Evening Star Newspaper, December 23, 1923, Page 65

HEN Santa Claus arrives in Washington to dlstrid- ute Christmas gifts among the National Capital chil- dren this yvear he will be greeted by a miniature forest of more than 100,000 Yuletide trees scattered here and there and everywhere through- out the District of Columbia—in the homes of government clerks, Wash- ington bankers and business men and in the abodes of our military and naval leaders. The “woodman, spare the trec” slo- gan of the timberland conservation- ist is annually neglected and for- Sotten each season when the vagaries of Jack ¥rost and the temperaturs hints, of dmow and possible skating, are in the air. Even tho experts of the national forest service are op- posed to the discontinuance of the CRristmas tree celebrations. Their creed is to devote c#ch acre of ground and every tree to its high- est use. To what better use can a tree be put, they ask, than to bring joy to the hearts of children on thelr greatest holiday? Visit Center Market previous to Christmas day and you will find the aldewalks and curbsides riotous with forest finéry. You can purchase most any Kind of a tree, from a timbor- iand runt of stripling that may be had for G0 cents to a plutocratic, first quality Yuletide tree that will cost you anywhere from $5 to $10 or more. You will find there a preponder- ance of pine trees from nearby Mary- land and Virginia as well as a few Tuce trees from those same states. ‘This year, also, you will find thous- #nds and thousands of fir and spruce trecs which have been shipped by the trainload from the Great Lakes states to supply the eastern states, which formerly were dependent largely on New England for Christ- mas trees, but which this year are cut off from that source by federal quarantine rggulations to control the &ipsy moth¥ which have prohibited the interstate shipment of Christmas trees cut in New England. The Christmas tree crop is unique tn the annals of American forestry. Tt is a cash crop which must reach | the city markets considerably ahead of the Yuletide season in order that a1l the trees may be =old before the lingle of Kris Kringle's bells is heard in the distance. The Christmas tree shipments that reach the Wash- ington market too late aro worse than useless. The trees are valueless as soon as Christmas arrives, while the tardy delivery may result in dis- appointment to hundreds of children who anticipated their coming in vain. * VWHEN or where the Christmas troe custom originated nobody really knows. The tradition of the Yuletide trec extends =o far back into antiquity that its inception is obscured by the mists of early times. Some eay that the American Christmas tree is a modern throwback to the lengendary tree of time. According to the iegends of Norse mythology. heaven and earth were bound and inter- locked in the roots and branches of this imaginary tree. Other authori- tles attribute the Christmas tree idea to the early Egyvptlans, who cus tomarily, at the time of the winter JTHE. . SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. DECEMBER 23, 1923— PART 5. 100,000 Christmas Trees Bring Yuletide Spirit to Washington Veritable Forest of Them Comes From Nearby Maryland and Vifginia and From Lake States to National Capital for the Kriss Kringle Season—Formerly Washington Bought Many Trees From New England, But Gipsy Moth Quarantine in That fSection Has Diverted 1923 Trade to Great Lake States—Differences in Climate, Topography and Soil Affect Selections of Species of Trees—How Their Cutting May Contribute to Growth of Timber Tracts, Contrary to Some Fears Expressed. solstice, decorated the gates of their {homes and cities with branches of the date palm—the symbols of life triumphant over death An anclent legend of the Scandi- navians relates how the Christmas tree owes its origin to the “scrvice tree,” which sprang from soil that once was drenched with the blood of two slain lovers, and how, each night during the Christmas season, mys- terfous lights played among its branches. To this legend we, per- haps, can trace our custom of il- luminating the modern Christmas tree with candles or miniature elec- Itric lamps when darkness appears to shroud the earth. History discloses The Leadership of a Child Christmas Message by the Rt. Rev. James E. Freeman, D. D., Bishop of Washington. Isaiah 11:6. “A little EADERSHIP: This has been the suprems quest of man from the beginning. As we think of it there pass before our vision the outstanding figures in every age who havo sought, striven, Intrigued, sold thelr very souls and bodies and eransgressed all laws—human and ne—to cain the coveted place of alstinction. Wa think of Alexander at thirty- threo sighing for more worlds to oonguer; of Caesar seeking the royal purple and then reluctantly refusing the