of gift bestowing.
Can't we now, in this war wrecked
world of ours, take a moment to give
our children Christmas such as we
have known? Remember they are
children so short time. First of all,
why keep hammering away before
them about the expense of Christ
mas gifts? Most children have no
| idea of money values, they are salts
| fed to give and take inexpensive gifts
Second, let US plan with them, little
| boxes for the soldiers and the chill
dren over there. Every child should
have the privilege of helping that
way. Third, let us not say, "There
will be no giving or receiving at
home" Don't tell your child that he
need not give a present this wear, but
send one to little Belgian child in
stead. That little Belgian child is
a haZy, abstract being in his mind,
while you, his father and mother, are
the real thing, whom he wishes to
lavish his gifts upon. Tell him to
divide his money and spend part of it
on your gift and part on the child
across the water. He viii love to
do it.
| Finally, begin right after Thanks
giving to create the Christmas atmos-
phere, which costs nothing. Earnest
ly strive for the Joyous sparkle at
home II helms so much OF course