i)

4 11 it

4a

ECEMBER 20," 1930

VE YOURSELF A WA Y

Significance of Christmas Boxes

By Sydney Dark

(The well-known author, and Editor of “The Church Tlmesf)‘

On Christrnas- morning Santa Claus clinrbs out of tire ch mney to fill our stockings from liis inexhaustible bag. On Christmas evening, after dinner, tire corijurer delights us by taking; rabbits out of his liat. lvow, on or- dinary days, it is only soot that comes out of ch mneys. and it is only heads that are found in hats. and tlic dis- tinction and the supreme value of christrrirrs are that it is the day 0" which Santa Claus. miraculously sootless. appears on the hearth, and when there is a rabbit in every lint.

The stereotyping of llfe—the neces- sity o; doing the same thing in the same way every day-has led to a wide misconception of its significance and to a woeful inability to appreci- ate its beauty. As s. matter of fact. extraordinary things are always hap- pening, and it is the expected that rarely occurs. The conjurefs hat is the real symbol of lifc, for even the

eleverest people have bees in theiru

bonncts. Indeed, I have known some whopossessed a perfect hive.

FEAST!‘ OF GIFTS

Good Santa Claus may be busiest on Christmas morning, but good gifts -strnnge, undreamed of-—come to us *,‘.l through the year. lt is said that new, French soldier carries a baton in his knapsack, and it is certainly true that no one of us can say what we shall find in our stockings when we get up in the morning.

Christmas is the Feats of Gifts, when the soul of man should be f.lled with gratitude for the joy oi the good things and for the courage that en- ables tlie bad things, sent to us that the good things may be more fully enjoyed, to be accepted with patience.

It ls natural to man that the big presents-the sunshine and the beauty of the countryside. friendship and love. and. to some of us, good fortune-should be taken as a matter of course. and wfth hardly a "thank you." by the little presents from little peo- ple like ourselves. There is a classic warning against the Greeks when they bring gifts. But I _like the Greeks better. and the Romans too for that matter, when they come. with gifts than when they come empty- handed.

TRUIVIPETS FOR SAGES

Christmas presents should never be too costly. The followers of Santa Claus should never show off. You may bring a rabbit out of your hat. but it would be bad manners to brinl- I kangaroo. Moreover, if present: are cheap. they can be numerous and "Hivone can get one. And it is in accord with the spirit oi Christmas to select presents that arc most in- lllliiropriate.

Give, for example. a tin trumpet

On the Air!

"It came upon the "starlight still, Echoing over pla.in and hill,

A golden song of Joy and love, Lin-in! hearts to heaven above.

‘Pence to all who know good- will.‘ - 5° "l" "Willie greets us still. “is Christmas message bravo and true F0!‘ everyone-for mo and you.

"Peace, and MP8. and Joy and love,

Lifting hearts to heaven above.

9°‘! Rives us this on Christmas Day

T0 cheer and guide us on life's way."

m

_____._._..

l

¢

Conversely, we are all thrilled '

to on incident. philooplrcr"! l-le w'll at first be ziirnoyetl. He \Vill feel iri- sultcd that his gravity has not been irndcrstood. ‘Then he will grow curl- ous. lie will gravely shut the door of his study and blow the trumpet. Isle will grow fascinated. and after dinner. weariig n paper cap, he will blow like anything. trumpet ivlll Linc restored humanity to the sage.

1t is n ctrriously interesting fact that, when men and women gather together giving each other gifts. they invariably end by giving themselves away. They throw drguises, under the table, they forget bank managers and rate collectors. they play the fool. and it is good for all nicn sometimes to play the fool. The fool is of all men the most humble, and humanity is, the key of Heaven.

A LOVABLE FOOL

M; Chcsctcrton said oi that lov- able fool. Mr. Toots. in Charles Dick- ens’ Dornbey and Soii:—"Witli the clear eyes of humanity he percevcs the whole world as it is."

The company director, playing the fool on Christmas night. wrapped in a rug and growling like a bear, is seeing the world far more accurately and fully than he will ever see it from hisdesk in the City.

Alas. Christmas fashions have changed. Tin trumpets. paper caps and growling like a bcsrr are not out oi date. Mr. Wardle is dead. and Dirigley Deli has been pulled down to make way for a block oi hideous mansion flats. Now. after dinner on Christmas Day, the bank director Plays brldge~prnbnbly bndly—and his 9W5 are purblnd. and he misses the beauty of the world.

There is. therefore. a real human- itarian ideal in my earliest advice that the true spirit oi Christmas should be recovered. that we should crawl down chlmncvs with Santa Claus. that wc should fill stockings, and sock. to the brim. and that we rllmllfl lnslst on discovering rabbits in our lints.--Copyrlght.

