HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1942-12-17, Page 3We Must Fight
The Good Fight
Our Fourth Wartime. Christ.
. mas Without "Peace On
Earth"
When Christmas . Day dawns
thisyear, one thousand one
hundred and, eighty-nine days of
this war will have run their,
course, It is not a happy mooed;
it is not a total upon which we.
can look with pride at this sea-
son of "peace on earth, goodwill,
toward' men." -
During that strateh of mom.
than three years, we have wit-
nessed the fall and oeeupation of
many nations, the battering into
aubshission of others. We have
seen our young men and women
go forth, by the thousands for
battle fronts the world . over.
Later, we received stunning re-.
ports of casualties. We have come
to. see, pray God not too late, that
world domination is the' one
thought that apurs on our erre-.
mios, world domination that you '
and X ehall live as slaves, without
those precious freedoms.
a * *
That is the unhappy side of
the picture. But let us not forget
—indeed, let us snake it a point
to remember this Christmas —
that there is a brighter side.
m * *
It cannot be a merry Christ.
mas in the old sense, To be merry,
the dictionary says, is to be full
Ofmirth and good humor, gay,
sportive, jovial, pleasant. The
gay light-heartedness with which
we have been accustomed to greet
the Christmas season is scarcely
fitted to a' country fighting a war
for its very life, its institutions,
its future. But that light-hearted
Christmas revelry is: not, after all
the essential thing about Christ-
mas.
* - * *
Since that night in Bethlehem
a thousand wars have mangled
and crucified humanity, Yet is
Christmas forgotten? A thousand
.times ill -will' has obtained the
temporary mastery over that anci-
ent promise of good will toward
:nen,yet in the hearts of millions
of men the flame of good will
burns uninterrupted. It is as in,
extinguishable as man himself, as
eternal as God, It will come again
to the surface to light the world
once more, just as when the glory
of the Lord shone clown on the
shivering shepherds in old Judea.
e * *
That flame reflects other bless..
inga too. Standing out boldly in
its cleansing heat is the brave,
indomitable spirit of our sailors,
1110, our soldiere, our airmen; the
spirit of Victory at any cost.
There, too, we see the noble en-
deavors of our brave allies, the
skilled hands of our workers
turning our munitions of war in
ever-increasing quantities, and
every Canadian — man, woman,
and child, young and old —taking
the significance of this brutal,
callous war to his or her heart.
5 * *
No, we cannot today have peace
on earth. Perhaps, one day again,
we shall be able to speak those
hallowed words. It depends on us.
We must fight the good fight---
for
ight—for keeps!
Decorate House.
With Evergreens
The house may be decorated
inside and out to make a fitting
background for the tree. With a
few greens, the place may be
made over and the results will
be most gratifying. For outside,
make wreaths of evergreens and
tie them with red oilcloth bows.
Prunings from the Christmas tree
often may be used for the
wreaths and some of the home-
made decorations -used for a touch
of color.
When you are trinnning your
own Christmas tree, don't forget
the birds. The old custom of
trimming an outdoor tree for the
birds and squirrels is a charm-
ing one. Popcorn, cranberries,
ter crackers strung together and
;pieces of suet tied to the tree,
and an extra pound of nuts scat-
tered on the ground for the squir-
rels will make you feel very close
Nein to Santa Claus.
And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree
from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. , - . And
all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of
Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethle-
hem' (because he was of the house and. lineage of David): to be
taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so
it was,.that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that
she should be delivered, And she brought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger;
because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the
field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel
Fateful Meeting
In the graying dusk of a De.•
comber afternoon the slowly mov-
ing figure - seemed almost a part
of the landscape. Half a dozen
cars whizzed by but not one stop-
ped to offer him a lift or ask•
where he was going. If the Spirit
of Christmas, of kindness, was
abroad, it was surely passing him
up.
Ten minutes more 'of plodding
through the chill, darkening air,
and another car came roaring
down the road, - passing him by
as theothers had done. The grint
lines around his mouth- grew
deeper, then he heard a loud
grinding of brakes:
"Almost passed you up," a gay,
voice cried. -
"Pretty fine of you to stop for
an old man." He shuffled into
the vacant seat as 'he spoke.
"Oh, that's nothing," the gay
voice was a bit embarrassed. "But
I did almost pass you up. With
this Christmas business, and the
rush and'huely, one could pass up
their own mother."
"I like to hear- you say that.
It's what I've always believed.
The fact is,. I was making a bit
of a test today—hada bet with a
friend about it. What's your
name?"
"The name is Tod Jenkins. I'm
headed for St. Louis—going home
to spend Christmas with mother.
I graduated in engineering last
June."
(15th Century "Nativity" by Francesco di Pietre Vida, Rome)
of the Lord dune upon them, and the giory of the Lord shone round
• about them; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto
them,
"Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy
which shall' be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the
city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall
be a sign unto you: ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling
clothes, lying in a manger."
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the
heavenly host praising God and saying, .
A "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will
toward men."
Do Not Encourage
Witches and Sprites
Evergreens are synonymous
with Christmas, but if you would
comply with traditipn you should
not put them in place before
Christmas Eve. It should be a
part of the children's Christmas
duties to bring them in and hang
them in the designated places.
They should be left in place until
January 6 (Twelfth Night,) when
every leaf must be burned. Tradi-
tion maintains that even one leaf
left to wither will encourage
witches and sprites.
"An interesting story." Tod
turned to look at the old man as
he spoke. He almost swung the
car off the slab. "Why—why you
look years and years younger
than I thought!" `
A hearty laugh sounded against
the sharply rising wind. The man
was speaking again. "I'm' not so
old, Tod," he said slowly; "I'm a
long way from the old fellow you
were kind enough to pick up.
