Shiner Gazette (Shiner, Tex.), Vol. 34, No. 8, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 23, 1926 Page: 3 of 18
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I
CHRISTMAS REFLECTIONS
THE GREATEST GIFT
By J. H. LOWRY
we
Mamma and papa.”
learn to speak
“Christmas
gift!”
These were
among the
first words in
the vocabula-
ry of every
child in the
long ago. We
all learned
them soon af-
ter we learned
to lisp the
endearing words,
Not only did
the words early in life, but to be
opportune and diplomatic in their utter-
ance. A victory was won if you said
them first, but a contest was lost if a
friend caught you unawares and said
them before you could.
Children got up early in the morning
to “get the Christmas Gift” of friends
and companions. They hid behind doors
and beds, and lay in ambush in many
ways when neighbors were coming in, in
order to make a surprise attack and say
the magic words to others before others
could hurl the words at them.
And why? Because according to the
custom of the time if one “got your
Christmas Gift” you must make him or
her a gift of some character, and the
children were more anxious to receive
a gift than to make one. They had not
learned the great and important lesson
of life, taught by the Author and Giver
of Christmas, that it is “more blessed
to give than to receive.”
And I am wondering, as the glad sea-
son draws near, if we have learned the
great lesson. Judging others by my-
self, I fear we have not. So far as giv-
ing at Christmas time is concerned, I
am sure we have. We receive a greater
fcill and find more pleasure and happi-
^ ness in remembering friends at this time
than in being remembered by them, and
nothing that we receive, be its value
great or small, touches as much joy
into our hearts as the trinkets or sub-
stantial we bestow upon the needy and
friendless. It is a time when we live
with our better selves, when otir nobler
and better passions burgeon and bloom,
and for a little while our hearts conquer
and rule over selfishness.
But unfortunately, the heaven-born,
Christ-given doctrine that it is more
blessed to give than to receive lingers
only for a few days. While our minds
and affections are centered upon Him
who gave all for us, He lives in us and
enables us to trample under foot for a
time our baser passions; but soon the
day with its hallowed memories and as-
sociations, and its better ideals and ho-
lier thoughts and desires pass away and
the great doctrine which was heeded for
a time, blessing us so richly, is forgot-
ten. Engrossed again by the world and
its busy scenes and its mad rushes, we
become once more Peters and Johns con-
tending with each other as to who
should be greatest, and Judases com-
plaining over the precious ointments
wasted upon our Lord, or perhaps sell-
ing Him for silver.
* * *
“Christmas comes but once a year,”
and more’s the pity. It does a great
work in tendering our hearts and chang-
ing our viewpoints, but it’s stay is too
short. We observe a great event, the
anniversary of a great gift, and even a
day with the Giver transforms us al-
most into His image. But, having ob-
served the day, we enter again upon the
routine, the cruel concatenation which
kills our ideals and our dreams, that
puts Christmas away for a year and en-
thrones self for twelve long months.
* * *
Men have, always been prone to deify
the material things connected with the
earthly stay and work of the Galileean.
We bow in lavish homage before a
cross. We hold as sacred waters of the
Jordan and branches from the cedars of
Lebanon. Thousands perished while
following Peter the Hermit and Godfry
of Boulone over rough mountains and
across countless rivers in a foolish ef-
fort to capture His tomb. If the ham-
mer He swung or the table He made in
the shop at Nazareth were offered for
sale princely sums would be paid for
them. We observe the day of His birth
and count as holy the day upon which
He arose from the grave, but the ob-
servance of events and days is of little
value unless it touches into our lives and
hearts that which made the day or event
worthy of observance. Any observance
of Christmas is a failure and a mockery
that does not cause the observant to stop
and think of the great gift made by Him
the anniversary of whose birth is cele-
brated, and of the doctrines He taught.
