THE New Zealand Herald AMD DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1938 CHRISTMAS 1938

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23229, 24 December 1938, Page 10

THE New Zealand Herald AMD DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1938 CHRISTMAS 1938

Peace on earth and goodwill toward men are by tradition the sentiments proper to Christmas. With the great Christian festival of 1938 at hand, it is fitting to consider how well prepared the world is to enter into its celebration. If by peace is meant just the absence of open hostilities, then in two countries, Spain and China, there is neither peace nor the prospect of it for this Christmas. A third, the birthplace of Him by whose coming Christmas was brought into, being, is so factiontorn as to be little removed from a state of open warfare. If a-deeper meaning be given the word, there is much more of the world where the absence of war does not mean that peace reigns. When the bells ring in the Christmas season, there will barely be a pause for their chimes in the clang of the armourer's hammer. It may not actually be beating ploughshares into swords, but it is shaping for the purposes of war much good metal that were better applied to the peaceful needs of men. Worst of all, perhaps, among the other sounds of discord can be heard the wail of the persecuted, suffering because of their race and their faith —the race and faith of the Founder of Christianity, whose meek and lowly spirit is supposed to be commemorated by the Christmas festival. Where technically there may be peace, goodwill toward men languishes like a sickly plant. In such a setting Christmas, 1938, will dawn. It tempts the question whether the accepted greetings, wishing mirth and happiness, can be offered without the echo underneath of a grim irony. Dim as the spirit of peace and goodwill are over so much of the earth, there never was greater need to cling to the essence of Christmas. An analogy can be found in what is said of forms of government in a troubled world. Democracy is under fire. So, its supporters say, the only course for those who still cleave to its ideals is to be the more zealous in its cause, to prove that democracy can hold its own and triumph over those forms of government which deny the individuality, the dignity and the freedom of the unit man. The parallel is not perfect, but it is near enough to suggest a thought to all who cherish the spirit of Christmas. It is for them to be the more earnest in keeping it alive in a day which offers it scant welcome. The flame of Christianity itself never shone more brightly than when it had to be tended under the shadows of persecution; and. it should never be forgotten, amid the purely festive rites of the season, that Christianity and Christmas both draw their meaning from the first syllable they have in common. Therefore, in times which seem so little propitious for the peace and goodwill that should go with Christmas, these two goals ought to be kept the more firmly in mind. Let the season's greetings be offered as freely as ever, and more fervently than before. It should be remembered that they are tendered with a wish and a hope. The world needs wishes for goodwill, needs hopes of peace, as it has not needed them for many years. Mere words, a muchused formula, may seem a feeble thing to set against the forces of evil that have been let loose; but the well-tried images of the tiny spark that swells to a great flame, of the little leaven that leaveneth the whole lump, still hold good. It is for men and women who believe that happiness—the happiness of others—is more than power, and merriment more than pomp, to hold fast in the faith, that in the end it may conquer. The Christmas which thus visits a troubled world will dawn earlier in New Zealand than in almost any other country. This is symbolic of the isolation in which New Zealanders dwell, their home set far ! apart in a vast ocean. Contacts multiply and quicken as the years go by, but the physical fact of remoteness remains. No country, however isolated, can live apart, entirely to itself; nor should it try. Yet New Zealand can be forgiven if the people choose, ior a brief season, to let the world go, close their eyes to the doubts, fears and anxieties which linger on the very doorstep of older countries, and give themselves up to the whole-hearted celebration of the season of joy and brotherliness. Let them not forget to count themselves blessed in the tranquillity of their land, its beauty and the bounty which has been bestowed upon it. Remembering these, they cannot continue long to forget others who arc less fortunate. Meantime, New Zealand need not be held callous if for the next few days it takes example from the family, gathered for the reunion of Christmas, all obligations to others duly met, all remembrances properly rendered. Acting thus, it will close the circle, give itself up to the happiness of the moment, and let the cares and burdens of the common round be momentarily forgotten. This done, the people can turn to face the coming of another year rested and strengthened in body and in spirit to meet whatever that year may bring..