Newspaper Page Text
EDITORIAL PAGE
THE SUNNY SOUTH
DECEMBER 17, 1904
Ufie SUNNY SOUTH
Published Weekly by
Sunny South Pubtifhing Co
Businefs Office
THE CONSTITUTION BUILDING
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Subscription Terms:
To those who subscribe
to Z5/ta Sunny South only
Six Months, 25c ^ One Year, 50c
LESS' THAN A PENNY A USEII
Entered nr the poatofllce Atlanta* Gn..na aecoad-claaa mail matter
March 13, 1U0X
XT'
n* Tunny South la tA« ofdait meekly paper of literature,
Romance, fort and 1'Idlan la (At South XT It la now re*
Jtored to tho original shape and will ba published as for,
merty every meek Founded In !S74 It grew until t 300,
when, as a monthly. Its form was changed as an expert,
meat XT It now returns to Its original formation as a
weekly with renewed vigor and the Intention of eclips*
tng Us most promising period In the past,
and a Plea for Sentiment
going with the other ships into the harbor of
Goodwill ? If anyone should be ashamed, it is not
the old-fashioned man—I think it is this affected,
shallow, '"■'■nical, modern.
Really, as a rule this anti-Christmas man is not
so bad as he appears. If I had him in thfe witness
box I could make him do justice to himself. Per
haps he is a lonely man who has no real home,
neither wife nor child to bid him welcome on
Christm-'c eve. One day, and not an hour after he
had been jibing at the Christmas foolishness with |
clever, mocking speech, I caught him watching a j
j father going home laden with spoil for the Christ-
■ mas tree. And if I can read a human face he was
not regarding that father with contempt. I never
saw wistful regret if it was not on his face. He did
dine in solitary state, but that was beyond his con
trol; but let it be put to his credit, although he
will never take credit for it, he did buy four dif
ferent gifts, and the}' were on a generous scale,
and sent them without a name to homes that were
linked with his past, and where they raised much
speculation. No one thought of him as the giver,
and he would have been indignant if his deed had
been discovered. But when a man does a good j
thing with his heart, whatever he says with his !
mouth he cannot escape the consequences—and 1
/? CfS} ! the angels forget what he said, but they noted what i
eft v/ nrisimas JfJL ;he did. Yes, and on Christmas eve he opened his J
j desk to count a packet of letters, which it may sur- !
j prise you to know this cynic keeps tied with a j
faded pink ribbon and reads more than once a
vear. See you how the expression on his face has
Ballad of the World's First Love Song
By FRANK V. STANTON
Written For Christmas Issue of The Sunny South.
By IAN MACLAREN.
HEN Christmas appears on the ho
rizon, and its forerunners are seen
on every side, it affects two men
you and I know very differently,
each one according to his nature.
There is the man who is bored at
the thought of its coming, and lifts
up his voice in contemptuous lamen
tation. He is angry at the disturb
ance of his fixed arrangements he
loathes the festivities of the season,
he is irritated by the compulsion of
gifts, he dislikes the intrusion of
young people upon the scene, he is
ill-at-ease amid seasonable greet
ings, and he judges a Christmas sermon more tire
some than any other. Were it in his power he
would abolish Christmas and old Christmas ways;
but as it is he goes out of town if it is possible, or
hides himself in solitude till this calamity of gen
eral good nature and this saturnalia of simple-
hearted pleasure be over. Then there is another
man who has been built of God after another plan.
This good soul brisks up at the first hint of Christ
mas, and begins to put on, as it were, his Christmas
garments at the beginning of December. All the
month his face will be brightening and his heart
warming and his voice tuning up for the 25th. His
spare time he will spend selecting presents for his
family and his friends, writing letters to people in
distant parts of the world, that a man in the north
west of Canada or guarding the Indian frontier
may have a greeting as near as possible on Christ
mas day. When the shops put on their finery he is
vastly pleased, and delights when his own house
is studded with holly. His wife and he, who share
the same mind, spend the last hours of Christmas
changed as he reads. No, it is not the lamplight
that has softened the eyes and given tenderness to
the lips, it is the light from the heart, the light
from long ago. Come, let us leave the room, for
we are in a holy place. This is another man than
we knew, and his gay mockery of Christmas is the
cry of a lonely heart.
