THE Hauraki Plain Gazette. With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY. WEDNESDAY. & FRIDAY. MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1923. CHRISTMAS, 1923.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4642, 24 December 1923, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plain Gazette. With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY. WEDNESDAY. & FRIDAY. MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1923. CHRISTMAS, 1923.

—- "Then pealed .the bells more loud and . deep, God is not. dead, nor doth He sleep; The wrong shall fail, The right prevail, With peace on Earth, goodwill to men! —Longfellow. Christmas in these modern times is largely a young folks’ festival, their elders good-naturedly, lovingly, taking upon themselves the terrific task, of making it a success. There is a deeper note which directs and steadies the mind to the contemplation of its meaning. The message of Christmas is “Peace and goodwill towards all men.” The world, after its soul-shaking during the Great War, and the aftermath of settling down,' international jealousies and suspicions, discontent and unrest, is slowly turning to normal. All our troubles, all the thousand misfits that burden our world, come about through forgetting that in truth we are brothers, being children of one Go.l, by whatever name wc were taught to call upon Him. All the specifics and cure-alls that are offered foi, our social ills, each warranted to make a brand-new race out of the same faulty material, are hitman efforts, honest for the most part, to find a human substitute for the prescription that we “love one another.” They will all alike fail because they are substitutes. Therefore, the true scheme for Christmas charity Is to bo neighbourly ; to cry quits on all fights and quarrels as the Holy Eve draws near. Not only forgive your

enemies— that is easy—but to square | yourself with yourself and own when i you did wrong. There is as great a reward coming to those who make others happy as there i,s to those who make them holy. Few people, can create their own happiness, and yet, we want cheerfulness, not gloom , happiness, and not sorrow, to permeate the true Christmas spirit. Favoured with fine weather, encourag’ng market reports, and a satislactory return for one’s labour, be 't in the town or country, should tend to make Christmas, 1923, one of ieal joy and happiness. To our circle of friends, fellow-townspeople, and readers wc extend hearty greetings, and may your Christmas be a real merry one.