The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1918, Page 93

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

The Lutheran Pioneer.

93

——————— ee ————

ety? It is the 25th of December — it is Christmas
in the Black Belt. And there are many such cel-
ebrations among the benighted people in the Black
Belt. Freed from the bondage of temporal slavery,
they are held fast in the chains of sin and ig-
norance. ‘They know of Abraham Lincoln, but
nothing, practically nething, of the Great Libera-
tor from sin, death, and hell. ‘They know not the
Christ-child of Bethlehem, the Redeemer of the
world.

A different scene. Standing in the woods, with
its steeple pointing heavenward as a continual re-
minder of its purpose, is a plain, but neat and
inviting chapel. ‘The lights, shining through the
curtained windows, penetrate the blackness of the
woods and serve as a beacon to the many people
who are wending their way to the church. The
chapel is soon crowded. What a scene! In the
corner stands a decorated hemlock tree. On the
platform, facing the congregation, are the many
schoolchildren. Seated at the organ is the teacher,
while in the pews are old gray-headed uncles and
aunties with their children and grandchildren.
During the service they listen attentively to the
songs, the recitations, and the answers of the little
folks. ‘They hear the sermon of the pastor about
Bethlehem, the shepherds, the angels, the star, the

’Wise Men, the stable, the Virgin, the manger —

the Babe, the Savior of the world. They listen
and are amazed. <A tear here, a smile there. They
understand. Now the hymn: “Let Us ‘All with
Gladsome Voice,” ete. Then follows the benedic-
tion, and the celebration is over. No, — the people
start on their way to their homes, silently, thought-
fully, happily. Nearing his cabin, an old uncle says
to his wife: “Eliza, praise de Lawd! Did you
hear it?” liza: “Hear what?” Uncle: “He’s
born in a stable for you and for me.” Eliza:
“T sure did. Yes, for you and for me.” They
enter their humble home, stretch out their weary
limbs, fall to sleep —to dream of the angels, the
Wise Men, the star, the shepherds, the stable, the
manger, the Virgin, the Babe born for you and
for me.

Yes, you say, that is a beautiful picture. And
a true one. For such a Christmas will be spent,
God willing, in our Lutheran churches in the Black
Belt. God grant you all such a Christmas, and
may He in’ His grace permit us all, when this
short life ends, to celebrate Christmas throughout
eternal ages with Him who was born a babe at
Bethlehem! G. A. Scmaripr.

An Appeal.

Kind reader, have you read Missionary
Schmidt’s descriptive gem in this issue? If you
have, I am sure that you have already done what
I intend to suggest; if you have not read it, then
be sure to read it at once. And then, after hav-
ing read it, turn to this appeal again. What is
the purpose of this appeal? Why, to ask you to
make it possible that many such Christmas services
may be celebrated in the Black Belt as our mis-
sionary so simply and yet so beautifully describes
in his short article. I just wish to add that our
latest station in Alabama, Nyland, stands in par-
ticular need of our help. See what you can do!

F. J. 1.

—_

The Maoris of New Zealand.

About one hundred and fifty years before Chris-
topher Columbus set out on his eventful voyage of
discovery, which ended in the discovery of America,
the little band of Polynesian sailors from whom
the Maoris of New Zealand trace their descent
landed on the shores of “Aotea-roa,” * after “one
of the most adventurous ocean voyages that oral
traditions or written history has to tell of.” ven
they were not the discoverers of these magnificent
isles of the Pacific, for they found in possession
a very considerable population, at any rate near the
coast, when their historic fleet arrived. From the
crews of the canoes named Aotea, Tainut, Arawa,
and others of the mid-fourteenth centuries the most
accepted Maori genealogies are traced. However, it
is undoubted that the Maori intermarried with the
people whom he found already in possession of the
land. ‘The present race of Maoris, then, is a mix-
ture of the Tahitian and Rarotongan immigrants
and the earlier race (‘Te Iwi-a-Maui = Maui's Na-
tion), which had preceded them.

The original home of these Tahitians and Raro-
tongans is not known with any certainty. Many
theories have been advanced by eminent ethnolo-
gists. ‘The Maori legends trace their origin back
only to “Hawaiiki,” which some authorities believe
to be Hawaii, others Samoa, and still others Sawai.
Undoubtedly the Maoris, before coming to New
Zealand, were settled on some of the Pacific islands.
Where they came from before that is merely a mat-

* A Maori name for New Zealand, meaning “Long
Daylight” or “The Long Bright World.”
A}