crown; of the great scholars, #nclent and modern, who through jong and exacting studios have strivon to obtain the world's confl- dence; of those master spirits who with magic pens wrote until the paralyzing hand of death was laid upon them; of those who mnow in this hurried, hectic. distracted world are struggling in sharp competition for the covoted places of wealth and power. To all of them the words ot the poet Gray apply: - ave The paths of glory lead but %0 o grave. Over against all these fascinating and compelling exponents of leader- ship, incongruous as It may seem, God has set that of a little child. The world may forget where an Alex- ander, a Hannidal, a Caesar or a Napoleon was born, but it can never forget that Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem. No pomp or ceremony attended his advent. no eager people, as in the case of the son of Napoleon, dubbed the “King of Rome,” awaited His coming. There has not been chron- fcled that which speaks of greater humility or lowliness than the birth of Jesus Christ, and yet in the face of this fact no name is so universally Xnown, no life so reverently studied, po influence so persistently enduring or beneficent as that which proceeds from the Child of Bethlehem. True, there are multitudes to whom His name means little or nothing: there are vast areas where His foot- steps may not be traced; there are blatant discords and glaring in- equities in human life; yet in the face of all this there is no leader- ship the world has ever known com- parable to His. To say that His leadership has " failed means to say that the world has steadily retrograded since His birth. In spite of all the contradic- tions and contentions of His avowed teachers and exponents, His influence survives and grows with unabated power from year to year. Even in the face of wars and rumors of wars, of disturbances and distractions here and there, it may be confidently af- firmed that the heart of humanity is tenderer and more responsive today to the claims of the Child of Bethie- Ziem than it has ever been before. No age in the world’s history has witnessed to a broader charity, & finer sympathy, a readier response to the appeals of the necdy, more benefl- cent agencies for the amelioration of awnan ills-than the one in which S ¢ child shall lcad them.” | are now living. Wherever the influ- | ence of the Child of Bethlehem has | been felt- better and finer conditions | affecting human life have develop men have assumed a kindlier and more generous attitude one to the other, human soclety has been made cleaner and more wholesome and the large concerns of industry have wit- nessed to finer efficiency and greater prosperity. Comparing this leadership with that of any other of which the world has knowledge, de realize the incompar- able grandéur of it as well ‘as its universal extent. Men may bdalk at creeds and the multiform ecclesiasti- cal .eystems, they may resent that Which attempts to control either their thought or action—yes, they may find themselves Incapable of expressing in any adequate way their reverence for or devotion to Jesus Christ, and yet, boneath all thelr seeming indifference resides the spirit of reverence, and in His teachings they repose their hopes of life here and life hereafter. Dr. Hyde gave us & delightful book entitled, “From Epicurus to Christ,” in which he traces the development of ethical teaching from the great stolo leader to the Man of Nazareth. Ho oconcludes that the coming of Jesus marks the highest advance in human thought and philosophy the world has ever known. Christmas day brings us again face to face with this unique form of lead- ership. No day In the calendar mea:s more to the world at large than Christmas. Even the soured and dis- appointed feel its softening influen the sinner and the saint allke feel its rejuvenating pow: The ®saddened and disheartened gain from it a new hope and a freshened Impulse to bet~ ter thingm ‘What it means to family life In the trengthening of home ties and in the enriching of the more sacred fellow- ships! What 1t means to the quicken- ing and strengthening of friendship is unlike that which proceeds from any other incident or event in human his- tory! Yes, it is the leadership of a little child to which the world bows. Is it any wonder that when ques- tioned as to who should be greatest in the kingdom of heaven it is recorded that Christ called a little child unto Him and said, “Exocept ye be convert- ed and become as a little child, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven' The spirit of Christmas speaks in a supreme way of humility, simplieity, purity, love. It calls us away from the grosser and more artificial things of life. It emphasizes anew life's real values, freshens our enthusiasm, lifts our thinking to higher