Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Red Cloud chief. (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 1909)
MEN TO LIVE 120 YEARS n y . rSfc;vT a t, ZS$58Zlw.L Jy IIIUJL J- lJ&Jk&L J Iwgi ,,c,,,al m,mn,cr ft1 dffiSffiB 83 ilifliiiiiw ' M fcS nut",,, nu. s I j. t:,. 6 pmp , 'v,.u. f si iSi llu WSi LP Wh Jh i mM l i if W 1 1 rrECHTJ2UPI2ECHT &u& IsA. rWll " JINGLING J3fcLX5 ' 3l vA A'Sa -' - - fi IiL the world Itocjis Clirlat uisiH tiny. From tin- Inntl of the midnight Him to tlio Hunny south of pcr Iiotiial HUtuntor la a far cry. Hut in tlit lotm (liHlancc thi'ro Ik o land wluto Clirlst mas Is not kept. Its cells' bratlon Is a part of the universal history of the human lace. What ever may have been its origin nnd whatever peculiarities may have nathered nbout It in its adaptation to different people and different circumstances, It Is to us Ameri cans today a practically national 'cast. To Keep It was at one tlmo, and In our own part ci the country, It Is true, a penal offense. It was thought to snvor of prelacy nnd to fo3ter unpleasant memories of po litical servitude. Hut It has grown with our growth nnd the. broad inlndcdnobs of the American people Is seen at its best In the hearty commemoration or tho na tivity of tho Christ from year to year. In some parts of the country, in fact, Christmas day bids fair to supplant ThanksRlvIiiR day, and It certainly may already claim an equality of recognition with tho time-honored national festival of our New Kngland forbears. People of every creed and every nation ality within our borders delight to participate in tho celebration of the Christmas roast, and many a scion of old-world stock finds him self back home again as tho church bells peal and tho candles glim mer on the Christmas trees. It Is n tlmo of universal penco and Rood will. It brightens homes, softens asperities and uplifts us ns it brings "tho light that never was on land or sen." The Origin Unknown. Tho origin of tho festival Is said to be lost in antiquity. If. n8 hold by many, it is a Christian feast grafted on to a pagan one, its history is age long. Tho ac tual institution of Christmas ns tho celebra tion of the nativity of Jesus Christ dates from the second century of tho Christian era. St. Chrysostom says that it was observed from the beginning, according to western practice, from Tiirnce to tho Straits of Gibraltar, nnd ho calls it "the most venerable, tho mother of all the rest." But as to the time of tho celebration there was a diversity of observance. Tho early Christian church naturally kept Kastcr ns com memorative of the resurrection of Christ, which the apostles were especially chosen and Instructed to proclaim, and tho fenst of Pen tecost, which became tho birthday of tho church, came next In order. Then to theso were added two others, the one commemora tive of the baptism of Jesus Christ nnd tho other of his birth. The first of these, the Kplphnny, or Manifestation, came from tho east to tho west. The second, Chrlstmns, or tho nativity, came from tho west to tho enst. Tho two were olllcially recognized nnd quite widely kept In both tho enBt nnd west in tho fourth century. In n sermon preached by tho Ooldcn-.Mouthed in Antioch on December 25, A. D. IISli. ho speaks of tho festival of Christ mas as having llrst become known thero 10 years before nnd on another occnslon ho In vites his hearers to participate in Its ap proaching observance. Hut ns to tho reason for tho selection of December 25 ns Christmas dny, first nrrlved nt by tho Ilippolytcs. thero Is much dllToronco of opinion. It is held by somo thnt the Gorman name of tho festival "Woihnncht," Ib ii literal translation of tho Hebrew "Chanukn," tho Jewish festlvnl of tho purification of tho templo by Judas MnccabeuB, which begins on December 17', and that as the Passover and Pentecost were perpetuated in Easter and Whitsuntide, so tho festival of tho Vuriflcntion has boon preserved In Chrlstmustlde nnd tho practice of burning candles on tho Christmas trees has come from tho old Hebrew fenst. Early Festivals. But tho Publication can lymlly bo num bered among tho greater nnd Important festi vals of tho Hobrows and, ns Schnff says, thero Is really no Old Testament feast correspond ing to our Christmas. Tho weight of opinion as to the time of year chosen by tho Chris tian church In tho west lies in another and entirely different solution of tho question nnd links tho Christian observnnco to tho undent practlco of the heathen world. It