SENTIMENT LIKE PATRIOTISM.
Granted that the spirit of Christmas is only sen
timent, what then ? Have you laughed it out of
court when you have said this, and recalled rea
sonable men from its spell, as if sentiment were a
weakness and a futility? What is the strength of
patriotism which has such a hold of a man’s heart
that he springs to his feet at the sound of the
national anthem and the tears come to his eyes
when he gets the first glimpse of his native country i _ qt
aiter long years abroad, that lus pulse beats quicker
as an English regiment passes, and that he is a
bigger man when on a distant sea he sees an Eng
lish man-of-war carrying the old flag which girdles
the world? What is the flag itself? Only a yard
of cloth, but men’s hearts would break if it were
disgraced, and for its honor the bravest sons of i
England have laid down their lives! Nothing but j
sentiment. Why should a peasant cling to a few
acres of cold hillside and a cottage of three rooms
when he could have a slice of the prairie in another
land and be a prosperous man, with more to eat
and better clothes to wear? What does it matter
that he was born in, that glen, and that his fathers
lived there before him, and that their dust is lying
in the kirkyard, and that the people of his blood
are round him? This also is only sentiment, sense
less and uncommercial sentiment; but when it dies,
and men care not where they live so long as they
have plenty to eat, nations will also die, and hero-
It was the world’s first Christmas Day,
Far away—far away;
And a fair Babe—too fair to say—
Within a manger-cradle lay:
A dream God dreamed, that made the
gray,
Lost world leap lovelier in the light:—
God thought a Star into the Night!
It blazed—of all His stars the gem,
And led my Soul to Bethlehem.
II
My Soul looked in, but to behold
Great men lay princeliest gifts of gold
Before that cradle strange and wild,
As though a palace domed the Child!
Strange wonder to my Soul, that saw
The heaven-sweet face there in the
straw
Will not the world such couch condemn
For such a Child, at Bethlehem?
Ill
J, standing like an outcast thing,
Heard yet ten thousand voices sing
Above me and around; and ever,
Flowing like a celestial river,
A chorused cadence of “A King!”
And that one Star high-blossoming
In the flower-field of heaven, streamed
down
Until its light became a crown!
A crown no earth-kings would condemn
For that Babe’s brow, at Bethlehem!
IV
No gifts had I, from lordly lands:
I sought the King with empty hands
But kneeling in His presence sweet
I laid my Soul’s love at His feet.
And spake a strange, far Voice to me:
“When comes the King to Calvary,
Thy love his richest gift shall be!”
The gold-gifts faded from my sight:
And in unutterable light
My Soul seemed lost! . . . and still I
heard
That voice speak yet one other word:
“Peace and good will, and Love to reign,
And Love to die, and live again!
Though Stars before the king should
fal!
Who giveth Love, hath given all!”
VI
So sang the heavenly hosts of them.
Earth’s first Love song at Bethlehem!
Christmas Has Significance in Heathen
as Well as Christian Climes jZ7
• ‘ ! ism be buried in'the grave,
eve in arranging gifts upon separate tables for 1 P . .
. ,, , , . ,, , , Does anyone sav that sentiment is not true, that
everv person in the house, but they make a great A , ... , .