* * *
Most of us are Christlike at Christ-
mas time. We cease to be Old Scrooges
and become Old Scrooge’s nephews for a
season. The, frowns upon our lips curl
into smiles, our purse-strings loosen, we
have time for a romp with the children
and their pranks and noise-making
cease to annoy us; we forget our fail-
ures and disappointments; we become
........................................................................... .... ............................................................
concerned over those about us, wish
them well and try to make them happy.
To make us so Jesus Christ came into
the world, but oh, how it must tear His
heart to see us putting his teaching into
practice only two or three days in a
year.
* * *
Like most of you, I frequently wonder
why man’s feeling toward and interest
in man cannot be all the year as it is at
Christmas time. The doctrine that it
is more blessed to give than to receive
was given to the world nearly two thou-
sand years ago. We have tried it, a
few times, for a short season, and found
it true. The happiest seasons we have
ever known were Christmas seasons,
and for this we know the reason. It
was not because of gifts that were re-
ceived, or of material possessions. It
was because we accepted for a time the
teaching of the Nazarene and put it into
practice. It was because we forgot self,
ceased to inquire who should be great-
est, fell out of line in greed’s mad rush,
forgot our envyings and jealousies, and
really tried to contribute to the happi-
ness and well-being of those about us.
Having tested the doctrine of unselfish-
ness and found it true, why did we aban-
don it so soon and return to the passions
and ways that befriend us not? Is it
possible that after two thousand years
of Christianity our hearts and lives are
susceptible to Christian development
only for a day or a week ? Is selfishness
so firmly entrenched in our hearts that
in two thousand years it can not be
routed by the sermon on the mount, the
golden rule and the sweet story* of the
cross ?
* * * *
Sometimes I am prone to believe that
we have made too much of Christmas as
an event. Truly it was the world’s
greatest event when the magazines of
the skies burst upon the hills of old Ju-
dea, announcing the birth, in Bethle-
hem’s manger, of the Savior of men, but
of His birth He never talked. His gift
to the world was a life, a death, a doc-
trine, a resurrection, a perfect law of
liberty, a perfect law of conduct for
men, and eternal life. And I fear that
in our observance of the great day we
have too lightly stressed the gift He
made to men. We make it a day of re-
unions, of fellowship, of gladness and
feasting, which is well, for surely we
should rejoice and be glad, but when the
reunions and the feasting have passed,
Christmas is over, leaving only the
memories of social joys. How perma-
nently helpful if we at this season of
gift-giving among friends and delightful
fellowship, would meditate upon and
talk of the gifts He made. The day on
which He was born was indeed a great
day, but the life He lived was greater
than His birth in Bethlehem’s manger.
It was glorious when the evening star
held its radiant torch over the hallowed
scene of His birth, but more glorious
when He opened the eyes of the blind,
unstopped the ears of the deaf, gave
strength to the limbs of the palsied, and
finally triumphed over death, hell and
the grave when He came forth from
the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.
* * #
It was a wonderful gift when he
opened the eyes of the man blind from
birth and exposed to his eager gaze a
beautiful world—a world with crystal
rivers rolling over golden sands, a world
of mountains wearing eternal coronets
of snow, a world of sunlit splendors by
day and astral glories by night. It
showed that He sympathizes with the
unfortunate, that He is a God of light,
that He hates darkness and gloom, and
that He would have those who trust
Him enjoy the beautiful and the true.
It was a great gift when He said to the
man who had been paralyzed froni
birth, “arise and walk.” It showed that
He is a God of strength and activity,
and that His great heart beats with
compassion for the helpless. It was a
great gift when He healed the dumb
man and opened his ears to the cadence
of song and the music of the spheres. It
was a great gift when He raised Laz-
ayus from the dead, showing His power
over death and the grave. But even
these wonderful gifts were not suffi-
cient to show the height, the depth and
the breadth of His love for mankind.
