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Ladies'
Velvets and
uedes
Short Vamps — Buttons
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Awa | II ADI pr u|mt. p| iv VAI IB AT A SHOE STORE We soil the famous BALL BAND lino of Rubber Goods, Overshoes, Leggings, Rubbers, Gaiters, Warm
VALUAbLt mm. PUT YUUK anuiia Ml M _T Shoes, Lined Slippers and EVERYTHING NEEDFUL FOR WINTER wEAR. Don't forget those Xmas Slippers
THE H. M. JENNE SHOE STORE
Falls City, Nebraska
Love Of Christmas Time
VHHBHnnHIBBSHHHnHHflHnanHBBSBninBnBHI
MRS. WILLIAM M. WILSON.
There is no more beautiful story
than that of the first Christmas.
“Glory to God in the Highest, on
csrth peace and good will toward
men,” was the first Christmas an
them and the world has not improv
ed upon it. It has been said that
if it were not the beginning of a
sew era in the history of mankind
and that if it had no religious signi
fieanse, it would still he unsurpassed
i» its touch upon all the poetic lm-|
aginations and romantic instincts of
• :ir nature. But for millions of
mankind it lias a religious signifi
cance appealing, as none other can,
in all that is highest and best in us,
making it a time of good will and
charity for all. In its social feat
ures Christmas stands first as the
most joyous holiday of all the year—
bringing together relatives andj
friends from whose reunion happy j
memories are created that give per
ennial pleasures. It would, indeed,,
b» difficult, to find anyone, who can
not recall some happy and cherished
^■mlent associated with Christmas,
it is only when we ask, ‘‘What would!
the year be without Christmas, that
»«• realize how great an event it is
0,ir lives, in its, inspiration toi
i burl fable tuts it is the most bcnc
fU.t nt of seasons—not only giving j
happiness to thousands of poor and
needy—hut exerting an Influence in ]
the cause of benevolence that will
r'-a< h far beyond.
A waj back in fifteen-hundred old)
i nomas i usscr sang,- At <'hrisiuiaa
play and make good cheer, for Christ
mas comes but once a year," In
Tosser's day it was chiefly an occa
sion for mirth under the sanction of
religion, and far off be the time
when such an observance of Christ
mas shall cease. For what this age
needs, and coming ages prom'ise to
need it quite as much, is mirthfulness
Cnhappy is ho who does not know,
that the key note of the universe is
jev, and that Christmas laughter is
the. echo of the sunny sympathy
which lightens the shodows in many
a lonely heart. He is happiest upon
Christmas, who makes most, others
glad. If we would gather flowers
we must sow seed.
ir, may not he possible for every,
o»o to indulge in the comfort of
making many gifts—but every man.
woman and child may constitute him
self or herself a tiny part of the uni
versal movement to bring heaven
r little nearer to some one. It is
well at this time to remember the
wisdom of Mohamet, who said "that
if he had two loaves of bread, he ^
would sell one and buy hyacinths for ^
they would feed his soul.” Our
I
homes can be made more bright with
the treasures of the field and the
beauties of the forests, and our gifts
mere eloquent of love. Then in
i
after years as we glance backward
into the golden age of childhood,
these sunlit Christmas gardens will
bring to us our happiest memories.
May the fates be kind to the parents i
who can find neither time nor mon
ey to furnish some simple gifts to the
little ones, for it is the greeting
which we give to these latest arrivals
from Heaven, whom we call children,
that bring to us our greatest joy.
Christmas trees are as green in
the humble homos as in the mansion, J
and the beautiful rooms filled with
costly gifts do not bring any grater
joy than comes to the waif who re-1
ceives a humble present from the
Santa Claus who visits missions and '
looks after the little folks whose sur- j
roundings would be almost unbear- j
able were it not for the few bright;
spots which Christmas brings into i
their lives. Mothers give your child
ren a happy Christmas. The tooting
of horns and the beating of drums
is hard on the nerves, but in after <
years its memory may be sweetest |
music. 1
Then too, the fruits of the Christ
mas tree are usually short lived, but
oh, what a good thing there is in
the destruction. Punching a hole in
tiie drum head is more fun than it
would be to play for a whole year on
the stretched parchment, and the
small boy gets twice as much enjoy
ment in hearing the wind gush out
of a rubber foot ball as he would
have in kicking the expanded ball
about the yard. The'poor doily with
battered face and broken arms, clasp
ed in her chubby hands at bed time,
is far dear* r to the heart of the lit
tle girl than a dozen big wax dolls j
hid away in the closets.
