THE COLUMBIAN, BLOOMSBURG, PA. 0QQOOOpQQpOg0 0aFOOgocw coooooo0o0-i-ooo ootooirOfpi ooo-io-ooo 00 jOvo-to i-u-i i-oro -k j j-3J5i-r)-;-55y-Kj5o-i5-K5 oooccooooooi tJ UtJTUTUTU I UTUTrurUTUIVTU OO 0 o i- X M A 1 9 0 8 00 o o s o 2 o o o ? O O o o 0 6 1 ub ffiFrc tucrc mtRFamc TSuufru irtljmte atubutq TirtfiFfirlO, keep lss4f$ IT0 wairi) oucr Tijeir xiocu uu m o oo-fCc-'-r-TC-TOc-t-crCTC'tcc CTC-T-cf c-T-cfccf c-i-3'i-c-i-p'; o cccccc-t r-r rr-t ce-? c-i-o cococccooo' COO-fCC-tO tCClO tC-TC't C r CO'! CC-ICC C1-0-I-C-JQ-K5CC1C , mm m flea v. A BIT OF CHRISTMAS s .11 III!" Illl- It was Christmas morning, and vory. very cold. Every few minutes a trainman came through the enr, watching rnrefully a dial-faced thermometer, p.nd stooping to turn screws of tho heating apparatus, In pers istent attempts to keep the point ing finger at 70 degrees. Despite the discomfort of clone air, which was none too warm at hivt, the passengers In the main were Joy ous fares and didn't seem to cunsij er the numerous packages and bun dlc s an annoyance. From a wayside station, which looked as If it had never been ncit.'.i !or to any house where human belt;;; llvod, a poor littlo girl eiUeved ii'i.l dropped Into a seat, where aa over coat told that Its owner was proba bly in the smoking car. The child lid not notice this, and in her Ignor ance of travel. It would have made ;io difference If she had. She might nave been eight or ten years old, but that air of self-reliance was aers, which poverty's child often ac quires very young; yet there was nothing forward or "bold" In her ap pearance. Her dress was of tho ?cantlest; a thin cotton gown, bare ly concealing the lack of suitable un Jerwear, a little worn shoulder shawl and a battered straw hat. When tho conductor appeared the band which presented her half-faro ticket was red with cold; but tho imall person lifted to him a wonder fully frank face, and confidingly in formed htm that she was going to grandma's for Christmas, and that tho package she clutched in her other hand contained cookies for grandma. The conductor smiled down at her; pitying smile it was, as ho thought it his own well fed, well clothed ihldren. with whom he exacted to at a late Christmas dinner when his :un we's over. The smlb- ;Ingered n his faco as he passed Ui the next .eat and saw that its o.-cipants had eard the child's w (.s. Two women tt In the ce?.t; Grangers to f . h other, and as im ke as two persons mado on tho nine general principles could be. ne was tall, dignified, young, wrap- . ' id In costly furs, everything about er showing the person who had nev i1 lacked money or leisure. Tho '. .her, stout, jolly, elderly, comfort;1. le a kindly and well-to-do woman, he two had traveled miles and iles, side by side, with not a word 1 '.issed between them. Now, both sat with eyes fixed on e" forlorn bit of humanity In front ; them. Suddenly the younger oman opened her traveling bag and ok from it a soft, gray scarf shawl, i was at least two yards long and lf as wide. Folding It together le touched the little waif, saying i a low tone: "Stand up, my dear." lie child obeyed, wonderingly, and v.ls woman In the costly furs placed ;0 folded shawl around the small -aoulders, crossed It In front and ringing tho ends to the back, pinned .iem securely. "It Is yours to keep," she whisper 1. "A Christmas present." Then, trnlng to the woman at her side, le said, apologetically, "I really did ot need It myself." There was a .link of tears In her eyes. "Well, now," the older woman ex 'almed In admiration, "you just set n.9 to thinking! I'm really ashamed lat I didn't think of doing some llng myself. Here, I've got two airs of mittens for my grandson ist about her size In my hag; and a can't wear out more than one pair ii winter. Besides, I can knit an- her. It's nothing at all to knit Ittens." She was busily undrawing i strings of an enormous silk bag, it her glasses were blurred and her igers were clumsy with haste. "What's your name, little girlT atleT Well, hold out your hand, atla. Myl Aren't they a good fltl ierea another Christmas present keep. And here's a frosted cako. st eat It, right now, Katie. Your andma won't need It, with all these u've got In your bundle." "The child a.srcln obeyed. She did t say, "Thank you" novslbly she didn't know how, but she seemed to glow all over, and her eyes returned thanks even if her timid lips did not. "I'm proud to know you, my dear," the roly-poly, comfortable woman turned now to her more cultivated neighbor. "You're right sort, I can nee