Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 1909)
LL the world keeps Christ- nms dny. From thu liuiil of the midnight sun to the sunny youth of per- putunl Biimtncr la n fnr cry. Hut In the lone ( tlstiincc there is no I a n (1 where Christ- in an IB not kept. Ita cele bration Is n part of the universal hlr/tory of the human race What ever may have been'Its origin and whatever peculiarities may have gathered about It In Its adaptation 'to different people nnd different circumstances. It Is to us1 Amorl- ' jeans to-day a practically national Tenst. I To keep It was at one time , nnd In our own part cr the country , It Is true , a penal offense. It was thought to savor of prelacy and to foster unpleasant memories of po litical servitude. Hut It has grown with our growth and the broadmindedness - mindedness of the American people la seen at Its best In the hearty commemoration of the na tivity of the Christ from year to year. In some parts of the country , In fact , Christmas day bids fair to Bupplnnt Thanksgiving day , and It certainly may alieady claim an equality of recognition with the time-honored national festival of our New England forbears. People of every creed and every nation , nllty within our borders delight to participate In the celebration ot the Christmas feast , and many a ' 'scion of Old-world Block finds him self back home again as the church bolls peal and the candles glim- incr on the Christmas trees. It Is n time of universal peace and good will. It brightens homes , softens asperities and uplifts us ns It brings "tho Hcht flint mum. was on laud or sen. " The Origin Unknown. ifB HE "V ( The origin of the festival is said W to be lost in antiquity , if , as hold by many , It is a Christian feast grafted on tea a pagan one. Its history ia ago long. The actual - tual institution of Christmas as the celebra- t on of the nativity of Jesus Christ dates from the second century of the Christian era. St. Cliryuofltom says that It was observed from thos beginning , according to western practice. from Thrace to the Straits of Gibraltar , and ho calls It "the most venerable , the mother of all the n > st" But ns to the tlmo of the .celebration there was n diversity of observnfnco. The early Christian church naturally kept Easier as com memorative of the resurrection of Christ , which the apostles wore especially chosen nnd Instructed to proclaim , and the feast of Pen tecost , which became the birthday of the church , caaio next in order. Then to these were added two others , the ono commemora tive of the baptism of Jesua Christ and the t other of his birth. The first of these , the Epiphany , or Manlfostallon , caino from the cast to the west. The second , Christmas , or the nathlty , came from the west to the oast. The two were officially recognized nnd quite wldoiy kept in both the east and west In the fourth century. In a sermon preached by Iho Golden-Mouthed In Antioch on December 25 , A. D. 380 , ho speaks of the festival of Chrlstp mas as having first become known there 10 years before and on another occasion ho In vites his hearers to participate in Its approaching preaching observance. But ns to the reason for the selection of December 25 as Christmas day , first arrived at by the Hlppolytes , there Is much difference of opinion. It Is hold by some that the German name of Iho festival "Welhnacht , " Is a literal i translation of the Hebrew "Chanuka , " the ! , Jewish festival of the purification of the temple by Judas Maccabeus , which begins on y. December 17 , and that as the Passover and . PoiKufObt were perpetuated In Easier and 13 Whitsuntide. BO the festival of the Purification . % has boon preserved In Chriatmasllde and the /practice of burning candles on the Christmas / trees has come from Iho old Hebrew feast. * t Early Festivals. But the Purification can hardly bo num bered among the greater -hud Important festi vals of the Hebrews and , ns Schaff says , there Is really no Old Testament feast coricspoml- r Ing toiour Christmas. The weight of opinion na lo Iho tlmo of year chosen by the Chris- - tlan church in the west lies in another nnd entirely different solution of the question and links the Christian observance to the ancient practice of the heathen world. It must bo remembered in this connection thfct the particular dale wag firsl fixed upon by the Roman branch of the church , and at that season of the year a scries ot pagan fes tivals occurred which were closely Interwoven with the civil and social life of the Roman people. These festivals had an Import which lent Itself to tliOgiowth of the Christian faith , and they 'may have been spiritually adopted by the church In