The first certain traces of Christ- j
inas festival are found about the time I
of the Emperor Commodus 180-1 hit A.
D. A few years later in the reign
of Diocletian a church full of Chris-;
tians gathered to celebratte Christ- j
mas, were burned by order of the j
Emperor. The birth of Christ was!
celebrated in January, April and,
May—it is almost certain that the
25th of December is not Christ’s
birthday, as it is the rainy season in
Judea and the shepherds could hard
ly be watching their flocks by night
in the plains at that time. Christmas
was observed generally in the latter
halt’ of the fourth century. After the
conversion of Constantine and subse
quent to the council of Nice it. was
decided by the fathers of the church
to celebrate Christmas on the 25th
of December. Among the causes
that co-operated in fixing this period
as the proper one—perhaps the most
powerful one was that almost all
the heathen nations regarded the
winter solstice (the time of the sun
turning northward) as a most impor
tant period of the year. It was
the beginning' of renewed life ami
activity of the powers of nature.
All heathen nations celebrated that
season as the old Norse Yule feast.
The Germans held their gnat Yule
feast at that time, in commemora
tion of the return of the great sun
wheel, commencing December 25tli
and continuing twelve days. Many
of the beliefs and usages of the old
Germans also of the Romans passed
over from heathenism to Christian
ity. It lias taken the best of all
religions. Its games, its cheer, its
legends, its fairies are Pagan. Its ■
charity, its love, its universal for
giveness, its chants and prayers are
Christian.
The Christmas tree with its hangin
toys comes from the Romans and is
told about by the poet Virgil. The
visits of Santa Claus bearing gifts
belong to St. Nicholas. All nations
in the north have striven from the
earliest antiquity to light up the
dreary days of winter. Trees no longe
rr bear leaf, flowers or fruit. The
Christmas tree, therefore, must bud
and blossom with gifts. The holly
must throw its rich color over the
snow', the red fire on the hearth
from the Yule log. which burns'
twelve days, must replace the Still j
which they have lost from the 1
heavens, The hospitality of the man
must heal the inliospitality of nature, I
and food and good cheer must go
from the rich kitchen to the poorer
one. In Sweedeu where the people
are of musical temperameent the
early hours of Christmas morn are
ushered ,n with singing of carols.
Although the Christmas tree comes
clown from the Druids, it disappeared
from Fngland for many centuries.
Even in .he Wassail days when
Fluistioa . was a great day of feast
ing, we hear of no Christmas tree
till the Duchess of Kent,true to her
Herman recollection had one dressed
for Queen Victoria when a little girl
at Kingston Palace. Hut Christmas
lias always been splendidly kept in
England. At eight o’clock on Christ
mas eve all bells greet Old Father
Christmas with a peal which arouses
the most distant echo. Children pa
rade with drums and trumpets.
Noise is the form which enthusiam
takes among Anglo-Saxons, when the
Yule candle is lighted. In noble Eng
lish the host lights tin* Yule log, and
great ill luck is foretold if its light
goes out for twelve days. The Christ
mas feast required four dishes—
roast beef, which meant strength;
plum pudding, which by its richness,
typified the gifts which were brought
by the wise men of the east The
porridge made in honor of the new
little brother and sister up-stairs,
and the mince pie to show that the
eater was not a Puritan. Ale was
drank in honor of all the saints and
martyrs, and the lord of misrule was
expected to turn the house upside
down.
In Koine, Italy the noisy music of
trumpets ushers in the festival of
the Befanta (Santa Claus) and a sort
of fair is held in the public squares.
