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HE twenty-fifth of Decem
ber, rather the week about
t' lll6 . ' las been cele
m.jjf brated for many ages with
rejoicing. Long before the
Christian era the pa
gan astronomers decided that these
were the shortest days before the sun
returned to northern lands to bring
another spring and seed time and har
vest. The dreary winter was at its
worst, and the coming days would
have longer hours of light and sun
shine and the reawakening of na
ture. Therefore sing and be joyful.
The Egyptians held a festival in honor
of the birth of their god Horus. The
Romans called it"the birthday of the
invincible sun," and dedicated it to
Hacchus, rejoicing with him that the
sun was about to return and revivify
the vineyards. The Persians he'd a
festlcal of uncommon splendor as the
birthday of Mithras, the mediator, a
spirit of the sun. In the north coun
try among the worshipers of Odin it
was a nature festival of riotous feast
ing, because the fast of winter was
approaching its end. It has been a
time of universal celebration accord
ing to ancient wrlt'en history since
the beginning, and obscure tribes in
remote nations have legends of their
own about what we call Christmas
tide the feast of peace and good will.
As ( hrlstianity brougnt its blessings
to follow the good of past religions, it
seems only right that the birth 'of
Christ should come at a time of gen
eral rejoicing. It made it easier for
the papans to turn to the Saviour of
Light, at a time when the returning
sunshine In the skies was symbolical
of the feeling of brotherly kindness
which was taught in the love of a lit
tle child. And so as early as the sec
ond century the church celebrated
Christmas day when the heathen were
honoring their gods.
he ( hristmas celebration, an we
know it, is but a reincarnation of the
Yuletide of the Anglo Saxon tribes.
Singing is a proper way to manifest
joy. It delights the singer and gives
pleasure to others. The churchly car
ols were not enough for the hearty
feeling. The pagan feasting remains.
And so with that divine old carol,
"Adeste Fidelia," are convivial songs
Come hither, ye faithful;
Triumphantly sing;
Come, see the manger.
Our Saviour and King!
To liethlehem hasten.
With joyous accord!
Oh, coine ye, como hither.
To worship the Lord!
The contrast lies In "A Carole
Brynging in Ye Bore's Heed "
Capri apri defero,
Reddt ns luudes domino
The llore's h«-ud in hand bring I,
With garlands gay and rosemary;
And I pray you all sing merely.
Qui* estlls In coiivivto.
The church of the early days had
some of the wisdom of modern social
service. It entertained Its parishiou
ers in a wordly way as welt us In
stilled religious doctrine The uiys
tery, miracle plays mid mummeries
enacted under the direction of the
clergy rehearsed the scene in the
stable. These plays gave rise to a
number of legendary carols. The
"Cherry Tree Carol" was popular In
London In the last century. It related
the story of the Virgin begging Joseph
to pluck kome cberrhs for her. utid
when he rufusing. the unborn babe
speaks and tell- his mother to reach
out her hand and the tree will bow
before her. and the carol goi-a onto
say:
"Then bespake Joseph,
I have don<> Mary wrung." ute
Another carol .it this tin < I* full or
beautiful Imagery
"'As Joseph was a walking,
lie heard an angel sing
The night si all be burn,
Our heavenly king,
lie neither shall hi- bum
In house nor In hall.
Nor In the plaee of Paradise,
Hut In an ot'e stall." sir
Thi. t* in the same n Irit as our fs
miliar:
WMIi »h. phe#.i watched their flv« ha
Th« •■•g*) <>t *».. Lan e do» a
And nluiy shone trotted
"Fear not," said he (for mighty dread
Mad seized their troubled liiln);
"Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To you and all mankind."
And who would forget the swing of
melody, and the charity taught in
"Good King Weneslaus looked forth
On the least of Stephen,"
He saw the beggar gathering fuel
in the snow that lay "round about,"
and calls to his servants to bring him
robes and wine and to fetch the poor
man in from the cold.
In the rural districts the nature fes
tival lived long after the church had
taken the feast. There were remains
of tree worship and sacrifice to Po
mona in Cornwall as last as 150 years
ago. The peasants used togo into
the orchards on Christmas day with
pailfuls of cider and roasted apples.