must bo rememncred In this connection Rev. Newell Dwlght Hlllls in Chicago Lecture, Foicsces Human Longevity- Advocates Suffrage Chlcngo That man may by his own methods or living sustain Ufa until he i caches the nue of 100, or even 120 years, is the contention of Kev. Dr. Newell Dwlght Hlllls. pastor of Ply mouth chinch, ltninklyn, N. Y. Dr. Hlllls a, rived In Chicago in tho course of a lecture tour which cnrrled him through the middle west, bring ing with him the excellent good nowst that tho time Is near at hand when we will "all he ashamed to show our faces in heaven before o aro 10(1 years old." Dr. Hlllls Is convinced that present day conditions aro such as to make for the longevity of tho i,nt t)m nnrticulnr dato was first llxed upon by tho Roman bianch of tho church, and at 0f our Christmas today that season or tuo your n series ui imh" - certain, y icnas iisen in tlvnis occurred which were closely interwoven with the civil nnd social life of the Itomnn pcoplo. Theso festivals had nn Import which lent Itself to tho growth of tho Christian faith and they may havo boon spiritually adopted by the church In order to counteract tholr evil tendencies nnd nt tho same time nd vanco tho cause of the now religion. Tho Snturnnlln, for iiiBtnnco. represented i nft.i Minna of tho coldon iigo nnd abol- shod Hharp distinctions botween citizen nnd faith In tho power of re serf Uut it was a tlmo of wild and unholy turning sun to clotho tho rovolry. Then tho llrumnlla tho renst or tno shortest day, or winter solstice was tho com mcmoratlon of tho birthday of tho now awn nbout to return to tho earth. It was tho dies imtalis Invlctl soils." In tho old mythology of tho sun worshipers It was tho birthday of Methras blmBelf. and, In fact, tho tlmo o! 'year when from unnumbered ogea before the Chris- HE WASSAIL Wk OP .SVIMr-IiriCS COASTED APPLES. 9-J2S? sSSa sP& aS s ? thin era pngan Europe, In all Its tribes and peoples, had celebrated Its chief festival. So here we have the doublo truth of tho golden ago nnd tho rebirth of the unconquered sun, as ho breaks the power of darkness, refined and enriched in -tho Christian -tonchlng of "pence on earth nnd good will to men," ns coincident with tho rising of tho Sun of Righteousness In the birth Into tho world of tho son of tho pensnnt woman who was nlso the Son or God. This vlow of Chrlstmns ncccntuntes the true place of the Christian religion In relation to tho nncient and deep-seated religions which preceded It, and at tho snmo tlmo reveals a beauty of development In its culmination as the completed manifestation of God to man. In the Infnncy of tho race tho winter solstice was everywhere a season of lejolcing. No mntter what tho peculiar form which It as sumed, it expressed the world Joy of tho time. So the very idea of tho Child God which gives Christmas its meaning may not only hnvo been foretold by sybil and seer and prophet, but prellgured by tho Infant gods of tho Greek and Egyptian nnd Hindu and Duddhlst forms of religion. Theso to us imperfect an unsatisfactory conceptions of tho Dl- vino may havo been tho rudo but honest efforts of tho earlier days of tho human race to group tho idea of n God-man which has been mndo so real and so full of Joy to us In the Nativity and the Epiphany of the Christ. In this sense tho early church may havo been wiser than sho wot of. Her aim was to select tho best features of tho heathen feasts and em body them for their puri fication In Christian practices and sacred rites and to wonn the converts from their old superstitions to the deoper nnd moro renl truths of tho Christian faith. Hut in so doing sho may hnvo been tho un conscious Instrument of a dlvlnoly guided evolu tion in religious practice and belief which tins en nobled and enriched the world. The symbolism QNECHT .KUPRECHT wrrf-i Hr-cs JINGLING J3fcLX5 worship. Thu banquet tlmo Itself may bo n sur vival, purllled nnd rellned. or tho original feast to the gods and goddesses of tho fnbled Olympus. Tho "Yule" of "Morrlo England" Is the old Teu tonic nnmo of tho religious festival of tho win ter solstice, during which Celt and Roman could trace tho movements of their deities as they walked abroad In the world. The Story Chrlst'mns Tells. - Tho Christian religion Is not merely some thing built over tho old ethnic religions as tho church or St. Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome Is built over tho ruins of tho old heathen templo or iMlnerva, or ns tho grovo sacred to Adonis was planted by tho order of tho Emperor Had rian over "tho envo close to tho village" which is now honored ns the scene of the Saviour's birth. It had a larger and a deeper meaning. Christmas tolls tho story of a gradual but complete unfolding of tho divlno Idea of relig ion as seen In the Christ Child, of its worship nnd Its merry-making in its nt onco Bncred and social feast. Tho story Is told simply but graphically by two of tho four evangelists. St. Mark's gospel begins with the baptism or tho Christ, so log ically he had no need to tell the story of his birth nnd boyhood. St. John wroto near tho close of tho llrst century, nnd with tho domi nant Idea of settnhi forth tho divinity of elsm of the time Hut St. Matthew, whose urinative heals traces of hav ing been gleaned from Joseph nnd St Luke, who probably got his Informa tion from Mary, have given us tho story with a directness and a human ness which the grotesque and often uicrclilclous wonder-tales of the apoc ryphal gospels have but served to ac centuate as n dark background to a touching and rou-rent plctuio. Around the story legends until i ally gathered. It was the cuHtom In early days to decorate in this wny the graves of heioes and somo of these legends are no doubt tho off spring or tho "vulgar tattle" of tho apocryphal gospel stories. In somo parts of the world tho bees aro said to sing on Christmas ovo. The cnttlo kneel In honor of the manger-bed at Hethlehem. The sheep go In proces sion In commemoration of tho angels visit to the shepherds. Tho Indians creep through tho winter woods of Canada to sco tho doer kneel and look up to tho Great Spirit. In tho German Alps tho cattle aro thought to havo the gift of language and tho story Is told or an Alpine farmer's scrvnnt who hid In tho stable on Chrstmas ovo and heard the horses talking about his own dentil, which followed a few days later. A Bosnian Legend. Thero is n Hosnlan legend that tho sun leaps In tho heavens and tho stnrs dnnco around it. A great penco comes stealing down over mountain and forest. The rotten stumps stnnd straight nnd green on the hillside. Tho grass Is bollowered with blossoms and tho birds slng'on tho mountain tops In thnnks to God. In Poland tho heavens open and Jacob's ladder la set up between enrth and sky. In Austria tho candles aro Bet In tho window, thnt the Christ Child may not stumble when ho comes to blesB tho home. In north Gcrmnny tho tables aro spread and tho lights left burn ing for tho Virgin Mary and her attending angel. The English superstition is admirably voiced by tho myrlad-inlnded Shnkespearo In "Hamlet:" K(im say thnt ever 'Hutust Hint season ciiiiich Wheiolii our Lord's Mrlli Is relMinili'd, Tho bird of dawning slngplh nil nlKlit Ioiik, Anil then they say no spirit can walk abroad. Tim iilKlils aio wholesome Then no planots strike, No fairy tidies, nor wlleli lmtli power to clmnn, Ro lmlloweil nnil so gracious is thu tlmo." 1 w ymi race. He believes that In n thousand years women will own all I ho prop erty. 110 was talking about "Tho Amer ica of To-day and To-morrow" before the Cook County Teachers' nssoclntlon when ho expressed tho opinion that tho spin, of life Is to he lengthened. "It bus been proved," ho said, "thnt tho men of today aro on an nverngo four Inches taller than tho men of 500 yours ngo nnd thnt tho women are flvo Inches taller than tho women of 1780. "Tho women aro getting the moBt of the education of today, nnd bororo long, ir tho men contlnuo to go Into business nnd get their recreation In tho evening playing billiards, while tho women follow Intellectual pur suits, tho latter will bo tho only edu cated poisons of tho country. "1 don't know why tho womon should not vote. I run tired listening to theso false statements nbout tho women to tho effect thnt they wcro made inferior to man nnd should be kept subject to his authority nnd should hnvo no sny In politics or In religion. Wo are having too much trouble over that statement of Paul's that women should not talk In the church." OLEO MAN FOR CONGRESS If n man will compliment his wlfo upon her youtului appearance ami ion nur mm uu luvoa Christ In opposition to tho prevailing gnosti- her. she will forgive other white lies. g "r;:::::PH3iff W 'V,Bs$3bJmadRH BlLJV mm- f". 