For the first time in many years the Greek community in Chicago has celebrated the birth of Christ with complete unity, love, and good will. The three Greek churches were not capacious enough to shelter the worshipping crowds. On account of the unity which had been achieved before the holidays, unusual joy was pictured in the faces of all, young and old. The traditional hand-shaking, accompanied by "Chronia polla!" was done this year with hearty good feeling. The people were in a new mood, and the celebration of the Redeemer's birth touched their hearts; these facts were revealed in the liturgies, which were performed with great solemnity and unparalleled magnificence.

The birth of the Divine Man has brought peace, joy, unity, and love to the Greek community, from which they have been absent for years. Our Greek colony, living in the best country on earth, has permitted itself to deviate from the good way and righteous and has begun to be contaminated with vengeance, malice, ambition, thirst for power, and many other vices, 2like the community of ancient Athens in those days when Diocles the stoic philosopher remarked to Gaius,

"Who shall deliver my eyes from this infamous spectacle? What new Hercules will clear away the filth which overwhelms the city of philosophers?"

Athens and Rome and practically all the world at that time had fallen into the mire of corruption,and it was necessary for a superhuman Hercules to appear and save the world from destruction.

Rome, the mistress of the world, the bestial, corrupt, and inhuman city where slaves were killed and thrown into the Caesars' aquariums to fatten the fishes, where gladiators fought to the death their own kith and kin for the amusement of the emperors, could not persist longer; the end of her career was heralded by the heavenly trumpets which informed the world of the arrival of the Savior and by the angels' chant of "Christos gennate."

Peace, love, and joy were brought to the world by Him and they will continue to irradiate our souls when we think of Him.

Peace, love, and joy will reign in the world day and night if we remain throughout the year as near to Him as we are during the holidays. Let us continue all the year round to convey in our hand-shake and our "chronia polla" the same force of good will which we put into them this Christmas.