The health of the trees was drunk to
song, and libations poured upon the
rools. In various sections of north
ern Europe it is the custom to deco
rate trees out of doors. The fir trees
as evergreens, and fruit trees for their
promises, were trimmed with long
streamers of ribbon or paper.
The Christmas tree finds its ances
tor in the German ash Ygdrasil, a
great tree whoso top reached to Wal
halla, the home of the gods, and
whose roots were fast in the earth.
The Germans have a wealth of car
ols, but nearly all are of a religious
nature.
"Oh, Tannenbaum! Oh, Tannen
baum," or the song of the fir tree at
Christmas time, has become world
wide. Who could count the house
holds that gather around the tapers
lighted and the tree loaded with gifts
to sing this in unison.
In the English household the song
is:
"Gather around the Christmas tree.
Ever green has its branches been
It is king of all the woodland scene.''
Or it may be:
"Carol, brothers, carol,
Carol joyfully,
Carol for the coming of Christ's na
tivity."
The good old custom of singing
from house to house on Christmas eve
has crept across the water from Eng
land to America. It was a part of the
program of the season to learn these
carols and to gather in bands, going
from house to house across the snow
and singing before the doors. The
nelghbprs knew they were coming,
preparing cakes and warm drinks, and
sometimes gifts of money. Whoever
has heard "God rest ye, merry gentle
men, let nothing ye dismay," sung
heartily in the frosty air has a thrill
and an experience that returns to him
every Christmas after.
And every Christmas morn Is awak
ened with the stirring strains of
"Shout the glad tldit gs exultlngly
sing."
Rut we must not think that England
or Germany sing all the carol music.
France had a quaint literature of Its
own. Here is one of Nowell, or Noel,
and from north to south there are
delightful variations of it:
" 'Nowell, nowell, nowell, nowell,'
This Is the salutacyon of the ungell
Gabryell,
Tydlngs true ther be cum neu sent
froine the trynyte.
He gabryell to nazareth cety of galile
A clene maydyn and pure vlrgyn
thorow her humylyte.
Hath conceybyb the person secund In
delte."
Pore Noel comes down the chimney
and gives gifts Just as Father Christ
mas does across the channel, and the
little French children sing:
"Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel singeth clear,
Holpen are all folk on earth
Horn Is God's son so dear "
1,. M. McCAUI.EY.
+++++++•;•+❖+++++++++++++++
T +
I fl Christmas Prayer 112
* ii\ ttoo,oMr +
t 11J shining stars of the cold +
j; December iky remind us +
nam of the patient mothtr and £
J «:>« rock-hewn manger In lowly +
+ Bethlehem where lay cradled Chy +
* Cope for the world. In ihe %
$ sh.idows of the silent stall we +
v stand beside the Child and praise
% Chce for Chy best treat atft to 1
sinful men. Speak to our souls as ♦
| we wan. Eel the sweet, loving. :■
+ trusting spirit of the Child steal £
£ into our lives until It calms all t
Swcak and anxious fears and +
soethts all bitterness and pain. *
In willing surrender and holy t
Y IvMaing let us take the Christ +
Child Into our hearts, that hence- t
J forth we may live as he lived, +
+ leve as he loved, and follow In ?
hu footsteps, bringing help 10 ihe t
:j; seedy, courage to ihe weak, +
comfort to ihe sorrowing, hope to I
he downcast, and strength and £
I love to all. tirani thai the spirit t
+ of I wind kindness May so prevail
£ «»<n« us and among all peopU
t ef.ii ih'se who know Chee net, *1
■i- * '.ill IM tMih:rci Into Chy Md 4|
Mf I kingdom.
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1910.
"OF SUCH IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN"
-K-i 111 ii 111 rfffiFm 1
3 Crown the Christ E
El" Cbilfl King g:
At Christmas time we celebrate the
birthday of our King. The wise men
came from the far east, attracted by
the light of the star, to find and wor
ship the King. This blessed day is I
lighted by a star that ought to at- j
tract our attention and lead us In the j
same direction and to the same end. |
This time of music and glad festivities I
should lay especial emphasis on the
kinship of Jesus of Nazareth. It Is j
our privilege to see, Tn the Babe of j
Bethlehem, the King of kings and ,
Lord of lords. That vision should be '
more clear to us than to the wise j
men of old. They had none of the
helps that quicken our eyesight. We
may remember the life he lived, the
work ho did, the sacrifice he made,
and the influence ho has exerted and j
la exerting to this very hour.
