THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY “Public Service.” FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1944. CHRISTMAS, 1944

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 53, Issue 32520, 22 December 1944, Page 4

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY “Public Service.” FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1944. CHRISTMAS, 1944

Like a friendly and comfortinglight penetrating the murk of the world’s perplexities, Christmas the time-honoured feast of smiles and happiness is> with us once more. In spite of trouble, care and apprehension, it has come again to warm the hearts of men with its glow of goodfellowship and gladness. Let the nations pour out their substance and blood, in the causes of destrustion, let the propaganda of hate defile the pure air of Heaven, and the despairing cries of defenceless civilians go unheeded, the ofChristmas though a strange companion in the world of to-day, cannot pass unnoticed. It is too deeply ingrained in our nature, too remotely sacred' in the higher being of our contradictory human structures.

Thus in spite of war, the merry chimes will peel forth announcing the anniversary of the birth of the Son of Man nearly two thousand years ago. On Christmas morn the glad news will ring out again from a million rocking steeples and war, privation and fear will momentarily be delegated to the background. Out of the surrounding gloom will step the jovial spirit of good cheer and laughter. Gifts and happy greetings will be exchanged. Families will reunite for the proverbial Christmas dinner and on all hands the greatest of Christian festivals will come into its own. In New Zealand with its warm bright summer, Christmas means more of a holiday and change of scene than at Home, where the festive board groans with the weight of seasonable dishes, and the warmth of the roaring fireside and glowing hearth defies the wintry condition outside. The colonial Christmas spells l excursions to the great out-of-doors. The home gathering often as not takes place in the motor caravan, in the tented camps, by the quiet beauty of the lakeside, or by the wind-whipped sands of the seashores. Thus though the colonial Christmas assumes l a more practical aspect, its deep and heartful meaning is unchanged and we retain in God’s own country the same warm regard for it as our forbears in Merrie England through the centuries.

TOWN AND DISTRICT With the approach of Christmas, the Gazette takes the opportunity of wishing its many friends, subscribers, advertisers and readers, the Compliments of the Season, and the best prospects for a Bright and Prosperous New Year. The warm support which has been accorded our continued efforts under growing difficulties is deeply appreciated. Businessmen, organisations, local bodies and country groups-have combined to lend the

greatest encouragement and for this we are deeply grateful. The new year stretches before us with greater prospects of victory. Hopes for the future are however out of place at the present juncture when the nation is endeavouring to draw Some solace from the glad festival of Christmas. It is therefore fit and proper that all should look upon the forthcoming holiday in the light of a God-given tonic of which to make the most, during the strain of modern things. Town and country are as one as a community during the Christmas and New Year’s season of relaxation from which will return stronger and better equipped to grapple with the problems which lie ahead.