Western Star WALLACE COUNTY GAZETTE. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1927. THE FESTIVE SEASON.

Western Star, 23 December 1927, Page 2

Western Star WALLACE COUNTY GAZETTE. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1927. THE FESTIVE SEASON.

Cliristmastide is a time for making holiday. All the world and his wile seize the occasion as one upon which they deem themselves justified m having, as the playbills phrase it, something extra special, and very properly so, for does not Christmas come but once a year? It is also a time for family gatherings and reunion of friends. The call of home and friendship can no more be resisted than the instinct which lures the Canadian goose from northern climes on the approach of winter tosunnier southern lands. .Heavy bookings pnd crowded trains dhiring the week' indicated that this call was being responded to, southerners going to the Northland! and northerners coming to the Southland. During the next few. days the wish that will be most frequently expressed to friends will be that they may enjoy, a happy Christmas. The phrase, by. constant reiteration, may ceas© to call for any thought as to wliat w© mean to convey. But it should not. For what is happiness? Locke on'c© laid down the first condition when he wrote: ‘A sound mind in a sound body is a short hut full description of a happy state in> this world.’ There is bardljr a philosopher or poet who has not added! his own ideas to that simple formula. , Coleridge . said that ‘the happiness of life is made up of minute fractions —the littl© soonforgotten charities, a heartfelt compliment in the guise of a playful raillery, and the countlesd other infinitesimals of pleasant thought and feeling. The modern dictum is given in the lines— .

I’ll cure your case and ask no fee. Make others’ happiness this once your <?wn. All else niay pass; that joy can never be outgrown. It is true that the seaison, with its interchange of gifts, is honestly regarded as the occasion to bring pleasure to others, and) those who have, not been blessed with any" surplus of this world’s gifts and those in* the hospital wards are duly remembered. This is a gracious and worthy aspect of the present observance of the festival. Without that widely-expressed outward manifestation of sympathy and considteration, there would be far less of the spirit of rejoicing than there is. The movement is to the good, and has a material benefit at least for those who way share in it. And for doing the. best and making the best of things the oportunity and the time are how. As Walt Whitman expresses it in Ins own .peculiar way: ‘There is something that comes to one now and perpetually. It is not what is printed, preached, discussed ; it eludtes discussion'and print. It is not (to be put in a book. It is for you whoever >lOll are. It is'no farther from you than your hearing and sight ar©;from you. If is hinted h.v commonest, readiest; it is ever provoked bv them. Will yon seek afar off? You surely come hack at last, in things best known to yon finding the best, or as good* as the best; in folks nearest to you .finding (the sweetest, strongest, lovingest; happiness, knowledge, not in another place hut this place, and hot for another hour hut this hour.’ Being in accord with the spirit' of Christmas „‘You catch ‘a. santamingo and all your dreams com© true.’ The santamingo. is a species of Oriental bird believed by romantic sailormen to confer on its possessor great content and peace of mind. Accepting the spirit of Christmas as a ta'ita-

min go, a writer in Punch said: You won’t find? buried treasures* You won’t get sudden luck, But things’ll go smoothly. That used ,to get somehow stuck. The littl© things that matter, The trumpery things that please. You catch your santamingo And you’re always sur© of these. In this Dominion we ar© more fortunate in regard' t 0 weather conditions for out-door rejoicings in. connection, with the festive season than in the Old Band Wher© winter prevails, and this year, according to the latest cables, Detain is enjoying traditional Christmas weather. Practically the whole country is under snow, and there ar© deep drifts in th© hilly areas. Th© temperature is continually below freezing point, and there is thick ic© on London ponds and lakes. Despite being the coldest season for many years winter sports are in proressg throughout England, tobogganing and ski-ing being tile favorite m the northern Counties, and Christmas is being celebrated in the traditional style. Sports are also associated with our observance of the season, and the principal event in-Southland .on. Boxing Day is the Riverton Aquatic Carnival, which is confidently ‘expected to attract an enormous ■ gather...g if the weather is propitious, and present appearances seem to indicate that such will be the case. And' whilst we are (prompting ■ epjoymjant and hpppinesk amongst ourselves', Mrs L. Amei j, wife of th© Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs,' ,on th© eve of h©i departure from New Zealand, asked to give a Christmas! message, said ‘Though I could do it. briefly by offering conventional greetings, I would like you to allow me to put lrty message in a different form, to expiess it in words which, if my appeal is answered, will bring happiness at Christmas and at all times not only to you alone but to every . Briton i n the Empire. I can think of nothing - more worth saying to you than that I hope you will remember when you'set out upon your shopping expeditions how greatly not only the Empire’s prosperity but your own depends upon what you buy. I think that one of our greatest needs to-day is, to quicken within ourselves the realisation that ©very Briton, , wherever he may be, is a member of a family whose welfare is entirely dependent upon the welfare of its individual members. For reasons of sentiment and no less for economic reasons we must realise these facts. The more you spend.'upon. British industries .that supply you with goods that you cannot make for yourselves the more work for th© British working man will be provided,, and the more work for the British working man the more New Zealand fruit and lamb and cheese will h© be able t© buy for bis family. 1 may say that the work of the Empire .Marketing Board has made the Btriton at Home keen to be your customer. The more y(ou spend upon another Briton the. more that other Briton jvill have to spend upon you —spending on A tbe foreigner does not mean that he spends on you—and the richer t will grow wliat I have called the 'Bjntish family. -If we all do our spending,upon that principle, you will easily see how tremendous the massed effect,will to,, and you 'will see,' too. how much, happier this and every future Christmas will he.’ Thus while enjoying ourselves and promoting the pleasure 1 of others we can also help the Mother] and, our best customer, to, provide work . for’ her thousands of iduemployed. And(this will in no way, int|rfeye with the enjoyment of what we I now wish one and all— . . A MERRY CHRISTMAS !