mystery about the gift which they have for one:"’? n ' ust k “P‘° fac ? s >? e ‘ hat P, rosa ‘ c and
another, and each goes down early on Christmas i sc ! e ” tloua . ra ? th ' r ,, who had ? au S ht the niodern
morning to place it on the tables. !?*"'• and J ud R' d ■ wrong to give any countenance
, , TV * c 1, r . , • , c , 1 ,to Santa Claus? She wislffcd tne minds of her chil-
And the young folk—for this kind of foolishness ! . . , , , , , ,
. • ' * 1 , ( r .. dren to be cleansed from all fables, and so poor
is contagious, and no member of the familv escapes : ~ _ *
it—have also paid a visit to the tables, each £ne ! S«ita .Claus was exposed and abolished Perhaps
with his one gift for his father and mother, for his t 1 hcrc ls " ot f ch a man; perhaps he does not come
4,,^.; , • . 1*1 t • . . , : down the chimney and stand in the childrens
brothers and sisters, but he makes a point m plac-! , . / , - , . , , . ,
* * rcMitvi virnr-n 1 hrictmoc /l a 10 Kni'ti I» l-i, r-
■firtg them never to look at his own table. Frankly j r ° om f he " Christmas day is born with his long
Vet it be admitted there is a tremendous to-do on ! Sllver be f ard \ nd I h,s ] ° ad of f ft . s ‘ F * Th *?* , he d< ? es
not go from bed to bed and give the children his
blessing.
Christmas morning, a general shaking of hands and
giving of kisses and exchanging of greetings, an
outbreak of unselfconsciousness and quite unaf
fected good nature. Every incident of the dav is
tasted and enjoyed, the examination of the tables,
each one of his own, and then the visit to the other
SOMETHING HIGHER THAN LOGIC.
If you have read a sixpenny handbook of scien
tific knowledge, and have learnt that nothing ex-
, ists which you cannot weigh in a pair of scales,
a ics. and the grateful pleasure in the gifts, and j then you will not believe in Santa Claus. But
e wonder t lat anyone should have known what Santa Claus is truer than we think, for he is only a
was wanted, and the hearty participation in the
Christmas service, and the jollity of the Christmas
dinner, and the old-fashioned games in the evening,
and the regret, tender and kind, that another Christ
mas is over. Two different men, and two different
simple form and parable of the love which is at
the heart of things which has blessed us ail our
days. There may not have been a garden of Eden,
with its trees and rivers, and its gates and angels.
Yiritten for C/>e Sunny South
INETEJSN hundred and
four years ago, the shep
herds watching their
facias by night on the
plains of Bethlehem, saw
a marvelous vision in the
skies above them. The
dawn was brightening the
eatly clouds. That in it
self was a miracle, but
because it was ever-re
curring, they, iikje wc,‘
gave it little heed. But
on this one dawn there
was something more than the sunshine
visible in the heavens. An angelic host
was hovering above the awe-stricken
shepherds, filling the air with unearth
ly music, and with a glow greater than
that of the rising sun. “Glory be to
God In the highest,” they sang, “and on
earth peace, good .will towards men.”
Thus was heralded H*ie first Christmas
day. For centuries that wondrous event
when the Creator of all men gave ihim-
seif to be born of a woman, that He
might be sacrificed for their sins, and
thus satisfy the laws they had broken,
and save them from the judgment they
had merited—for centuries before that
wondrous day,- mankind, in its dim,
groping way, had felt the influence of
a -power higher than their o-wn. and
had worshipped it, each nation after
its own fashion. It is a very siglnflcant
fact, and one that should teach a les
son to the atheist, that from the most
remote ages, even in the most deepiy
dyed heathen communities, the existence
of a power above that of man, has been
felt and acknowledged, worshipped and
obeyed. The finite nature of man has
ever craved a hope and support stronger
than its own frailties.
“The first man stood. God-conquered,
With his face to heavenward upturned.”
nese diety. These also were reaching out \ of the year, and as so much iovinj
after the great Father of us -all, -but
knew not where to find Him, but mean
time they offered to Tlim trees and lights
in worship.
The Christmas tree came down to us
•from Germany, but it d.i-d not originate
there, and in truth its birth lies so far
back among past ages that no one can
say where or when it did originate. The
work, and thought and expense go to
the making of the tree, its owner wants
ail the people round about to see ond
to admire. Either a small tree, or a large
branch from a giant tree, is placed in a
large box made for -the purpose. TO
box is entirely hidden beneath a mass
of evergreens, over which are draped
wreaths and festoons of leaves and
earliest trace of the Christmas tree is to ;flowers whose beauty a n d fragrance are
be found in China, as we shall see pres
en-t-ly. But the tree worshipping Druids
of England and France had much to do
with the after use of the tree In Christian
celebrations. Yet a similar festival, with
a tree as the crowning figure, was, and
still is, observed by many heathen na
tions. The passing of the winter sol
stice and the coming of the -genial spring
time, has ever been cause for rejoicing.
