CHRISTMAS EVE

Southland Times, Issue 19434, 24 December 1924, Page 5

CHRISTMAS EVE

GREAT CHRISTIAN FESTIVAL WITH US ONCE AGAIN THE SUMMER HOLIDAY IN SOUTHLAND. Christmas Eve, 1924! Father Time, in his inexorable onward march, has brought us once again to the eve of the greatest of Christian festivals— Christmas Day—with its attendant celebrations and gaieties. Here in Southland, the passing of traditions associated with the occasion in the Old World may cause a tinge of sentimental regret, but against this must be balanced the good to come of adapting the Christmas festival to natural circumstances and making it a Carnival of Summer here in this bountifully endowed province of Southland. Apart from Christmas Day itself, the remaining holidays will certainly be spent in the open air by every Southlander to whom that is a physical possibility. A glance at holiday programmes shows how liberally the impulse to escape from roof and pavement is catered for; the extensive catering implies that the impulse is widespread. It is a firmly implanted characteristic of the people to look to sea and shore, to hill, stream or bush as the fitting scene for the season’s merry-making. Some flavour of home and family celebration may perhaps be lost; but not necessarily, for it is often the whole family which goes together on a holiday excursion, and this, too, is rendered the easier by reason of the extended rail and motor services to all parts of Southland—to the scenic resorts or to the various places where sports amusements are set down. The programme is a varied and extensive one, as the following list of engagements will demonstrate:— THE HOLIDAY PROGRAMME. Christmas Day: Edendale Sports, Tennis Tournament at Invercargill. Boxing Day: Gore Trots, Riverton Regatta, Balfour Sports, Heriot Sports, Tennis Tournament, Cricket Match (Southland v. Auckland at Invercargill). December 27: Cattle Flat Races (Balfour), Limehills Sports, Mataura Sports, Tennis Tournament, Cricket (Southland v. Auckland at Invercargill). December 29: Ryal Bush Sports. December 30: Winton Trots, Seaward Downs Sports. New Year’s Day: Bluff Regatta, Boxing at Bluff, Wyndham Races, Kelso Sports, Waikaia Sports, Dipton Sports, Tuatapere Sports. January 2: Invercargill Races, Riversdale Sports. January 3: Invercargill Races. SHOPKEEPERS’ RECORD GOOD BUSINESS. Large crowds thronged the principal streets of Invercargill yesterday, attracted out of doors no doubt by the fine weather prevailing, with the result that the Christinas shopping began in earnest and under the most auspicious circumstances possible. Inquiries made amongst many of the shopkeepers by a Times representative went to show that they were more than satisfied with the value of trade being transacted. This had up till a few days been disappointing in a great many cases, but it improved wonderfully since Monday, and when the shops finally close their doors this evening, it is anticipated that the returns will be as good, if not better, than those for last year, which proved to be an exceptional one, taking all the circumstances into consideration. All the shops visited during the afternoon were crowded with people, and in several instances it was mentioned by the proprietors that contrary to expectations the public was inquiring for the more expensive lines, thus showing that the prosperous times, which are often spoken of, are really existent and that the great majority of people are spending their money freely. CHRISTMAS CAROLS. AU the business premises will remain open until 10 o’clock to-night and, with the prospect of fine weather, large crowds are sure to be about the streets. Members of the Battalion, Hibernian and Salvation Army Bands will commence their customary tour of the city and its environs for the purpose of playing the usual carols, and their efforts should add greatly to the enjoyment of the Festive Season by all sections of the community. THE RAILWAYS. Exceptionally heavy traffic, both as regards passengers and the quantities of goods transported, has been handled during the past week by the railway authorities, and though no actual comparison can yet be made with last year’s traffic, there is every indication that this year’s figures will constitute a record for Southland. Since the excursion fares came into force on the 17th instant, 1085 tickets have been issued I at Invercargill on the North Main line, in j addition to 393 ordinary tickets, while on ! the Orepuki and Lumsden lines the figures have been 281 and 88 and 272 and 81 ! respectively. During the same period, the | number of reservations for seats have i toalled 1303 from Invercargill and an adI ditional 385 from country stations. Not ' only are the outward trains from Invercargill being liberally patronised, but those arI riving in town are also carrying large numj bers of people from other centres who are about to spend the holidays at the various resorts in this part of the Dominion. POSTAL AND TELEGRAPHIC. The voluiAe of business transacted at the Post Office this year gives every indication of exceeding that of last Christmas. In the telegraphic branch, the officers have been i kept particularly busy, and so far the work | has been kept fairly well in hand, though I it is recognised that to-day will test the re- ! sources of the Department and the officers I to their utmost capacity. j The amount of mail matter which has l been put through the postal branch this j year is said to be greatly in excess of that ■ of last year, and consequently the officers | have been kept constantly at work in desI patching and receiving mails from all parts •of the country. At the Invercargill Office, ' the mailrqom men have been exceptionally I busy and the arrival of the San Francisco j and Australian mails has entailed a great i deal of extra work, which has been cheerI fully performed with the result that not a j single hitch has occurred in dealing with j any of the mails, either inwards or outwards. It is calculated that the number of parcels handled this year is greater than that of any previous Christmas, and the opinion has been expressed that many people now prefer to send a small parcel to 1 their friends as a Christmas offering, in- ■ stead of using cards which in former years i have been so much in vogue. TOURIST TRAFFIC. Inquiry at*the Tourist Office elicited the information that the bookings this year are very heavy, and it is anticipated that the number of visitors to the Milford Track, the Lakes and Stewart Island will greatly exceed any previous year. To-day the Theresa Ward will run two trips to the Island, the first on the arrival of the 6.55 a.m. train from Invercargill and the second on the arrival of the 11.55 train. Information has also been given to many inquirers concerning motor tours to other parts of the South Island, and in this respect the Christmas of 1924 bids fair to mark a new era in the number of people who intend to spend their holidays by means of the motor. THE RELIGIOUS ASPECT. THE FESTIVAL OF GOODWILL. We will be giving presents, we will be receiving them. We will gain in happy fvnily gatherings and song and joy will re- (

