The Moore Messenger. (Moore, Okla.), Vol. 3, No. 35, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 29, 1910 Page: 3 of 8
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V.
jAmn
J
THE KINGDOM
DIVIDED
Soaday Sckool Lessee for Jil I, 1911
Spec.a.ly Arranged (or This Paper
THE EXPLANATION.
KW YEAR'S day among
? the Japanese Is not
l||| only the day that be-
flLj| sins a year, but It Is.
in the highest sense of
the words, le jour de
"'Usfc 1'an—their "day of the
year," Preparation for
It begins early In De-
cember. The Ameri-
can Christinas shopper,
If landed In Tokyo in
mid-December, would
find crowds of her
brothers and sisters In spirit throng
.ng In shops decorated with the most
attractive symbolic ornamentations
and displaying with great skill the
things most requisite for the coming
holiday time. At nisht, along the
thoroughfares, the stranger would see
multitudes crowded about street booths
to purchase the wares exposed there,
all which are significant of the New
Year festival, and nothing else. Every
where the avenue and by-ways would
be Illuminated with rows of shining
lanterns, bearing trade devices and
family crests, all suspended from the
low eaves of stores and houses. Never
are the streets of Japanese cities and
towns so enlivened with gayly dressed
crowds and busy traffickers as during
the time of our own alien, yet kindred,
Christmas excitement.
The specific preparations for the
New Year begin about the thirteenth
of the last month. Then, within every
house In the empire, a general clean-
ing up takes place. A fresh, green
branch of the bamboo tree, with its leaves and
twigs to symbolize good fortune, Is used as a
duBter In completing the thorough sweeping. At
this time the soft rice mats of which the floor-
ing in Japanese homes Is made are renewed in
order that the callers at the New Year may be
received where they can enjoy a spotless footing.
At this time, too, all matrons and maids are
busy getting ready for wear on New Year's day
kimonos that shall have no trace In them of the
vanished past. To old and young the dally theme
of thought and talk Is the coming "New Year,"
full as much as "Christmas" is to us.
Outsiae the houses symbolic decoration has
full sway, and transforms the thoroughfares Into
gayly colored and evergreen avenues. The tree-
less streets are turned, for the time being, into
vistas of swaying bamboo and pine trees. Before
each house entrance, according to the tenants'
purses and taste, stands a kind of archway. Its
pine branches, supposedly male and female, on
the right and left, and the tall triple bamboo
shafts (both trees symbolic of longevity that is
of a hardiness that has borne the storms and
struggles of long life Into a rugged old age) wel-
come the visitor. Over head, spanning the space
between these uprights of the arch, 1s a decorat-
ed rope always of rice straw, having on It various
pendants arranged in series of seven, five and
three (lucky numbers). The rope recalls one of
the most revered and poetic traditions of the Jap-
anese past. The sun goddess, the ancestress of
the imperial house of the empire, was angered
with her brother in the ancient days, and In re-
venge hid herself in a cave. Darkness then pre-
vailed In heaven and over the earth. The gods,
In their perplexity, tried to induce her to come
out of her hiding place. But In vain did they
appear, until, In a dance they had arranged, she
was induced by a taunt that touched her vanity
to open the door of her self chosen dungeon. One
of the gods then drew her forth, and. to prevent
her running back into the cave, stretched a straw
rope across the entrance The perpetual shining
of the sun, secured thereby, remains memorial-
ized in the garlanded barrier hanging above each
Japanese portal at New Year's time.
Among the most noticeable and significant ob-
jects ornamenting these doorway arches is a scar-
let lobster, embedded among some branches of a
bush whose old leaves remain unshed until after
the young leaves have budded. The lobster's
crooked body tells of old age bent with years,
while the bush branches around it show how
parents remain even while children and chil-
dren's children may come into being. In the
same decoration fronds of fern are placed whose
pairs of leaves symbolize wedded life. The or-
ange, whose color brightens the clustered sym-
bols, bears a name which, ss a pun, means "gen-
erations," and tells of family perpetuity. Sea-
weed is there, too, as a memorial of good fortune,
commemorating also the prehistoric conquest of
Korea by the Empress Jingo. Her troops were in
danger of defeat because their horses on the Ko-
rean seashore were starving from lack of food.
But, by inspiration, she ordered seaweed to be
plucked from the waters of the beach and given
to the horses, who then were so invigorated that
they carried their riders to glorious victory.