that, even If you are rich." "And I am proud to know you," tho other responded, almost shyly offering her hand, which was quick ly burled In a big, warm grasp. "The rich are not so very different at heart, I hope." At that Instant the man of tho overcoat sauntered In to resume his seat; gave a low whistle of surprise Bt the happy little traveler next tho window; glanced at the two women, and comprehended the situation. His right hand made a quick dive Into his trouser's pocket, as if to get some money; In another Instant he with drew It and reached up to the rack overhead and lifted down a large paper bundle. Taking the bundle across the aisle to an empty seat he opened It and took out a small pack age from among many others. Un tying this package he brought to light a flaxen-haired doll dressed In the latest style and resplendent In a large picture hat. This he placed In the little girl's arms, saying, "From my little daughter who would rather you should have It." Then he lifted his hat courteously to the women, took his overcoat on his arm, and strode off to find a seat elsewhere. Rich little Katie! Passengers near were burled In newspapers. The little episodes were almost unnoticed; but the an gels knew that the Christmas spirit has never vanished from the earth since the time when they announced the birth of the Holy Child. St. Nicholas. Cfjristmatf Barnes. Cnmes for the little folks' parties t! esc happy winter nights how they do help along a good time! It Is likely that Moth er, or Grandmother, or Aunt Jane tan show you some very Interesting in) -s mi ! also sing the little songs that are a part of the play. But hero are a few that are more or less fa miliar to many, yet new to some; but in either event they may be used In adding to the mirth and merriment of thu gathering. Illlr.d Man's Hluff. Try this game by blindfolding all the players but one. Then this ono should run about and touch first one and then another. Tho blindfolded ones cause much merriment by catch ing each other and making all kiiu's of guesses as to whom they have caught. The one who guesses rlsht has the handkerchief taken off of his eyes, and bo on, until all can see. Tho Ciume of Jeweler. Get some one of the older chil dren or grown folks to act the part i of the Jeweler. He must bestow upon each player. In a whisper, tha name of some Jewel, such as sap ' phire, topaz, emerald, turquoise, i pearl, ruby, diamond, amethyst, until all have received names, taking care that more than half receive the same name, say diamond. He announces that as each gem Is called It must run Into the hall, whilst ho is count ing ten, or they will have to pay a forfeit. He then places a small table be fore the door in such a position that only one person can pass through at a time. Then ho takes his place near the table and addressing the company, says: "I am the White House lady's jeweler, and she has ordered a brooch, to complete which my men are now waiting for an ame thyst." The amethyst Immediately jumps up and runs into the hall as quickly as possible. The jeweler then says, "I must also have a tur quoise," and the turquoise responds by following the atmothyst. All the others should be called before he mentions the diamond, and when that demand Is made all who have received the name of diamond, rush simultaneously to the door, each thinking all the rest are acting un der a mistake. Tho aperture being altogether too narrow for their hur ried egress, the confusion causes much merriment. fanta Qlausf Down the chimney he comes creep ing; Through the nursery goes n-pceplng; Hunts the stockings, great and small, Then proceeds to fill 'em all. lu the boys' go balls and skates, ttometlmes books and brand new sla.es; Drums and fifes and toys galore, 'Till they spill upon the floor. r-j m fS? H JO obr dork Ticcvlouilv, slowly in tfje Ijell, . JnJluutfr and more oiu tfje lonft bouts' civmil; i Would never p'amiry: - - TTTjc cIdcK fickof ouilf ,;rio'Ui-l-f fn rf;e (jail-. 