The Santa Claus Who Lived

There are mazy legends, but few facts now in existence concerning the life of St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myro, wlme corrupted name, Santa Claus, is especially dear to children.

lle was born in the city of Parara in Lycia. towards the end of the third century. He died on December i ‘n, R52 at lvlyra. In tlic course of Lt:- to ..." '7’) years of life lic earned an intcrriittlonnl reputation as the most remarkable rrian cf his time.

lie was received into the Church at a vary early age ruid while still a. young priest he startled his limited world by restoring o. dead sailor to life. About this time, too, lie be- came famous for his generosity. the Ollilitilllflllifl example being the case of the poor nobleman of Parara. who was so DIEHIIllOSS and proud that his three beautiful daughters were starv- ing. The problem was to give assist- mice without giving offence. The young Nicholas, who was rich, tooif g purse of gold on three successive nights and dropped each one through a grating into the noblemanh house. From this kindly act is derived the custom giving presents at Cirrlstmas, and the idea of the arrival of Santa Claus at dead of night with gifts. The original grating has now become the chimney. Gifts were always assoc- fated with the name of St. Nicholas because of his many charities.

St. Neholas is the patron saint of an children, scholars, parish clerks.- travellers, thieves, merchants, soil- ors and pawnbrokers, having rend- ered some spacial service to each class. It has been suggested that the curious trade sign of the pawnbrok- cr is symbolic of the three purses St. Nicholas gave to the nobleman of Pnrnra. but it is now fairly well established that the three goldei balls Ire relics of the days when Lom- bards monopoliscd the moncvlcndlns profession.

‘Shell ‘supposemyoirrc looking ' f0?- ward to Christmas?

Hc-Am I? I'm looking away be- yond lt—tliat‘s when the bills fall due.

'* i" nsrsrsrsrasrasrsrsrs

and the dinner room

Thus. the tin '

TABLE AND ROOM DECORATIONS

Most people regard Christmas as l time of good cheer and Jolllty. The v-hole house puts on festival dress, in particular becomes the focus oi tlic celebrat- ions. Especially when children are the principal guests it is worth while using a little imagination in arranging the decorations of the rcon-r and particularly the table.

In considering the decorations fo: the table it is as well to have a cent- cr feature. around which everyone can be grouped. A pleasing motive

for the centre of the table is a mod- '

cl ship of the galleon type. In place of rcalwatcr a mirror is a good sub- stitute.

A simple table decoration can be contrived as shown in the accom-

panying illustration. An ordinary el- ectric table lamp is used as the centre-piece, the lamp standard be- ing bound with tinsel. From the top of the shade, which should be a gally colored one. streamers of silk ribbon

.lri different colors, lead down to

dnyleys on which are small hampers containing presents for the guests. Balloons are always engaging to tlic younger folk. They can be ar- ranged to hang over the table from lines of black thread crossing the room from corner to corner, in com- pany with little toy animals and fig- ures on short pieces of elastic. The easiest way of fastening is to tie each balloon with a piece of thin string. arxt to make a small loop at the end. Then slip the thread through the loops before tying it to small nails or hooks. -

AMUSING TOYS AND GAMES

A present tub is much appreciated and this can be oi the ordinary ‘bran’ variety, or better still rt good substitute can be (lrevised in the form oi a Christmas ‘ple‘ as shown by the sketch. A large channelled bowl is taken and covered all round with colored crepe paper. The presents, tied up in little parcels, are piled up within and pieces of colored string attached to the parcels are passed through holes in a. covering piece of paper which is then turned down ov- er the edge of the bowl and tied round with a piece of ribbin. To ob- tain their presents. each guest; selects

a string and at a given word. all pull together causing the paper to tcnr apart and reveal the gifts.

An interesting game to play in- doors at Christmas time is Parlor Quolts, and the necessary board and pegs can easily be made from a few pieces of wood and a curtain rod. Plane up two pieces of half-inch wood five inches wide and another

i-=|=

F25 11w; season

THE criaaporrarown cuarznran

P/rrttoua Quorrs B i I4‘i-——>

<-4'i->¢—4i> "

"= < t,

.. ""'§‘"""' "' 1,, i a

a- . t <, aunt. *' i . A

s

(-

1’

piece four inches wide and saw rem to a. length of fourteen inches. Glue the edges together, with the four

‘inch piece in the middle, and tlreii

screw on the two one and a lialf inch by half inch battens A. B. To set out the position of the peg iroies, 1113f}; the two centre lines, and, on each side of them. the parallel lines at a distance of four inches. Where tho 111105 cross make holes with a brrrcc and bit and glue in pieces of a wood- cr. curtain rod about three quarter inch in diameter and four and a half inches long. Round tlic tops of the pegs with sandpaper and paint the numbers on the board in front of each peg for scoring purposes. For the quoits. either rubber rings about four inches in diameter" canbe used. or suitable quoits can be made from pieces of rope formed into strings of suitable size and bound round with fine string.