levels, en~ larges our ezpectations, ennobles our aspirations and gives to the whole of life & new 3est and a new meaning. The large question that comes to each one of us with irresistible’ foroe is, “Are we the better, ths truer, the more wholesome, because Jesus was born in nu‘u.nmrflm. our live nriched and _stren o fesl fhe leadership of . little that among the Greeks Christmas was known and celebrated as the feast of lights. In America the Christmas tree varies in species and family name with the climate, topography and soil of the locality in which it grows. To one man the Christmas tree always means a fir, while to his friend in & distant state it means a magnolia trec. In the latitude of | Chicago a short needle pine tree, na- tive in the uplands of Michigan and Wisconsin, is popular. On the Pa- cific coast the white fir meets with favor, while throughout the state of Ohto specimens of Norway spruce are largely used. In the nelghborhood of Washington and in adjoining sec- tions of Maryland and Virginia the scrub pine finds its way into many homes as a pedestal for gifts and decorations. Down in the heart of Dixieland the cedar and holly traes are extensively used. In reglons where the balsam fir trees are available this species pro- vides the Heau Brummels of the Christmas tree wo It possesses the ideal characteristics for holiday purposes—beautiful and symmetrical conformation with long horizontal branches and deep-green follage, with cach tiny leaf and bud giving off & breath of aromatic fragrance. Happy are the children and highly decorated the home - hich includes one of the balsam fir t:ees among the TYuletide adornments. \ * % % % HERE has been ncedless talk at one time and another about our great national extravagance in wast- ing timber and destroying young tree growth by sacrificing these materials for Christmas tree utilisation. Con- servationists annually overflow the mail of the United States foreat serv- ice with protests against what they term “the needless slaughter of young trees.” For the most part these letters influence the potential policies of the United States forester in about the same degree. that a leaden pellet from an air rifie would stop an enraged wild elephant as the beast came crashing through the timber. Annually the United States con: sumes approximately 5,000,000 Christ- mas trees. There is no technical or sclentific system which can even re- motely compute or estimate the joy and gladness which these ceremontal trees bring to millions of American homes. Each family tree is probabdly & source of pleasure to at least five person! Church trees, community trees and other town and oity Christ- mas tree celebrations entertain mil- lions of people every year. The chances are that at least 75,000,000 people in the United States are glad- dened and clothed in the proper Yule- tide spirit as a result of the 5,000, 000 Christmas trees that annually are displayed in American homes, schools, churches, hospitals and pris- ons. New York city and New England use about 500 carloads of 1,500,000 trees. Each year, just before the nav- igation of the great lakes, as a rule, is closed by ice, a “Christmas tree fleet” makes its way down Lake Michigan with an evergreen tree at- tached to the masthead of each ve. el as a symbol of the cargo that the ship carries. Five millfon trses such a3 the Yule- tide season annually consumes could be grown pn 65,000 acres of idle, ‘waste land. The American lumber industry cuts more than 1.000 times this acreage each year and wastes much valuable timber a3 ‘a conse- quence of inefficient methods. ' If on December 26 all the nation’s timber cutters should begin work two hours late the resulting decrease in acre- age annually cut would be equal to the area exploitell by the Christmas tree industry for the entire year. ‘The annual cutting of 6,000,000 trees is insignificant as compared with the loss through forest fires, which annually sweep over 12,000,000 acres of timber and result in a wast- age of $20,000,000 worth of building material. The lands from which masy of the Christmas trees are removed, partic- fl.bmflflb g Fi: nis, In many instances are better adapted for the pasturage of live stock than for the production of miniature forests. Cutting off the scrub trees improves these lunds in- stead of decreasing their agricul- turai value. In the European forests the re- moval of Christmas trees is designed to serve the welfare of the forests. During tho weeks previous to the holiday season the cutting off of the Christmas trees is in the nature of an improvement by thinning, and si- multaneously affords a source of profitable revenue. The removal of ffi ¢a,rio ds F(‘,}L s 1#9901&02(; b{wd,siiéxngton, dealerst INDERW0O UNDERWOOD /,. s Christmas trees from our own na- tional forests, under the