Sin still sat enthroned over the lives of
men, and the grave was yet dark and
dismal. Man was lost. He was a wan-
derer without hope, plodding his weary
way to a grave over which ne plus ultra
was written, and a greater gift must yet
be made. And so He, who could have
called twelve legions of angels from the
courts of glory to His defense, submit-
ted to arrest, to a mock trial, and went
to Calvary’s rugged cross, there to die
an ignominious death and give His life
a ransom for you and me, and then to
break the seals of the grave and bring
life and immortality to light.
* * *
This was the great gift. Without it
how poor the world would be. But for
this gift what an awful .thing life w'ould
be—a bubble dancing down a troubled
stream, only to be swallowed up by
death’s dark sea. And how dark, how
dismal the grave! How inconsolable the
grief, how bitter the tears as we stand
beside the rigid clay of a loved one. He
whose anniversary we observe at Christ-
mas time left the courts of glory, the
companionship of the Father and the
angels of light and came to earth, to be
mocked, spat upon, to have a cruel crown
of thorns pressed down upon His brow.
He rejoiced with those who rejoiced,
He wept with those who wept; He went
about doing good. To the sorrowing He
gave a word of cheer and a song of hope;
to the lame He gave strength of limb, to
the blind He gave sight. He was the
great center to which the sorrowing, the
lonely, the friendless, the destitute ap-
pealed for sympathy, love and aid, and
none ever appealed in vain. He kissed
tears from the eyes and death-dew from
the brow. And then, when He had
taught man how to live with man on
earth, He opened unto him the pearly
gates of the jasper-walled city of God
by shedding His innocent blood. And
so He taught us the great lesson of life,
the Christmas message, that it is more
blessed to give than to receive.
* * #
And may He teach us anew, as we en-
ter into the great season, the blessed-
ness of giving. Not a lesson for the day,
but a lesson for life. Not merely to give
trinkets in token of remembrance, not
necessarily to give money, which we
may not even possess, but to give kind-
ness, gentleness, a friendly interest, an
unselfish love, and in memory and honor
of Him, who gave so much to us, to con-
tribute to the betterment of the world
and the happiness of mankind.
* * *
Prophets of old foretold, and poets of
latter days have sung of a golden age.
It is to be an age when fraternal love,
rather than cruel competition, shall rule
the world. An age when all men shall
brothers be, when men shall be full-
statued and far-seeing, each yielding
honey in the life-cups of his fellows.
This golden age has not dawned, but in
our Christmas day we see its first
flashes of purple on the eastern hori-
zon. Thinking of Christ, of His teach-
ing, of His gift to the world, we be-
come more Christlike and God lives in
us for a time, making us more sympa-
thetic, more charitable and more toler-
ant. May Christmas linger with us
longer than ever before, and sing more
sweetly than we have ever heard the
glad refrain chanted by the angelic hosts
in old Judea of “Peace on Earth, Good
Will Among Men.”
■ '■.v! £
1*1 The First Christmas Celebrated in the New World in 1492 ,
''TTpjlHE first Christmas celebrated in
I the New World was in 1492, only
&V,i a little more than two months aft-
er Columbus discovered our coun-
try. It was an eventful day for the ex-
plorer and his men who were compelled
to labor vainly in an effort to save the
flagship, the Santa Maria, whiyh had
been beached on Christmas eve. Find-
ing their efforts futile, they took what
they could from the vessel, carrying it
on board the Nina. As this vessel was
too small to carry all those who had
been on board the larger ship, some were
left behind in a fort, that in honor of the
season was called Le Navidad, the na-
tivity.
Before this Columbus had anchored in
a harbor of Haiti, to which he gave the
name of a saint whose day falls on Dec.
6, and who, in the minds of the children,
is inseparably connected with Christmas
day—Saint Nicholas. And the harbor
on the west coast of Haiti still bears the
name of the Christmas saint.
Christmas was observed in some form
or another thereafter, but a most impor-
tant celebration in the history of our
country was the first Christmas here of
the Pilgrim fathers. The Mayflower
landed at Ply-
mouth on Dec. 21,
1620, just a few
days before
Christmas, but
Christmas day
brought no
thought of revel-
ry or gayety to
the Christian im-
migrants. The first Christmas day found
them with no houses built and no shel-
ter from the icy winds, as the day before
was Sunday and no hands were allowed
to labor or disturb the sanctity of the
Sabbath.