order to counteract their ovll tendencies and at the same tlmo ad vance the cause of the now religion The Saturnalia , for Instance , represented the peaceful times of the golden ngo'and obol- ishcd filial p distinctions between citizen and serf. But it was a time of wild atid .unholy revelry. Then the Brumalla the feastvif iho ehortCBt day , or winter solstice was the com memoration of the birthday of thu now BUH about to return to the earth It was the "dies ifatalla Invictl soils " In the old mythology of the sun worshipers It was the birthday of Methras himself , and , In fact , the time of year ( when from unnumbered ages before the Chris The banquet story - ASSAIL. tlan era pagan Europe , In all Its tribes and peoples , had celebrated its chlof festival. So here wo have the double truth of the golden age nnd the rebirth ot Iho unconqucrcd sun , as ho breaks the power of darkness , refined and enriched in the Christian teaching of "pence on earth nnd good will to men , " as coincident with the rising of the Sun of RlghtcousnosBln the birth Into the world of the son of the peasant woman who was alsb the Son of God. This view of Christmas accentuates the true place oi the Christian religion In relation to the ancient and deep-sealed religions which preceded il , and at the same time revqals a beauty of development in its culmination ns the completed manifestation of God lo man. In the infancy of the race Iho winter solstice was everywhere a season of rejoicing. No mnlter what the peculiar form which it as sumed , it expressed the world Joy of the tlmo. So the very Idea of the Child God which gives Christmas Its moaning may not only have been foretold by sybil and seer nnd prophet , but prefigured by the Infant gods of the Greek and Egyptian and Hindu and Buddhist forms of religion. These to us Imperfect an unsatlsfaclory conceptions of the Di vine may have been the rude but honest efforts of the earlier days of the human race to group the Idea of a God-man which has boon made BO real and so full of Joy to us in Ihe Nativity nnd the Epiphany of the Christ. In this sense the early church may have been wiser than she wet of. Her aim was lo select the best features of the heathen feasts and em body thorn for their puri fication In Christian practices and sacred rites and to wean the converts from their old superstitions to Ihe deeper and moro real truths of the Christian faith. But in so doing aho may have been the un conscious Instrument of n divinely guided evolu tion In religious practlco nnd belief which has en nobled and enriched Iho world. The symbolism of our Christmas to day certainly lends Itself In many ways to this point of view. In the greenery with which wo deck our houses nnd churches and in the gift-laden fir trees which gladden our chil dren's hearts , wo still re tain the symbols by which our heathen fore fathers signified their faith In the power of re turning sun to clothe the earth with green nnd hang new fiult on the trees. The Christmas carol may bo n now birth of the hymns , of the Saturnalia. The holly and mistletoe came from the Druid ilsuil muy uu u am- i vlval , purified and refined , _ "R-O/ISTED of Ihe original feast to 5 . a o3 tlie sods and goddesses of the fabled Olympus. The "Yule" of "Merrlo England" Is the old Teu tonic name of the religious festival of the win ter solstice , during which Celt and Roman could trace the movements of their deities as they walked abroad in the world. The Story Christmas Tells. The Christian religion is not merely some thing bulll over Ihe old elhnlc religions ns Ihe church of St. Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome is built over the ruins of the old heathen temple of Minerva , or as the grove sacred to Adonis was planted by the order of the Emperor Had rian over "the cave close to the village" which Is now honored as the scene of the Saviour's birth. It had a larger and a deeper meaning. Christmas tells the story of a gradual but complele unfolding of Iho divine idea of relig ion as seen in Ihe Christ Child , of Us worship and Us merry-making In ils at once sacred and social feast. The story is told simply but graphically by two of the four evangelists. St. Mark's gospel begins with the baplism of Iho Chrlsl. so log ically he had no need to tell the story of his blrlh and boyhood. St. John wrote near the close'of Iho first century , and with the domi nant idea of setlnig forlh Ihe dlvinily of Christ in opposition to the prevailing gnosti- cism of the time. But St. Matthew , whoso narrative bears traces of hav ing been gleaned from Joseph and St. Luke , who probably got his informa tion from Mary , have given us the story with a directness