724 
THE AMERICAN-SCANDIN AVIAN REVIEW 
as we solemnize it, lias a deeply relig¬ 
ious undertone. Though people may 
attempt to celebrate Christmas in a 
purely worldly way, it will never have 
any real significance if the Christian 
spirit is eliminated. The letter from 
South Jutland soldiers, in which they 
tell of Christmas at the front, when 
the cannon were silent all night, and 
comrades met to talk of those at 
home, always mention the singing of 
Christmas carols, although perhaps 
the soldiers may not have been in the 
habit of singing hymns at other times. 
In the same manner, our various so¬ 
cieties, even though their leaders may 
not be church-goers, seem to feel that 
they can not have their Christmas 
festivals without a hymn or two. It 
is strange to walk the streets on 
Christmas Eve and the evenings immediately following and to hear 
hiistmas caiols sounding from houses where the families are not in 
the habit of coming together to sing hymns. 
Our splendid Christmas carols belong to our celebration of the 
Yuletide. They have become a part of the spiritual life of our people. 
They give an outlet to that yearning for home, for safety, for peace, 
and foi joy which in the bustle of life may be forgotten and pushed 
into the background, but which is not dead*. These carols, which have 
been sung into the soul of the people, draw their life from the Christ¬ 
mas tidings. Even though they are often sung carelessly and with 
no thought for anything but the melody, yet the words and thoughts 
in them are of God, they remind us that salvation is in Him, that He 
is not indifferent to the fate of men, and that He will open the gates 
to that Paradise which we have found closed and to which our own 
aspirations are not strong enough to lift us. Thus hope is renewed, 
and we gain courage to begin again our daily task in the right spirit. 
God wishes us to be happy, and we will strive to make others happy— 
that is what Christmas has to tell us, that is what the gatherings in 
the homes should help us realize, and that is what the Christmas carols 
should teach us. • 