"Never man spake like this man,"
concerning God, man, sin, life, death,
truth, Immortality, and"the vast for
ever." He has drawn the intellect of
the world to himself.
His ideals have inspired civilizations
and turned the currents of history Into
new channels. He has compelled the
world to accept his ideas of greatness
and the value of human life. He has
drawn the art of the world to him
self, for the greatest paintings of the
ages reflect his glory. He has drawn j
the music of the world to himself, for j
the mighty masterpieces of this realm
tell the story of his work and In
fluence. He has drawn the thought
of the world to himself, for there
never was one about whom so many
books have been written. His life
and words have been the inspiration of
the modern altruism that Is doing so
much to lift humanity to higher and I
bitter levels. He Is rapidly draw
ing the heart of the world to himself
~ts drawing the lives of men to
himself.
He shall reign, "King of kings and
Lord of lords." Because he humbled
himself and made himself of no repu
tation. and took oa him the form of a
servant, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross,
therefore God hath highly exalted him
and given him a name that is above
every name. If we will not crown him
Lord of all In our hearts here, we
shall yet be called upon to crown him
King of •■teralty. I.et us crown the
Christ Child our King In the here and
now
Keeping Christmas
Christinas Is a day of Joy, but Joy
should not be allowed to die out of our
lives next morning It should stay !
with us ever aftsr. We should sing j
the Christmas songs all the new y«*i
We should «arry the | .-ac« of God in
our hrarts continually hi-reafter W»
should li .irti from this tliue to find th.
b' uuty and th« good will in all things
and tu show the world rfcat «ke bwlleV"
what w« say w» tx'llsve that »inc<'
God loves us. and J»sus Christ Is our
trl>*ud, "all's well with the world '
They who receive and tell of God's
IIU*|H ■tkahlw gift of Christ as a He
d«*tu«T may « »rr> the gladdvsl suit of ,
Christmas around with th<m all tfcs
year In their hearts.
is*
Our early d*,»s will nut. Itid>»d. row*
hack, )«l is i li'Ututas an Indian sum
m«r evining to th« wuvrabu 4 r*
Vlting r«'tuiuiacs|K« u f >uuth
I THE PRINCE \
\ OF PEACEi
i ► <
i * *-1 r 1 <
I By JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL 3
► <
► _J L, <
► <
► "What means this glory <
round our feet,"
► The Magi mused, "more <
bright than morn ?"
► And voices chanted clear and <
j sweet,
; "Today the Prince of Peace 3
► is born." <
I ► <
! ► <
► "What means that star,' the 3
shepherds said,
► That brightens through the 3
rocky glen"?
► And angels, answering <
overhead, 3
Sang, "Peace on earth, 3
good-will to men." 3
: ji
► And they who do their souls 3
no wrong, 3
But keep at eve the faith 3 !
of morn, 3
► Shall daily hear the angel's 3
| song, 3
"Today the Prince of Peace 3
► is born!" 3
' > <
► <
(ll>c U\iy
"When they saw the star they re
i Jolccd with exceeding great Joy."
For men in banked cabins in the are
tic snows and men In the wind beaten
ships on remote seas, for men in tropic
Jungles and men In forgotteu wastes,
this day Is Christmas. We who spend
tbo day in the friendly security of cit
ies and draw about us the familiar In
timacies of home and dally friendships
are apt to forget the wonder of tbls,
and the slgntticanco. Hut whether they
realize it or not, men draw together
during these hours. And this Is to
follow the star the wise men saw over
Hethlehem.
fhruiuias lor most of us Is given to
the closest of ties and the spirit of It
la only a warmer glow of well used af
fections. Ilut the deepest and mighti
est things are the nearest, and In the
heart of this day la the hope of the
race. Two thousand years ago there
was one who spoke front a mountain.
