Roanoke Rapids daily herald., 1948-12-07
Spiritual
Value OF
Christmas
By GARRY CLEVELAND MYERS, Ph.D.

1T is net too early now to bs
thinking of ways to help your child,
especially if he is over four or six,
to gain some spiritual values in his
dreaming about Christmas. Un-
fortunately, the average child's
thoughts for weeks before Christ
mas are usually pretty highly self
ish, centering around gifts he may
receive. How much is he going to
get at Christmas is what he inclines
to think most about.
And this is not strange, as from
the first Christmas he can remem-
ber, gifts have been heaped upon
him on Christmas morning. Rarely
has he gained satisfaction from
bestowing gifts upon others, gifts
which he has purchased at some
personal sacrifice or made with his
own hands. Then on Christmas
morning about the only thing that
dims his pleasures is the disappoint-
ment of not receiving some gifts he
had so much wanted or the discov-
cry that some of his playmates have
received more presents or better
ones than he has received. Pretty
generally the experiences Of the
average child under ten or twelve
at Christmas are far more selfish
than altruistic. In other words,
does many a youngster moral and
spiritual harm.
Child's Sel6shness
Wishing to lessen this feeding of
your child's selfishness, or even to
help him gain some of the richest
positive moral and spiritual values
through Christmas, you might
choose to consider some Of the
following suggestions:
l. Induce the child to save from
his allowance in order to buy one
or more gifts and to go without
things like sweets, for this purpose.
l wish such suggestions were made
from the pulpit and that church
school and public school teachers
would lend their influence here.
While no parent would encourage a
child to buy him or her a gift, each
parent could motivate the child to
save and purchase a gift for the
other parent.
Handmade Gifts
2. Encourage the child to make
with his own hands few Christmas
gifts, on which he might begin at
once. Many teachers in the kinder
garten and primary grades are
stimulating and guiding their chill
dreriA-tais-direetien.Wh Why shouldn't
more Sunday school teachers do
likewise? And when child makes
gift for you or me, let US truly
appreciate this gift, however crude
it may be. Let US remember that he
made it and put himself into it.
Many children never think of
making or purchasing gifts for
their parents. They usually need
prompting. It's not the money value
of the gift that is important but
how much of the giver's efforts,
thoughts and feelings have been put
INTO the gift. Anyway, "The gift
without the giver is bare" The more
the child chooses to give up in order
to buy the gift the richer the moral
and spiritual value to him there
from. A gift that cost a child a
dime which he has earned or saved
with great effort or self-denial could
net him far more value morally and
spiritually than a gift that cost
twenty-five dollars that was mere
ly handed to him for the purchase.
And when parents merely choose
and buy gifts for children to present
to others the value can be less than
zero-it can do him moral harm.
Begin now, my fellow parent, to
think of ways of guiding your child
to gain some rich moral and spirit
ual values from the approaching
Christmas.