Gohel white bands of paper wave over the gar-
lands of the doorway arches symbolic of the an-
cient offerings that have Won the favor of "the
myriad gods."
After busy weeks of preparation at last the
closing day of the year comes. On New Year's
eve the whole country is astir and every place
that needs a light for use or beauty Is brightened
All through that night the people stay out of bed
to seo the old year pass and to welcome the new.
Merchants do not go to bed until the dawn of
New Year's day. All the business accounts of
the closing year must be settled that night, and
In every sense of the word the year be begun
afresh among those Japanese who are guided by
the old social order. All things are made new.
Bad luck, bad feelings, unsettled debts, are all
to be done away with and a new chapter of life
opened, filled with happy prospects. The com
plete renewal of old-fashioned Japanese life at
the New Year Is well shown In one of the names
ilhat the day bears, San Gan. "The Three Begin-
LE8SON TEXT—I Ktnsa U1-S4- Men -
ory vcrtaa, 13. 14
GOLDEN TEXT "H« that walketh
with wl « men shall be wine; but n com-
panion of foola shall be de troy««l
Prov IS 20.
TIME—The time of Bolomon'a death
an.l the dlvlalon of the Kingdom. B. C. (
981.
PI^ACEJ—Rehoboam'a capital was at
Jertiaalem The PUruptlon occurred at
Shechem. which wa the flrat capital of
the northern kingdom. and the metropolis
of Ephralm. It was SO miles directly north
of Jerusalem, between Mounts Ehal and
(lertslm. Here were located Incidents in
the lives of Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and
Joshua. Close by, doubtless as a part of
' the larger town, were Jacob's well and
flychar where Jesus talked with the Ha-
marltan woman. And there is now ths
seat of the Samaritans, ths smallest ra-
Uglous aect In the world.
I This lesson covers the story of Re-
hoboam, and how he lost a kingdom.
It Is the story of a reckless, untraln
n
The Professor—You are better fed
than taught.
The Stout 8tudent--I reckon you're
right. You teach me, but 1 feed my-
self.
What Impressed Him.
H. W. Child, president of the Yel-
lowstone l'ark association, went to
casts the other end over a
screen. Hidden players attach
some gift to the free end of the
rope, whereby often the best of
fun comes, because of the
ed, conceited young man, and his com- Europe two or three years ago and
lng Into the ri al business of his life, had for a companion a man Interested
He was the heir to a throne, and hU In the hotel business They traveled
name means "Enlarger of the people." over Europe, Investigating hotel and
expressing the hope of his father for commissary problems to some extent,
his son. The son disappointed these and finally arrived In Rome. They
hopes, and became the "Dlminlsher of went Into 8t. Peter's and stood be-
his people." Alas for such boys to- neath the dome. "Well," said Child,
day; "here It Is. Here's the dome." Ths
His father was Solomon. His moth- hotel man tcok one look forward,
er Naamah, a young heathen princess j Then he turned to Child and asked:
of the kingdom of Ammon on the bor- "How much did that man In I^ondoa
dor of the desert east of the Jordan, say he wanted for tliein hams?"
prizes drawn.
But this great day of begin-
nings for Japan, with its Idling and many pleas- ; sh(J wag one of luany wives of solo-
ures, at last comes to a close. On the second day mo„ We have no more right to consume
of the year the duty of work Is celebrated. In the Rehoboam seems to have been th happiness without producing It than
home the children strive to show to their parents natural heir to the throne. Judah ac- to consume wealth without producing
nings." that Is.
"year," of "month" and
of "day."
When the house-
hold awakens on Janu-
ary 1 every member of
the family Beeks the
others to say "Omede-
to" (Congratulation).
And then an exchange
of presents like our
Christmas giving be-
gins. The New Year
breakfast Is a feast of
Bymbolhra and of good wishes. The New ^' :jr'®
wine, too, Is passed around, with the wish that
everyone may drink along with the cup a long,
long life. A soup containing a peculiar rice paste
mochl. Is eaten by all, each one wishing the
others ten thousand years of pleasure and pros-
perity. Then the household prepare for a day
of festivity. The busy broom and bamboo duster
are left Idle all the day, for fear that they mjsht
sweep out of the house the divine freshness that
has come into It. All the shops remain closed
from dawn until the next day. It Is the day of
the home and of social happiness. There Is no
"Christmas tree" as the center of the Japanese
New Year celebration inside the house, but there
Is the Kagami mochl or "mirror rice cakes" that
are made as conspicuous as the "tree." These
cakes represent the round mirror, In which the
sight of her face enticed the sun goddess out of
her cave In the olden time. For eleven days these
cakes remain decorated with fruits and flowers,
elevated on whttewood trays. Then they form
part of a family feasting.