supervision of experienced forestry officers, not only places a small profit in the na- tion's pocket, but also results in a more healthy and rapidly growing stand of timber. some the United * ok ok % IN‘ sections of States, where the hiliside and waste lands are not desirable fer agricultural production, the commer- cial establishment of speclal purpose Christmas tree farms may be a prod- uct of potential operations. This novel enterprise, probably directed trees are & Qf&skmgtow homes are acdlorsne with “10 Q000 Cleristmas {fees du.rifl.g holid ay wee o= 0.5 FoREET f/‘)lqglrfi e Conduit road a‘cctlofl. of Maryland is afavorite SUp of Christmas trees foxWasfixu and managed on poor lands not far from city markets, would unques- tionably pay, as recently it has been Y source gtomatw demonstrated that by cutting Christ- mus trees of certain evergreen spe- cies above the lower whorl \ P - branches the remaining limbs will turn abruptly upward and wili reach a height of six fect in less than two years. If a crop of Christmas trees can be cut without actually destroying the parent trees and new crops sprouted within two or three years the system may lend itself readily to systematic commercialization and @m velop into conslderable importanco in the {ndustry. Such opportunities look feasible in the latitude of the barefaced sections of Virginia and Maryland. If you fall to appreciate the gen- eral interest in Christmas trees in ‘Washington, take the time to stroll through congested alsies and side- walks of Center Market during the period from the 15th to the 25th of De- cember. Tho din and turmoil of bar- #aining and bickering will make you think you are in the heart of an Egyp- tian bazaar. You will find grave and dignified Washingtonians elbowing thelr ‘ways through the crowd, determined to get there early and secure the choicest tree specimens. That {s the commer- cial picture of the barter and ex- change side of the Washington Christmas tree proposition. If you want to become acquainted with another angle of the “tree” mat- ter in the center and environments of our great White House city, just hop into your car and roll out through the wooded districts which adjoln ‘Washington one of these December Sundays. All along the wooded way- side you will find automoblles of every type and description parked while thelr occupants scramble through bushes searching for suitable stripling trees, holly, mistletoe, ferns and evergreen follage with which to decorate their homes. Conduit road on the long stretch between Glen Echo and Great Falls for many years has been a favorite hunting ground where hundreds and hundreds of Washington familles have customarily obtained scrub pine trees for Christmas week. Usually there is plenty of holly and some mistletoe to be found in the rugged and rolling hill lande which are the gateways to Great Falls—more than & century ago the scenc of George ‘Washington's determined effort to harness the upper Potomac to the needs of navigation. Condult road above Glen Echo is closed at present as a consequence of the constructional activities associated with the bullding of the new water conduit for Washingten. The inter- secting roads and byways which trav- erse that section, however, are opern to travel, and Washington motorists are bumping over their frregularities in every possible type of automobile, keen in their quest for “catch-as- catch-can” Christmas trees. * % ok % A PARTICULARLY appropriate op- portunity to display the proper Christmas spirit is to play fair with these Virginia and Maryland wood lots when you journey out after your Christmas tree. Where the trees are properly cut no harm is done, but the tendency of many is to elash around through the wood lot llke & drunken sailor, Tuining the future prospects of treelings which, if left undis- turbed, would ultimately grow into marketable timber. A treo selected for cutting should be one of a group of trees of comparatively compact growth rather than a more oy less isolated tree, the absence of which would make & decided gap which fu- ture growth could not flll. This sim- ple practice, if followed, prevents the wholesale stripping and scalping of wooded tracts. Objection is sometimes made to se- lecting for Christmas purposes a tree standing close to others, because the one chosen s apt to be unsymmetri- cal, the lower branches particularly being irregular and unattractive. This difficulty can be overcome by picking out a tres several fest taller than the height desired and cutting off the lower end. By using only the upper portion & well ehaped, attractive orna- ment can be obtained, and simultane- ously a eelection is made which re- sults in no harm to the wood lot. Very large trees selected for mu- nicipal celebrations or church use need not be symmetrical in their