sound. But will our goodwill be on the surface merely, f '~ will we let it strike deep, and in the presence of the ChristChild seek to have our hearts cleansed from all selfishness and evil desires? Will we respond to the Jove which sent Him and learn from His Incarnation humility and sacrifice? Will we bend low as did the shepherds and adore? Will we have vision to see in the lowly Child the true King of men or are our eyes still blinded with the false glamour of force and money, and earthly splendour? Try to think into the meaning of His way of coming. “Not as we with our ekrthly minds would have expected it: not in trailing clouds of glory, arresting the eye, did He come; but emptied of all earthly glory, making Himself of no reputation, that love might make its unaided appeal, and that men might be drawn to Him, not by the glitter of His dress, but by the beauty of His holiness, and the depth of His compassion. . . . When once we realise this, we want no other glory than that which fills the lowly stable of Bethlehem. Far surpassing our power to express it, we yet realise that its glory is divine, that in this act of humiliation God has glorified Himself as no display of power could have done; that only God could bend so low as this.” THE APPEAL OF CHRISTMAS. Christmas is the Appeal cf Infancy. God came as a Babe. Why so? "It is to awaken love. Its weakness cries out for human sympathy, for affection, for the best love that human hearts can offer. . . . This little Child is God’s love-gift to the world. God so loved the world that He gave, and of all the gifts of God none has proved so priceless as this. . . The thought of the Inrth of the Christ-Child has filled the world with a new tenderness. Christmas softens hearts that even the cross fails to soften, and if there is one day in the year more than another in which the world is a happier and holier place, it is that day on which we celebrate the festival of the Nativity. ... It gives a foretaste of that better day which is to be, when mercy and peace shall kiss each other, when the cruel wrongs of earth shall be righted, and when all men shall be brothers in the great family of God.”—J. Burns. “Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, Love Divine; Love was born at Christmas; Star and angels gave the sign. Love shall be our token; Love be yours and love be mine; Love to God and all men, Love for plea and gift and sign.” —C. G. Rossetti. 1 THE HOPE OF CHRISTMAS. “No moment in the world’s history has been so fraught with mercy to man as this moment when in a lowly stable Jesus Christ was born. We look at the helpless Babe lying there in His mother’s arms, and then we think of the Christ of to-day! In the lapse of the centuries kingdoms have risen and fallen, mighty dynasties have been built up, and have crumbled into dust; not one of the faiths in which men trusted then, or of the kingdoms to which they belonged, now remains; all have perished! They all have waxed old as a garment, and as a vesture have all been folded up! But Christ remains. His years have not failed! Shall do His faithful soldiers lay siege to the kingdoms of the world, and one by one they fall before them. In faroff lands they wander, amid hostile tribes, by lonely steppes, this vanguard of the great army of salvation. Nor can they rest, until every foes be vanquished and own Him Lord; until every king and kingdom prostrate themselves before Him; and until on every peak and buttress, and bastion, there glows and gleams the symbol of the Cross. So we look at this helpless Babe, and as we look the stable widens out until it becomes vast as the l/niverse, and our minds are aweci as we meditate upon the wondrous ways of God.”—J. Burns. Hail to Thee, Christ of Christendom; jO’er all the earth'Thy Kingdom come! From distant Trebizond to Rome, Thy name shall men adore! Peace and goodwill among all men, The Virgin has returned again, Returned the old Saturnian reign And Golden Age once more.” ■'-Longfellow.