The Auckland Star WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News,The Echo and The Sun. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1941. WARTIME CHRISTMAS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 304, 24 December 1941, Page 6

The Auckland Star WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1941. WARTIME CHRISTMAS

THERE has not been a Christmas in New Zealand like this one. Though it is the third of the war, the two which preceded it were not remarkably different from those in the days of peace. Neither in 1939 nor in 1940 were there obvious and pressing reasons impelling people to forgo the usual and anticipated pleasures of the season. On the contrary, there was a common feeling that holidays were more than ever to be valued and that the most should be made of them. Had It not been for the happenings of December 7 last, and since, this Christmas would have been like the others. But now—there must be few among us whose plans for Christmas and the holiday season have not been disturbed, and with good reason. Over all except the irresponsible or completely selfish few there has swept the realisation that this is a time, the beginning of a time, when the pleasure, the comfort and the convenience of the individual are of small account. All that we have, and all that we hope for, are at stake in the extended war in the Pacific. To ensure the safety of the present and the future, of the Dominion and of every person in it, it is essential that we should do, unitedly, resolutely and cheerfully, all that the Dominion's resources make it possible to do for the defence of our homeland. This necessity imposes obligations on everyone, but for the present they are far from onerous, and any inconvenience suffered in consequence of them is slight. The families which to-morrow will be without their menfolk, the others whose men, and women, too, know that they may be "called out" at any time, may compare their lot with that of the other families which have not seen their men for months and years.

To say "peace on earth and goodwill towards men," and so to express the essential spirit of the great Christmas festival, may seem bitterly ironical at this time. In large parts of the earth there is no peace, and man'j inhumanity to man is seen organised into a system. Anyone disposed to brood upon horrible conflicts, and upon cold, calculated ferocity, need not lack plentiful material for his brooding. But there is another side. War furnishes means of expression for the worst in man, but also for the best. The Christmas season is barren indeed if it does not bring forth its fruits of personal kindliness. There is a greater need for those fruits now, and there is also a greater supply of them. The circumstances of the time have made life more difficult for many people, but they have also released a spirit which makes it easier More people are thoughtful of others, and helpful to others. There is need of this spirit, and great need that it should not be allowed to burn low when the Christmas season is ended. To be the "good neighbour" in the widest sense, is to be a good citizen, and our country has need of all the good citizens it can get. Hard thinking and firm action by our leaders are essential if the manifol<J problems besetting our country are to be solved. In seeking solutions it will be Impossible always to do justice to every individual, but the way of the individual can be made easier, now and in the days to come, by human kindliness, which has been called the indispensable element In society. For that basic civic virtue Christmas is a good training ground.