Throughout Japan the New Year's day Is the
one complete holiday of the year. Soon after
breakfast all the members of the families, dressed
in their newest clothes, take to the gardens, parks
and streets for characteristic pleasurlngs. Uni-
versal visiting is a social law—calling on friends
and relatives In person or by card. Universal
gift making Is indulged In, messengers being
sent bearing presents all around the household
and friendly circles. Distinctive and exclusive
games also belong to the New Year time. Battle-
dore and shuttlecock Is probably chief among
them. In certain parts of Tokyo, for example,
streets are almost Impassable because of the
hosts of the players of this game. As far as one
can see, the scene Is one of bewildering color
from the stir of the dresses of the girls, who are
as active in their sport as so many of our tennis
players. Gayly ornamented battledores flash ev-
erywhere, and the air Is full of the bright, flutter-
ing toys that are struck from one to another
player. Penalty for defeat usually means gro-
tesque markings of the face with strokes of char-
the best they can do In penmanship or in memory
of things to be learned. Girls try their first orna-
mental needlework or piece of music; merchants
open their shops with a show of receiving their
first goods for the year. On the street many pro-
cessions of coolies are seen bearing beautifully or-
namented specimens of the trades of their masters.
cepted him. But as in tha case of It.—G. Bernard 8haw.
Saul, David and Solomon, at least In
Jerusalem, the people had a voice In
the selection of their king. Accord
lngly the tribes were summoned to
meet at the old northern capital, She
uauiucuni^ chem, to confirm the successor of Sol- 1
Heavily loaded wagons, brilliantly decorated with i omon The northern tribes were de-
lanterns, flags and advertisements, drawn by oxen j termined to obtain a charter of rights evaporation"
covered with many colored cloths, pass from dls- j that wouu relieve them from their
trlct to district, accompanied by singing and dane- burdenB, as the price of their submls- ytcm.ow ci-otiirs ark unskiiiti.T.
lng workmen. i sion. For Solomon had forced them Keep them white with Red Cross Ball Blue.
Toward the evening of the second day street l0 g(ve tllejr unpaid labor upon his All grocers aell large i uz. package, 5 cents,
peddlers, crying "Treasure ships for sale!" go great buildings, and these free and
about among the crowds. They sell rough draw- independent Ephralmites were re-
ings of the "Seven Gods of Happiness," afloat In m|nded of their ancestors' slavery in
a boat. Multitudes buy these caricatures of an Eg, pt They were shrewd enough to
ancient sacred group, much as we might buy a Bend for tllelr brilliant sympathizer,
pictured Santa Claus. That night the "treasure Jeroboam, whom Solomon had ban-
ship" must lie under one's pillow. The dreams ,shed to Egypt. They were ready to
that come then mean much^ for the rest of the enforce their Just demands.
Rehoboam, apparently attended by
a small force goes to confer with
them. Jeroboam is their spokesman.
Rehoboam answered the people
roughly. One of the most foolish
coal ink. One may see
merry under the comical markings imposed upon
their foreheads and cheeks.
Kite flying is another peculiar New Year pas-
time. And kite flying in Japan Is a sight well
worth going far to see. The variety of shape, the
gorgeousness of coloring, the extraordinary size
of many of these toys, is something peculiar to
the Japanese. Then the skill shown In maneu-
vering the kites Is marvelous. They hum as they
sway In the January breeze with a sort of organ-
pipe volume of sound, and, at times, they swoop
down upon antagonist fliers, like hawks, and,
with their glass-dust-covered cords cut their ene-
mies free, thus making them the property of
their own masters. There is hardly a more fas
cinating spectacle than one of these friendly bat-
tles iu the air of Japanese kites, under the guid-
ance of the skilled men who manage them.