natural state, as they can easily be made so by boring holes in the trunk and inserting sufficlent limbs of proper size to Rlve the tres a well rounded appea: htquanlly whers a large tree 1a to b carriod Sonsiderable distance, practioally ail the limbs may be cut off and then re- of ! placed in this manner. The Invention of Christmas and Its Varying Customs N Decomber 25 human beings all over the world will hold festival. The form of the celebration may differ some- what In different lands, but overy- where, from the jungles of Africa to the mountains of China, people will be -found rejoicing, feasting and glving gifts. The ancient Greeks, Mexlcans, Per- sians and Chinese held celebrations surprisingly like our modern Christ- mas st éxactly the same time every year centuries before the Christian ra. The difference, however, is a striking one. The ancients were cele- brating the return of the sun to this dark planet. ‘The so-called solstice of the sun, in winter, is that point in its course when* it is farthest south of the equator, and gives, consequently, least light to our part of the planet. On the other side of the equator, of course, the sun is brightest and hottest at this same time. Both extremes of the sun’s course were celebrated by almost all primitive peoples. Especially beautiful is this natural symbol of promise, if we think of it in connection with Christmas. Holy night, or Christmas eve, is the longest and darkest night of all the year—the seemingly hopeless black- ness that proverbially precedes the dawn. It is just when human souls seem filled to the brim with despair and suffering that the Star of Bethle- heém, midnight messenger of the re- turning Son of God. holds out sure promise of the coming light whioh shall dispel all sorrow. ‘With dawn, the crisis has passed, the sun has started on its return hand, celebrated January 1, others March 29, and still others September 29, the date of the Jewish feast of tabernacles. It is generally agreed that the event must have taken place from two to seven years before the acoepted beginning of the Christian era, the m! ke being due to faulty reckoning when the Roman system of dates was changed to the one now in use. The Romans, a people never noted for their restraint or delicate morals, were accustomed to holding six-day saturnalia, or wild feasting and drinking parties, on December 20 to 25. This protracted festival was so dear to the hearts of the people of Rome, and the symbol of the return- ing sun had gained such a strong influence, that it was doolded to adopt the same dato for the Christian celebration of Jesus’ birth, thus changing an immoral festival into a helpful ome. All the branches of the church ultimately followed this lead, with the exception of the Ar- menian church, which still remains faithful to January 6, as its date for the Christmas celebration. Many of the good features of, the Roman festival have been kept in our own Christmas customs to this day. Luclan, the Roman writer, puts the following command in the mouth of Cronosolon, the Roman Santa Claus: “All men shall be equal— anger, resentment, threats are con- trary to law.” Slaves were the equals, and the critics of their mas. ters. . All exchanged gifts, and the rule was, to quote again the words of Cronosolon, ‘“No discourse shall be delivered except it be witty and s vy of.warmth and light, So)lusty, conducing to mirth and jollity.” with the dawn at Bethlehem. The infant Jesus had degun life as a bringer of light to the human race, and with His growth into boyhood and manhood the warmth and bless- ings of love were shed inoreasingly over mankind. The actual birth of Jesus, however, is variously placed on April 30, May 80 and January 6. Some early Chalatian oomunities, PG the otAR s F if the Christmas celebrationd of 1923 live up to the specifications set by Cronosolon, back in the early cen- turies, everybody will be satisfied. Following the legions of Julius Caesar, Roman festivals, including that of December 25, were introduced into the customs of the primitive German tribes. Hers we find a curl- ous duplication. Already the savage northern tribes-celebrated Mlm of the sun in midwinter, though in more sober fashion than their Roman conquerors. Huge festive fires were kept roaring upward, as symbols of the sun’'s light. Here we find the rrobable origin of our “Yule” log. The old Saxon word, “hweol,” or wheel, referred to the circular course of the sun, and the great logs burned in the forest to represent the sun entering the return curve of this Wheel came to be called Yule logs. No English celebration of Christmas would be complete without the burn- ing of the Yule log, and in several of the Balkan countries the sparks struck from burning Yule logs are pressed by the head of the house for his cattle, crops