On Christmas day, however, the
swinging of axes, the felling of trees and
the clearing of ground occupied their
entire time. When the second Christ-
mas came there had arrived in the mean-
time another ship, and of this colony,
William Bradford, the sternest of Puri-
tans, was governor. He formally out-
lawed Christmas, as the Puritans of
England had done when they assumed
control of Parliament. The enactment
of the General Court of Massachusetts
ran, “who is found observing by absti-
nence from labor, feasting or in any
other way, shall pay for every offense
five shillings.”
More than a century passed before the
gradual growth of Episcopal influence
in Massachusetts and this association
with official power, when the colony fell
under the direct control of the crown
brought about some relaxation of the
anti-Christmas sentiment of the Puri-
tans.
In the early settlements of James-
town, Christmas was venerated, and
even in the midst of the perils which
confronted the pioneers, they gave
themselves over to a full enjoyment of
the day.
In the days when George Washington
was still known principally as a pros-
perous planter, the great manor houses
along the shores of the James ,the York,
the Rappahannock and the Potomac pre-
sented at Christmas such sights as the
hospitable roof-
tree under which
the entire family
and their depen-
dents, black and
white, were as-
sembled. There
was a big roast
turkey at the
head of the table,
the apartments were decked with
evergreens, and this Virginia’ Christmas
was also characteristic of the celebra-
tions in the Carolinas, Georgia and
Maryland.
The most notable Christmas day of the
Revolutionary period was in 1776 when
Washington crossed the Delaware:
“On Christmas day in seventy-six,
Our ragged troops with bayonets fixed
From Trenton marched away;
The Delaware see! The boats below
The light obscured by hail and snow!
But no signs of dismay.”
Nine hundred prisoners made a very
good Christmas for fighting men, and
although to the American troops Christ-
mas day of’ 1776 was brightened by a
victory, that \of 1777 was the most
gloomy one of the period with the half-
starved and half-clad army struggling
to pass the most momentous of Amer-
ican days at Valley Forge.
Thirteen years afterwards witnessed
the first Christinas under the new re-
public. The first Christmastide of the
first President of the United States was
a session of simple enjoyment amidst a
happy population. In the morning the
President went to church and in the
evening Mrs. Washington held a recep-
tion.
It was in New York, or rather New
Amsterdam, that Santa Claus made his
first American appearance in something
like the garb and manner now familiar
to all of us. From the Netherlands, the
Knickerbockers brought with them the
Christmas of love and sympathy in re-
ligion of comradeship among neighbors
and of festivity in the family.
At the present time Americans gen-
erally seem to apportion the day thus:
Church in the morning, dinner in the
afternoon, and amusements in the even-
ing. The Christmas dinners concen-
trate the scattered members of families,
who meet together to break bread in so-
cial harmony, and exchange those*home
sentiments that cement the happiness of
kindred, and every year the day is more
generally observed.
Christmas Among the Darkies on the Old Plantation {
jsp>| HRISTMAS
vSl on the old
|Wi plantation !
-=J Other days
might be great,
but this day has a
joy, a gladness all
its own. Sugar-
making time is
done, the holi-
days begin. From
now till New Year’s Day hard work will
be forgotten and the “white folks” and
the “hands,” big and little, will don their-
best clothes and just wander around
having a good time.
“Yes, sir, Christmas is here again.
Big frost last iiight. But it can’t hurt
the cane now.”
The sugar house, so recently a hive of
industry, is still and silent now. The
fields that rustled and groaned under a
sheen of green and gold through the
long summer and hazy autumn, lie wide
and desolate, stripped and bare. The
seed cane is bedded in windrows and the
“top” and “trash” of the garnered crop
cover the wide spaces, hiding the naked
rows and “middles” with colors of faded
glory.