3n JBcUjlefjem, By CLINTON DANGERriELD. The rattle In their humble stalls Turn on Him wondering eyes; But Mary Bees her little Babe That on her true breast lies. The wise men, bending at His feet Bring Incense, gold and myrrh: But Mary holds an infant form Whose life must hang on her. His star Is shining in the east, His great archangels sing; But Mary hears a thin young voice, Troubled and faltering. Her cars are deaf to angel songs. The 6tar she will not see; The costly gifts before Him laid Seem fading mistily. he And thus to heaven's host prays, By splendor i;nbegulled, Let me forget the King to-night, And hold my own, my Child!" Why Wo Have Carols. The Christmas carols originated, It is thought In England, In tho elev- enth century. They were sung be- tween the scenes of the mystery and nilrar.lo plays. Qnnuai In the girls' go trinkets rare, Wondrous dolls with natural hair! Picture books, and ribbons bright, 'Till they fill the stockings tight. Then with ono last look about, Santa stealthily steals out, , Jumps Into his sleigh that's near, And comes no more 'till the next year. ANNE JAMES. Harp's JDiplomacp. Small Mary had Just written hsr annual letter to Santa Claus, and now turned It over to her mother for her approval. Mama read as follows: ' 1) CAR f?ANTA Cf hVt ' A. ,Co i,. . a . M ,111 KC1T I tVUfOU , WW L?-fcj iyoie uni-E. rzmp Mother looked at It In some sur prise. "Why, Mary," she said, "why are you leaving it to Santa Claus this year what ho shall bring you? Last year you asked for three dolls, and the year before for an ironing board. Don't you know what you want this year?" "Oh, yes," replied Mary, "I want three dolls again this year, but I thought if I told Santa so ho would know the threo he brought me last year aro broken, and then maybe he'd be mad with me and wouldn't bring me anything this Christmas, so I Just thought I'd leave It to him." New York Press, ' 1 - - . i t "r -r - - r i;c nr. oiih , of o- Cf ilr in) all.l ..iili.v l-l.liT 1.'. !: i III! I) t I..' I. I . i !.': lii v'. i.i.e a ll.o.iu!it to the li..,; t ..' ci s i i .. tli. ob i'. vr. Yoi.n;; p'", t:.;.. :;,.' 1 .e. and id i ' who '.i.l." I:i les l"li;i!ili' pViisiivii In cnr;.t!i."jr tlieir homes with holly, i' ;.-! h ; u" u ! other t rrgreens in r li. Ui,i;it!(.:i of ii hiill of f.ui and f.liOiily, ilo not. l i. h rule, give m l''!) Ciiiifciit to the Net Ivlty. und never foi a moment iloih uiiy I.Ira cniucrn- I.; t'.ie origin of s u li i!i coiallous ra ti r their l.i aus. How many i,o.) ! souls there are v!.o delight lu the old-fashioned Christmas customs, and who once a .ii-. :;t lia';t. let themselves out to enjoy the revels of HI. Nicholas' feast In the good old style, who would hold up their hands In horror were It even sugested that they were slmply Imitating tho "wicked old pa- gans." Almost all our popular prac- tlces in honor of the birth of Christ have their origin lu ante-Chrlstlan onen. It Is no longer a controversial point that the Christ-child was not born on the 25th or even during the month of December. We do not cele brate the actual anniversary of his birth, but the significance of the event. The observance of our mod ern Christmas has Its foundation In a perennial custom of the ancients, from whom our forefathers took their Idea of a celebration. Later we find Christmas and Epi phany being celebrated on the same day, and still luter, various dates In March, April and December were set aside. It Is pretty certain also that the Jewish feast of the Dedication of the Tabernacles, held toward the end of the year, influenced the selection of the 25th of December as Christ mas. About 300 A. D. a boy was born In Lycla. His parents called him Nichols, but (so the chronicles tell us), though that was a man's name, he preserved the lmture of a child, for he chose "to keep vertues, mck ness and simpleness, and therefore children do him worship before all other saints. ' The modern child's "Santa Claus" is a Dutch contraction of "Sankt Nikolaus," "Sank'nl K'luus." and the saint's custom of giving presents se cretly and in tho dead of night as the development of a deed of charity he performed when he assisted by toss ing three well-filled purses into their bedroom long after they had retired. Thus, Santa Claus comes about when the children are asleep and gives them their heart's desire. St. Nicholas' day was originally early in December, but later It was confound ed with Christmas. There is an old ballad describing the saint and his customs, thus. St. Nicholas money used to give to maydens secretllo, W ho, that he still may use his wont ed llberaltles, The mothers of all their children on the Eve do cause to fast And when they every one at night In senseless sleeps are cast, Both Apples, Nuttes and Peares they bring and other things be sides. As caps and shooes and pctticotes, which secretly they hide, And in the morning found, they say, that this St. Nicholas brought. The Idea that St. Nicholas was an old hoard-bearded man comes from tho ancient representatives of Saturn, who was pictured a patriarch, and also from the confounding of the Christmas Kaint with Father Time, who has always had his special day, on New i ear's Eve, a week after Christinas. This custom we derive from the Romans, who on the first day of the Saturnalia gave to the servants and children dolls, candles and littlo doll like pasties, tho exact significance of which, it is believed, had to do wth those days when human sacri fices constituted a feature of the Sr.turnallan ritual. The dolls were given principally to children, although their significance, it ts believed, was relative to that sacrifice of human lives to the lnfor- C.'l.'l'"-.'