.CRAS. FI1UIORE --Dec. 19, 1923.

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, r,letaphysicians do not as a rule give much attention to

the historical part of an;)' celebrations or observances, but it see~s.

to me that in order to understand the ~etaphysical or spiritual

side of a proposition that we should knO\V something about its history,

why we celebrate it and \vhere the celebration originated, ,vhether it

~fc came direct from Spirit or is the result of evolution. A man said to me!: -

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yesterday, "Just"~hat is the tleaninr:; of Christ::lB.s," and I began to;

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..explain to him that Christmas was the celebration of the birth of

Jesus Christ, and he said, ",1"::Flat is that "mas " in there for, what has

that to do with it?" 1 didn't know and he did.~'t know. I then began

to look the oatter up and I found in the encyclopedia that in early

titles they didn't celebrate the birth of great men, but their death

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and that they said a mass for the deat:l,and the celebration of

:hristmas orif;inally was the colebration of the Qeatn of tho

martyr Jtephen, and then they celebrated with a =ass which word

!tmass" !:leans disr:.issal, that is, good by. It is the closing of a

service, as we would say the doxolOgy. And aftor ~any years of

celebrating the aeath of Stephen, then they included St. John

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.in the eelebration, and they didn't celebrate the birty of Jesus Christ

at all. That.w~s an after tho~ht because they didn't really know

when Jesus Vla~ born. He was supposed to have been born in thc spring

in April, 'but as you know i'le are celebrating the !:lidwinter, t.'1at is\

the 25th of :::>ece.-::ber. 1..11 his tory is op'.,osed to his havir,g .boon born

-:::,,- -at that tir:le, so this is not the celebrat ion of the birth of Je~us.::= ---c _:\':;:~'-r"'..'c--~ ~ -~-~- ~._.c,-_C c --~~-c ~-,~.,--~"~ -~

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nor did the early Christians so celebrate it. As we study the

history of the different additions \7e have made to this celebration, we

find th~t about nine-tenths of them originated, in what is called..I

barbarism, and were adopted from the barbarians. Y.ris }:ringle,and

3anta Claus, the early Christians didn't know anything about hi~.

Y.ris f~ingle was the God of the woods. The early Druids worshiped

him at ver:,1 early times, and in Ger~any under the Roman rule they

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they had this god of the woods inveigled into the house by bringing

in {l Christ::-.a.s tree because he \vas supposed to be especially interest-

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ed in trees, and if they brought the tree into the house Kris I::ringle

would come in and bring them presents. Among the early Christians

there vias no thought of presents. That was adopted from the Barbarians

also, and as we follow the history of Chri st!rJaS v'e find the present

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celebration originated in the barbarian rites and ceremonies. '::'hey

celebrated long before the birth of Christ the 25th of ~ecember because

it was at that date the sun began to co~c 1~ck, and they celebrated

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s-the Bolstico or the return of the sun. It was a sun celebration, but

-Christianity \vhen it ca..-no into action desired, of course, to get as

many people into the church as possible, and they began to cml~hx

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conc il ia te and br idge the difference oet,'reen the )ld barbur ian

religion and the Christian religion, and the end was that they

adopted nearly all of their ceremonies and especially these

things that we are celebrati~ today as part of Christiani ty. The;~'

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c; don't be11o!¥:; in Christianity at all, and I thank God for it,

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especially this burden that has been saddled upon us of giving.,.. .

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presents of late years. It is really not a part of :hristianity.

I won't say it isn't Christian to give presents, but Dot al,;a~:s in

just the attitude trlat we give the!:!. If you really love to gi~e a .present to a friend, atld your love goes into the giving, I think

that wbuld be right, but we have carried that out into the external

that ~~iversal hurry and bustle and worry to give

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presents until ~y people have r,ervous prostration over it lo~S"

..before the time ;Comes. ..ts I say, it has been materialized. There is

no doubt of it, and the Spirit has been lost sight of and we are going

eventually to drop the giving of presents. 1 don't think there is any

doubt the tendency is in that direction. People are ~ttiru': weary.' ."

.": of beiDlJ burdened with buying Christmc'ls presents. It is getting to b

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a co~nercial factor ~ld the merchants are ebgi~~ us on with adertisements

and our friends are givi~~ us presents and vIe are e~ect'~d to give

ther:l somethi~ in return, 3.."l1 here ,..e go. You might say it is a greed

for giving. You can get greedy for giving if you let i t ~un a\\1a~: with

you, and th-ere is a reaction setti~ in that I think in tile end is

goi~ to be very profitable to all of us. ":/e will spirituaiize it

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~ by sending mess~;es or the exchange of ~hrist~as cards. That ist,

s )mething that 'is on the \vay at least to the real spirit of Christ:nas.' I

In the beginni~ angels sang t,"lat wonderf'Lll messar.;;e to the whole ..

world, "Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth good will to ~en.

