Evening star., 1936-12-20
Christmas, Old and the New
Mysteries Legends Throughout World

this Christmas, how much they are
likely to- spend and what they are
likely to be going for"
There are fashions In Christmas
gifts. Large mistakes can be made,
with sad results to profits, by laying
In stocks Of cheap lines when folk are
going in for something better, and
vice versa; while q failure to gauge
the demand, with the result that
Thousands OF potential buyers 60 else
where, or an error In child psychology,
| resulting In big order for a new toy
the kids somehow don't take to, can
blast q business reputation.
1t Il estimated that of the billions
of dollars spent in Christendom on
Christians gifts last year. America
contributed nearly half and Britain Q
sixth.
Whence springs the custom Of ex-
changing gifts at this season. There
Is no warrant for 1t In Scripture? The
gifts Of gold, frankincense and myrrh
(symbolizing the divine kingdom, the
divinity Of the Son Of Man and the
fact that He had link with manind
in that He, too, must die) belong to q
later tradition.
Throwback to Ancient Festival.
Still. 1t Is happy. q human,
thought; and so We exchange gifts
while decorating our rooms with sprigs
and boughs Of evergreens. This kindly
but quite pagan gesture Is a throw
back TO the customs of the older fes-
tival Of this season (no canned foods,
refrigerators, grain silos, railways,
steamships and motor trucks them /.
when men propitiated the spirits of
the woods, and the sylvan gods and
goddesses, by giving them warm shell
ter in Winter. hoping for reciprocity
when the seasons Of sowing. germina-
ton, growth and harvesting came
along.
For the big stores. the Christmas
season Is easily the years biggest. The
take" Is huge. A big city store en-
ploying 5000 people will take on from
1000 to 1000 extra workers to deal
with the Christmas rush: country
town grocer will take on an extra man
and boy. Food sales rise 80 per cent.
toy sales $50 per cent. tobacco sales
IS per cent. sales Of wines and spirits
300 per cent More nuts and dried
fruits are sold in a week than are
normally sold in three months. The
poultry population Is almost wiped
out at one swoop.
In all the countries Of Christendom
communications have their period OF
greatest strain. Stats at headquar-
ters have to start guessing two months
in advance, and planning against the
great rush. Consider, for example,
what happens in the central post
office in London, the worlds biggest
city.
Mail Volume Increases.
In q normal day 6.500000 letters
are posted throughout London. a city
Of 5000, 5000. and handled at the gen.
eral post office. But on the 23d OF
December. 1885. 100000 were post
ed, and this year the mail handlers
are expecting 1900 10000.
The average daily number of parcels
posted in London is 161 900. But more
than 100000 parcels were posted each
day on December 20 and 81, 1885,
and $4,000 on December 23. During
the 20 days of the Christmas sea-
SON." 4,500.0 parcels were posted
last year, and a million parcel bags
had to be handled at the rail depots.
Special trains have to be run during
Christmas week solely for post ONCE
purposes. The normal motor mail van
services are supplemented by 1900
additional vans in London alone;
$4,000 extra men are taken on In
London and 10000 throughout the
country.
This is a one-city picture. Translate
it into whole-country terms, and
thence into whole of -Christendom
terms. with special emphasis on Amer
lea. where the British figures are null
tiplied tenfold in letters and fifty-fold
in phone calls, and you get a cross
section of the gift and greeting side Of
Christmas, and all that it means in
economic activity.
Origin Of Christmas Box.
The postmen earn their Christmas
boxes, although postmen and post
ofiices were not among the phenomena
Of the age which saw the original
Christmas box. This actually was a
box with q slit in 1t for coins. You
dropped coins into the box as and
when you had q small one to spare
and at Christmas the box was opened
and largesse distributed to servants,
begging friars and the like.
No one gives a Christmas box to the
officials who keep check Of the mar
riage and birth registrations. But they
deserve one, for Christmas provides
them with their heaviest seasons
work-although it Is work deferred
The peak seasons for marriages are
Spring and early Summer. But 1t is
an error to regard these as the roman
tic months. Many q marriage is the
result Of a romance begun. usually,
from three to six months earlier. In
vestigation would probably disclose
that Christmastime Is the sowing sea-
| cOAl All WIG N hAoAAAdSC SAOP
and that a bumper Christmas season
has q marked effect upon the ultimate
results.
It Is O rational conclusion. This Is q
time when the unmarried sons and
daughters are at home. in the bosom
of their families. It Is an auspicious
meeting time, q great season for
parties.
Time Of Romance.
It Is o time, also, when domesticity
Is at its most attractive, and romantic
influences at their most insidious-
especially II the Christmas days are
frosty. Families are in good humor,
there Is plenty to drink, the food Is
exceptional 1t Is cozy round the fire.
side. Every cottage window after
dusk, and every chimney in the early
morn suggests the magic Of marriage
and o home for two. At no other
season does one get such dangerous