The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1940. THE GLAD DAY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 253, 23 December 1940, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1940. THE GLAD DAY

Wednesday will be Christmas Day. The days of dajs in all Christian countries-, when all good men rejoice. Preparations of many weeks will culminate on Christmas Day when festivities will commence, first in ui£ when excited children will have have the unbounded joy of opening and displaying to their elders the contents of the timehonoured Christmas stockings, then at the church and later the glorious adventure of the holidays at the seaside. Imbued with a deep, love of the sea New Zealanders seek every opportunity to visit and camp by its shores. Never was a country more richly endowed with such beaches, coves and sheltered bays as is ours. Christmas the apex of the year will be celebrated in every home throughout the Dominion, and there will be few who will not feel the impelling influence of the greatest creed we know Peace on Earth,, Goodwill towards Men." But it will be with mingled feelings that we salute the 1940 Christmas, for the war overseas has taken its toll and the call to our manhood has been answered. Thus there is a shadow over the celebrations of Christmas which being man-made and, inescapable we must bear with faith and fortitude. But in God s own Country, as we are so fond of calling our Homeland,, the sun shines and the peace and prosperity of the countiyside is only darkened by our own thoughts. Christmas is the priceless endowment of happiness and pecidity., and in spite of our individual viewpoint or personal worries on matters over which we have not the remotest control, it remains the festival of smiles and gladness and should be observed as such. All have been eagerly looking forward to the annual break in the routine of business and will depart with the knowledge that they have earned rest for recouperation. Farmers, too, have caught the holiday fever and many willendeavour- to snatch a brief spell away from milking sheds a,nd the urgent demands of mid-season dairying. On all hands tjifere will be a lift, a release from the more pressing responibilities and an air of relaxation. This is Christmas and its influence has so permeated our social system that none even the most depressed and pessimistic can escape it It is the brightest day of the year, the apex of all aspe--ations and endeavours. It is the season when the of goodfellowship enters the coldest hearts, when smiles and laughter abound and when hearty greetings and firm handshakes are exchanged. This Christmas season is our most precious endowment;,, in its possession we are rich beyond all measure. Let the fullest recreation take place rdhis year as in the past let the family re-unions occur in the same fond and joyous spirit; let the expressions of goodwill and the age-oldi presentation of gifts and good cheer be abroad as much as they ever were and Christmas, 1940, will not have been in vain.