Now the ti::le is comi~ and 1. think we are fast growing' toward it

when we will express that ~essage at this time an{l at all tir:les, we

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will have Ghristrr.as the year ro1l.'1d through givin£i forth that good

will, that peace and trJ.at spirit of love which is the ver:,' foundation

of the Christ whose birth and Whose teaching and whose character

we are celebrat.ing. I saJT that is to be the ultimate of the material

.givi~ of thinG's, and we are going to spiritualize it aJ.ld I have

often vlondered in this Unity movement if vIe couldn't get people

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started in the right way.- For exa.~le, we might begin giving a-f

ChrOI!lO for all those who didn't give pr,esents on Christmas. ~Tobody

vlOuld get the prize in t e present da:,r, but we mi8ht start it.

I think next year I v;ill do that. 7/e vlill begin early in t.~e year

and offer a prize to those who abstain from giving material presents

and cake their presents a good word, a good de have"

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something like two millions of people readinG UT,i ty literature.

.'\nd it is increasing at the rate of 35;: ever.! year. .1 think I ~ a

good deal like :the 3-e~an ~k. I h~ve or.. my desl: a post card that

I got last week. and it cost 20 millions of r:-.arks to senc tr..at

post card. It has stamped on it. 20 millions of r:-.arks. "ou can see

a fe\v ciphers one way or the other don't ~OQ~t to anythinc- "71e

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.thought duri~ the war they didn't unde!'st:;1nd psycholoCY. but they

are Q'1derstandin(:;' it now ,in their mar}: propos ition.

But in t11is matter of celebrati21(~ Christ!:las. what should

be the message to get at the real Chr i st=az ': Shouldn't it be that

celebration of the angels:"Glory to God in t~e highest. peace on earth

.good will to cen." That is. glorify God i:, 1.;he highest on th,:"

:;-,:::~.~ _::_2::3~~-~~ earth. and peace on the earth and good will :0 men. If \7e would all :';.-;,;-!

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take that as a text for the next year and live by it. we vlould,

raise I believe the wh~le standard of thought in the world. If you

could onlJ" get people to think about what it mea."1S. Of course now we

.just chatter it of!~. "Glory to God in the highest, ~eace on earth

gOjd will to men." but we don't mean anything., You have to get that

down in your subconscious and express it. Glorify God and you will~~::",::

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have peace and you r!IU.st have good will. ITow if we -would appl:,' that

and take that as a text for the next year w~t wonderful results

we vlould get. ::"e t us do it. Tha t is bet ter than pr each ing a

Christnas sermon. that is better than doing anything that has not in

it that Spirit of devotion, that spirit that goes out with the word.

Now we are here tonight to celebrate the mass of the Christ. This

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Christ mass, the mass of the Christ, was celebrated b;-'T the Jatholics

at the Eucharist, that is the Lord's supper. That is \vr.ere all this

I:Jusic and these rituals began in that celebration of the Hol~" Co::lmu.'1ion.

:?'ven the music as we have it today wasn't celebrated at t."'1e' beginning

at the birth -of the Christ. ../e are gathered together to have this

.holy communion and realize that Christ is alive today in our midst.

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~ov.. those spiritual e::Janations of the Christ mind are goin:; forth,

and by putting ourselves in right relation to the~ we are becoming

part of that ever-living One. You :!alow that Christ is but another

na~e for Jehovah, and Jehovah means the ever-living one and it

doesn't apply to a man or a God but that ever living principle

which is in the mDsculine and feminine as eX!:Jressed in and thro1l(;h !!Jan.

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That is what Jehov~~ means. It is that casculine and feminine principle

which exists in all things ever:;wheref it exists today, it is alive

today. -.'Ie don't look baC'k 1923 years; \ve look into the omnipresent now

.for this life eiving one.

i'hat is the holy It is the eating of the bread,

isn't it, and eating is only a symbol of affirmation,

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,,;Xi'" c:)~!~: ~le accept a cer¥ain truth that is eating that truth. ',te accept~;~c

:;~~'c the t;-uth that l}hrist is a living substance. There is but that onec~; .

substaI1ce in reality, and if \ve in our innermost partake o.f that

subst&1ce we are partaking of the substance of the body of Christ.

It is much more vital than eating bread, even though it !!light have been

. .blest and sanctified by some priest. '.'Je take that first hand -c' 'c "

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direct from the Christ principle, 8Jld Y;h'Jn vie partake of the

wine,we drink of that life. ~hat life is unified with our life

and we are quickened and healed and restored. This is the real

co~w1ion, this is the real spirit of the 3u~~ist.

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