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«+ Have you ever noticed how varied are the manners ard methods in which presents are packed The bulky plain brown paper fellows which come through the post, resplendent with thick string and sealing wax, are, perâ€" haps, the most exciting, because parâ€" cels which come through the post are, somehow or other, always more interâ€" esting than those which are discrestly slipped on to one‘s plate at breakfast time. â€" The presents which do not come by parcol post do not vary so much, perâ€" haps, but even they express care, or lack of it, in their wrappings. But nowsdays there is no excuse for parcels looking dull or unexciting because they are packed at howe and «re given by hand. Even in the days when decorated labels were not availâ€" able, when fancy papets and strings were not procurable, many meticulâ€" ouslyâ€"minded people held and carried out ofiginal ideas in the way of preâ€" sentâ€"wrapping. Sheets of colored paper can be used instead of brown paper, but white tisâ€" sue maper is always best for small or dainty gifts. Narrow scarlet ribbon can be bought very reasonably, but green anud other colors look equally uttractive, especiaily if they match your gift in some way or other. It is dificult to be original year atâ€" tet year in the choice of presents, but it is not so difficult to give them orâ€" iginal jJackets. Many of us this year will not be able to afford a great deal for the preâ€" sents of our nearest and dearest, but you can always make your present look as if it has been packed with look as if it ha very loving care When you buy your Christmas supâ€" plies of currants, raisins, figs, Brazils, "Jjuvia." ‘They grow in a hard shall about the size and shape of a child‘s head, and each shell contains about Afty nuts. Currants are a variety of small grapes, dried. The name is our corâ€" ruption of "Corinth"â€"where they @row most abundantly. ;r dates, do you ever give a thought to what they are, how they got their names, or where they come from? Dates, from Arabla and Persia, grow on the datepalm. The name is derived from the Greek word "dactyâ€" tos," meaning a finger. Dates, before being pressed, ‘ook like human finâ€" gers, and the resemblance still reâ€" mains in those you buy.. â€"anum are from Brazil. They are the produce of a tre p.ngd the O aleep, celeatial Child. , . . O wleep; Who hbath been born The nations cannot say, But ‘Thy proud heritage P 0 Mite tissue paper nnisnet t cord or narrow ribbon, e small Christmas labels ocured by the dozen at ve her gifts a very fest ieo, And sometimes, wh nt was very small, she : e parcel off with a tin nlets. especially if that Dressing Your & W ay Where the Fruit Grows h p will become one day. x pet he rl who could never afford to : ry much on her presents beâ€" , it famous in her little circle 1 for the dainty way in which ; ys packed her gifts.. Blo"' sue paper Anished with scarâ€" or narrow ribbon, and one of 1 Christmas labels which are by the dozen at suuoners‘.; : gifts a very festive appearâ€" ud sometimes, when the preâ€" , yvery small, she would fnish ol off with a tiny bunch of | mA K King of Kings If placed in & Y:uu-y, TAiIXLi NPAVLA 7 ARVARR | rule applies to handâ€" | or any little uemsl AI’Ol.Il‘ld s insignificant _ parcels sumors ns :pped in paper. ;\1111] The night, like most nights of the fancy boxes by you,| winter season in the hill country, was asily contrive some I#f } clear, crisp and sparkling with stars. » â€" ordinary cardboard |, . . By the gate, hugging his mantle i scrap wallpaper. :close, the watchman walked. . .. The 1 fowered wallpaper midnight was slow coming to him; s give them a very \but at last it came. His task was corative â€" appoarance; | done. . . . He moved towards the first, er still, but care must but paused; a light was breaking he corners as, being sround bim, soft and white, like the vre dificult to handl¢e maan‘s. He waited breathlessly. The s easier for the edges jight decpened; things before invist wok a little ragged and pta came to view; he saw the whole fie!ld, and all it sheltered. . . . He red paper can be used jooked up; the stars were gone; the n paper, but white tisâ€" jight was dropping as from a window ways best for small OT in the sky:; as he looked it became a Narrow scarlet ribbO0 |spjendor; then, in terror, he cried. MUTT AND JEFFâ€"By Bud Fisher. er afford to Manzon! The pungent fragrance of the hemâ€" | _ gw» lock brings Long thoughts of lingering, dreamy, weus summer hours, A & Oft winsome brooksâ€"green fields, starâ€" i1 . red white with flowers, Hushed bird notes, woodland‘s qulet ’ Those hemlock branches bending with the weight Of brittle ice and