‘WEDNESDAY, ‘DECEMBER 20, 1972 ’ * ‘The Herald, Christmas Supplement,

“The. wounds of Christmas ~:~

: the: Christmas - Trenzy and {he trick is to inundatin the joy. « .- a
seasoy ai » with its joy and its” prevent the. frenzy’ from | - Jean Vanier, 1) of the ‘aie “7

Governor-General, -Startled -
_ Mnany last’ fali' when fhe spoke of
-“the terrible things Christmas
does to. our~ children.” . He
believes. we wound them by a

- surfeit of expensive and un-
‘needed things, which ‘are
greedily’ accepted . ut litte
cherished... .

Witness the way ‘80 raany toys
are broken or abandoned before |
December is over. ‘Vanier
‘thinks our lavish. and often
deficit gift-spending . breeds
distorted values: that. actually

_ cripple our 'young.:

Another. peril: “of. this ;
* Christmas -over-indulgence is
what it does to.thase’who are
outside it --:the children of an
unemployed father or 4. single
mother: on ‘welfare: To see the
tempting -things. displayed. in
stores, to hear the- constant’

. pitch for luxuries via television. °
and yet to be denied them; °
surely such wounds go deep.

Vanier, who spent some of his
time ‘in - Canada. visiting
Kingston Penitentiary, says
that his talks ‘with prisoners
“revealed that this disparity
‘between ‘what ‘they saw and
what they could have, was often .
the ‘motive. for their criminal
behaviour. -. . °

The solution? - ‘Even the most |
concerned among us will shake XY ; seg? seth
our heads. Gifts- are’ part, of | 3 os
Christmas; they can be.

| emotionally: enriching to both:
giver and receiver. Perhaps, if

_ we keep them ‘fewer and sim-
pler and listen to. the carols ..
whose happy. sounds point us -

back: to the source of the © ;
celebration, and ‘listen ‘also to a 2 eLv I 1 3H
the silent cry of the deprived, -

. then DO something constructive:
to assuage it, we may manage’
to strike a-balance that will | — “oO Night When, Christ Was Born...”

., make the festival genuine.
- During this j joyous season let

GIF T-GI VING VARIES - us take the time to pray for peace.
- In most European coun- -- we, . From ‘Management & Staff
tries; families

either on-St. N iil eo presents oe : * Thank. you for’ your Patronage. -

December: 6, or-on Christ- ¢ | Ti

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