Life, 1920-12-02 · page 30 of 97
Life — December 2, 1920 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains **two distinct pieces**: ## Main Article: "Christmas, 1920" by Agnes Repplier A satirical essay criticizing American commercialism during the 1920 holiday season. Repplier argues that Christmas has been corrupted by profiteers and merchants who exploit consumers with inflated prices on unnecessary goods. She contrasts American prosperity with the suffering of European children starving in post-WWI Austria, Poland, and France—a pointed reminder that American abundance came while war-devastated Europe struggled. The piece critiques the materialism that has displaced Christmas's spiritual meaning. ## Secondary Item: "Taking a Hint" A brief, humorous household advice anecdote. A woman writing a "Household Hint" column notices one of her own published tips (suggesting children use coal dust as slate for schoolwork) and decides to try it herself—implying the suggestion was impractical or she hadn't tested it. ## Illustration The cartoon shows Santa meeting the Sandman, with Santa noting European children awaiting his aid, anchoring Repplier's critique about conflicting Christmases.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Christmas Life Christmas, 1920 By Agnes AVING braces himse!f urvived Thanksgiving, the American citizen for Christmas. Having expressed in ornate language his satisfaction with his own well- he stands prepared to test worth. anksgiving, since its earliest inception, has been largely a tter of dining. We ceased, as a nation, to dine in the sum- mer of tor9; but the ha of e There are still r the banker irerited prosperity, its ating continues nd the bricklayer, a for the rest of us. Thanksgiving is, and has t of Dives. Christmas is, and has alwa Unless the day be consecrated to him, turkeys nd cold-storage long s been, ens n, the fea e feast of | it has lost its Christmas significance. The super-affluence of Americans has transferred the fits of Christmas from the poor to the profiteer, who celebrates day with rites of his own devising. For weeks the Christ- mas shopper buys at preposterous prices objects designed for the encumbrance and disfigurement of the world. For days the Christmas marketer buys simple articles of food at a cost whi would have staggered Lucullus. For hours men and women struggle with one another for the privilege of paying a dollar and a half for fifty cents’ worth of candy keepers make ready to reccive their Christmas patrons with the engaging hospitality of the bandit. Theatre managers push the price of their tickets up to the topmost notch. FE caters to the public robs the publ animating principle of the feast. arus. bene- Hotel and restaurant veryone who at Christmas time. It is the Santa (to Sandman): Thank goodness you've come! Repplier But from over the sea comes a voice of wailing and a sound of falling tears which disturb the fulness of our content. Wan children starving in Austrian cities (not theirs the fault of Prussian frightfulness) ; wan children starving in Polish vil- lages (not theirs the reward of their dead fathers’ heroism) ; wan children struggling to live in French towns, the glory of which is the world’s inheritance. We gave thanks in November that little Americans were not as these unfortunates, and we congratulated ourselves (and Providence) that we had been safe from the perilous proximity of Germany. This is an ad- mirable sentiment; but it does not convey the full force of Bethlehem’s message to the world. The politics of Europe may be no concern of ours; but the children of Europe, little gray phantoms of despair, shadow our Christmas board. Taking a Hint HE woman who wrote the “ Household Hint” column for the Sunday Woman's Page stopped to fill her fountain pen, when one of her paragraphs caught her eye. more closel “Well,” like a good idea. S. B.: Charles, Willie must have a little slate for his M work in school. Mr. B.: Tell Willie to go down to the coal bin and help himself, She examined it declared, “I believe one of them looks really I do believe I'll try it.” - Those children down there are watching for me! comicbooks.com