The tree fitly represented the new life
of the earth, and the lights burning
anion-g its branches, the return of the
warming rays of the sun. So we see
that our modern tree, with its gilded or
naments, its lighted candles, is a direct
descendant of this old heathen festival
a delight Jn themselves
up of the tree is an i
The setting
»'ent in itself.
Z5/>e Busy World
Nothing of particular moment has
transpired in the Far East during the
last week. The status at Port Arthur
and in Manchuria appears to be un
changed. The center of public attention
is now at St. Petersburg, where a riot
of ominous proportions occurred recentl
The entire studentry of the city, sum
moned by secret code in defiance of
newspaper warning, made a terrific peace
demonstration on the Nevski prosp
They were finally dispersed by a charge
of Cossacks and many arrests were made.
Alleging the birth of a royal heir as
the extenuating cause, the emperor lias
commuted the sentences of the two a-
sassins of Von Plehve to respective -y
fourteen and ten years.
The national house of representatives,
by an overwhelm.ng vote, has agreed
Institute impeachment proceedings
against Federal Judge Swayne, of Flori
da, charged with irregularities in offi-
The trial will occur before the bar of t .h
United States senate.
AURICE BEK-
rEAUX. the sac:
1st millionaire
took broker dep
uty, who has just,
-ucceeded Gener;
Andre as minister
■ f war, is som* -
thing of a novel'
n that capacit
There have been s--
ialist ministers b>
fore, notably Mile-
rand, minister o.
Mauric Hvrieaux commerce in tl-
W-aldiek-Rousseau cabinet, and Fell-,
tan, minister of marine in the present
cabinet. Premier Combes himseif.
though flying the flag of the so-caii -J
progressionist republicans, is a social
ist in convictions and in line of con
duct- But there has never before been
a stock broker minister in France an-i
very few civilians (iave been minist-
of war, the only precedent in re- -- 1
years being Godfrey Do Cavaigne and
De Frevcinet. Maurice Berteaux was
(born at Sai n t - M au r-1 es- Fosses in 1852
j and has been a stock broker at th-:
I Paris bourse since the age of 27. B-
' teaux is among the most successful <■'
bourse men and he clings so much to
his profession that he has refused to
retire from active business even to be-
' LX,I AM WARNER,
f Kansas City. Mo-,
,'nited States di-
*rict attorney
.he western district
>f Missouri. ha
jeen offered the. ot-
r ice of commission-
•r of pensions an
•ecllned the proffc
;’he place wii! be
aade vacant by th
retirement of^ Eu
gene Ware, of Kar
sas, whose resign;-
January I. Majo
Wat Warner
for it i s attended with great solemnity j tion takes effect
and cremonlais which draw crowds to | Warner was strongly indorsed for ,
witness them i pension commissionership by his Gran
But of still greater interest is i Army of the Republic comrades, but di
| ceremony that attends the distribution of j
j the presents. Of course, the Buddhist
priest takes tho leading part !n both
- of these functions. A platform is erected
near t'he tree, -with a high back that is
j covered with crimson cloth. On the plat-
: form is a yellow divan on which the
j priest sits motionless until at the ap
pointed hour, he unfolds a scroll, and be
gins. In a slow, monotonous manner, a
[prayer to Buddha, which is listened to
the j Army
not desire the appointment.
in honor of the sun.