heavy, crusted snow, Are warm and green and pulsing far below, From winter‘s winds and storms inâ€" violate. Why are they symbol of the Christâ€" mas tide? % Because the heart is warm beneath the frost, Its springtime verdure never wholly lost, It blooms anew and spreads its $ branches wide. 3 The hope of Christmas in the heart warm.glowing, Finds a bright green oasis in the dry And parching desert wastes, because Green, fragrant, incenseâ€"bearing hemâ€" lock bough, * Here in our homesâ€"and those white hemlocks still, Snowâ€"clad, austere, on some bleak northern hillâ€" In winter‘s heart are Christmas blosâ€" soming now! close by Renewing streams of love are overâ€" flowing. | The voice, in sweetness and soothâ€" \ing more than human, and low and | clear, penetrated all their being, and \filled them with assurance. . They ‘rose upon their knees, and looking worshipfully, beheld in the centre of a great glory the appearance of a man, clad in a robo intensely white, . . . Suddenly the light, of which he seemed the centre, turned roseate and began to tremble; then up, far as ithe men could see, there was flashing of white wings, and coming and going 'of radiant forms, and voices as of a multitude chanting in unison, "Awake, awake!" . clambered to their feet "What is it?" they asked, in one voice. "See," cried the watchman, "the sky is on fire!‘" Suddenly the light became intolerâ€" ably bright, and they covered their eyes, and dropped upon their knees; then . . . a voice said to them. "Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." * m:'mbry to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodâ€"will toward men." Not once the praise, but many times.â€"From â€" "Benâ€"Hur," by . Lew Wailace. There is one place where Christmas is kept three times a yearâ€"iIn the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem, the reputed site of the Stable of the Inn. The Roman, Greek, and Armenianâ€" Greek bodies have each their respecâ€" tive section of the church, but their Christmas celebrations do not occur on the same day. The Latin Christâ€" mas is celebrated at the Roman Cathâ€" ollc altar on December 25th. Thirâ€" teen days later the Orthodox Easterns perform the Greek rite. Another thir ten days later the Armenian Church keaps its own ceremonial of Byzantine Faith. And Glory Shone Around murmurings. ‘Three Yuletides a Year Hemlock Boughs â€"Charlotte F Babcock. The men | _ Accordingly, I bought a fifteen cent market basket with two folding handâ€" les, just long enough for the doll to lie in. I placed four thicknesses of ‘cotton batting in the bottom of the 'banket, with one thickness tacked around the sides with heavy thread. ‘One handle I arranged flat along the edge and the other upright for the hood; then a plece of pink satteen ‘was laid around the inside of the basâ€" gket and over the edges, with slits cut to atiow the handle to remain upâ€" . right. HAMISH The yearâ€"old reserve grand champion steer, sold at $1.56 a pound at the Royal Winter Fair. He was raised by M. J. O‘Brien Limited, Renfrew, Ontario; fed by Joseph Eaton; weighed 1,090 pounds, and was sold to Canadian Packing Co. for shipment to Pittsburg. The price is a record. In preparing the layette for a Christmas baby doll for my threeâ€" yearâ€"old daughter, it occurred to me that a bassinet was necessary. The edges were gathered and drawn up snugly around the bottom of the basket; and another piece of sateen was shirred on the raised handle, and tacked down to the basket edge. For the trimming, I joined two widths of dotted muslin, hemmed narrowly on one edge, and on the other an inchâ€" wide heading. A narrow elastic was run through the heading and the muslin slipped over the edge of the basketâ€"an arâ€" rangement which made it easily reâ€" moved for laundering. A like heading was stitched on the hood muslin, and a tape run through it. _ This hood could be raised or lowered as desired â€"a feature that later seemed to furâ€" nish considerable pleasure. Rosettes of pink and blue ribbons were tacked around the hood, handle and on a tiny pink satin comforter, hemmed with blue French knots. A tiny pillow sovâ€" ered with a white pillowcase comâ€" pleted the outft. Him, (Christ dwell with us toâ€"night) And kings came riding from the dim Great lands beneath the eastern sky, And patient ox and ass stood by With wondering eyes and bright; And cherubin and seraphim Sang glory up the height. â€"Norah M. Holland, "When Half Will the various hued typewriters and telephones recently introduced, tend to make writings and conversaâ€" tion more colorful? shepherds brought their gifts to Dolly‘s Bassinet Looks Proud of It Magic word describing God‘s surpassâ€" ing