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For Woman’s Work.
HOME DECORATION FOR
CHRISTMAS.
ND pray a gladsome Christmas
For all good Christian men:
Carol, carol Christians,
For Christmas comes again.”
It is a custom almost as old as
the world, to use green boughs
for decorations on holy days.
The Christmas holy day is of
hill feasts of the year, the most
joyful tor Christian people. We
will not delay, then, but bring
>into our homes green boughs—
the holly, the laurel, the fir, the
■ mistletoe, the box and trailing
vine and winter fern, and make
our homes festive and bright,
and make merry and glad.
“So hallowed and gracious is
the time.” Some simple bin's
might be accentable to those
who wish to bring “the Christ
mas greens” within their own
four walls. If your home is in
the country, you may use the
green boughs of holly with its
bright berries, branches of pine, spruce or
cedar, as they come fresh from the woods,
filling empty fire places or big jars with
branches. Hang vines and sprays of
holly and mistletoe about your pictures
and use them with clusters of green en
livened by the red of the holly-berries or
the pearly mistletoe, in looping your
window curtains. The sarsaparilla vine,
with its thick clust< rs of crimson berries,
givesa wonderfully brightning effect festoon
ed from cornices and pictures and relieved
by an intertwining of ivy. or some green.
Even this general decoration gives a
room a gay and holiday appearence which
can be much enhanced and beautified by
various designs wrought in green The
drawing-room and dining-room should be
made especially attractive in this way.
After this is done, you may make use of
certain sacred shapes and symbols. Tn the
city, where economy of green is necessary,
these suggestive decorations may be u.-ed
to advantage, and without profusion taste
and device, may make attractive and be
fittingly festive. In the country only the
amount of trouble you care to take limits
the variety and lavishness of decoration.
Some of these appropriate symbols and
designs may be suggested.
Since the time of Constantine, the cross
has been the symbol for Christianity
There are various forms of this symbol,
and each has its own historical interest,
which it will be well to keep in mind in
our decorations.
The Tau Cross takes it’s name form the
Greek letter of that form, and is called the
cross of the Old Testament It is the sup
posed cross of the brazen serpent, and has
been called the ideal precursor of the real
cross.
The Latin cross is generally supposed to
be the cross on which our Lord suffered,
and is med as an emblem of sorrow—the
cross of passion.
The Greek cross is said to represent
our Lord’s ministry, tho four equal arms
representing the gospel preached to the
four quarters of the earth by the four
Evengelists. The cross is also called the
cross of St George,' the cross of all good
Englishmen. The Latin cross calls to
mind the atonement, while the Greek
Cross speaks the religion of the cross.
The Maltese Cross, is said with its
eight points to symbolize the eight beat
itudes. I may also mention the symbo
lism of certain forms, which are useful in
our Christmas decorations.
The five-pointed star, called the Pentan
gle of Soloman and in the East used as a
charm against witch-craft, and by Pytha
goras as an emblem of health, is called the
Star of Bethlehem.
The seven-pointed which is said to
refer to the Lamb in Revelation, “with
seven horns and seven eyes, which are the
seven spirits of God.”
These symbols may be cut of paste
board and covered with the ever-gr< ens
and placed where most effective. Ever
greens used may be spruce, ceder, arbor
vitea, holly, laurels, rhododendron, box,
ivy, juniper, mistletoe and periwinkle.
The colors most suitable for Christmas,
are white, which is the most joyous oi all
c< lors, and red, which symbolizes God’s
love, and green for the bounliiulness of
Gid. Gold may be used with the same
significance as white—purity and joy.
Rooms that are very bright may bear
more ornament with wreaths and designs
of green, and others that are darker, need
to be brightened with scarlet or gold.
All this will depend on wall background
and room ornament. In the country
more lavish dtcoration seemsmore suitable
The wreaths and branches can be more
easily obtained and east aside when their
freshness is gone. It is always wiser to
attempt to <lo less decoration and let that
little be well done. Put your chief work on
one central cross, monogram, motto or
star, which shall have the position of honor,
and let all other greens lead up to that.
