The Washington herald., 1921-12-26
The Spirit Of Christmas.

IN ELLIS and carols OF Christmas.
~ Curiousy and subimely, the heart and soul
OF all Christendom seem to respond with one ac-
cord TO the mystic melodies of Yuletide. The an
niversary of the birth Of Our Lord seems often the
one day Of all the year when the best that is in
humanity comes to the surface and the evil IS
49,. submerged for time.
=, Who can live throughout Christmas Day
in, America especialy-without upfted opinion
of the children of Adam. The Man of Galilee
throws a binding spell the world His spirit
on that day redeems the most sordid OF mankind
ills useless here to talk of the millennium which
shsf be an eternal Christmastide-when rich and
poor officers and prvates, capitalists and social
ists will each live their lives according to the die
.-tates of the Son of Man But Christmas proves
that mankind is capable of the millennium.
Far away it may be- There will, perhaps, be
more wars and rumors OF wars. The rich will
trample the poor The poor will malgn the rich.
f5 Children will go hungry. But Christmas Day
shows, clearly another divine revelation writ
clouds OF fire, that the brotherhood of man is
an impossibity.
The churches may be naughty and proud The
.ssasad on nhe shoulders of humanity may be too
~ h<ayy 10 bear But the magic of Nazareth trans
- forms all these things for little than "a
hours each year. when all mankind stops to re-
member the birth OF the Redeemer
1t is unexplainabe, perhaps, but unmistakable.
The spirit of Christ is walking abroad in the
streets. l know that my Redeemer liveth.
One does not need superstition to believe some
=of the beautiful legends that have come down
through the ages-some of so recent date as
The World War-eoncerning the better intention
of men and women.
There is the story of two great armies at war
whose guns ceased firing for day when over the
trenches, in the misty clouds, appeared one bearing
of fire
Forget and forgive" is the motto Of the day.
These are the magic words that transform the ugly
dwarf into the handsome prince, that throw a
magic purple the foggy tenement districts,
that the colonel to smile a little when he
meets the private the street.
Yesterday over the whole city lay blanket of
respondent fog until late in the forenoon. 1t WAS
dispiriting view one got from a chamber window,
looking over the roofs of brick houses Then
through the fog came the sound of bugles Some
wandering band from a neighborhood church was
laying Christmas carols for the benefit of the
people.
Somehow it removed the dismal aspects of the
morning in a flash The day seemed brighter and
eheerier. Out the streets the man who usually
passes without speaking, at best gives surly
nod wishes one Merry Christmas" He has
been transformed by the magic of the day.
Has anyone in Christendom really ever spent
ans unhappy Christmas? Does not the anniversary
OF the coming OF the Child in the Manger bring to
everyone in his her degree, reprieve from the
worries and head-splting snxietics of the rest of
the year.
At its core, after ALL the heart of humanitv i,
white and clean. There are so few really bad men
and women in the world that it would be an ex-
ceedngy difficult task to discover them Are
men transformed out of themselves on this one
day, or is this the day of all the year when
they are truly themselves?
The answer is not yet. Some day there will
be perfect understanding.