THE SEASON OF REJOICING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17662, 24 December 1920, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE SEASON OF REJOICING.

CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES. BY HER RON' HAMILTON*. The modem way is to assume an air of boredom, verging on nervous prostration., towards the Christmas season and its large demand upon one's time and energy. The crowdcd days bring so much weariness that decidedly " the world is too much with us.'" so one puts Christmas in the scales against all sorts of personal aches and irritations and of course the grievances go down with a decisive bang that ought to carry conviction to one's heart. But it doe 8 not. For the festive spirit lurks within, abiding its cue, and the most precious days of the year are the(;e which Time relinquishes set gaily—halycon days for all who know how to recapture the ecstasy of childhood and to abandon themselves to tho tide of enjoyment. The bustle and stir of preparation are really very intriguing. Who is so enamoured of the daily round of household duties as not to find a variation pleasant? The centre of gravitv of the house shifts to the storeroom, which becomes a kind of Aladdin's cave, wherein the children love to peep and speculate upon the contents of tho accumulating parcels. For once there is ample justification for more lavish expenditure than usual and a plausible excuse for spending is beloved even by naturally extravagant people. Pleasurable anticipation thrills one continually. In spite of weariness, it is good to liye with quickened pulse for a vrhilg and as there is ample compensation later, what matters the temporary gtrain ?

The Children's Way. For the last month pf the year, I would gladly pe an irresponsible child agaip^—one just sufficiently mature to be seriously occupied at a kindgcgartgn Ghnst: masps have a scarcity' value then. ' Later on in life thgy sgern to 'have""come ' |op clp?e, together," like beads"pn" 'elastic String suddenly Blacked! " Byt in "childhood F?lH y *??? to get the' full flavour ft? turn it pver in one's si&ggs it at intervals for affecexamination, and to end up by Ghristmassy within and without, f? fcwg pf happy abandonment. The sipiplicity of soul which accepts the Glaus tradition""is preferable' to the adult conviction that it 'is merely the H???® Pf a of profiteers. In &Sl> altogether, the pf' iiewr is tl?at of tjie ghi}(|, bubbling over with pxcitemept, entirely ''receptiyg, and "a 8?$f?Pl?k fef tb® core. Where tberg is a $$$ ? n the hpnse, .Christinas needs no apologist. Thf Inward Spirita surfeit of Christmas if #{§ ?s£?? and not the spirit of the cere-ffi-Qpes is pbs.epred- It is so much a sym : The gifts are the outIfard and yigible sign of loyg ?nd fFggfr gHlrity,' and, above all, of fpr there are not many •?rhose purses ris.e so supgripr to no sacrifice? need it<> be' naade at the pf friendship. Here is no lack of opportunity to display pur virtues." Spme pf indeed, are put through a very stiff" course of"Swedish' pr§ : ?f virtue must contribute tp W? Pf humanity j it gives us "a kind of annual tug put of the fp tbat * begin the new: V?6F 8? .% ijjheic spiritual plane. testrmppy tiferepf fbere are "thg good rcsgliitiopi so made T Even l|}§ ¥bipb 'is' " the " invariable ?BBSBffill#l Sifg?®|Jagc.e pf fehriitma# il BSI w Sgf§T^:i94|f^'pf^ <h 'Aj& pf-gopa fopd partake'ii of in. good cpjnpa4?y:-' nromgggs interPpHFff drdsys" p{j.|i piir best socjal quili*}g§-~ ffopd manners,' "good 'tepiper, and lively cpnvers|Hpn are ; "cpn|jgcivp ' to"" 4 general atmospherg of happiness and j as K.L.S. says, '."There is iye undervalue like the duty of being kappv." tilings "considered, we' do "nob ifidulgp enough in feasting. This is our only day of widespread good cheer, our one day of natipiia,). "good temper. Think of it— and the most of the day. Auld Lang Syiie. Ghristmas celebrations ar§ not confined to narrow limits' of tjie fajiiily circle. the time, abpve all," when jv© claim the fe'membrapcfs of our fqehds.' "ifp'rWf'PS make a seaspnable disfi!?y pf §F|fs"'«y and a greetijiig hiig rescued many a friej?dship' froni apoblivipn. ' I"myself lipid a'haffsiiare in a cactus-like friendship, one guaranteed to survive long drought. At first, j after long, incomprehensible silence, 1 said, Great is Allah!" and was for de- | parting in peace, when suddenly the seaj son of peace and goodwill was upon us— j and the grass grows no more upon the path of oux friendship, for the bond is renewed each Christmastid©. Custom has inured me to the treatment, and friendship is rightly leisurely. I like Browning's way: Feel where my life brake off from thino How fresh, the splinters keep and nne— Ociy a. touch and we combine. As surely as one remembers friends, one forgets one's enemies. If existence, as certain wise fticn aver, depends upon thought, then quite a number of us (for who is so devoid of personality that he is no one's pet enemy ?) cease to exist at Christmas time. But insofar as we inspire amicable feelings, we continue to live, nay, live doubly. It is to the glory of phristmas that it eradicates so much ill-feeling and fosters the sentiment of affection. An Adopted Birthday. This has become a kind of universal birthday. R.L.S. whimsically presented his natal day, with all legal formalities, to a young lady whose own birthday, accumulating out of odd hours and minutes, emerged into calendar importance but once every four years—or was it Decause her birthday fell on Christmas Day? To honour that greatest birthday the world has ever known, we share it with the whole brotherhood of man. Temperamentally we are not a deeply religious people, so it has become more holiday than holy day, yet there is a spirit of peace over ail the land, and an awareness of the less material side of life is upon the more thoughtful: But most of us give little thought to the source of this festival. If our imagination gropes back so far, it dwells upon the snectacle of a people suffering untold " anguish and doubt before the new religion was accepted. We know it spread through the towns first and gradually filtered through to the scattered country folk—to the pagans, which reallv means nothing more than dwellers in the'eountrv. They had so many god? to give ut>—not to mention the innumerable demi-gods who dwelt anions them on earth. There is a poem by William Watson dealing with an old legend of the plight of the last satvr, who. meeting St. Anthony in the woods] bewails his utter loneliness: Silent in Papho3 Verus sleeps. And Jove en Ida mute. And e'-'ery living creature creeps Pan and bis perished flute-. ■ J A cod more beautiful than m-n^ Hath conquered mine, they ray — A'n. to that fair young god of tkme. For me I pra-y thee pra-y! But all the ancient struggle is hidden by the mist of time. We. who are accustomed to inherit our religion with our family name, give it little thought. So is there ground for the accusation tka.t sues u a materialistic Chnstiaafc