Whatever designs you decide upon, let
them be carefully drawn, if they are of
home manu<acture. Designs and letters
can always be bad at ary church decorators.
Perforated ziim is the best background, and
devices of this material will be useful
year after year. If it is not convenient to
obtain ti.is, cardboard must be used.
The design drawn should be made with
compass and rule with great care. The
small sprays of green are then sewed with
strong carpet thread and coarse needle
upon the given shape. On a cross the ends
of the four arms are first covered, work
ing all toward the center. Care must al
ways be taken to cover the stems. Small
green leaves are used for decorations on
the level with the eye. In a high posi
tion the coarse greens may be used with
advantage. Circles w’hen needed can be
made the right size of strong wire, then
wou-d with ever-greens. Three circles
crossing each other to form a tangle make
a simple and effective device. The three
circ’es can be fastened together with fine
wire in proper position. A monogram in
red in the center ofa circle of green with
a -mall cross pattee fastened above, below
and at the two sides of the circle is easily
managed and is very effective. When red
berries are used for a surface, the card
board is covered with glue or melted
gelatine, and the berries laid thickly over
the glued surface. Everlasting flowers
may also be used, though I do not my
self wholly like them. One is apt to con
nect the flowers too much
with funeral wreaths. The white
and yellow flowers are the
pleasante-t in color. We have many
varieties of red berries, which have a more
natural and cheerful winter appearance
than the dried flowers. The holly, bittei
sweet and alder may 7 be used.
And now the Christmas-tree may be
mentioned. Iftbere arechildren ina house
hold, if possible give them a Chrstmas tree.
Use a Norway spruce or holly rather than
cedar or pine. Let the tree be well weight
ed, and if possible put on an uncarpe ed
floor. This is for the comfort of not be
ing afraid of the necessary muss and
litter. A curtained-oft end of a hall be
tween parlors is a very convenient posi
tion, as the tree need not be carried far
and is easily removed after the festivities.
A walk through the shops and your own
nimble fingers will give you the best di
rections for the ornamentation of the tree.
It may be well to remember that not the
costly gift a'one is precious but the one in
which we put thought and consideration.
I have made no mention of mottoes. The
prettiest thing would be an embroidered
hanging to keep for Christmas day, and on
that day border it with real hoi y leaves
and berries, besides its needle-work border.
This should be on a strong linen, with
only the verse and proper symbols. There
is nothing batter than the well-known
Bible verses, as any of these:
“Behold I bring you good tidings of joy.”
“Unto yon is born this day a Savior, which is
Christ the Lord.”
“Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace,
good will to man.”
“Hisnameshall be called Wonderful.Counsellor,
the Mighty God. the Everlasting Father, the
Prince of peace.”
If a verseis short, each word maybe
seperated with a cross. If the verse is
long, the cross may be put simply above
and below. Letters cut from paste board
and covered with cedar or some ever-green
can be made to form appropriate short mot
toes when those ofa different character are
desired. Over the mantels there maybe
placed “A MERRY CHRISTMAS,” “HAPPY
greetings for the season,” or anything
the fancy suggests. For the hall you may
use as a mottoe. “hearty welcome and
RIGHT GOOD CHEER ”or simply “WELCOME'’
Vie give a few verses of hymns that
may 7 be used for the embroidered hangings,
or for Christmas cards.
"Oh ye shepherds, what have ye seen
To slay your sorrow and heal your teen?”
"In an ox-stall this night we saw
A babe and a inaid without a flaw.”
“And a marvelous song we straight did hear
That slew our sorrow and healed our cure,”
“To Thee, meek Majesty, soft King,
Os simple graces and sweet loves,
Each of us his lamb will bring,
Each his pair of silver doves;
At last iu tire of thy fair eyes
Ourselves become our own best sacrifice,”
"The heart must ring thy Christmas bells,
Thy inward altars raise,
Its faith and hope thy canticles
And its obedience, praise!”
"The world is glad for Thee! The heart
Is glad for thee! And all is well
And fixed aud sure: because Thou art
W hose name is called Immanuel!”
What need be added after these to make
our homes beautifu 1 , save the words of
Scrooge after the visits of the three spirits:
“1 will honor Christmas in my heart aud
try to keep it all the year.”
