The Country-Woman's Corner

Otago Witness, Issue 3954, 24 December 1929, Page 14

The Country-Woman's Corner

By

Jean

(Special for tile Otago Witness.) CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY. >! Christmas! Merry Christinas! Is it really come again, With its memories and greeting, with its joy and with its pain. There's a minor in the carol and a shadow in the light, And a spray of cypress twining with the holly wreath to-night. From its institution, Christmas has been the festival of the home. Wit 11 the passing years and increasing sorrows there comes the sense of sadness and loss that damps the joys of anticipation that in earlier years made the preparations for this festival so full of'*enjoyment. Yet it is for this very reason that Christmas is the festival of the year and will remain so to the end of time; as long as there are sick to tend, bereaved ones to comfort and lonely folk to entertain at the fireside, so long will Christmas maintain its true significance. The early settlers were afraid that there would be difficulty in keeping up the traditional feast in the middle of summer. What would Christmas be without the snow, and the winter fires to keep out the cold of the frost and the inclemency of winter storms?. Still Christmas holds its own, in spite of the rush and bustle of haymaking, shearing, and early harvest, and it is doubtful if those who in their young days enjoyed the sport of winter would care to put up •with the unpleasantness of rain and mud and the ills that these bring an their train.

Christmas, too, is the festival of the country. Who would spend Christmas anywhere but in the old farmhouse or the little country home? If the feast is kept in the city, it is not celebrated with pomp and ceremony in some great banqueting hall, but in quiet ways within the hallowed ‘circle of home association, where the Child in the manger is honoured and the spirit of love and sympathy is abroad in narrow streets and dark alleys, where the poor and the outcast are given a part in the celebration of the birthday of the Babe of Bethlehem. It is this spirit of love and service that during the holiday time recompenses the boy or girl who has to work so hard helping with the midsummer activities of the farm. The city boy or girl goes off on a holiday—yachting, tramping, revelling in the joys of the open, while the stay-at-home farm girl or boy has to make the most of the long day and is often too tired to take part in the holiday dance, picnic or tennis tournament. But what of that, are there not other things to balance these? The returned holiday maker talks with regret of taking up office work again, and recounts the news of the holidays, the days spent working with the sheep, and the skill shown in manipulating the milking machines; the city girl is proud of telling of her prowess with the separator, and the farm daughter who returns to her place of business feels depressed at the city menu, when she thinks of the good things of the country • —“ the cakes and cream, and every day we had beans and peas from our own garden.” Our young people have their share in the responsibilities of the homestead. They have to be ready to sacrifice their time and pleasure to have the work done in spite of unfavourable weather. Expenses have to be curtailed through loss of stock and falling prices. But the loss of a little pleasure and amusement is nothing to the trials of the people in the Homeland. Christmas storms and December gales usually take their toll of life and property, but this year the hearts of all in this favoured land will go out to those who have suffered so much during the recent storms and floods. How trivial our losses appear in comparison with the disasters that have overwhelmed our kinsfolk across the seas! In our sheltered lives and secure paths, we cannot fully realise the. danger that others must face continually in order to earn their daily bread. The fisherfolk gather with joy to welcome the return of the fleet, but who knows if the boats will make the harbour. I see her now where the waters dash, A speck on the heaving ocean. I'll watch and pray till dawning day Stills the storm in its wild commotion. Could we but realise the struggle nnd dangers that others have to face, there would be less discontent and dissatisfaction with the simple pleasure and comforts of home. When the breadwinner is taken away and there is no prospect of earning money but from the toil of the fishing boats, what loneliness and hardship have to be faced by tho.it dependent on the sale of fish, nnd what joy and contentment when the herring fleet comes home safely. Let the storm blow high, let the wind blow low, Let the sky from ths mountains gather. For our boat lies safe in the sheltered cove, And safe is my own dear father. Christmas is the children’s festival. How pleased the small boys are to be free from school! Many of them are doing a man’s work, and parents should Bee to it that their strength is not overtaxed. Children are proud to be trusted with horses, and allowed to lift heavy weights, but many a. disease in after

life has been traced to over-exertion in childhood. It is a splendid trait in our young people that they are always envious to provide good times for the younger children. At any gathering the young men and women always give up a good part of the evening to entertaining the children. This is a duty as well as a pleasure. Children have a capacity for enjoyment that is never recaptured in after life, and if happiness and good times is denied to children they are being robbed of their birthright. Then with whet gratitude and affection do they not regard anyone who gives any pleasure. The memory of such persons is cherished, and often in after years the child grown to manhood or womanhood will dwell on the remembrance of a small gift or act of kindness and be cheered and encouraged. So any kindness done to children will be well rewarded and bear fruit in after life like the good seed, not in all cases in proportion, it may be, to the time or trouble taken, but bear fruit it certainly will—it may be thirty, forty, sixty, or even a hundred-fold. In providing good times, older people sometimes complain that young people are rather too fond of jazz and good times, and do not enter into or cater for the quieter pleasure of older folk in the same way that they provide amusement and pleasure for the children. However, in some districts, at least, the younger generation are doing their duty in this way, and are doing their part in reviving the old-time games and songs and dances. The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of love and understanding. In thinking of others and seeking to lighten their sorrows and ease their burdens we are drawn closer in spirit to the great Burden-bearer, and in doing so we will find the key to the secret of solving all the difficulties of life.

Christmas is more than all the great religious festival of the year. It is a time for solemn thought and humility. In all our rejoicing we must be lowly in heart, and ever bear in mind the deeper significance of holy things that belong not to that day, but to every day in the year, and give ourselves to the service of the Highest Who humbled Himself to be born in a stable. I saw three ships come sailing in, Sailing in, sailing in, sailing in, I saw three ships come sailing in On Christmas Day in the morning. O, whither sailed those good ships three, Good ships three, good ships three, O, whither sailed those good ships threM On Christmas Day in the morning? They sailed in to Bethlehem, Bethlehem, Bethlehem. To the lowly Babe of Bethlehem On Christmas Day in the morning. 31EARTHQUAKE RELIEF. The organisation of country women known as the Women’s Institutes, which is now spreading so widely in New Zealand, has given fine proof collectively of the sympathy and practicalness of its members. In the earthquakes in June last the members of a newly-formed institute at Longford, near Murchison, suffered severely. The rest of the institutes throughout the Dominion promptly made a fund of their own to help to replace such personal and household necessaries in the homes of the Longford members as would not be supplied from the Central Fund. The sum, which reached close upon £250, was paid over to Longford Women’s Institute and shared out by the vote of its members, a small proportion going to other than institute members. Extracts from the many grateful letters from recipients make interesting and touching reading in the little institute journal, Home and Country. Tea and dinner services, mason jars, boys’ shirts and knickers, paper, paint, jugs, basins, mattresses, bed and table linen, a bicycle, linoleum, and kitchen fittings are among the articles purchased, and the letters bear witness to suffering and hardship borne with courage and to a brave facing of the future that shows that the fine spirit of the early pioneers has not diminished in the country women of this generation.