“How many hogsheads did we make
dis year, boss? A hundred and fifty?
sho’ you gwinter gib me a Christmas
gif’ on the strength of dat. We jes’
nacherly laid it over dem folks on the
Bend plantation. Thanky, boss. Hope
you and de missus hab a good Christ-
mas .... Calline, what yer a-watchin’ me
fer? Yer aint’ gwine t’ get none of dis
dollar. Yer a-holdin’ yer head mighty
high. Bet you’s goin’ up to de big house
an jes’ git'fed up on all dem fancy ruc-
tions and won’t be no livin' wid yer.....
Thanky, boss, dese here wimmen sure
is a miracle.”
Christmas on the old plantation? The
boys are ranging the fields, thickets,
cane brakes and woods, shooting birds,
chasing rabbits, followed by every mon-
grel, yellow, white and brindled dog
'■ ", S aMc.ii './Y
i)
from the “quarters.” Dozens of little ne-
groes join in the chase, while white and
black yell in chorus, just glad with the
full, exuberant overflow of life.
“We’s gwinter hab ’tater pone and
roast shoat fer our dinner; what you alls
gwine hab ?”
The white boy no doubt would be fed
to repletion with turkey, cranberries,
cakes and-pies galore, yet he always for-
got all these when Sam gave his menu.
For things from the “quarters” were so
much better, and many gentle old
“mammies” had often satisfied his rave-
nous hunger. A bit of smoked mack-
erel from the broad fireplace of Aunt
Liza Jane’s cabin was sweeter to the boy
than sardine sandwiches from the home
table.
Christmas on the old plantation!
Homely rhymes from the old negro men.
“Christmas comes but once er year.”
Guns waking echoes in the woods and
swamps “back of the fields.” fireworks,
rockets, Roman candles, splitting
stumps with charges of gunpowder,
burnt fingers and powder-speckled faces,
but who cares ?—it’s Christmas time!
“Sandy Claus is er comin.” Tin
horses, tin wagons, pasteboard monkeys,
dolls, tops, marbles—“My, dem aggies
and chinise!” How the- children shout,
laugh and chatter as the treasures, rich
and rare to them, are shaken and pour-
ed from the stockings while “maw” and
“paw” look on with glistening eyes and
hearts filled with music.
Oh, Angel of the Hearthstone, keep
in memory’s jeweled casket these rec-
ollections of bygone years.
Christmas feasting—Aunt Mandy is
cooking the Christmas dinner in the spa-
cious kitchen. “Sam, you triflin’ rascal,
you come right here and help me pick
dis turkey and dese chickens. ’Tain’t
no use callatin’, erbout it. Come right
’long. Hang up dem rabbits and patiges.
You an’ that white boy done been traips-
in’ all over dis plantation all de mornin’,
f:
You ain’t got no sense, nohow, follerin’
white chilluns like dat.”
The white boy, loyal to his faithful
henchman, spoke: “But, Aunt Mandy,
just look at the game I and Sam brought
in.”
“Go on ’way from here, chile, you jes’
nacherly spile all the black chilluns on
de place. I ain’t got no time to fool wid
dat truck now. Sam, you git ter work.”
The child lingers near, pretending
now and then to help Sam, for the fra-
grant perfume of gingerbread baking is
irresistible.
The old plantation has passed into his-
tory. New ways of making sugar are
here. The wise old negro men and the
“mammies” are enfolded in the bosom
of the old plantation. A new race has
appeared on the scene, yet sometimes
the “white chile” meets Sam and clasps
his rugged black hands, while their eyes
glisten and hearts beat high with memo-
ries of years agone.
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Habermacher, Mrs. J. C. & Lane, Ella E. Shiner Gazette (Shiner, Tex.), Vol. 34, No. 8, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 23, 1926, newspaper, December 23, 1926; Shiner, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1144393/m1/3/: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Shiner Public Library.