Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1923-12-13

And so It Is the world over. Children in more
than twosfths of the world celebrate Chrsts natal
day. Millions of them never see snow all their
lives. Other millions see plenty of snow, but cee-
brate Christmas in the middle Of summer. SO
Christmas day weather all over the world is Of
many kintM-it all depends upon where the chill
dren live.
What was the weather on that first Christmas
day, nearly 1000 years ago, when Christ born
Ia Bethlehem of Judea THAT'S the first question
when one begins to think about Christmas weather.
Well, it must have been warm and bright, for the
shepherds were feeding heir focks by night and
the Wise Men of the East saw the star in the East
and followed g. In modern Judea, which is drier
than of old, the temperature in December by day
Is about like that Of a cool summer day In CHI
cago Sometimes it gets pretty chilly at night,
but freezing weather is rare. So that first Christ
mas set a good example to all the ages.
Bethlehem probably has changed very little
since the first Christmas The ordinary house has
but one room, the floor Of which the occupants
sleep at night mats. No thinks of staying
In the house in the daytime, except when it rains
or storms They sit on the ground outside, when
not at work, and talk with the neighbors In the
rear Of each house is either shed dugout
into the hillside There the family ass and goats
and sheep and poultry are sheltered 1t in
such grotto or dug-out in the rear of
some house that Joseph and Mary found shelter.
1t was in such q place that Jesus was born and
His mother wrapped Him in swaddlngs and laid
Him in the manger or trough out Of which the cat
tie were fed.
Why did not God provide better place in this
time of need? Would it have touched the heart Of
mankind so deeply had Jesus been born in pal
ace? For our sake He became poor that we
through Him might become rich" The Lord of
heaven and earth Babe in manger in q stable
IN the little town OF Bethlehem that He might save
us and all men from sra
In the United States some Of the Christmas day
weather is very much like that Of the first Christ
mas in the Holy Land And some of it is just the
opposite. For the United States is big country
something like 5000 miles from coast to coast
and 1000 mites north and SOUTH to say nothing
of Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands and our other
outlying possessions. Besides some of it is not
much higher than the sea level and some of it
reaches away up nearly three miles into the sky.
So naturally there is great variety of climate
and weather-whieh Is of the things that
makes the United States great and rich and good
10 live IN
In some parts of Alaska, for example, the chill
dren sometimes have Christmas day almost as
cold as 1t is in Shorthand the artist has drawn
q Joking picture of a man in Siberia such
cold Christmas that the mercury is dropping
through the bottom of the thermometer. Verk-
hoyansk in central Siberia, probably has the cold
est Christmas day anywhere-75 degrees below
Zero But Alaska is a fine country for st. Nick.
There is lots of snow for his sleigh and there are
thousands and thousands of reindeer from which
he can pick out fast and strong team every year.