0 y3" T1 - , S JV o-" it -r ?. jr Oldert ma feffii uC&Sim IN EVERY Roman Catholic church and In probably nlncty-nnd-nino out of overy hundred Protestant churches throughout Christendom this is thu sea son when is heard that grand old hymn whoso tender nnd solemn Btrnlns llnd u echo In tho universal human heart "Adesto Fldeles" (Conio, All Yo Faithful). It is the nnthem sung at high mass nt Christ mnstldo for centuries past, calling Christ's worshipers to Dethlehcm, where tho now-born Snvlor lies. This nalvo and beautiful Latin anthom Is more ancient than its history, and goes back six or soven conturles. Snlnt Honaventura, an Italian monk of tho thirteenth cen tury, who died in Lyons, Franco, in 1274, Is credited with the authorship of tho beginning: many ways to this point of view. In tho greenery with which wo deck our houses and churches and in the gift-laden fir trees which gladden our chil dren's heartB, wo still re tain the symbols by which our heathen foro fathers signified tholr earth with green nnd hang new fruit on tho trees. Tho Christmas carol may bo a now birth of the hymns of the Saturnalia. Tho holly and mistletoe came from the Druid Adesto lldcles, Lnetl trlumphnntcs, Venito, Venlto in Hethlehem. Natum vldetc, Regem angelorum. Venlto udovomiiB, Venlto udoremus, Venlto ndorcinus Domlnum. Oh, como nil yo faithful. Joyful nnd triumphant, Oh, como yo, oh, come ye to Bothlohem. Seo tho now-born Saviour, king of all the angels. Oh, como lot us ndoro him, Oh, como let us ndoro him, Oh, como let us adoro him, Christ, our I-ord. Saint Honaventura waa a Franciscan scholastic philos opher, and was Burnnmed 'Doctor SornphlcuB." Ilia pro served writings aro of a dogmatic or didactic nnturo ex clusively, and this hymn is not to bo found among thorn Doubtless It Is to be referred to the seraphic stdo of bio genius nnd tomporamont. Its classic Latin cadences nro of such lyilc felicity that oo cannot help but believe thry weio written to tho noblo and touching melody on whoso wings they havo floated to our time. Surely this Is not too fantastic a suggestion, when it Is remembered that the orlginnl Greek music of tho Delphic hymn to Apollo is pieserved intact, and that certain familiar phrases of the Gregorian chant, used today In tho Roman mnss, aro Identllled by Iltbiew historians as tho saino which wcro sung In Solomon's templo many centuries beforo tho timo of Christ. The hymn "Adesto Fldeles" is not known to havo boon used in England enrller than the seventeenth century. Tho musical setting, as wo hnvo It In modern notation, Is ascribed by Novello to one John Rending, who was organist at Winchester cnthedinl from 1C7C to 1081. nnd later at Winchester college. Its real origin Is lost In tho mists of antiquity which probably far untedntcs tho middle ages nnd tho Latin verses to which It has been insop arabfy wedded. Word-languago reaches but the ono people or rnco to whom It Is directly addressed. Rut tho langungo of music is universal it Is "understnnded of tho peoplo" Instantly all tho wldo world over It needs not to bo written In choice Latin nor translated into many tongues It is cnught up from the heart nnd echoes on forovor. Thnt Is why tho "Adesto Fidcles" Iiub becomo tho Chrlstmns hymn of all tho world. J'-i Sixth Illinois District Voters Choosa Moxley to Fill Lorlmer's Place. Chicago. Unless tho pinna of one ol defeated opponents succeed nn olco innrgnrino manufacturer will represent the Sixth Chicago district In congress. This manufacturer of a substitute for butter is William J. Moxloy nnd ho wna elected uftcr n hnrd cainpnlgn. So fnr as the records show ho Is thu only oleo maker In congress. Tho government hns hnd considerable trou ble with men In Mr. Moxley's business nnd a Chicago paper which opposed his election called attention to tho fact that Mr. Moxley had not been without his own clash with Uncle Snm. Mr. Moxley was elected tc succeed William Lordlier who wns elevated to sw-?- - William J. Moxley. tho rank of senator lust spring. Ho le wealthy and his friends aro certain that ho will glvo the people of the Sixth district satisfactory service. "Touch Wood." Whilo wo nro on tho subject ofovll spirits let ub llston to n correspondent who informs us that ho has lately no ticed a curious superstition among the chlldron ot his village, "When n motor appears the children within sight nil run to touch something made or wood, retaining hold of It until tho motor is out of sight. When nsked to glvo n renson for this thoy say that It brings good luck. I wonder If nny of your correspondents in other places havo noticed this." We think It not unlikely. And oxcopt where tho road is paved with wood, wo should Judge tho Incantation very effective