For Woman’s Work.
WHAT WE TALK ABOUT.
We do not like to encourage the rather
selfish way of constantly 7 staying at home
and keeping ourselves to ourselves, but
after making a round of social calls we
thi .k the question pertinent when we ask
C"i bona?
Social intercourse is certainly advanta
geous when it means meeting with our fel
low beings to learn how the world goes
with them in their endeavor to successful
ly solve the problem of the best way to
meet it in all its perplexities, and to ex
changeideas—not remarks—on subjects of
interest; but seldom is this the object or
result of the personal intercourse we carry
on with our friends.
This is what the average call amounts to:
Woman puts on her best and goes to see
one of her dear(?; friends, not because it is
a real pleasure to her, but because it she
doos not exchange the requisite number of
calls she may be considered unsocial and
eccentric. They meet with marked cordi
ality, talk in a lively manner on the latest
society news, recent domestic trials and the
prevailing styles, and all the while the ladv
of the house is noting the minutest details
of her visitor s toilet while her companion
makes a mental inventory of the drawing
room and all its appoint merits, comparing
them with her own. They receive a cor
rect and critical impression of these two
subjects and erhaps their fund of society
news and scandal is somewhat enlarged,
but what real benefit has the meeting been
to them? They have learned nothing that
is help ul. nothing that is elevating and
improving, nothing that will aid and com
fort them in their every day life. They
have not talked together freely and
unreservedly as two intelligent women
with minds and hearts that sh<uld have
a common ambition ai d sympathy, but
as ladies in the same society circle who
are performir g a society duty.
The narrow-mindedness of the conversa
tion usually carried on between women of
intelligence, is something discouraging to
those who hope for a more elevated plane
of thought and feeling. How few can be
entertained by any topics but those of per
sonal interest, the old, but ever new, sub
ject < f dress, the foibles and weaknesses of
absent friends and the current news oi
their small world.
It is strange that persons of even average
intelligence should be satisfied with what
is s<» common-place to say the least.
One of the pleasantest days we ever spent
was with a lady we had met for the first
time. We did not know the same people,
so could notdissect the character of absent
acquaintances; we were too much of
strangers to discus's family matters and
too well bred to bore each other with-do
mestic affairs. How thankful I felt that
the fact of our being strangers prevented
all possibility of conversation being
conducted in the brilliant(?)style to which
I have known many persons, considered
cultivated, to confine themselves; in
trying, by much nr n tai exertion to
recall the name of some almost
forgotten person, who perhaps had only
crossed the path of their life once and
would never do so again; or to set le lh«
exact date of a death, which e uld be of no
more importance to them than it was to
the tomb-tone on which it was recorded;
or who this One or that one married some
twenty years ago. and how they were re
motely connected with some one else by
some other marriage, etc., etc.
S<» 1 was glad we had no acquaintances
in common and never had.
Will you believe it? The femininetopics
of dress, domestic affairs and society, were
not mentioned.
Why cannot rational human beings meet
together and talk in a rational manner?
Sometime during a conversation try to
express a sentiment that is worthy of you,
if you cannot give a bright <>r origii a)
thought. Then social calls will not only
be a pleasant recreation but something to
help and strengthen mind and heart.
While not approving of strong minded
women, as the term is commonly applied,
we do implore that there be more strength, of
mind among them. We now speak
particularly of women not girls. At mar
riage her mental growth becomes even more
staunaie than that ofa society young lady.
Frequent visits abroad and meeting'many
persons give the latter an advantage As
a girl she entertains her friends with the
sniall-talk of society nothings, jests of a
questionable character, garnished with
such nonsense and slang as is only conipn
hended by the girl of the period, and which
has one recommendation— it is of so
evanescent a nature that it cannot be kept
in the mind for any length of time.
As a matron, the bill of fare served t<>
visitors is fashion — us essential as salt to
some women’s conversational least—the
pretty details of house-keeping and the
disposition and taking ways of her servant-.
Once for six months we lived in the same
house with a woman who had a husband
and children, and during that time she was
not s« en reading a book. She no more
thought of doing such a thing than she did
of converting her parlor into a chemical
laboratory. If her thoughts chanced to leave
her kitchen and dining-room, they only
wandered as far as the parlor and went as
high as the ceiling—no higher. How
can such a woman give her children the
training a true mother should, or be a com
panion lor an intelligent man?
If the sweet word wife should be lost, we
know no other in the language so fitted to
take its place as companion.
It is happily true that a woman may
industriously occupy her bands with do
mestic concern and still not allow her m nd
to he entirely absorbed by them. This is
where she errs.
Among young people there is a great
lack of earnestness in conversation. The
tendency these days is to ridicule every
thing. No person or thing is spared, if
something can be said to raise a laugh;
nothing is considered sacted.
Would it not be rather shocking to gome
ears, io bear one girl teasing another in a
light and jesting way about the probable
attentions <>f a man whose wile had been
dead less than a week? This has been heard
in good society and personally speaking
the effect was painful.
Jest is ever appreciated and adds a zest
and piquancy to conversation, but let there
be some discrimination in choosing a sub
ject for it. Charles Reade has given us a
sermon in the title of one of his books—
‘•Put Yourself in His Place.” Ridicule
and burlesque are enjoyable but not at the
expense of friends either present or absent.
Indulge in it discreetly, but do not let it
exclude the earnestness from your conver
sation. The utter indifference of most
young people to the development of what
is true and noble in their nature, their
want of serious thought on the real objects
and aims of life, is something that is to us
inexpressibly sad. A favorite writer
gives us the key-note to this evil, when he
says— “Honestyand truth, God’s essentials,
are perhaps more lacking in ordinary in
tercourse between young men and women,
than any where else.” Where does the
blame rest?
In order to elevate the tone of society,
the tone of its conversation must be eleva
ted. To do this there are three requisites—
read think, feel. Then, in an hour spent
with a friend, both may g’ean something
worth the keeping, if it is but a kind word
that shows a friendly sympathy, an ex
pression of interest in a fellow being who
also is walking the rugved way of life.
Heart and soul will expand and the word
society can be used in its intrinsic sense,
meaning/eZ/owsAip and companionship.
Helen C. Molloy.
For Woman’s Work.
THE OLD AND THE NEW.
Foot sore and weary, leaning upon his
staff, the Old Year limps away. He has
traveled many a league since the hour
when, fresh and radiant and amid the
welcoming peal of jocund b-lls, he com
menced bis pilgrimage in that path which
all the centuries have traveled.
As he flits away, gaunt as any spectre,
he bethinks him, max hap. of all the scenes
through which be has passed, and in, his
wallet stows away. “Alms for oblivion.”
At how many christenings he has looked
in with smiling face. How many feasts he
has enliveded with jest and story. Into
how many graves he has thrown, in pass
ing by a sprig of rose mary. How many
lives he has hung with garlands—huw
many be has strewn with ashes and woe.
Children have plucked playfully at his
skirts as he has marched forever on. Young
men and maidens have craved choicest
benefactions at his hands ; old men and
women, gray and wrinkled, have implored
him again and again, to tarry —to linger
in his march—that they might gather the
utmost he had to give. And now he is
near the journey’s end. Yonder in the
purpling dawn, a New Y«ar comes
smiling down this way. So farewell to
the Old, and peaceful dreams; Welcome to
the New. Latest child of Time, may it
be to all of us the best and happiest—
that one of all the years to which
from the far he.ghts that n<> eye can see,
we shall look back with chiefest and fullest
delight. C. B. G.
Love without religion is a plucked rose.
Religion without love—there is no such
thing. R' liuion is the bush that bears all
the roses; for religion is the natural condi
tion of man in relation to the eternal fact*;
that is, the truths of bis own being. To
live is to love; there is no life but love.
What shape the love puts on depends on
the persons between wh<>nt is the relation.
The poorest love, with religion, is better,
(because truer.therefore more lasting.more
genuine, more endowed with the possibility
of persistence—that is of infinite develop
ment.) than the most passionate devotion
between man ai.d wuiunn without iu—
George Mac DouaLd.