and a humanness - ness which the grotesque and often meretricious wondor-tale of the apoc ryphal gospels have but served to ac centuate as a dark background to a touching and reverent picture. Around the story legends natu rally gathered. It was the custom In early days Jto decorate In this way the graves of heroes and some of these legends are no doubt the off spring of the "vulgar tattle" of the apocryphal gospel stories. In some parts of the world the bees are said to sing on Christmas eve. The cattle kneel In honor of the manger-bed at Bethlehem. The sheep go In proces sion In commemoration of the angels' visit to the shepherds. The Indiana creep through the winter woods of Canada to see the deer kneel and look up to the Great Spirit. In the German Alps the cattle are thought to have the gift of language , and the i told of an Alpine farmer's servant 1 In tlio Rtnblo nn Chrstmas eve and heard the horses talking about his own death , which followed a few days later. A Bosnian Legend. There is n Bosnian legend that the sun leaps In the heavens and the stars dance around It. A great peace comes stealing down over mountain and forest. The rotten stumps stand straight and green on the hillside. The grass is beflowered with blossoms and the birds sing on the mountain tops in thanks to God. In Poland the heavens open and Jacob's ladder is set up between earth and sky. In Austria the candles are set In the window , that the Christ Child may not stumble when ho comes to bless the home. In north Germany the tables are spread and the lights left burn ing for the Virgin Mary and her attending angel. The English superstition is admirably voiced by the myriad-minded Shakespeare in "Hamlet : " Some say that over 'gainst that season comes Wherein our Lord's birth Is celebrated , The bird of dawning utngeth nil night long , And then they say no spirit can walk abroad. The nlshts are wholesome. Then no planets strike. No fairy takes , nor witch hath power to charm , So hallowed and so gracious Is the tlmo. " If a man will compliment his wlfo upon her youthful appearance and tell her that he loves her , she will forgive other white lies. N EVERY Roman Catholic church and In probably nlnety-and-nino out of every hundred Protestant churches throughout Christendom this Is the sea son when Is heard that grand old hymn whoso tender and solemn strains llnd an echo in the -universal human heart "AdOBto Fidcles" ( Come , All Ye Faithful ) . It Is the anthem sung at high mass at Christ- mastldo for centuries past , calling Christ's worshipers to Bethlehem , where the now-born Savior lies. This nalvo and beautiful Latin anthem Is more ancient than its history , nnd goes back six or seven centuries. Saint Bonavontuia , an Italian monk of the thirteenth century - tury , wfio died in Lyons , Franco , in 1274 , Is credited with the authorship of the beginning : Adesto fidcles , Laotl triumphantes , Vonite , Vonito In Bethlehem. Natum vldeto , Ilegem angelorum , Vonito ndorcmus , ' . Venito adoremus , Venlto adorcmus Domlnum. Oh , como all ye faithful , Joyful and triumphant , Oh , como ye. oh , como ye to Bethlehem. See the now-born Saviour , king of all the angels. Oh , come let us adore him , Oh , come let us adore him , Oh. como let us adore him , Christ , our Lord. Saint Bonaventura was a Franciscan scholastic philos opher , and was surnarned ' Doctor Seraphlcus. " His preserved served writings are of a dogmatic or didactic nature ex clushely , and this hymn Is not to bo found among them Doubtlcds It Is to bo referred to the seraphic side of his genius and temperament. Its classic Latin cadences nre of such lyilc felicity that one cannot help but believe they wejo written to the noble and touching melody on whoso wings they have ( loatcd to our time. Surely this Is not lee fantastic a suggestion , when It Is icmenibered that tin1 original Greek music of the Delphic hymn to Apollo is preserved intact , and that certain familiar phrases of the Gregorian chant , used to-day In the Roman mass , are identified by Hebrew historians as Ihe same which were sung In Solomon's temple many centuries before Ihe time of Christ. The hymn "Adesto Fldelcs" Is not known to have been used in England earlier than the Kcvenleenlh cenlury , The musical setting , as we hnvc it In modern notation , IK ascribed by Novello lo ono John Reading , who was * organist at Winchester cathedral from 1675 to 1081 , and later at Winchester college. Its real origin Is lost In tin mibtsof antiquity which probably far antedates the middle ages and the Latin verses to which it has been liiBup arably wedded. Word-language reaches but the one people or race tc whom It IB