We find traces of it today in Iceland, j" ;t b bended kneeg and bared head. The
where the “service tree’ is adorned with . prayer is a long ono. but it comes to an
bright lights during Christmas. The Eng- j end, at last, and then the people draw
lisli Yule log is another survival of this ; near to the tree In delighted anticipa-
heathen festival. But back, -far, far -back, : tion, for now comes the distribution of
beyond the Druids of oldon times, we i the presents.
find the lighted tree filling a prominent j If the owner of the tree is wx-l'-io do,
place in the ceremonies of China, that ' but not rich, the gifts are mostly of
l-and of -wonders and of antiquity. Such j fruits, cakes an) other edibles, but es-
a tree is on record 247 years before j peciaily cakes of figs. The top of the
Christ. It was placed on the steps of box at the foot of the tree is piled high
the -audience hail of the emperor’s pal- j with flowers and fruits of every kind,
ace, a-nd was adorned with lamps, while fbe branches hang little d-lShes cu-
countless flowers were wreathed among j ricusly fashioned from plantain
its branches. Again, in the records of
eaves,
and filled with nuts and candies, also
the -great Princess Yang, who li\ed be- cakes beautifully decorated, and other
tween 713-755, after Christ, mention is [ rlc
made of a tree 80 feet high, that this
But not until that great day at rseth
lehem, did he learn the truth revealed
in the message brought by the angelic
host. Not till then did he learn that
there Is more merit in the sight of the
Father of us all, in one kindly word, In, ,
one act of self-sacrifice for the good of »> ™ longer the custom in China there
others, than in thousands of lip-service ls another form of e i.is.mas -i
that lg still in vogue.
princess caused to -be erected on a
mountain. On every New Yeaar’s night,
this tree was lighted up with 100 great
lamps, suspended amidst its branches,
an-3 the illumination was set-n for hun
dreds of miles, eclipsing the light of fhe
moon. This candle tree, as it wms called,
is no longer lighted in China, being re
placed by the gay paper lantenrs with
which -we are all familiar.
But while the lamp, or candle tree,
dainties of a kindred sort, the whole
making a most tempting display.
When, however, the tree belongs to a
poor man. the fruits and cakes are
largely missing, but stil! the branches are
not empty. Hundreds of l»ittle Chi
nese lanterns are hung on them, and
when lighted at night, with the. gentle
brezes swaying them to and fro. they
give the humble tree a fairylike aspect.
Also, at the ends of the branches are
little whirligigs that spin and dance mer
rily in the breeze, to the delight of the
children. All over the tree, too, are dot-
But there is a state of innocence wherein a child I f°r SS *y,^ f of the okl year a s P ec5al altar is ere,etfc,J | and Ie hves. fashioned
natures, and two different customs. And the former j dwells before it goes out on its wander year, and ! this “essa S e was deiuered, yeti 1 ? ‘j- mythical ^"^J^nor “
in? to , )e tIie " a > r nowadays, and the moderns to which a man looks hack with fond regret. There AV “" ” nw ’ e ‘ ar ‘ y °
who pursue it sneer at Christmas and the Christ-
r.iay not be a city of gold, with its open gates unto
everyone who keeps the commandments of God,
but there is a state where there shall be no more
death nor sin nor sorrow nor crying, to which they
who have the child-heart shall one day come. There
is such a thing as prose, and there is such a thing
as poetry; and the poetry is truer than the prose,
because it is deeper and higher, because it deals
with the things which are unseen and eternal.
Once upon a time a mother was sitting with her
children at the table, and it was a poor home, where
mas spirit, and look down in a very superior fashion
upon the man who keeps Christmas as his fathers
did. and according to the spirit of the Christian
church.
NEW OR OLD-FASHIONED?
Well, which is wiser, and which is better, the
new-fashioned or the old-fashioned man? Ought
the former to be so high and mighty? Should the
Liter nang his head when the other comes in as
if he had been caught playing the fool? Has the
modern, who regards Christmas as a superstititon, there was not much to eat, and nothing over for a
-~° muc reason to congratulate himself, and to I stranger. As the mother was dividing their por-j has "been the rule sin“0 the Christian I the real Christmas trees of China, and
think so much of himself? Is he any better than j lions to the children, and sorrowing in her heart besan. There was an ancient cus- there is l-UUe doum that our own intern
rathe : - g T b , u f esa i‘ hat ,her£ was so Iit,le 10 a ddId «>•»« ‘o «!*! ssjss
and make money on that day, or sit in his club and ;door, cold and hunger, and begged for bread and
cat a so itary dinner, or shut himself in his room shelter. Her kind heart could net refuse the appeal those days wiien one powerful noble was
and read a favorite author, or go abroad and spend |on the child’s face, and every one at the table gav~ ‘ he terr ° r ° f ' his weaker neiEhbors ’ a,,d
the day on the Riviera—instead of making children ja little to the guest
happy, and putting old friendship in a state of thor-
The Sa-ge o-f Lons
t'he people of the earth have even now; rife”
but half learned its lesson But ^fe is the most prominent of these mys
are learning it, little by little. One of i p
the signs of this progress is the now - eriou 9 personages,
almost universal custom of celebrating
the birth of the Savior. Kings and I an( l .
