The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1913, Page 90

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90

The Lutheran Pioneer.

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fying and praising God for all the things we have
heard and seen? Have we not also heard the glad
tidings: “Unto you is born this day a Savior, which
is Christ the Lord”? Have we not seen our new-
born Savior with the eyes of faith? Have we not
experienced the heavenly joy and the sweet peace
which Jesus brings? Has He not through faith
brought life and comfort to our souls? Has He not
proved Himself to us a priceless Treasure, the Source
of purest pleasure, and our dearest Friend? And
since such is the case, must we not praise and glorify
God for all this bliss, and must we not feel con-
strained to make known abroad the Source of our
happiness, and invite others to share our gladness?
O yes, dear friends, having learned the wondrous
story of our great Redeemer’s birth, let us

Spread the brightness of His glory
Till it cover all the earth!

Christmas in India.

As regards the outward circumstances, Christ-
mas in India is a little strange to us Europeans or
Americans, who are accustomed to snow and ice
and sleighbells, to Christmas trees, holly, and mistle-
toe. But do not think Christmas in India is color-
less. We may not have the diamond-bristling snow-
fields, but we have the luxuriant vegetation of the
Orient, refreshed by the recent rains, and above all
thrones old Sol in all his burning glory. In ac-
cordance with the bright colors of nature around
him, the Oriental, with his intense emotional nature,
has developed ideas concerning beauty and decora-
tive art different from those of us prosaic Westerners.
No one can deny that their color-schemes, though
lacking the classic calm and simplicity, possess a
singular charm and quite often betray extraordi-
nary genius. On Christmas the chapels, be they
only humble sand-huts, are decked out in the gayest
colors. In front of the entrance they usually erect
a pandal, a sort of temporary porch or portico. For
posts they ram the sturdy bamboo into the ground
and tie the graceful, tender-drooping, satin-leaved
banana plant to it. The four posts are bridged over
one with the other, and decorated with the dark
green, glistening cocoanut palm leaf, flower wreaths,
and strings, together with colored paper and tinsel
ornaments, fluttering lightly in the wind. Upon
entering the chapel or schoolhouse, we behold the
white walls fittingly covered with big branches of
the'cocoanut palm; the smaller branches of the date

palm decorate the smaller niches. Moreover, the
strong-scented jasmine, the red and white oleander,
the exquisitely colored yellow-white oleander, the car-
dinal pomegranate blossoms lend vivid coloring to
the scene. Of course, Bible pictures in paint and
pencil are not missing. And here and there you
may detect a modest Christmas tree. Thus I had
trimmed one in the centrally located village school,
where the 150 children of the four village schools
under my charge were to assemble. ‘True, it was
not one of those stately northern pines, which do
not flourish on the hot plain. We use a tree called
the casuarina, faintly resembling the pine. It has
none of the rigid ruggedness, the vigorous vitality,
or the pleasing fragrance of the noble pine; yet it
serves as a substitute. Trimmed with the usual
ornaments, all procurable in the Madras shops, it
casts the same magic charm over these children,
whose bronze faces glow with gladness. .. .
* * *

The tree was lit, the children assembled on the
floor, the village clders and adults on the benches
around the wall, a big crowd in front of the door
and veranda. I commenced the service by singing
“Adeste, Fideles” in Tamil, a Christian teacher
accompanying on his violin. The schoolchildren
learn to sing our melodies with great difficulty only,
though all the well-known Christmas hymns and
chorals are translated into Tamil. Then I ques-
tioned the children a little about the main Old Tes-
tament prophecies, interspersed with appropriate
songs. The children sang Luther’s incomparable
“Vom Himmel hoch” according to a native tune.
“Ihr Kinderlein, kommet,” however, they sang ac-
cording to our melody. ‘Two boys read the story
of the birth of Christ according to-St. Luke, where-
upon I delivered an address to the adult audience,
pointing out the significance of Christmas, and ad-
monishing them to embrace Christ. One of my
teachers, who is now being instructed for baptism,

spoke a few words regarding the hopelessness of the

Hindu religion, and the peace and joy which the
Gospel of the forgiveness of sins brings to a sin-
ner’s heart. : ;

At the close of the service, vettrile bakku was
distributed. ‘This is the national chew of India.
Vettrile is the spicy leaf of a shrub, and bakku is
a spicy nut. A little slaked:lime is put on the leaf,
the nut wrapped in, and chewed.

By this time it was quite dark, and the cool
nightwind was blowing vigorously. The band got
together, a big torch was lit, and we marched back