Another distinctive entertainment for the New
Year celebration Is furnished by groups of masked
performers who go about the streets led by a
curious animal-like creature, whose grotesque
lion-head excites much mock terror among chil-
dren. The antics of these motley crowds are
supposed to exorcise evil spirits from the Japan-
ese homes, as well as to add gayety to the do
lngs of the day. Many other unique ceremonies
take place on the first day; too many for an at
tempt to describe them here.
But we may not pass by the old card parties
of the New Year evenings; the matchlngs of the
beginnings and ends of the "hundred songs of a
hundred singers." From one January to another
this game is not indulged In; but at the opening
of the year it is the chief sport kept for the even-
ings, whole families becoming absorbed In It. It
is a contest of memory and of quickness at dis-
covering In cards laid out before a group of play-
ers the end of a poem whose opening lines have
been read by a leader. It Is astonishing to see
the mental skill that many of the players have
acquired.
One more exciting New Year game deserves
mention, the fortune lotteries. In these home
lotteries one takes hold of the end of a rope and
opening year.
On tho third day of the New Year the firemen
of the towns have their annual parade and give
public exhibitions of acrobatic skill in many places.
These exhibitions are no mean shows. Some of _
the performers display an agile ability In climbing, thlugs he could do. "Rough words do
balancing and leaping that is of an extraordinarily ono ot two things, they wound or they
high order. madden."
Indeed, all the days of the first fortnight of the , And Igrael saw ttlat the king heark-
new year are red letter days, until the fifteenth I ened not josephus says that "they
day comes, when seemingly a most comical end- were Btruck by his words as by an
lng of the whole festal season takes place. The lron rod." What portion have we
people after that settle down to the commonplace ln uavid? What have we of the north-
order of regular dally labor. The Japanese people ern tribes to do with David's son, Be-
at the present time do not take this closing event hoboam, or David's tribe, Judah? To
more seriously to heart than we of this land now ; your tents, O Israel. Back to your
regard the ride of Tam O'Shanter; but, theoretl- ! homes and prepare for war.
eally, the Inhabitants of the infernal regions dur- j Every young man has a kingdom In
lng the first fortnight of the new year have as hlg own 60Ui. He may throw it away
merry a good time as the people of this world. On —half of it or all of it, ln the same
the fifteenth day, however, the instruments of tor way Rehoboam did, foolishly follow-
ture in hell begin to work again. On this day It [ng his headstrong will. Or, he may
Is that the temples consecrated to Emma O, the t^e the advice of wise men and the
king of Hades, are crammed with devotees and Bible, and become monarch of all
gather large sums of offerings from fearful sin- | the royal possibilities God has placed
ners. It Is a wonderful sight, a temple of Emma O in his life.
ln mid-January, In one of the great cities. A Ro- One's character, already formed,
man carnival could not be more Jostling, Jolly or |s a powerful factor ln all emergen-
absurdly funny. Japanese fun making is at its c]eB Qf choice and decision. There la
freest there, and all that Is done seems to be for- no time to prepare a new character,
given the worshipers, If their contributions to the Rehoboam had formed the habit of
treasure boxes of his majesty, the regent of the taking bad advice when it fitted his
inferno, are generous. With the festival of this inclination, and so he took it at his
god the new year on earth and under the earth life's crisis.
has for the Japanese passed away aa a feast, and On his return to Jerusalem Reho-
life's duties fairly begun again. boam assembled an army of 180,000
Of course the Japanese New Year Is today fast men to compel the seceding tribes to
losing some of its old-time characteristic fascina- return. But a prophet forbade tha
tions but enough of its unique quaintness and movement in the name of the Lord.
With strokes ot cnar- charm remain to give it distinctiveness among the Rehoboam's goodness was but the
e with swoKes oi cnar f th nations, and to keep it an object early cloud and the morning dew. As
thousands of children estlvals « ^ BOOn aB he wa8 firmly established, ha
T>r. Pierce's Pellets, small, sugar-coated,
ea*y to take a« enndy, regulate and invig-
orate stomach, liver and bowels. Do not
gripe.
When the virtues are only on the
lurfaco they easily find voclferout
You do not lift the world by rolling
up your eyes.
Why Rent a Farm
snd be compelled to psy to your landlord mrnt
of your hard-earned profits? Own your own
furtn. Secure a Free Homestead In
Manitoba, Saskatchewan or
Alberta, or purchsse
hi nil In one of these
districts ar 1 bank m
profit of SIO.OO or
avery year.