peasants, the gentle and the simple, the | This Sage of Long Lite is ie ne.-
wise and the foolish, tho ignorant and! ICrls Kriitgle. On the altar are p an-
the learned, all center their gaze upon, the ceremonial utensils, vases, candles,
one spot, tvhere lies the Babe in the j fruits apd decorative objects made of
Manger. On Christinas day, if on noi STold foil, tinsel, paper, silk and feathers,
other, the Lord Jesus is the dominant All of these decorations are made in the
figure all over tho Christian world.
EVEN SLAUGHTER CasesN
On that sacred day, strife Is hushed.
Great armies, facing each other on th< :
Night. January S. Sometimes the £c -
tivities were even extended to Cancil
mas day. the 2d of February. The re
son for these prolonged festivals is four ,
ir. the desire of the early fathers of th-
church to prove to tlieir heathen con
verts that thev had lost no harmie:-
enpoyments in the substitution —
Cllristlan for heathen festivals. Th.
Romans especially observed this seasor.
I of the year as a time for mirth and re-
I jolcing. Among the most marked o.
| the old heathen customs that have com
i down to modern times is that of givin-
j -presents. For this custom we must
| back to the feast of Saturn, or Saturn.
! lia, at Which it was the custom for each
j member of a familv to bestow girts -
| the others.
I While this war, at first entirely a far. -
j ily affair, concerning only the men
j bers of one household, the custom be-
i came gradually extended, until finally
I reached that stage where it became mo; «•
j honored in the breach than in the ob-
j servance. And this not because t!
j giving arid exchanging of tokens
j good will and love had becom-
j beautiful, but because its extension
! yond the Original family Uncle hr
i brought a widespread abuse of the ci:
j tom. A notable example of this tru .
j was seen in England, when, in 1836, t'.
j government felt itself called on to u
j terfere in the matter of the “Christ-
j max box.” This was the popular term
j for a custom that 'had become excee-;-
mgly unuopular among the class who
were its victims. "Christmas Box” was
the name for a small money gift fre
persons of a higher, to those of a lower
rank, made on the day after Christma ,
whence this day was known as “Boxir
day.” The custom, then of more ti
a century’s standing, is thus refena
to in an old-time poem on Christmas
On the last night ! ted quaint toys and animals of paper
only the deft j
fingers of the Orientals can shape them, j
This poor man's tree looks its best j
when the lanterns are lighted, for then i
the queer shapes of birds, animals, drag- J
He is usually rep- j ons and fishes, all grotesquely colored, j “Gladly, the boy, with Christmas box
resented as holding in his hand a peach, j are shown to perfection. They are hung hand,
is surrounded by little children, j by fine threads, and seem to be dancing Throughout the town his deviou-
In the air.
But when the Burmese Christmas tree
belongs to a ricli man, the decorations
and gifts are very valuable, and the
distribution is awaited with correspond
ing eagerness. The best gifts are al
ways for the priest, and as this is the
case with every tree 'he dedicates, he
fares especially well during this tree j tradesmen. and
festival. After the priest, come the oth-
shape o-f trees, which are ornamented
with tiny figures of men and women and
flowers, and this latter always—a tiny
clock. On the altar, all night long, the
field of battle, pause and still their! sa-cred sandal wood is kept burning tj i , —„
slaughter of each other. -And this i way of sacrifice and incense. These are bare of gifts, and only the elaborate | other i iancl
pursues.