Ills message was the brotherhood of
all men. Another time h« said: "I ant
the way, th» truth, and the life." To
day men follow th« aay though they
do not know, and obey the truth
though they do uot see, and live tho
Itr.. though th«y are unconscious of Its
pulse beat through the world. For the
way Is th« way of the race tnarchiin;
painfully to Its far goal
Th» lllu of •be Individual aud the
Uvea of nations are borne upon the
bosom of a greet tide WUe men call
It by different names, but no tuan
Uvea effectually save In Ms full cur
rent Whether we stale It In terms
of religion, or of |)hll>> "'pltjr, or pol
Icy. Its la v Is but (be divine platitude
of the brotherhood of n.u
HUM ib m pi tverbial wtsh» , thai hi,
m offefeferit %<>Vh
§NE of f.!i© most famous j
cathedrals in Germany!
possesses as its most
sacred relic the swaddling
clothes of the Infant Jesus. J
•t is a sweet and beautiful !
possession which many visitors come j
from afar to venerate.
One Christmas eve the sacristan ;
was arranging the treasure confided to <
his care, which was to be exposed to i
view on the great fete of the morrow. |
The sacristan was a little, hump
backed man, bandy-legged and red
nosed, and it was to this ugly person
that the privilege was reserved of af
ways caring for the adored relic. We
must not be astonished at this, but
must reflect that often the most hum
ble and unattractive are chosen to be
nearer the kingdom of heaven. But.
unfortunately, the hump-backed sacris- |
tan had no idea that he was one of the
elect, and the marvelous character of
his task gave him no extraordinary
emotion. During the 20 years that he
had snuffed the candles of the cathe
dral, and been in daily contact with
the treasure, he had received no en
lightenment; he never made the sign
of the cross before touching the sa
cred linen, and he treated it with the
same mechanical indifference with
which he had hammered the soles of
the boots in his former occupation of
cobbler.
This day, on opening the cupboard
in which the linen of the Infant Jesus
was carefully enclosed, he whistled a
little dance tune and thought: "Ugh!
It's not nice weather outside."
A violent wind was blowing in the
town, unhooking the signboards of the
shops, and making the chimneys shake
on all the pointed roofs.
The man, on entering the sacristy,
listened to the moaning of the wind,
and thought that the fury of nature
did not accord well with the fete for
which he was preparing; but doubtless
there was a striking symbol in the
storm, and the unloosed elements
might calm themselves suddenly when
the words of pardon and pity were
said: "On earth peace, good will to
ward men."
The sacristan went to put his coarse
hand carelessly on the Divine relic,
when an unheard-of event happened.
The window In the sacristy opened
suddenly, pushed by a great rush of
wind. The storm entered like an In
vasion of the Barbarians; It rushed
over all in the room, knocking down
the sacred objects, and the linen of
the Infant Jesus, taken up In the
whirling tempest, was blown out of
the window. The hump-back remain
ed for a moment stuptd and stricken,
then recovering himself, ho rushed
Into the 'hurch. crying:
"Saint Joseph! Saint Martin! Help!
Help! They have taken the linen!"
At this alarming cry the people ran
from all parts. The priests in their
suplices, the beadle in his cap, the
Swiss with his halberd, the old women
who had been praying, ran with pale
faces snd terrltled eyes, and everyone
cried out:
"What are you saying? Holy Moth
er! what are you saying?"
The little Rump back tore to the \
door; he seemed stricken with mad- |
ness
"The linen!- what misery!—the lin
en! By the window! A puff of wind!
Run quickly to catch it again!"
Then In the road was sudden tumult! |
everyone began to run In pursuit of
the stolen relic.
The noses turned up to the houses
resembled notes of Interrogation.
"There! there!" said some one.
"No. no!"
They discovered It at last It was ly- i
tug close to a crest high up on the '
roof of the church. One would have ;
said that the fretwork column, chilled j
with cold, had taken refuge In the ]
sheltering fold*.
"There It Is! there It l«!" Every- ■
one cried out together nut how were
they to reach It?