Iii the church of Ara t’ocli, the pret
tiest scene takes place. A tableau
of the Virgin Mary, a figure
richly dressed, rocking the Holy
Child in a manger, is revealed to
the populace and little Italian girls
make impromptu addresses speaking
of the humility of the Christ, child.
This church which has the famous
stairway up which pilgrims go on
their knees, is crowded witli worship
pers, who adore this element of
Christmas. The whole family of
Polish nobles would gather around
tlie brilliantly decorated Christmas
tree, supper was a sort of picnic
served all night, everybody going In
and helping himself—the health of
the belle of the dinner was drunk
from her slipper. The mistletoe was
carried from house to house and t.he
sturdy Dutch lover would embrace
ids fair Katrina and the maiden who
failed to be kissed beneath the mistle
toe was doomed to remain unmarried
during the coming year. The Ger
mans have always spread the soft
Scandinavian influence over the many
supertitions. It was their forte to
change the witch who rides a broom
stick into the dignified Kriss Krin
"Jc, who rides in his own sleigh
decked in furs, Fjefahia, had h bunch
of rods for file naughty boy and a
few (>arents for the good one.
ivnss Kringle omits trio rods- and
'ties tho logic of flattery. Tho Ger
man adores the stork Who builds on
liis roof, and tells his children to
liroleet the bird- who cares- for her
young with such self-sacrificing fidel
ity. Ifo tenches them that tho Yule
log signifies light and warmth—the
■reat principals of life, that the Chris
tmas tree means tho eternal mother
love, hers the good cheer—the boun
(ou:; table, and far above it all is
i ho Christ Child who made Christ
inas. There is the blessed Madonna
mil there stands the tree laden with
gifts. No wonder the German child,
is he listens to the beautiful stories
it' Kriss Kringle wishes that it could
lie Christinas all the year. Unfortu
nately for us the Mayflower brought
their duties as oi) other days and kept
io Christmas tree to “Plymouth
Rook ” The Puritans attended to
heir children away from what, they
■onsidered the contamination of the
iiagan festival. Tho few Bostonians
who believed in observing Christmas
kept on unmindful of the rebukes of
he elders and enjoyed the day as
hey had learned to do in their
lomes across the water. When the
Puritan elders saw how popular the
ibservance of Christmas was beconi
nfs, they promptly enacted a law
o prohibit it, The law was passed
n iti,"'i and not until 1(181 was this
t'*en law repealed. The Puritan
rontempt i the green at Christmas
was based upon tho fact, that the
innc.ing of green was following an old
k at h(>n 11 stom. The green also
:ept alive an old tradition, that as
he holly brought in at Christmas was^
smooth or rough, the wife or hus-;
>and would be the one in authority
luring the coming year, and surely
* I
no man ever of 1‘nrltan stock would
tolerate (lie idea at being other than
the “lord of creation." The Puritan
influence was so strong in Host on
that it is in the remembranc e of some
now living that the day was Ignored
and Washington Irving's description
of an English Christmsa was all they
knew of its true poetic side. Our
natural and peculiar feast of Thanks
giving for many years told heavily on
the institutions of Christmas. Scar
cely were the indigestions of the
Thanksgiving mince pie overcome tie
fore it was time to Invite those of
the Christmas plum-pudding.
An Irishman solved the problem by
I
writing home, “This is a folno conn
three, twice as foine as tin* ould
^ sod, for haven't they two Christmas
days, and plenty to ate for three of
'em."
Santa Claus, a corruption of St.
( Nicholas is strictly our own. The
term was first used by the Dutch set
i tiers of New York. The Christmas
! carol is said to have been imported
; into England from Italy, and it lias
undergone many changes. Every
[graceful pen that can write (Jermnii,
French id English has paid tribute
to Christinas, and better than all the
Words of the poet of humanity, Char
les Dickens: “Who of us will eat
his Christina? dinner without think
ing of ‘Tiny Tim’ and his patient
hard working father, who brought the
turkey which was so fat that he nev
er could have walked on two elgs, as
they would have snapped off under
him like wax; who ho blessed the
holly and consecrated the mistletoe.
