Herald & Lantern 23 Detember 81

<>r th 1 ' Holiday:,

by Lou Thomas Take ten thousand Santa Claus images and parade them atoUnd in a million tons of tinsel...Light up every pine, spruce and fir tree in the world with silver stars and blinking lights.. Gather all the

A Yuletide Essay Christ is the Essence of Christmas

Xmas ads you can find and light a roaring'fire under them...Take every note of White Chrlatmaa and Rudolph and bellow them

Q R N E R by Leslie SlcysorL ^ Lasting, Thoughtful Gifts It isn’t too late to buy a gift showing you've thought about the recipient. Theee are books to please Q everyone. You are probably better off to steer away from popular fiction. Instead, choose books which will be lasting reminders - O There are a number of fine Atlases, which will be a lasting reference book lo children and adults. ^ There are a number of books on World War II, ' ,which Could be of interest to men. At Dawn We Sleep: ' The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor, by Gorden Prange. Hero of flatoan by Duane Schulz, Death March by Donald Knox. For history levers, there are always new publications. The Timetables of American History by Laurence Urdang looks interesting, as it show readers what was happening simultaneously in history, politics, science, art, etc. FOR SPORJS LOVERS, there are volumes on every phase — baseball, fishing, tennis, skiing. COSMOS, by Carl Sagan, based on the television series, would be a welcome gift for many. All book lovers will enjoy Boohs by tJerald Donaldson, about books and book people through the ages. For a bit of satirical humor, how about a Few Minutes With Andy Rooney, or Laid Back in Wcnhington with Art Buchwald. • For hobbyists and collectors, there are many book's available on every subject-photography; old care, stamp collecting, antiques and collectibles. Novels Know Your Aptlques will please the many who are interested in collecting. For cooks, the Joy of Cooking and The Fannie Farmer Cookbook are old reliables, but there are many others - The New James Beard, The Best of Cooking and Entertaining. Most of the books mentioned are hard cover, but there are soft cover books, which are less expensive, but just as desirable to the reader, on every area of interest. \ /— Leslie Steyson is the pseudonym for a very real area bookstore proprietor. ^

out of a trillion tubas.. Send every, toy train chugging around the track and push every toy and present out on the highways of every city and town in the nation...Get ^'court order to take every holy symbol and recognition of the holiday out of the public schools... But you still can’t take Christ out of Christmas. Like it or not, Christmas is a religious holiday. And in case you’ve forgotten, Christmas is a .com* memoration of Christ's birth. Whether you regard Christ as the Son of God, a great teacher, or not at all — the fact remains the same. You may be an atheist, agnostic or a humanist. Perhaps you worship money, or the sun. You may be a Jew, a Buddhist, a Moslem or a member of any of mankind's thousand various faiths and religions. But whether you observe the holiday or reject it, Chrismas is a celebration of Christ’s/birthday. It’s just that simple. The calendar reminds us

of that fact, since each year is a measurement of the time that has passed since Christ first walked the

Earth.

It seems hard for some people to accept that. More important, it seems hard for some people to allow others their right to accept ' it. Maybe it’s because of all the Santa’Clauses, tinsel, trees, store ads, songs; trains, toys and ojh^r distractions of the season. • Or maybe it’« because we've lost a reverence for births, for beginnings. Perhaps we’ve become too sophisticated, too learned and too smart to be humble. Still, there's no way we can change it. Christmas is. a celebration and observance of Christ’s birth. Non-believers should be alerted to the fact that a thorough search by members of the press failed to uncover anything evil about Christmas. No nasty words, no hatefulness or > spiteful behaviour is spuured by belief in the great celebration. IrKfact, for ffome strange reason the holiday seems to in-

spire a certain goodness in humans. Look what it did

for Scrooge.

Something happens to mortals at Christmas. They seem to be filled with a deep sense of hope for the future. A new direction towards unity, humanity and fondness for "just being alive" sort of takes hold in the hearts of men. You might say it’s a rebirth. The spirit generated at this time of year seems to be

centered on love and sharing. i If you listen closely, there seems to be more laughter, more commuhication between people, more concern with the feelings of children. Kindness -is in abundance and niceness and consideration run wild. People who never sang before are singing. Whether yoa accept it or not, Christmas is la religious Holiday, a celebration of Christ's birth — of life. And it is a beautiful season.

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