Yesterday we had an argument at
the club. I made a bet with a
fellow that I wouldn't have to
walk an hour before I would find
the Spirit of Christmas. It was
rather a crazy thing to do, but I
happen to be rather an eccentric
scientist. My name is . Perry
Birch."
"Perry Birch!" Tod's eyes wid-
ened in astonishment, and his foot
went off the accelerator, bringing
the car almost to a standstill be-
fore he went on. "Why—why,"
he stammered, "I've been want-
ing to meet you all my life. Pve
read everything you've written—
studied your methods and work
for years. In fact," his voice grew
more embarrassed, "I've been hop-
ing that some day I might follow
in your footsteps. The biggest
wish of my life is to become a
scientist like you!"
Druids Considered
Mistletoe Sacred
Did you know that when enee
mies meet under the mistletoe
bough they are supposed to lay
down their arms for at, least a
24 -hours truce? That is why a
hostess tries to hang some mis-
tletoe near the doorway of her
home, thus assuring perfect har-
mony whileher guests are under
her roof. The Druids of old held
the mistletoe bough sacred. It
was also considered symbolic and
an invitation to the spirits of -the
forest to come in and bring .good
cheer. The custom of kissing
under the mistletoe dates back to
ancient Britain. To bring the
best type of luck to the one kissed,
it is claimed the bough must be
out with a golden knife.
Novel Christmas
Tree Trimmings.
Popcorn strung in long strings,
and delicately tinted, makes ideal
trimming for a tree. We saw ono
last year strung with pale pink
and blue ,opcorn. Silver tinsel,
combined with Christmas orna-
ments, completed the picture,
Tiny packages wrapped in col-
ored paper dotted here and there
on the tree will lend special in-
terest. Have a small parcel of
some amusing trinket for each
member of the family.
If cranberries are available,
have the children make strings of
them to give your tree a colorful
touch.
Attractive Christmas decora-
tions that can be combined with
bright glass decorations, berries,
and other ornaments can be made
by simply crystallizing crooked
twigs and branches of trees.
Simply wrap some loose cotton
batting around the branches and
tie it with wool. Next dissolve
about two pounds of alum in a
quart of boiling water, and pour
it over the selected twigs and
branches. Allow them to remain
suspended for 12 hours, and they
will be found to be crystallized.
Small branches and twigs can be
treated without the cotton bat-
ting.
His Last Dime.
Dan Driscoll was broke. Well,
almost. broke, He had one thin
dine, niding in the dark depths
of a purse that had once held
bills of three figures.
He had held it. for 2Q years,,
ever since he - had found it while
ploughing on his father's farm.
His lucky dime—that's what -iso
had called it. Dan laughed grim-
ly at the thought, Lucky! Had
anyone ever been so unlucky as
him? Here was the whole town
preparing for Christmas, shop.
ping, spending oodles of money,
and he was a penniless, weary
wanderer, A lucky dime!
A little place around the corner
caught his eye. Dan entered, his
nostrils quivering under the tanta-
lizing odors. He looked around
with greedy eyes, his mouth
watering with longing. Soup,
roast fowl, potato -s, luscious
mince pie! But he mustn't think
about such things. He hadjust
cne dime—the price of a cup of
coffee and a doughnut, or a ham-
burger. Which would it be? Tho.
queer little man inside the counter
waited while Dan weighed the im-
portant question. The hamburger
won. While it was being cooked tis
order, Dan dug into his pocket and
took the dime from the battered
purse. -
Hungry as he was, he handed
it over before attacking the food.
His voice was a bit apologetic.
"It's an old timet," he said; "been
in my pocket for years and years."
The old man didn't seem to be
listening. He was peering through
his spectacles at the coin.
"You're sure you're telling the
truth about this dime?" he quer-
ied. -
"The absolute truth," Dan an-
swered. "But, if you won't be-
lieve ,me, you can have your cof-
fee
of
fee and hamburger."
A shrill laugh ran through the
place. "It's a good thing you ran
across someone who knew, and
better, somebody who was hon-
est," the little man was saying
excitedly. "Do you know that you
have one of the rarest dimes at
large? It's it's worth thous-
ands."
"You mean, this thing I've held
on to for years is worth money?"
"It's worth big money," the
cafe ;owner was waving his hands
in the air, the dime clasped be-
tween his thumb and first- finger.
"I've been looking for one of them
all my life!"
"Hand me that menu!" Dan
Driscoll cried. commandingly. "I'm
going to have a Christmas dinner
right now. I'm going clear down
the line, from soup to mince pie."
Christmas Legends
Why dp we have Christmas
trees and candles? One legend
tells us that on a cold, clear
Christmas Eve, Martin Luther
wandered through the winter
woods filled with happiness at tise
loveliness of the snow -laden trees,
under the starry sky. He wanted
to share his happiness with his
children, so he cut a small fir tree
and took it home. .When he had
set it up, he placed little glowing
candles on the boughs to represent
the stars of heaven.
* 5 *
In Holland the children tali
Santa Claus St. Nicholas and be-
lieve that he travels about on a
white horse. Instead of hanging
up their stockings, they leave
their little Wooden shoes, filled.
with grass and hay for the white
horse to eat, on the step outside
the front door. And lo! when
morning comes the grass and hay
have disappeared and in their
place are gifts for such thought-
ful children.
* 5 5
From Spain coarses the, gentle
admonition that cows must al-
ways be treated with special kind-
ness, for did they not stand close
to the Christ Child in His manger
bed and blow their warns, sweet.
breath on Him all through the
chilly night?
Merry Christmas
Heap on more wood!—the wind
is chill;
But let it whistle as it will,
We'll keep our Christmas merry
stilt