The American Garden 
fl^ontlily 3^onrnal of J^ractical (gardening. 
Vol. V. 
HEXAMKU, Editor. 
NEW-YORK, DECEMBER, 1884. 
MERKT CHRISTMAS TO ALL, 
With oacli succcodiiig your ouv liolidiiys 
assume more of a national eliavaetov, oblit- 
orating sectional customs and usages, tlius 
making us more akin in sympathy and in¬ 
terests, drawing firmer the common bond of 
brother and sisterhood, and uniting ns more 
and more into one nation, one people. Thoro 
was a time, and not long 
ago, when Christmas was 
unobserved and hardly 
known throughout New 
England, business being 
carried on on this as on 
any other week-day. In¬ 
stead of this, another day 
was set apart for family 
gatherings and general 
merry-making, and called 
Thanksgiving Day. In 
this New England’s fore¬ 
fathers “builded better 
than they knew.” 
Thanksgi^dng Day is no 
longer merely a, Puritan 
local institul ion, no longer 
a State holiday onlj", no 
longer unknown, in the 
remotest corner even of 
our vast national domain. 
And while now the en¬ 
tire nation observes this 
gi’eat holiday instituted 
by the Puritans, thei'have 
themselves reinstated old 
Christinas, and are cele¬ 
brating and enjoying it 
with as much zest as was 
ever put into it in Old 
England. The fact that 
we do not have more such 
holidays is only to be re¬ 
gretted; if we had one 
every month we would all 
be the better and happier 
for it. As it is, we must 
concentrate our holiday 
moods upon the few we 
have, put our whole heart 
into them, and celebrate 
them with all the good¬ 
nature that is within us. 
Christmas is preemi¬ 
nently the children’s holi¬ 
day. Whatglorious memo¬ 
ries cluster around that 
hallowed day that trans¬ 
port childhood to fairy¬ 
land! And while to the 
young it is freighted with 
the most delightful visions . 
their imaginative minds 
those of maturer years it revives yo 
joys and pleasures, makes the w o 
buoyant, young, and bright again. 
How fortunate it is that the oecu^ iTOi,,fer 
this sublime day falls just in in' 
■when without everything is drear a 
O'lid desolate^ so that the contras 
cheerful lire on the hearth, the bright green¬ 
eries on the walls, tho brilliant glitter of the 
Christmas-tree may bo the more appreciated, 
and rollect their warmth and cheer upon our 
own minds and hearts. A Christmas in mid¬ 
summer amidst green fields and blooming 
gaidons and under the depressing influences , 
ot summer heat would be deprived of its j 
Santa Claus fills the stockings from his 
boundless bag, to another Kriss Kringle, 
with his swift reindeers .speeding over forests 
and house-tops, brings his treasured gifts, 
and to another the lovely Christ Child makes 
a present of a brilliantly lighted and adomed 
Pine-tree, laden with gifts, America is grad¬ 
ually developing a Christmas observance of 
its own. We have already 
adopted some of the most 
beautiful customs and 
observances ot several 
European nations, and 
amalgamated them with 
the all-23ervading spirit 
of Christianity, making 
it a day of heart-gladden¬ 
ing, of charity, of love 
for all; for the rich to 
be made joyful and chari¬ 
table by giving, for the 
poor to be made haiJiiy 
and thankful by receiv¬ 
ing. On this day differ¬ 
ences ot rank and posi¬ 
tion, of wealth and pov¬ 
erty, are made to give way 
to our better selves, to a 
fellow-feel ing for all man¬ 
kind, that lifts us above 
our every-day routme of 
life into purer and better 
realms. To all alike the 
Chi'istmas bells announce 
that the world is far bet¬ 
ter, far more beautiful, 
than moments of gloom 
may have made us 
believe; and while the 
carols may be old and 
familiar — so sublimely 
beautifully expressed in 
Longf ello w’s i m m o r t a 1 
lines—the kindly feeling, 
the charity, the love, the 
life they bring with them 
are always young and 
joyous to all who will 
open their hearts to 
their sweet, harmonious 
sounds; 
“I beard the bells on Cbrist- 
masday. 
Their old, familiar carols 
play. 
And wild and sweet 
The words repent 
Of peace on earth, good¬ 
will to men.” 
greatest channs. “Bringing home the 
Christmas-tree,” so beautifully represented 
in our illustration, is inseparable from snow 
and winter weather. 
The forms of observing Chi-istmas vary 
greatly among different peoples, according to 
custom and their ideas how 
child’s mind most effectively. While to one 
1881. by E. H. LIUBY. 
GHANGrE OF OWNERSHIP 
OP THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 
jFor announcement as to the f uture 
of this jyopular horticultural puhlica- 
tion, see page 238 for full particulars. 