At least four quoits will be rc- quired, and if the board is placed at n distance cf twelve feet or more from the players. great fun is earls- ed by each one trying to reach a. score of 50 or 100 first. Each player pitches up the four quoits in turn.

THE ACROBATIC CLOWN

This wooden toy, made chiefly from stripwood. will cause a good ceal of amusement. The little clown placed‘ on top of the staging, turns continuous somersaults till he reach- es the bottom of the inclined strips.

To make the toy, obtain about

Acrtoaaric Crown

Pi

‘est;

five feet of tliree-cightlis square wood and cut eight pieces each seven iri- ciies long. Near one end of four of the pieces cut two slots at a slight

I

IS

/.

a‘ o

WONZDERHJG

WO-ubll ‘manna I srrAnb wqrgn In: BAYLIQNT PAIR. ‘rue. sun Go 39.1.4 ‘HI St-mlaaw; sTzAuug Raoul) nun

HQUSE in: LIGnTS ‘rum- Twin KLE Fflarq Tfic Town

r1‘ TNl-‘LN ‘ma-r G-oBLwA MEN / CBM! CREE-Fina cuT

w NDBR warm Iii-term THE Bflilze »JH,§'=R,N§ S1QQETQ To T»: T111125 .A~n Au_ 1-,‘; wont!) Seen: ourcT

“III; sqqapows Lencnncn QNT»: Hm-

IS 1T ‘Ti-tau ‘mar G-QBLNQ Man CoMc cnflimuu QQT

Ig-I gTIgg SQFTLY Rouub 90R‘ An» mo: INSIDETHE O-ARDF-“f-ER‘; Tit‘, “Ann 8TAyTa£R€ AND ~or_~-?__~§-)° vcuupISzlTttifl cacao-sin =I~*I’.

Ho;

angle as shown in the diagram at C‘ Each slot should be one quarter inch wide and one-eighth inch deep.

Now cut eight pieces D, to the size given, from strlpwood one-eighth inch thick and taper one end of each. Glue the other end of each strip into one of the slots and fix v.it.li a small nail E. At a. distance of three inches from the bottom of each upright cut a slot onc-ciglith inch deep and glue and nail tlie cross- p.cces F. F. in position so that each pair of uprights are five inches a- part. The bottom parts of the up- rights should be halved and nailed to the erosspfcccs G. G.

Cut two more pieces H. from half. inch square stripwood and cut two slots in each to take the two side frames which can then be glued in pllzcc.

The little clown can be made from a piece of thin frctwood four inch- es wide and five inches long. liiark rut the wood into one inch squares, as shown in the diagram. and then (iraw lll tlic outline of the figure. The squares will liclp you to get the pro- portions right. Drill a small‘ hole K through the hand and out out the figure with a frctscnv. Now’, if you are handy with a paint-box you can point the figure in bright colors on both sides, ‘

All that is required now to C0lll- plcie the toy l". a four" inch length c! steel knitting riccdlc which must fit tightly in the hole through the cluvsifs hand. You will find that if the figure is new placed vilth the spindle resting ozi the top rail. as shown in the (iiagrtuxi .arid the figure is glvcri a slight turn with the finger, the little clown will turn over and rvcr" from one pair 0f rails to the others in quite an amusing fashion.

The wooden framervcrk can be painted in colours in keeping with tlic figure.

WOODEN TOY ANIMALS

It is surprising what a large iiuni- lier cf quaint birds and other anim- als can be cut out of frctwood and made to look quite realistic with a little paint. carefully applied. For instance, the little goose and duck shown in the diagrams can be cut

out of three sixteenth wood and fix- co to bases hnlf inch wide to allow tlicm to stand up. The wings of the goose are ctrt separately nnd fixed \‘.lll‘i tiny nails so that they can move. Tire bodies of the birds can be painted white, wings gr'cy,_bcaks orange, and eves black.

Other birds and animals will read- ily strggcst themselves for cutting out in the’ some ivay, and ri o number are made in pairs they will amuse young children for hours. especially if a toy Noah's ark is provided at the some time. a

Burning the Yule Log

The custom of burning tlic Yule log on Christmas evc is not preval- ent in England. ‘flie custom is still followed in some cf the rural sec- tions. It is more prevalent in the Scnritirrio"".“‘i countries

AND sT-u.

HQUSE

1

CivflYT-fl GJ»

NgQfli-li "n

to-VM he Som and Decorations for the Christmas Season

DgCKlNGlHE HOME

Toys,

How to Secure the Best Effect

By Parry Truscott

’ To those of us who accept tlic habit of decorating tire home at. Christmas time merely as a pleasant old custom, it may come as a surprise to learn that the zdea, like so many others. has its roots in pagan time. A5 0110 strict period Christians were actually forbidden the practice as it was said to be too beathenish!