love, Symbol of His great gift from Heaven above, Wonder of childhood, chief source of life‘s cheer, Charming and joyous still each melâ€" strangely new, Filled with kindly thoughts of worthy deeds to do, Freed from enmity, all evil put away, Unpretending hearts where love of Christ holds sway. Magic season of true hearts made Magic feet through ages past of sin and wrong, Brigh Star of Hope of future cen:â€" turies long O Priceless Gift of Bethlichem‘s manâ€" ger King, Help all men thy Peace on Earth, Good Will, to bring. Dr. Isaac Watts, author of "O God, our help in ages past," was singularly unequal in his posetical output. He wrote such doggerel as "How doth the little busy bee" and "Let dogs delight to bark and bite," and also the followâ€" ing exquisite carol:â€" Hush, my dear, lie still and slumber, Holy angels guard thy bed! Heavenly blessings without number Gently falling on thy head. Sleep, my babe, thy food and raiment, House and home thy friends proâ€" All without thy care or payment, All thy wants aro well supplied. How much better thou‘rt attended Than the Son of God could be, When from heaven He descended, And â€"became a child like thee! Mayst thou live to know and fear Him, Trust and love Him all thy days; ‘Then go dwell for ever near Him; Link by link, the chain stores seem to be tying up a lit of trade. , He slumbers in His manger, Where the horned oxen fed; iace, my darling, here‘s no _c}mor. Here‘s no ox anear thy bed! Eo; 'lil; fm, and sing His praise! Christmas Cradle Song lowing year. mc mmumccmarâ€"â€"â€"end Recipes to Spice the Food Whirligig Banana Circle Cake ! Use your favorite recipe for white cako and bake in two round layer pens. Whip one pint of cream and flavor with orange juice and sugar. Just before serving cover one layer with sliced bananas and spread with whipped cream. â€" Placo the other layer on top and cover with whipped cream. Garnish â€" with circkes . of sliced banranas and walnuts. ] Tomato with Spinach and Glazed . Onions | 1 cup thick tomato sauce, 1 cup small glazed onions, 2 cups canned, seasoned spinach, salt and pepper. Heap the spinach in the center of a serving dish and mawe a cavity in the center. Pour the tomato sauce into this, then surround the sinach with the onions that have been boiled until tender, then glazed in butter and sugar and seasoned with the salt and pepper, Quick Chocolate Icebox Cake 4 pint cream, 3 boxes chocolate snaps. Arrange in alternate layers in a| shallow glass baking dish chocolate | suaps and sweetened and flavorod! whipped cream. Start with the crackâ€"‘ ers, laying them close together to | cover bottom of dish. Then lm'emd1 generously with a layer of the crenm.! next crackers, and so on until mixâ€"| ture is used, leaving the last one: cream. Garnish _ with c’hocoll.tei‘ sprinkles and «place in refrigerator for twentyâ€"four hours. ' Cream the butter and sugar tog@Uiâ€" er thoroughly. Add the egg yolks beaten until light. Mix and sift the dry.ingrédients; add them alternately with the milk. Then add the vanilla and the pecans, and pour into a shalâ€" low loat cake pan which has been ollâ€" ed or buttered. Brown Sugar Nut Cake ~1/3 cup butter or other shortening, 1 cup light brown sugar, 2 e€E yolks, % eup milk, 14 cup flour, %4 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons baking powder, % cup fine chopped pecans, 1 teaspoon vanilla. Bake in a moderate oven 35 or 40 minutes. When cool cover with brown sugar icing, which is made as follows: Brown Sugar Icing Boil 1 cup of brown sugar with 1/3 cup of water until the syrup forms a soft ball in cold wated. Pour very gradually into 2 stiffly beaten °&6 whites while beating â€" constantly. Continue beating and when light and fuffy add 14 teaspoon vanilla. Spread on top and sides of cake and aprinkle with 4 cup chopped pecans. other doctor." Patientâ€""Am I so ill as all that?" Doctorâ€""I don‘t know how ill you are, but I know you are the man who crossâ€"examined me when I appeared as an expert witness. My conscience won‘t let me kill you, but I‘m hanged if 1 feel like curing you. Good day!" wuitumtecenifmenmmmere Mr. Scinger would persist in wearâ€" ing his suits until the last possible moment, with the result that he found himself eontinually inargument with his wife. Strolling down a fashionâ€" able thoroughfare one afternoon, they happened to pass a modern Beau Brummel. "There!" exclaimed Mrs. Ccringer, "Why don‘t you dress like that?" "I am far too intelligent," reâ€" plied her husband proudly. At that moment Mrs. Scringer caught sight of a beggar and his wife in the gutter. "Then thank goodness your intelliâ€" gence isn‘t fncreasing," she snapped, "or we should be like those poor peoâ€" The Spruce