The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1898, Page 47

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

47

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“My Saviour.”

At Christmas time we hear of the Saviour’s
Jowly birth and of what he came to do for
sinners. But we may know all this and yet
not realize the true Christmas joy.
tell you a story.

An examination was held in a Deaf and
Dumb Asylum. Among the many questions
‘written by the superintendent on the black-
board was the following: ‘‘What do you know
-of the Lord Jesus Christ?’’ The pupils were
told to write their answers on their slates,
which were then given to the superintendent.
The last slate handed to him was that of a
little girl. Her answer was so different from

all the others, that he wrote the following

words on the blackboard: ‘‘Many of you have
answered my question, ‘What do you know of
the Lord Jesus Christ?’ very correctly and
accurately so far as the history of His life is
concerned ; but I desire you all to learn a little
girl’s answer, which, though short and simple,
pleases me best. I shall, therefore, write the
answer on your blackboard.’’

What was the answer? It was not a his-
torical fact, not a memorable detail from the
life of Christ as the others had written.
was something far better. It was the utter-
ance of a heart that knew and loved Jesus.
The answer was very short, consisting of only
four words, and these were the words: ‘‘He
is my Saviour.’’ :

Happy little girl!

‘trustingly: ‘‘He is my Saviour.”’

You may know much about the Lord Jesus
You may know the
story of His lowly birth, of His life in poverty
and in want, of His bitter sufferings and death,
and yet be far away from Him. You may call
Him the Saviour without being able to say with

without knowing Zim.

2 trusting heart: ‘‘He is my Saviour.’’

The sinner that has come to the true knowl-
edge of sin and of God’s wrath over sin, the
sinner that realizes his own lost and helpless
condition without a Saviour from sin, death,
devil, and hell —that sinner will rejoice at the

glad Christmas tidings of the Saviour’s birth.

He will embrace the Babe of Bethlehem with
the arms of a trusting faith, and realizing the
true Christmas joy, he will exclaim: ‘‘He is

my Saviour.”’

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Christmas in Palestine.

Writing about Christmas in Palestine, a

missionary says:

Let us peep at Christmas in a village where
There is an
unusually full attendance at the little mission
Service, in spite of cold weather and chill east
wind. Christmas texts, made of white Arabic
letters fastened on the blue cotton stuff used
for peasant-women’s gowns, decorate the
walls; an Arabic version of ‘Hark, the her-

@ missionary labors for Christ.

Let me}

It

Many a one that has
heard much of the Lord Jesus cannot write so

ald angels!’’ is sung to the familiar tune with
immense energy; and as the story of the first
Christmas is read from Luke 2, the boys can-
not restrain their gladness, but eagerly repeat
with the reader, ‘‘Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace, will
men!*”

After the missionaries have dined off a
“cock of Abyssinia’’—better Known as a
turkey in America—and a Christmas pud-
ding, cooked with much pains over a tiny
charcoal fire, a series of visitors come to drink
coffee, eat Turkish delight, express good
wishes, and pay compliments, according to
the native custom of ‘‘saluting’’ from house
to house. In the evening there is a larger
gathering of husbands and wives and children.
The boys say texts, one after another, till they
have repeated most of the prophecies relating
to Christ in a fashion that few English chil-
dren could equal. The little girls have their
texts to say and some simple hymns to sing;
and, with a little coaxing, the shy dark-eyed
women repeat the texts they have learned
during the year. Then everybody listens to
a brief, earnest address, and joins very heartily
in singing some Arabic hymns. Coffee and
sweets— grown-up Orientals are as fond of
sweets as any children can be—add to the
pleasure of the evening, and best of all are
the Christmas-trees — one decorated with toys
and dollies, and the other gaily adorned with
candles. Our children would think the trees
very poor and clumsy, but’these villagers are
not fastidious. Young and old, their faces
shine, their eyes dance, and there are many
ejaculations of admiration.

- A few days later the guests meet in con-
clave, and instruct the chief scribes of their
little band to write a letter of thanks for the
Christmas-tree and the presents, and good
wishes for the New Year. ‘‘We pray to God
that there may be in this year to us and to
you a new year, that we may see in it health
and joy. Especially we pray for the blessing
of God upon you, upon your work in the
course of the year, so that all may be to the
glory of His Name, the Precious, and we pray
for a blessing on you from God, and health
and length of mercies in this year, the new.”

coast population and by the higher classes,
and is the official language of the country.

The Finnish tongue is spoken by the inland
population, and since 1872 the Russian lan-
guage has been compulsory in all the State
schools.

The celebration of Christmas in Finland is
very similar to that inSweden. It is not only
a time of deep religious awakening, but is
also the social or festal part of the year. The
reason for this is obvious, coming as it does
in the middle of a long and dreary winter,
since four-fifths of the people are busy dur-
ing the short summer months in cultivating
about 2,000,000 acres of land, in pasturing
and in various other pursuits.

Two or three weeks before Christmas prepa-
rations are begun for the celebration of the
holidays. At 4 o’clock FP. wu. on Christmas
eve, the 24th of December, the festival is
ushered in by ringing all the church bells
throughout the land and gathering all the
people to worship. After the service in the
churches the people spend the evening quietly
at their respective homes, together with rela-
tives and friends. The special features of the
celebration of Christmas eve are the Christmas-
tree, the Christmas-gifts, and the Christmas-
table. The hospitality extends to every
stranger that happens to knock at the door,
however humble he may be, not even the
dumb brutes, nor the birds are forgotten.

Before retiring the father reads the story
of the birth of the Saviour and leads in prayer
and a good old Lutheran psalm is sung.

Christmas day is given up mostly to reli-
gious worship. The first service is held usu-
ally at 5 o’clock in the morning. Every one
who can go to church will try to be there at
this early service. It is really picturesque in
the country to see the people coming from
near and far, either walking or riding, carry-
ing their torches, and filling the temples to
overflowing. Before they go in, they throw
their wooden torches together in one pile out-
side the church, thus making a beautiful bon-
fire, throwing a lurid glare over the snowclad
landscape. The service in the church is very
impressive. The second service is held at
10 o’clock a. w., and a third one in the evening.
On the second day of Christmas two more ser-
vices are held, as this day is regarded as being
nearly as sacred as the Christmas day itself.

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Christmas in Finland.

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Finland, or Fen or Swampy-Land, is situ-
ated in the northwestern part of Russia, cover-
ing an area of nearly 150,000 square miles.
The Jakes occupy 12 per cent. of the area and
the fens or marshes 20 per cent., but the rest
is a table land, rising in the extreme north
into rather high mountains. The climate is
severe, but healthy. Vast primeval forests of
pine, spruce, fir, and birch cover one-half the
area of the country. The population numbers
about two millions, and about 80 per cent. are
agriculturists. ~

The Swedish language is spoken by the

Great Honor.

We should well learn and earnestly con-
sider what honor was conferred upon us, in
that Christ, the Son of God, became man.
For it is such an honor, that if one were an
angel, he might wish he were a man, in order
that he might boast: My flesh and blood are
exalted above all angels. Wherefore we men
ought truly to count ourselves blessed. God
grant that we may understand it, take it to
heart, and thank Him for it.—Luther.