The deciing of houses with ever- greens in December is said to have originated in an hospitable desire to protect the Sylvan Spirits. who “rc- pairlng to them might remain irri- nipped w tli frost and cold \\'lll(lS\\ii'i- til a milder season had renewed the foliage of their darling ahodcs."

1f we do not now._as in i444. set a “Standard of tree at the Leaden-liall in Cornwall. nailed full of l~0Tme and ivle for dispctrt of (hrlumas to the people." (which tree. by the was‘. “was

torne up and cast dowvnc by the mal- '

ignant Sprit. as it was thought"). we still dutifully follow the. itistruct-ions of a very old Tract. callcd. "Round about our Coal Tire. or" Christmas Entertainment". and. as far as we can procure them. “cmbowcr our rocnrs with Holly. lvy. Cyprus. Bays, Lsurcl and Mistletoe. and a bouncing Log in the Chimney“. a

SAVE THE BERRIES

So many 1ieoplc, however. spoil tlic effect by tlic haphazard manner .ri which they choose and hang their decorations. Far from being an ar- tistic improvement. unrelated bran- ches of holly and evergreen. stuck over pictures, the top of the Grand- father elock. and so on. at the last moment, and too quickly fallen as- lant, can bring credit on no ones taste and are generally looked upon as a somehow unavoidable unisance.

Forethought and pains can. how- ever. do mucli better for us than that‘ -and are worth while!

lf you have to buy your decora- tons. do put your order in early this year. and secure the pick of the her- rles. People with gardens that are supplied well with iloiving shrubs will be able to car-mark branches of col- oured foliage. bravely through the cold: sprays of winter prvmine and hnrflf.‘ hcaths. and treasures like w n- tci" aconites and Christmas roses.

CHARMING SUGGESTIONS

Iiaving decided on what materials you will have at your" disposal. it is much better to make them up taste- fully than to depend on those prom- iscuous bmnclies. >

Trails of evergreens. backed. for tlic protection of the walls. with folded strips of brown paper on tlrn card. hung from a picture rail. between tlic pictures. look very "finished". and are not difficult to make. Similarly backed wreaths hung in a window form a bright spot if suspended by a scarlet ribbon.

Tlrck rope can form the fortnda- lion to a trail for winding through the barristers. Always savc the very nicely-shaped pieces for filling a bowl or two. either for a side-table,

oi" the "festive board“ itelf. Holly, wcll-berried. looks one. For a corner in the hall. a bg

Japanese or pottery vase. filled with tall branches of yew or laurustinus can have its effect made more vivid with the introduction of the lantern- llke Cape-gooseberry. Sonic people are clever at drying and pressing Autumn gleanings of beech and bracken. these come in most usefully of corute.

Many things must be taken into consideration. when you arc deciding how you shall decorate. You must think. for example. of the style of the room ‘and whether the furnishing is old or modern in style. '

NO PAPER-CHAINS

Dotti. use iaarsc-z-ehahis! Tlrcvpi am sure. cannot be tradit/tnal! Little Christmas trees, hung w iii nothing but coloured candles. to tone w'th the l"\"‘\li‘lll'Y cf the room llfl1lf""l'. a"! rlrllghifvrl. Coloured‘ f\'l“"'l oer-i be harrciit in such v-ix"ic"" at the big! cheap store: ere o quot

(“qua

Height of Christmas ‘Trees

Tire average height of Chri till"! trees is f."o".n it) l5 fett or .t‘*c rrcater number rrobabjv i": m 4 to R fcct tall.

3.; —~ 2 xvi" e-

cu‘: so, ~ s- A w. 5c . . zrtwiaeifiiror-fiiifidi-r... t

tin-gawk mum-s... r r63

stand-by at Christmas. learn room should be matched with it; candles".

Fashion. I fear, has rather run riot in the adornment cf the christnias d nricr" table. 'lhe vcrv .:ni fulncss of the fare really" tend‘; to lllfili? 5.lli- plicity most suitable. 1 have :='.‘f‘li fruit, piled high in a cut gins", howl, with gold and silver" leaves anci scraps of holly and mistletoe and surround- ed with mctchi g dlcs in cheap glass as eflecijvc at; many an cxpen- vr- schcme. Airern. the tiny cntirllc , Christmas tree (‘Llil fornr the centre piece rerj." clointilv.

YOUNG RYFHIZR ('7lRl\'T.\i.-\§

The u o of snow scones. reqr . cf much cotton wool. are l ll: mistake. if i an even no me .. even if there. l; to h? a lfclitr"! plum pudding. Siicifd n’) accident occur, the fear" of one is o'mo.t fr‘... to spoil sonicoiies pleasure.