. I Vi :! f.'W nf t rnl god which was practiced nt C'j thatfe. Ifnrdly was the Fit'irnn!:i o when tho I'agnnlla began. At I festival an oltnr was erected l:i e persons contributed money. n,.;, n arose the custom, so r. n old medieval chronicler writes, for 'tho pn tents to give cakes, toys, boxes, garmen's, lit tle wagons, apples, tuitB. etc.. to tie'ir children on Christmas Kve, nil sometimes toils were added to tba presents In order that the chti:na might be the more easily ruled l.y j f,ar of punishment." To many people there Is, per!.:.; s, nothing more slmnly national t'.i i:i the C'hrlstmns mince pie, unless it h pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Ii;iv. This gastronomic dainty has a his tory as tld as Christmas in the north, If not older. Its earlier known appearance wi'.s at the winter feasts of the half Chrlstlanlzed Britons. It was then. I and still In some parts of Groat l!ti- tain, made In tho form of a manger, . Rnd Is supposed to represent that In 1 which the Infant Christ was laid, i The mistletoe was held In great reverence bv the Druids. It was be- , lieved to be particularly and divinely ' hiallng; In fact, It was given this attribute for centuries. It hnd spe- i clal significance, aa the cause of the death of Balder, the Norse Apollo, who was killed by an nrrow made from Its branches and given to the blind Hoder by Lokl, tho god of mischief. Balder was restored to , life, the mistletoe treo wan placed I under the care of Frigs, and from that time until It touched the earth ; was never again to bo an Instrument of evil. The present custom of kissing un- der tho mistletoe Is the outcome of an old practlco of the Druids. Per I sons of opposite sexes passed under j the suspended vine and gave each i other the kiss of love and peace In , full assurance that though It had I caused Haider's death. It had lost all t Its power of doing harm since his restoration. Despite the pagan origin of the majority of our Christian customs, they have been ro much Infused with the t-plrlt of peace and good will that their original signlllcanco Is com- , pletely lot, and there Is an entirHy I different sentiment In the merry foi j tival of to-day. CJjrfctmas )i'nt.. When Choosing the Turkey. Medium-sized turkeys really are i;ir more tender than those Klg.nr.K' birds so proudly displayed by pu .l Wors. Christmas Pudding. Allow tiiu ChiUtmns pe.dding to Maud for ui least live minutes before turning It out of the basin to serve; It ks;eiid the chance cf its sticking. Raisins for Plum Pudding. Re member that muscatel raisins will give the puddings a richer tkivnr and better color. You can buy them cheaply if loose and not In bunchi s. Currants. When washing the cur rants for mince meat and Christmas pudding bear in mind that if left at fill damp they cause heaviness, and If they are dried in a hurry befora a quick fire their flavor Is spoiled. Let tho Children Hang Up Their Stockings. Hanging up the stock ing Is a custom that ought not to be allowed to perish. Certainly the child who dresses decorously and goes down to breakfast before re ceiving his Christmas presents is a child to be condoled with. Ho must lose a great deal of tho enthusiasm of the hour. By all means hang up the stocking. If one wants to bo modern and hygienic there Is no ob jection to using perfectly fresh white stockings bought on purposo, and wrapping the candy and oranges in white tissue paper. Put the trifles, tho Jumplng-Jacks, the horns and the balls in the stocking, reserving tho more serious gifts for the breakfast tablo or the treo. In tho South Christmas is cele brated as we observe Fourth of July. The presents may be or the most In expensive character, but there will be a bountiful supply of firecrackers, torpedoes and rotuiui candles, not forget' l:ig lie tin honi, which besln to toot on Christmas eve and contin ues till nldn'eht of December 25.-
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers