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Campus Mirror
Published During the College Year by the Students of Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia
“Spirit of Christmas”
Ollie Franklin, '40
At no other time of the year is there
a feeling exactly like the one experi
enced at Christmas time!
('hristmas means a celebration of
the birth of Christ, and a spirit of
peace, good will, and cheerfulness
dominate. To children, it means new
toys and lots of good things, which
will be their reward from Santa Claus,
for having maintained good behavior;
to high school students it means new
clothes and the buying of gifts for
friends; to some college students it
means a family reunion; to others, a
short rest from every-day activities.
One of the most beautiful expressions
of Christmas spirit is by means of the
singing of Christmas carols. Especially
a' Spelman College is the singing of
carols most effective during the <’hrist
mas season, under the direction of Mr.
Kemper Harreld.
Whether one is able to buy gifts or
not; whether one is able to join in a
family reunion or not, one can be thank
ful for blessing' he has received and
can help spread cheerfulness all about
him by greeting his friends with a
cherry, vibrant, “Merry Christmas.’’
What Does Christmas Mean
To You?
Anatol C. Reeves, ’3!)
Christmas, the day on which Jesus
Christ was born many years ago and
which Christians celebrate once a year
as the greatest day of the year, is the
season of good cheer, the time of merri
ment and good will. On that day the
thoughts of the manger with its message
of humility, sacrifice and love for man
kind renew for us the Father’s love.
Does the Christmas season really mean
this to us.’ Or do we think that Christ
mas is only for children. It does bring
much happiness into the lives of chil
dren, but it should also mean all that is
beautiful and wonderful to grown-ups.
We still carry out the beautiful cus
toms of sending gifts to those we love
and want to remember, which originated
with the Wise Men who brought gift- to
Jesus. Christmas has been ruined by
people who have made an ambitious
rivalry of this simple lovely gesture.
Some try to out-do each other in the
expensiveness of their gifts, while others,
because of insufficient means, feel that
Christmas is a time for the rich only.
Although this giving of gifts is a prob
No. 3
lem, yet it is an intimate part of Christ
mas that must be considered.
I am sure that there is not one of
us who does not get a thrill at the sight
of the bright parcels tied with sparkling
green and red ribbon and bearing the
tantalizing inscription “Please Do Xot
Open Until Christmas.” Which of us
has not felt them, tried to guess the
contents of the parcels, and at length
disobeyed the inscription by opening
them ?
On the contrary, is there any one who
has not experienced the joy of going to
store after store searching for the right
gift for the beloved parent or friend?
What secret joy most of us have had
when we, having found the perfect gift
for some member of the family, tried
to hide it in the place most unlikely to
be visited by the one for whom it was
intended! At last how happy we were
when we saw 7 the face of the one who
received the gift beam with joy and sur
prise on Christmas day!
A very amusing thing about Christ
mas is the manner in which different
people do their gift shopping. Many of
us prepare the list of names to whom
we intend giving gifts and beside each,
name the gift. When we reach the stores
we are so overwhelmed by lovely things
we see that we lose all control of our
selves and heedlessly buy article after
article, only to find in a short time that
the amount of money provided for our
gifts can’t do what we expected of it.
We are then forced to stretch the re
mainder of our money twice as far as
it can well go.
There are others of us who act more
foolishly by trying to purchase our gifts
before making our plans. Of course we
become so enamoured with the many
beautiful things that we discover when
its too late that a box of Max Factor
face powder will not do for father nor
can we give mother a pipe.
A rather heart-breaking experience is
that of hunting for a special gift for
some friend, which, when at last found
with great joy, hears a price tag which
throws it definitely beyond one’s slender
funds.
Regardless of what type of shopper
one is, I think the greatest fun of Christ
mas buying is the excitement of almost
pushing one’s way through a crowd, try
ing to keep the packages from falling
from one’s arms.
To me Christmas is certainly a time
of merriment and good will, a happy
season which not only children enjoy,
but which holds for all of us a glorious
message in that old greeting “A Merry,
Merry Christmas.”