Land purchased 3
years ago at $10.(X) an
acre has recently
changed hands at
$25.00 sn acre. The
crops grown on theae
la< da warrant ths
advance. Vou can
Become Rich
by cat tie ralsing.dslry lng,mixed
farming and grain growing In
the pruvioceB of Manitoba,
Sa«batiheurna and Alberta.
Krrt homestead and pre-
emption areas, as well as lsnd
held by rsilway and land com-
unlet, will provlda homes
or millions.
Adaptable soil, bealthfnl
climate, apleudld schools
and churches.rfood railways.
For settle rt' rates, deicrlptite
literature "ljtnt Hrst Weil,' bow
to roach tbaoountry and other
ti ml urn, write to Hnp't of Iir
sralion, Ottawa. Canada, or to the
Canadian t o eraajeut Agent.
CANADIAN wvuwiiwt A cpu
V 125 V. Xiutb Sheet Kinta Oty. Is
address nearest yon.) B
To the New Year
Oh child New Year, on whom the mantle fall*
Of the departing year, who leaves to thee,
The labors, tasks, the duties and the calls
Which are the heirlooms of the past, to be
A precious trust the heritage of time.
How will thou face the future all alone?
How front the foes of sin, and vice, and crime.
Which muster round with force and might unr
known ?
Take courage, child of time, be not dismayed,
Equip thyself with faith and hope and love,
And seek for strength and wisdom from above;
With these to help thee, never be afraid.
Go forth with gladness on thine untrod way.
And strength will come to thee from day to day.
E. D. NALDER.
No siree,—I never saw
anything stop a cough
like Simmons' Cough Syr-
up. I use it every time
I catch cold and it has
never failed to do the
work. It prevents pneu-
monia and consumption.
Price 25c and 50c. All
Drug Stores. Manufac-
tured by A. B. Richarda
Medicine Co., Sherman,Tex.
To the New Year
and the Old Friends
The moon wanes pale ln the sky,
And the stars all blink for morn;
The old year is to die.
And the new year to be born,
We have passed through the vale of teara,
We have trod the Journey long.
We have shared our hopes and fearB,
We have shared our grief and song;
And we've shared them all with our old friends,
Our true friends, our few friends,
And we'll drain anew to our old friends,
The friends that are always true.
—Henry Christopher Christie, ln Smart 8et
returned to his old ways, and "forsook
the law of the Lord." The deteriora- j
Uon of his character and his king
dom was symbolized by the change
from the shields of gold which Solo-
mon had made for his palace armory,
but which Shishak took away, and
which Rehoboam replaced by shields
of brass.
This deterioration continued two
years, when God used another instru-
mentality for making Rehoboam
good. In his fifth year Shishak, the
Pharaoh of Egypt, came up with
1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and
an uncounted number of common sol-
diers. They captured the city of
Judah. devastated the country, and
carried away the treasures Solomon
had stored ln the temple and ln his
palace, and the golden shields In his
armory. Shishak left an Inscription
on the walls of Karnak ln Egypt giv
lng an account of this invasion. The
prophet Shemaiah interpreted the
meaning of this calamity; and king
and princes humbled themselves, con-
fessed their sins, and promised to do
better.
The Lord therefore delivered them.
| Rehoboam continued to reign; and
! though his kingdom was not destroy-
ed, yet It was far from what it might
! have been, for "he did evil, because
j he prepared not his heart to seek the
Lord." _ . enable the dyspeptic to eat whatever lw
(lod's principles are everlasting, but wishes. They cause the (oo<l to assimilate an4
uu * _ i.# .«. ka.iv dvo ■nortlte. ana
the forms of their application vary
SINGLE
Kinder
Tuft's Pills
with every variation of ctrcum-
stancn.
As patriots, what is there in our
country, that we wi&h to have go down
tht- agtis as a blcstliig? and what Is
hue tha*. we should giv< our whole
.mil ii chcniiiix or L.ut Irs out?
nourish the body, give appetite, and
DEVELOP ELESH.
Dr. Tutt .Manufacturing Co. New York.
THE BEST MEDICINt
or Coughs 6 Colds
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Simms, P. R. The Moore Messenger. (Moore, Okla.), Vol. 3, No. 35, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 29, 1910, newspaper, December 29, 1910; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc109179/m1/3/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.