And, of his master’s customers, implor '
The yearly mite; often his cash he shak-
1 he which, perchance, of coppers f '
consists.
Whose dulcet jingle fills his little sou’
Householders and others In superior pc-
sitions felt under obligations to give t”
their employees of all grades, to their
even to the inferior par
,i tsh officers, such as scavencrer-s -
ers in their turn, until the branches are „ engers. iam : -
__.a — ii. .J lighters and others. Tradesmen, on tha
felt
ough repair, and showing that he remembers the
past acts of kindness, and doing good among poor
people, and remembering- through^the sacrament of
kindness the love of God. Is it g-ood to stifle
and be ashamed of the simple emotions? Does it
help a man when the human tide is running full to
And then the family closed
their eyes and bowed their heads to thank God
for His mercy, when a voice, tender and beautiful
beyond all words, blessed the mother and her chil
dren. They opened their eyes and looked, and
behold the stranger had departed. Then they knew
that the Christ-child had come to them as He com-
eth at Christmas-tide to every one who is o? a sim-
anchor his ship in some lonely creek instead of j pie and kindly heart.
The Overshadowing City ^
held no authority to be superior to hi
own. But even In those lawless time?
it was the custom that all quarrels
should cease during the Christmas sea
son. The "Truce of God” was solemnly
proclaimed by the holy church, and he
who broke this truce, for any cause
whatsoever, was branded as recreant to
paternity to tne ce»estial trees.
IN FAIR JAPAN.
In Japan, the gnost of tn^ olden can
dle tree still survives. At the New Year
celeorauon, two evergreen trees are
placed outside the house door, one on
either side. The tops of the trees are
tied togemer with a sacred band of
straw, ana among the branches are dis-
triDuted a nunuer of ratner prosaic ob
jects. useful ratner than beautiful, such
decorations remain. The dragons, birds I ”"_ . T,Y1, cor ?pt ded to ma ‘'’
fishes and dolls of Chinese and Burmese ^ut to the ‘ervuLs of ^
make go to the happy children of the I pain of loal theIr trade ir cust °™ rs '
neighborhood, along with packages of T , , ,
—Hto »»“*"*•» "
ceive gitts of valuable jewelry and othei [
costly articles.
his manhood and to his religion. The as dried ionsters, oranges, dried fish, and
tguce applied bo armies facing each
other In battle array, as much as to pri
vate individuals. It was a good old
custom. It would have been better
could it have been extended to embrace
other edibles. Thus, as we have seen,
one of the main features of the universal
welcome given the winter solstice, with
its promise of warmth and p.enty, was
the em-bilimatic tree, with its many
all the year, and all the peoples of tl* I fights and decorations. In many coun-
w ? rld- 'tries these decorations in part consist-
There is a kindness and fellowship in ed of gifts for £riends und relatives, of- .
man. whether heathen or Chirstian. Ir tered j n token of mutual good will and i that have been bestowed upon him. The
MYSTIC CUSTOMS.
The distribution over, tile odd-looking
boats and ships that are always a i>art
of the decorations, are taken down.
They are made of light bamboo, and
are water tight. If there be a lake
or river near by, they are carried to
"its shore with great ceremony, and
launched upon Its surface, bearing light
ed tapers, which the Burman believes
will carry messages to the dead. The
little crafts are set afloat amid much
merry-making, and watched until the
lights disappear in the distance. The
closing ceremony of the Burmese Christ
mas tree is a benediction from the priest
who appears decked in the presents
fFrom The Saturday Evening Post.) j of subject provinces
The new city budget of New York calls : handled more money, but no city, w-heth-
for an expenditure for the pear of $110,- er ancient Rome or modern London or
000,000. which is four times as much as j Paris, has ever raised so much from its
the state of New York spends, and own people for local purposes as New
nearly twice as much as the total outlay j York is raising now.