"It's the sacristan'* duty togo up; i
It was he who let It go " The hump
back whistled no longer
Suddenly a courageous man came
forward. 11® crawled up the columns. |
he hooked himself to the fretwork, he
hung from the projection; after •
thousand perils h« srrlved at the
place and extended his arm to take
th« linen Ilut at this moment, the
linen unfurled Itself and was blown to
a neighboring roof
People rushed to catch It; It waited
until the har.ds were quite close then
It fl'-w off to the other side of the
street
Now N*gan an extraordinary race
Krom street to street from roof to
roof, the Divine swaddling clothes
tleW, pursued hy the crowd
What a chase! The priests, red with
Indignation, ■titling, lifting their arms,
crying orders, and gesticulating madly
The H»l I followed with his useless
halberd The little hump backed sacris
tun ran al.ni as fast as his bandy leg*
would (» And behlud came the old
women, limping pitying themselves,
utd Invoking the name of Mary
The whole tuwn was rapidly raised
liy this great agitation 'to the tn«d
dened priests and the old devotees
«,I. )oin»d » population running and
(Melted Home brought poles, others
felon*b< ladders, and some brought I
i rtii itt*® ' uP ilti iM) of bu%
. uUltt fi/t* tfe* til***. Hill fe> till*
1 tit* (Hittitm IUOI skfflvll|, It ifAl
ing the disorder of the strident noise
with their horns and the galloping of
their horses.
But the swaddling-clothes seemed to
mock the priests and their exorcisms,
the devout with their crucifixes, the
firemen with their ladders.
Sometimes the linen placed itself at
the edge of a cornice and rolled itself
round a chimney. From up there an
end of the stuff floated ironically near
the crowd, seeming to scoff at it. And
when, with difficulty, some one gained
the roof, hoping to have caught it —
good-by! it would go further yet, with
out any respect of person.
After an hour of this game. It sud
denly went away, and all the crowd
could see was a point of white disap
pearing on the horizon.
In a distant road, aright at the end
of the town, in a sordid attic, a wo
man was holding a new-born child on
her knees. She was contemplating il
with a somber tenderness. She cov
ered it with kisses, havtng no her
garment to give it than her sad lips.
By the gaping window, with cracked
framework and broken panes, the cold
and the wind came to usher in a
Christmas of misery. The newly-born
was rigid and white, like a waxen
Jesus.
My God! my God! had he to die
thus, the innocent —had he lived only
to sufTer for an hour? The mother
got up and moved about the room, si
lently, fiercely. Nothing—she could
find nothing to protect the little body
in ail its purity.
She sat down again; she did not
weep; tears are a luxury—even her
eyes were parched.
Near her thero was nothing but wind
and cold; they entered, making a
clamor like many wooden shoes. They
pressed close, with their lugubrious
and cold faces—bad magicians come
to bring to the newly-born their gifts
of agony.
Christinas! Christmas! Ah! that
I Other that one commiserates, that
Child of Bethlehem. He at least had
straw In his cradle, and the beasts
around warmed him with their breath!
' The mother, who could not cry,
| clenched her fist to curse Chrlßtmas.
But her hand fell in the presence
of the adorable miracle.
At the gaping window something
white floated. It arrived from nothing
| ness. It was like a bird which had
; come to ask for refuse.
Then softly, the white thing came
! Into the attic. The mother stared,
i The swaddling clothes!
And the little naked newly-born was
wrapped in the linen of the little In
fant Jesus.
the "Star" to Someone
J# J*
He for whom Christmas Is named
brought the gift of himself to a world
which had nothing except fulth and
love to give htm In return, and which
for the most part lias not so far been
disposed to give him even that. Never
theless, he gave It.and there Is no
genuinely vital Christmas giving which
Is not In the name spirit. Wo would
not for the world discourage the Inter
change of gl't* which come to be cus
tomary at this time In families and be
tween friend*, where such Interchange
Is prompted by the heart In spite of
the sham and the hypocrisy which
have come lo ovsrlay much of such
giving, the custom tend* to the devel
opment of the higher qualities Hut
this Is a reminder that the pleasure of
the getting ready for Christmas al
ways great where sincere Impulse Is
made the guide among the shops, can
be Immensely heightened by a getting
ready to make happy oorne dependent
soul which now look* forward to no
bright ties. In the dav
Ic> .All tbf people
I# 10
He il»i' i itol •Uupty »a>, rtiiUt |«
burn, but lu you Um Is Iwirrt; neither
he I bring tfla4 Ml***, bul
141 )ii « I bring fcl« . Utllcm* uf grvftl
«IV Kur Hit I mure. llt IN )U* *A» nut T*
r*n i U l" bill II tftttll Ut» lo «4
Mnitli i*tittt«r