and family. Early in the Christian era a sober- minded German chief wrote a long | l!oluvu to represent good wishes ex- letter of protest to the Pop: t Rome, denouncing the scandalous way Christmas was celebrated in the capi- tal city, and recommending a return to the more conservative Germanic log bumning. Modern Americans, however, like ancient Romans, would scarcely be satisfled with such an abstemious celebration. A more sinister sspect of primi- tive German customs is to be found in the legend of how our Christmas tree originated. In the worship of Thor, human sacrifices were offered, secretly, In the forest, under the “Thunder Osk.” St. Boniface, who is usually oredited with first con- verting the German leaders to Christianity, found this custom very hard to break up. Finally, he led his converts out into the forest, at Christmas time, and called their at- tention to the evergreen fir tree, pointing straight upward, as he told his people, to the Christ child. “Take this tres” ssid St. Boni- face, “Into your own homes, as a sign of your new worship, living still when earth is darkest and with no stain of blood on it. Celebrate God’ power no more secretly in the forest with shameful rites, but in the sanctity of your Bomes with laughter apd love,” His words were obeyed and the evergreen Christmas tree has been an Indispensable part of the Christ- mas celebration ever since. Before the great war tho Xkaiser had twelve huge trees set up in the blue room of his palace at Christ- mas. True to the old injunction of St. Boniface, no ornaments whatever were placed upon the trees, though they were lighted with thousands of candles. In most of the other parts of the world, however, tinsel and popcorn and shining ornaments of all kinds have come to supplement the Impressive natural simplicity of the trees, and reflect In sparkling colors the lights of myriad candles. These candles are sald to have been added first by Martin Luther, to rep- resent the brilliant stars of Christ- mas night set against the lon darkness of nature. Santa Claus seems to be a sort of modern nom de plume for the good St. Nicholas, who flourished in the fourth century after Christ. For many years after this church father had been laid to rest nothing was heard of him. But suddenly, in the late middle ages, ho was seen in the northland of Europe, as & tall, death- like person, riding a huge white ‘horse on Christmas eve. Following the saint were believed to be the souls of the Innocents slain dy Herod in an attempt to ex- terminate the infant Jesus. The liv- ing children, therefore, undertook to extend the greetings of ti season to their ghostly playfellows by placing their wooden shoes full of oats, on Christmas eve, outside the door, that St. Nicholas’ great white horse might not go hungry. If the owner of the shoe was a good child 1t was soon dlscovered that the oats were replaced next morning with shoefuls of apples and nuts. Later more valuable presents began to be added, and we find Victor Hugo's fa- mous French hero, Jean Valjean, dropping & louis &'or (valuable gold piece) in the badly worn shoe little Cosette had hopefully placed under the fireplace. As to the substitution of stockings for shoes, as receptacles for St Nick's bounty, we must look to the people we would naturally expect to make most use of stockings as safe hiding places for valuables. The maldens of medieval Europe believed that St. Nicholas gave them dowries, which were most necessary adjuncts of marriage in those days. It seems the good saint formed & habit of throwing purses through open win- dows on his name day, December 6, and the girls, in order to give him every ald, began to hang long, stock- ing-shaped purses outside thelr doors. ‘Eventually this custom was trans< ferred to Christmas eve. The wait- ing receptacles were placed whero St. Nicholas could easily reach them after his descent of the chimney, and stockings were both easier to obdtain and capable of holding more bounty than were the long purses previously used. Long after St. Nicholas ceased to ride a white horse on Christmas and began coming down the chimney he continued to be described by German and European authorities fortunate enough to ses him’ as a tall, thin, cadaverous indlvidual. Only when he arrived in America did he take the more familiar name of Santa Claus and begin to grow fat, round and Jolly. Every one agréeed it was & great improvement, though many & child has wondered how a man of his girth could continue his old method of coming through the chimney! Important Point, From the Black and Elve Juy. “Mr. Darling,” sald the directon “in this scene & lion will pursue you for 500 feet.” “Five hundred feet?” the actor. “Yes, and no more than that— understand?” The hero mnodded. “Ye stand, but does the lion {nterrupted 1 unders