of the United States government at tho ! The cas e of New York is typical. The
outbreak of the civil war- , city in America has alreadv outstripped
These figures may help us to realize the , the state in its financial operations, and
magnitude of the city's place in modern is rapidly overtaking the general govern-
Amerlcan life. They make a new r record ; ment. There are at least a dozen cities,
m municipal bookkeeping. They have j each of wheih disposes of greater reve-
never been matched by any other city, as ;nues than the state in which it is situated,
no one instance ha* this fellowship come | congratulations on the breaking up of
have i gas works, electric light plants and model j (lov -’ n to «s more strongly marked than tho cold wirater woat her E-speciaLly
tenements. The futur P rapid transit svs- id fhe almost universal use of what we | , T
tern of New York will belong to the city, | today call the Christmas tree. The chll- ^ Ca f ‘ n Bul ™ ah ’ whele the
and the election returns make it evident i dren o-f today, who dance with light feet, [ . “ ... . reP ” ousan s o years ago
that the municipal ownership of surface i alld sparkling eyes around the candle . evidence, casting all other
car lines will soon be tried in Chicago. i lighted, gift laden tree, do so -because | Christmas trees into the shade. Fcr the
With all the talk about national ex- hundreds of years aigo strange men. clad Braman is nothing if not religious, and
travagance, it costs as much to run the | in strange -garments, worshipped around thip tree - which he, of course, does not
city government of New York already as ja tree in an English forest. These men Tali a “Christmas” tree, represents to | J a ken down, it’s branches are given to
it costs the taxpayers to run the civil J were groping in the dark after the God . him, an important part of his religion, j the pc
branches of th e government of the United j they felt above them, but knew not as a j The Christmas tree (as we call it), of j sa k es
Slates. If it were not for the army and I God of love. Then, too, in other conn- I the rich Burman, i s the largest and j jr or ma ny centuries after the Christian
navy, the pensioners and the postal busl- j tries of the Far Elast, little children, with j most Wonderful in the world, and he al- era was the rule to begin the Chrlst-
tree remains with its decorations, by
the roadside for some days, an d the
owner leaves it unguarded, knowing that
no despoiling hand will touch it. To
steal from such, a tree would be a
sacrilege that no native of Burmah
would dare to be guilty of. The Christ
mas tree is an object of veneration to
young and old, and when It Is finally
the poor, and treasured by them as keep-
a city, in the history of the world. When The chief extensions of public activity j ness with its independent revenue, the I slanting eyes and wearing queer smocks, | ways sets it up In front of his house I mas festivities as early as the night be
Rome was administering the government j are municipal. It is the cities that are j national treasury would soon occupy a j placed small treelike Images on an altar, jby the roadside. He knows that there ! fore AU Saints’ day iii-u.n* . ’
of an empire and spending the revenues talking of investing in street car lines, 'modest place “among those present.” j or burned candles In -worship of a Chi- J la no danger of rain at that season ' and -to continue tlvem until
to those of limited
| means. It did, in fact, become so hear;
a grievance that at last the tradesmen
combined and posted notices in their win
dows to the effect that no Christmas
boxes would be given. At the same time
the public authorities spoke in no meas
ured terms on the same subject. Finally,
in 1836, the secretary of state for for
elgn affairs sent to the various emtaf
sies a circular ordering the diseontlnu
ence or gifts at Uii'-stmas time to the
inferior employees of the foreign affair;-
departments, both at home and abroad.
1 he first Christmas caroi was sung by
the angels on the morning of our Savior -
birth, and i&as the shortest and Kweetest
of all carols—
“Glory to God in the highest.
And on eartn, peace, good will towards
men.”
The singing of Christmas carols was
begun in the early churches of the sec
ond century-. At f:rst they were pure
and full of reverence, but as time passed
on they gradually changed for the worse.
Carols, manger songs and Christmas
dramas degenerated from their original
purity to such an extent that the clergy
at last forbade them entirely. This was
in the thirteenth century. The year '52”
saw the novelty of the “still Christmas’'
in England, all music and public rejoi* -
mg being stilled because of the illness
of King Henry. Tn Cromwel’a time the
Puritan parliament abolished all observ-
ances of Christmas day entirely and de-
clared holly Ivy and mistletoe to be sedi
tious badges It was not until after the
restoration of King Charles that the joy-
ous Christmas celebrations were revived-