8
THE CHEMAWA AMERICAN
CHRISTMAS EVE.
(Continued from page 1.)
"This" little tree, a young child of the
forest, shall be your holy tree tonight; it
is the wood of peace for your houses are
built of fir; it is a sign of endless life, for
its leaves are always green. Let this be
called the tree of the Christ child; gather
about it, not in the wild wood, but in
your homes; there it will shelter no deeds
of blood, but loving gifts and rites of
kindness." Still another tale bestows
upon Martin Luther the honor of origi
nating the practice, he having used, on
a Christmas night, a fir tree, lighted with
candles, to illustrate to his children the
beauty of the stars shining from a clear
sky.
Real seekers after the history of the
Christmas tree have concluded, however,
that it may be a revival of the fir trees
of the Roman Saturnalia, and still others
think it may be derived from the ancient
Egyptian practice of decking houses, at
the time of the winter solstice, with
branches of the date palm, which was the
symbol of life triumphant over death.
These vague traditions, no doubt, led to
the permanent establishment of the
Christmas tree.
As a regular institution, it can be traced
back to the sixteenth century. An au
thentic manuscript speaks of its app?ar
ancein Strasburg, though it. was not gen
erally throughout Germany till the nine
teenth century. It was the marriage of
Queen Victoria to a German prince that
led to the adoption of the custom in Eng
land, and it was brought to this coutry
by the German immigrants.
It was on Christmas Eve, in 1776,
when one of the most picturesque events
of the Revolutionary war took place
Washington's crossing the Delaware near
Trenton. At the twilight hour, as the
earliest stars began to twinkle on the
cold Christmas night, the little army
began their struggle with the ice flows
and rapid current. It required many
hours. By midnight the sky was over
cast and the snow was falling, but by
4 o'clock in the morning the entire army
was safely landed on the Jersey shore.
They marched nine miles to the city.
The enemy was wholly unprepared.
The battle was sharp and decisive and
was over in three-quarters of an hour.
The American victory was complete.
Washington always afterwardf. affirm
ed that it was the happiest Christmas of
his life.
INTERESTING PEOPLE.
The enteresting people do not pose.
They do not rave. They do not strut
and swagger. They walk normally and
talk unexcitedly. They do not become
soulful in a few seconds after you meet
them They do not talk shop or parade
the distinguishing labels and earmarks
of their craft. They are more likely to
dodge pehind pillars than to jump in
front of camera0, nor do they contend
with the other playerfolk on the world's
stage for the star or the leading lady's
share in the limelight. Ex.
NO T RELATED.
Michael McCarthy was suing the Swift
Packing company in a Kansas City court.
A colored witness was called. "Did
you work at the plant?" he was asked.
"Yassir."
"Do you know the foreman and the
other officials?"
"Yassir."
"What were your relations with
them?" '
"Now, look here," said the witness,
"I'm black and they's white. They ain't
no relations of mine." Cleveland Lead-