It may be objected that this is an unseasonable time. to comment upon Christmas giving, but that the season is not fully passed is amply attested by the little "reminders" that continually drift in from the first to the tenth of January. Such reminders move us to indorse Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy's sweeping request to her Christian Science followers to abstain from making gifts on Christmas.
To paraphrase the words of another, we may say to Mrs. Eddy, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian Scientist." Her request is evidently issued in a truly Christian spirit, for surely Christ [Jesus] would not indorse the practice of giving gifts on the anniversary of his birth to the extent to which it is now carried.
The giving of Christmas gifts has degenerated from an evidence of kindly remembrance, offered in the shape of some small and inexpensive token, to a trade and rivalry in the bestowal of costly presents that can often be ill-afforded by the donors.
