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COPIES EACH WEEK;
7 000 LARGEST CIRCULA-
TION IN COUNTY,
NUMBER 51
VOLUME 60
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING EDITION — - THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1941
—————— ENO
ANJA £0 i
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> HRISTMAS celebrates
5) the birth of Christ. We
» =#% are not very sure about
¥e” the exact date. But we
are exceedingly sure about
the spirit of the festival...
“The réason we celebrate
Christ's birthday is because
we are His followers—or strive
to be-because we believe in
His teachings — because we
make these teachings our re-
ligion and acknowledge Him
as our Lord and Master.
This is the Christinas sea-
son.
Our first duty and pleas-
ure should be to give to the
poor and give quietly and help-
fully.
Do not give coldly as an
obligation.
+ Some years ago, at the
Christmas season, when a
friend of the writer called on
a poor family with some holi-
day tidbits, he noticed a tur-
key on the kitchen table and
commented on the pleasure it
would give them on Christmas
Day.
a a
"You know," said the mo-
ther, “| almost wish | didn’t
have that turkey. The wom-
anh who left it was so terribly
impressive of the favor she was
doing that it is hard for me to
be grateful.”
The incident stirred up our
thoughts.
After all if one does a fa-
vor-or anything else for that
matter — he must do it agree-
ably or it will bear no comfort
of pleasure.
This is the Christmas spir-
it — the spirit of His teaching.
While not old-fashioned
in every respect, we stick to
the original idea of Christmas
~the Christ Idea ~ to be more
generous to the people who
need help rather than those
who do not need it.
Is it not related of Jesus:
“And, behold, one came
and said unto him: Good Mas-
ter, what good thing shall |
do, that | may have eternal
life?"
And Jesus said unto him:
If thou wilt be perfect, go and
sell that thou hast, and give
to the poor, and thou shalt
have treasure in Heaven.”
Then we have the Biblical
injunction:
“When thou doest thine
alms, do not sound a trumpet
before thee, as the hypocrites
do, that they may have glory
‘
of men. But let not thy left
hand know what thy right
hand doeth.”
Our next pleasure should
be to give to the children.
Christmas should be a day of
delight for them.
That is in accord with the
teachings of Christ, for He
said:
"Who shall receive one
such little child in my name
receiveth Me."
But let us not merely give
to our own children, but to
those children who lack the
things which our own children
have in abundance — the com-
forts and the joys which are
necessary to children’s health
and happiness.
In preaching to His disci-
ples, Jesus said:
"Give, and it shall be giv-
en unto you, good measure
pressed down, and shaken to-
gether, and running over,
shall men give unto your bos-
om. For with the same meas-
ure that ye mete withal it
shall be measured to you
again.”
Give generously, give help-
fully, give lovingly.
Give in honor of our dear
Lord's natal day.
‘Give in the spirit of His
teaching.
Give to do good.
Give to promote happi-
ness.
Give to spread comfort,
contentment.
Give to establish on era
of love and good will and
peace on earth — not only to-
wards men but among men.
Give gifts to the needy
abroad.
But do not forget our own
needy at home.
This is a fateful Christ-
mas.
America holds in its strong
and fateful hands much of the
welfare of the peoples of the
world.
That welfare can only be
established by gentleness and
generosity, by liberality of
thought as well as of deed.
The spirit of Christ should
be the spirit of America.
Give that others may live.
Give to make life worth
living.
And remember the old
proverb, when death softly
closes your eyes:
"All you can hold in your
cold, dead hand, is what you
have given away.”