Who so cheerily led off the dance in
the kitchen. Where in all literature
shall we find a grater gourmand
than tin* fat hoy, an apotheosis of
Christinas stuffing. And where will
tli" genius of the future find the star
which rose on Bethlehem shining
through the clouds of the world's inis
cry, as in those immortal pages. If
he had done nothing else for man
kind, Charles Dickens has left his
Christmas literature, a most glorious
legacy to the world. We twine his
mottoes with our Christmas green.
We quote him in our toasts and with
one voice we say with “Tiny Tim,”
“A Merry Christmas to you all, and
God bless us every one."
A GOOD RURAL SCHOOL.
Here are some facts about a rural
school in Grant township, Wright
county, Iowa. It is taught, by Miss
Mary Fennington, and Mr. K. V. Grab
tree is director. Compare this school
with the one in your district. It has:
I. Teacher alive to her opportunity
for rural uplift; a leader both in
school and out of school.
School director and patrons full
of interest and enthuslanm for better
schools, united in a common cause.
3. Farm and home economics cor
related with geography, writing, draw
ing history, etc.
4. A daily class in “farm and home
economics" for sixth, seventh and
eight grade pupils.
5. A new and modern school build
lug with u well-lighted schoolroom,
washroom, cloakroom and porch
li. Bookcase built In wall, with a
generous supply of good helpful books
some of them bearing upon rural life.
7. Belfry and bell, genuine slato
blackboards around the room, chalk
and erasers to fit new conditions.
8. A new heating and ventilating
plant chungcs the air of the room o
very fifteen minutes and heats all
parts of the room evenly and easily.
11. Complete new outfit of school
furniture including single adjustable
ami sanitary steel seats, new desk
and chair for the teach' r.
10. Wall decorations. Several new
wall pictures of Hoffman’s Child
Christ,” pictures of Lincoln. Washing
ton, etc.: nonne of them costing less
than $2.50 each. J
11. A fine srhool garden, fenced
with a beautiful sweet pea hedge,
and containing a number of well-kept
garden and experiment plots. tj
12. Over thirty new trees set out
on last Arbor Day by combined effort
of teacher, pupils, school director R.
V. Crabtree, and Mr. and Mrs. .lames
Bell, who assisted all day in planting
(‘leaning and making school gttrifrm
etc.
12. New covered sanitary drinking
jar and individual drinking cups.
14. Gravel walk from school to tin.!
road.
15. They paid $50 per month for
their teacher and she earned it.
Public Sale.
Bankrupt Stock of Furniture and
Embalming, Falla City, Nebr.
Commencing Dec. 16, 1910 at ton
! o'clock a. m. and continuing until the
i ntliN stock of furniture, carpets,
| etc., of the bankrupt estate of Kdwar
■
Bandrlgnn is disposed of.
The property will be sold in the fol
lowing order:
Friday morning. Dor. 16, coiimnnc
ing at 10:60 o’clock—chairs and rock
| erg.
Friday afternoon, couches, tables
| and stands,
Saturday morning, Dec. 17—corc
mencing at 10 o'clock bed room fur
niture.
Saturday afternoon, writing desks,
j china closets, dressers and chiffon
| iers.
Monday morning, Dec. 19t.b— rugs,
i and miscellaneous articles.
The said property may be inspect
ed at “Landrigan’s" furniture store
on any business day prior to the sale
between the hours of 10 a. m. and
3 p. m. The trustee reserves the
right to withdraw any of said prop
erty from sale unless it shall bring
at least seventy-five per centum of
;the appraised value.
Bids will be received on said stock
in lots or as a whole, subject to the
approval of the trustee.
Terms of sale cash. No goods re
moved until settled for.
This is a fine new large stock, no
j old shop or shelf worn goods.
Remember tho Dates. 2t
Samuel Klmmel, Trustee.
J. G. Whitaker, Auctioneer.