is the most beautiful of Christmas Trees. Have you thought of the gifts handed down from the Canadian Spruce to the people of Canâ€" ada each year. Scores of pulp and paper towns live on a spruce payroll; hundreds of millions of dollars a year are .poured into myriad homes of Canadian workers by the kindly hand of Spruce. We speak of the Christâ€" ple." mas ‘Tree as the decorative backâ€" ground of dolls and bugles and father‘s yellowâ€"striped necktie. How often do we stop to think that the ‘Tree itself is one of God‘s mightiest benefactions to the Canadian people. Doctorâ€""You‘ll have to send for anâ€" butter and sugar togethâ€" Tio0O ARCHIVES TORONTO ce the The Christmas Tree Malnl'!g Cl“d‘;d The Inventor Has Mutt Guessing. TWb Christmas Tree=to millions of children An_ Western Europe and America is the symbol of rejolcing. No other altar of youth commands such inatinctive or loving adoration. But the Christmas Tree has not alâ€" ways enjoyed its sentimental domtalâ€" on over the hearts of Christian naâ€" tions. Other peoples in dim antiquity owed alleglance to trees but they lived in lands where the spruce and hemlock were unuknown. The Egypâ€" tians held mammoth celebrations in the month corresponding to our Deâ€" cember but they centered their devoâ€" tions upon the paim. The palms of Egypt gave birth to a leaf each month and the tree with its twelve leaves suggested the completed year. Maybe the palm was the forerunner of the Christmas Tree as we in Canada know it. Three thousand years later, the Roâ€" mans celebrating their Saturnalia raised aloft a conifer as the sign of their joy over the winter solstice. Thousands of such trees, garlanded with their vivid decorations, set loose ?a flood of riotous rejoicing. But Santa '(‘laus was not of the Roman erA, and \the children" of that great Empire \knew nothing of the glorious fellow \ who with all his ponderous girth can § suspend the laws of gravity, and every other natural law, crawl through torâ€" | tuous chimneys, lay his own tracks {across the clouds, and make personal | visitations in & single night to perâ€" ‘haps a hundred million babes, every 3 L Veb ske EuL one of name. It seems likely that the Italian treo]‘ custom was carrled to Gaul by the leâ€" glons of Drusus in his campaign against the Germans, about 15 B.C. Certainly about this time the Teutonic St. Nicholis made his appearance and has remained with us ever since, one of the priceless blessings and inspira; tions of a large part of the human race. in the course of time, the English adopted the German Santa Claus, and the symbol of the tree at Yuletide. It took four or five centuries for the church to fix December 25 as the date of Christmas, but ever since there has clung to the celebration of Christ‘s birth the borrowed pagan rites of the Roman tree and the holly and mistleâ€" toe of the Druids. A thousand years later, the exe0aD0C® of Puritan rule in England banished the visible accompaniments of Christâ€" mas Day, but so deeply was the cusâ€" tom ingrained in long generations of the English that the passing of Roundâ€" head rule found the old forms reâ€" stored. However, the imprint of puritanism for many decades depressed the Yuleâ€" tide demonstrations . of England and the American colonies. The resistless writings of Dickens and of Washingâ€" ton Irving in America revived the anâ€" cient proctics and there seems toâ€"day no threatening sign that the fine old custom of the Christmas tree will ever be taken from us either by tyrannical mandate or by the slothfuiness of our imagination Blessed Yuleâ€"tide, bring to us These fair gifts, we pray: Clearer vision, strength to do Right from day to day; Kinder hearts, more sympathy For all upon life‘s way; Tenderness to bind the wounds Of the sick and sad; Wisdom to direct the feet Of the weak and bad; Tears shed for others‘ woes; Laughter to make glad. And not least of all thy gifts, Speech bold, unafraid, For our little brothers dumb; Willing hands to ald Every weak and harmless thing By the Father made The star that lighted Bethicshem Is young toâ€"night; Time has not dimmed its diadem Of shining light. Time cannot move immortal things To brevity; In a star‘s wide motions swings Eternity. Yuleâ€"Tide Gifts later, the excesses Louella C. Foole. An attractive gift, easiisr made at home, and giving an amount of plea suro quite out of proportion to the labor jnvolved, is an attractively ar ranged box of candied fruit. The charm ottheclfilluh&neolol'd the confections as well as in their flavor. ‘There is a very simple method by which this candied fruit can be pre ’ . 