dlructly addressed But the language of musk IB universal It IB "nndurBtanded of the people" liiiHiintly all the wldo world over it needs not to bo written In choice Latin nor translated into many tongues It \t \ caught up from the heart nnd echoes on forovur. ' That It why the "Adcsto Fldclcb" has become the ChrlBtmiu hymn of all the world. SUFFERED TERRIBLY. How Relief from Distressing Kidney Trouble Was Found. Mrs. Elizabeth Wolf , 388 W. Morgan 3t. , Tlpton , Mo. , says : "Inflammation of the bladder leached its climax last spring nnd I Buf fered terribly. My back ached a p cl pained so I could hardly get around and the secretions wore scanty , fit > qticnt of passage and painful. I was ired all the tlmo and very nervous. I icgan using Doan's Kidney Pills , nnd ifter taking n few boxes was cured , ind have boon well over since. " Remember the name Doan's. Sold jy all dealers. 60 cents a box. Foster- Ullburn Co. , Buffalo. N. Y. HE DID HIS BEST. Merchant What ? You were robbed af everything on the way ? Messenger Yes , hut don't worry. They gave mo a receipt. LEWIS' "SINGLE BINDER. " A hand-made cigar fresh from the table , wrapped in foil , thus keeping fresh until smoked. A fresh cigar made of good tobacco is the ideal smoke. The old , well cured tobaccos usednro so rich in quality that many who formerly smoked lOc cigars now smoke Lewis' Single Binder Straight. 5c. Lewis' Single Binder costs the dealer some more than other EC cigars , but the higher price enables this fac tory to use extra quality tobacco. There are many Imitations ; don't bo fooled. There Is no substitute ! Tell the dealer you want a Lewis "Single Binder. " Stated In Cold Figures. It costs on an average about $250 to euro an incipient consumptive or to care for an advanced case of tuber culosis until death. If he Is left in des titute circumstances without proper attention he will surely infect with his disease at least two other persons , and possibly more. Considering that the average life is worth to society in dollars and cents about $1,500 , the net loss which would accrue to a com munity by not treating its poor con sumptives in proper Institutions would be , for each case , including those who are unnecessarily infected , at the very lowest figure , $4,250. On this basis , If the poor consumptives in the United States who are now sick wore segre gated from their families , and either kept in institutions until they died , or else cured of their disease , the sav ing to the country would bo the enor mous sum of $1,275,000,000. Woman's Daring Deed. In southern Tunis lies an oxtonslvo salt marsh desert called the Shott Jerld , of which the Arabs stand in ter ror , for many a caravan has been lost In the salt incrusted morass , which , according to Do Lesseps is as much as 1,200 Ject deep In places. This region has been crossed for the first time in a small automobile by a woman , Myriam Harry , a well-known French novelist. Taking the Tips. "Why did Dollarby sell his hotel ? " "He wasn't making money fast enough. " "What is he doing now ? " "He's luxuriating in the position of head waiter. " Heroic souls In old times had no moro opportunilles lhan wo have ; but they used them. Charles Klngsley. HABIT'S CHAIN Certain Habits Unconsciously Formed , and Hard to Break. An ingenious philosopher cstlmales that the amount of will power neces sary to break n life-long haLlt would , If It could bo transformed , lift n weight of many tons. It sometimes requires n higher de gree of heroism to break the chains of a pernicious habll than to load a for * * lorn hope In n bloody battlo. A lady Vvriles from an Indiana town : ) "From my earllcnt childhood I was a lover of coffoo. llnloin I watt out of my $ teens I wan a inlMontblotlyHpoptic , Biif- forlnu tonlbly nt Union with my stem ach. ach."I "I wan coiivlnooil Ihnl It wan coffee that wan caiitilni ; ( ho tionblo and yet I could not deny mynolf n cup for hroakfant. At the IIKO of INI I was in voiy poor health , Indeod. My sister told mo I wan In danger of becoming u coffee ilninliiud. "Hut I iiovor could give up drinking coffee for hroakfant , although 11 kept mo eonnlimtly 111 , until I tiled Postum. I luaini'il to iniiko It properly according lo dlrocllotiM , and now wo can hardly do without Poutum for breakfast , an care nothing for coffee. "I am no IOIIKOV troubled with dys- popslu , do not have spells of suffering with my Btomach that used to trouble mo HO when I drank cofoo. " Look In pkga. for the llttlo book."Tho Head toWollvllle. " "There's a Hoaron. " I5 > or ri'int 1ln > tlbin IHtrrf A noiv tint" iinnt'iirM from < ! ? in ! > . ' ' ' 'it v urn K'xiuliu * , true , tiuil full of human Iiilert-Mt.