The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1922-12-15

appearing on earth at Christmas time with a mes
sage 10 all mankind? Certainly he has q mes
sage well worth delivering. And certainly it Is
a message we'll worth listening to. For from his
experience he could say to US:
you have served God only as you nave served
men,"
The Christian citizen should be serving God
in relation to his home, his community and his
nation. There are those who are serving God by
trying TO improve the conditions under which their
less privileged fellows live and work, by trying to
Drlng more Of justice, beauty, peace and love into
the life of the world. 1t is to be feared that most
OF us fall far short here. But he is a poor Chris
tian and a poor citizen indeed who, having, can
pass Christmas without doing something in keep.
ing with the day for those who have not.
Everywhere in our modern Twentieth century
life we meet the very people whom Jesus painted
In living words 1000 years ago--the prOdigal son.
who "came to himself; the elder brother. who
twas angry and would not go in; the lriest and
the Levite, who raised by on the other side: tho
good Samaritan, who was moved with compas.
SION; the Pharisee, who thanked God that he was
mot as other men are; the publican, who cried
God be merciful unto me. a sinner!'
At Christmas time, if at no other, it is well for
us to be the publican and the good Samaritan.
Without Christmas tree, holly and m:stletoe
Christmas would seem strange indeed to most
Americans. The bnlsam fir Is most used for
Christmas trees, but doubtless almost any kind
Of evergreen can be used in an emergency. And
some Of the municipal and community center
Christmas trees nowadays are of great size. esne.
cially when they are set up outdoors.
The photograph Of the Christmas tree repro.
duced herewith Is worth studying as somethino
quite out of the ordinary in several respects. In
the first place, In the original photograph three
separate exposure of the plate were made-the
first for the building and its lights; the second for
the Christmas tree and its lights, and the third
for the moon. Each exposure varied in length TO
suit the different degrees of brilliance.
And where do you suppose this unusual photo
graph was taken? Why. at the annual Christmas
celebration in Yosemite valley, Yosemite National
park. California. Most people think that all the
national parks are closed in the winter time. Well.
they are not. Rocky Mountain National park in
Colorado has q carnival Of winter sports In Febru-
airy. Mount Rainier National park in Washington
has winter sports and Il ski tournament rs late us
Yosemite's Christmas celebration includes n fat,
Jolly, fur-clad Santa Claus WHO drives up In the
old fashioned way In his sleigh and distributes his
gifts TO the village children:
But that isn't all about this unusual picture.
What kind of a tree do you suppose the Christmas
tree is? You could not guess if your Christmas
gift depended upon your guess. That's because Ii
is the only one OF ifs kind in the whole world.
This Christmas tree is nothing less than n living
Scquoia tree. The Seqloia (Sequoia glgaDtea) Is
the Oldest aud biggest living thing in the world.