224 it _ BA vOT, There is a very simple method by which this candied fruit can be pre pared.andwe.hal!bofllwifllmh These are easily obtained and make delightful confections.. Choose semiâ€" tert apples, and after peeling and cor« ing, cut into quarters or eighths, acâ€" cording to the size, or slice across and cut into convenient shapes. Place in a kettle 2 cupfuls of granuâ€" s & se N ies t 1/3 cupful of white cornâ€"syrup. . Bol down to a thick syrup. Drop in the apple sections a few at aA time and simmer very slowly until thick and transparent. Then carefully lift out of the syrup with an open spoon, place on pans and dry (surface only) in the oven; or they can be rolled, while still sticky, in shredded coconut or candied orange peel or fnely chopped pisâ€" tachio or other nutâ€" meats. They can also be dipped into melted chocolate. ‘ Flavors and Colors. These confections can be made in a variety of fiavors and colors. Use any â€" fiavoring extract desired. _ By dropping some of the smal red cinnaâ€" mon candies into the syrup the fruit becomes pink with a fine cinnamon flavor. For red or deeper pink, simâ€" mer fruit in a thick syrup made of cranberry juice and sugar. A lovely amber color is obtained by simmering the apple sections in a syrup made of maplesugar, or brown sugar flavored with maple. Golden corn syrup can be added to the brown h can be dipped not only in melted chocolate, but in colored fondants, alâ€" so. DPry the fruit before dipping. . Figs, Dates, Pears. Figs are steamed, then candied, split open and filled with nut paste or a bit of marshmallow. _ Dates and prunes are treated in the same way, removing stones, of course,. . Those fruits are nice simply steamed and the cavities filled with nutâ€"meats, proâ€" served ginger or marshmalliow. The sugar Pear caramels are delicious. Here is how to make them: Place in a saucepan 2 cupfuls of light brown sugar and 14 cupful of rich milk, or thick cream. If milk is used add 1 tablespoonful of butter. Boil for a few minutes; then add 1 cupful of proâ€" served pears, 14 cupful of candied ginâ€" ger and % cupful of candied orange or leman rind, all cut into small pieces. Boil to the firmâ€"ball stage, and pour into buttered pans. When cold cut inâ€" to squares. Cherry foam can be made with canâ€" died cherries. Here is the recipe: Place 2 cupfuls of granulated sugar, %, cupful of water and 2 tablespoonâ€" fuls white cornâ€"syrup in a kettle and boil until it forms a firm ball when tested in cold water. Just before taking the syrup from the fire, stir in 4 cupful of candied or preserved cherries, Pour the mixture over the stiflyâ€"beaten whites of 2 eggs and beat until light and foamy. Lay whole candied cherries two inches apart on waxed or greased paper and drop the foam by spoonfuls on the cherrics, pressing another cherry or a blanched almond on top of each. ‘This makes a pretty candy. The little Arctic town lies in a deep and reverential silence. Not a breeze stirs. Great starâ€"shaped snowflakes fall softly in a zigzag journey from the sky wrapping the earth in a brand beauty. Town folk burrying or Christâ€" mas errands, their footsteps soundâ€" less in the newfallen snow their parkâ€" as, fur caps and gay red, white and groon packages coated with flakes, smile and greet one another with a cherful "Merry Christmas!" Gliding from store to store goes a lastâ€"minute shopper on skis. The air is fAllad with the musical sound of sleighbells from idoc teams and cutters. One is half expecting to see jolly St. Nicholas himself, with Dunder and Blitzsen and the rest of his team, come pranciag out of the sky, when, lo! a reindeer, pulling a sled with a furâ€"clad driver who might be Santa, bounds down the By midnight the streets are desertâ€" od, the lights out. The little town peacefully slumbers on the eve of a momentous anniversary. Out side the snow still falls in a "silence deep and white." Suddenly from out of the north comes the jingling of sleighâ€" bells, the prancing of hoofs, and Nome clear volces retelling the great story, with "Sllent Night," "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear," and "Little Town of Bethiskem." A correction of a mistake in spellâ€" ing recently ntsted that "there is r= excuse for mapelling." Indeed no! is Fruit at : hjor or marshmalliow. The then rolled in granulated gift, easiis made + g an amount of plea of proportion to the is an attractively ar candied fruit. The (t Hes in the color of as well as in their c'uitv;l»'at water and Soviet Dreads Traveler / But Ru No Danger of Part Russia in s communistic t AgO mas chairn +3 Told He Can‘t Judge D A T Politici« " «o I ges ieft ways lic on â€" Russia is Mor munistic Than 4 Health Fiend | i6 ALWAYS r!‘p in H’VIECP‘ the right side. :â€"â€" Bah] â€"Whenev Donald ays cgot LEFT You should