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Show I Christmas in " " ! ' ' Other Lands ; 5anta Claus, the Child's Friend His Early History The j Christmas Tree, When Introduced. I ; ;, hn of Chrysothom, who died I I jn' )n4. 1:1 a:i epistle upon the subject ? ,, Christmas, relates that St. Cysil in- f I f-n.ri' i St. Julius, who died in 352, to I ,.',.,),;,. st ri. t investigation of the tra- I di!ie;is it-la tinf? to the exact date of ; j'm. iiiiih i" our Divine Savior. The I fnri.-;.i"in reached was that it was ; ; Ail 'h'-sf saints were bishops of Rome. In pagan Rome, one of the j pr'aTFt events of the year was the i cr.braX'm of the feast of Saturnalia, ; r.hi'h were supposed to celebrate the i rhnnc'' from the frosts of winter, with j: m tending barrenness, to the com- jRC r.f spring, with its fruits and flow-J flow-J c?. which began with the longthen-i longthen-i itic i the days after Dec. "1. The fame celebration was held in the north 1 Hii'l known as Yul which term is still X used in the Teutonic countries for i 5 ( 'luist mas. I '"'. The history of our tree is very i doubtful. Some trace It back to the very Kgypiinns. The Germans claim it originated in the Fatherland. Many I I iiiithorities trace it to the Roman I I Saturnalia, when they placed fruits i; and flowers upon trees to celebrate the 5 cming of spring. An early account t if a Christmas celebration tells of a ! tree, suspended by the roots and show-j show-j nirg gifts from its branches. Th tree, with its gifts and lights. i cnmcF to us direct from the Germans, Kit is said to be of Scandinavian oriein. As early as 1632 the German children had their tree. Back in the ; reign of Henry VIII we read of a tree having been used very prominently in a I Christinas celebration, i German children look upon their I tree as indispensable to their Christ- lr.as festivities.. Many poor peasants J rcake many sacrifices that their lit- tie ones may have a beautiful tree. So f g-neraily is the tree" 'used that a very s ai-tive industry has developed, great I r?re being taken that the trees are i ifa proper size and a beautiful I fhape. Just before Christmas so many I trees are brought in that the streets snd market places look like little for-I for-I ? ests. I In cur own countrjr the tree is a birth 1 f'f the last half-century. Fifty years ago there were few trees. In 1S51 a j I'atskili woodsman sold two loads of i rvtrgreen trees in New York City; to- S dsy thousands of trees come from the j iror.ntHin sides to delight the hearts I of many children. The spruce is most commonly used in the west, i An old gypsy legend says: "The ivy, j holly mid pine never told where our Lord v. as hiding himself, so they re- rr.H in gretn all year, and alive all win- 1-r: while the ash, like the oak, told : tthero he was hiding, so they have to v n-am dead all the winter. j ,n,i so gypsies always burn an ash , j fire on anv great, day. I t T;ie custom of decorating the church ' on Christmas has been traced back to vords of Isaiah, Ix, 13: "The '- Fiorv of Lebanon shalJ come unto thee; tir tree, the pine tree and the box j 1 nl r to beautify the place of my " SHtictuary." ! Miii. we can trace the custom al the s i nid neat hen days, when they sus- 5 V-rni.d green boughs and holly in j Tr,.ir houses that the faries and good N who dwell therein might abide I with thorn. Again, their reverence for ! t.'ie tnc was almost a religious cere- j ' iiinfiv among the Druids. 1 ; The Yule log is supposed to have eonif. t Us from the Scandinavian an- 1 rs of the Briton, who al their f i soistice lighted great fires in l'"isor of their old god Thor. The re- 5 tiMir.s t.f one log was kept with which 1 to ncM the fire on the next l'uletide, in a:i:-ll ages. It was an old super--u-v. ti-.at if a flat-footed woman or i si Miirt.iir.g person of either sex en- tered 'a bile the log was burning it ? s-::.- to bring ill luck to some one I Jn th' 10,, 111. J W..b the old English custom of burn- i; - -.he Yule log was that of" burning ! !" ' ". .ks -it Christmas. They were I vw large; some of the ancient I -i,ndh sti. k for these were most elab- I "' ". Many old candlestick makers I '"1 virh each other in producing the v- ' ' i" aiKiful designs. ? T!:o . litnm of cift exchanging is I v H ly accounted for of any cus- ton, vlu.-j, has come down to us. Long S i-o ir, i:,-thlohem the first Christmas i gtfts ; -iv.-n. Rich and rare were ! 'hey. p.M.u-ht from the far, fair lands j ',f Hie 01..:. they were given to the 1:'il" chr!st child. - To,i;.y ,,V(,r the whole Christian I ': l;;;s are exchanged as tokens ! c! the ,.,.,. ;in,3 p0O(j will which should r'ycu i'i "ljr hearts at this beautiful J ''son t;-,,, year. -! h is ii;',( 1, -sting to note the various I jie-ilio.i. ,iS).,j ,-n 'different countries in i c:vi!iK ,.f Christmas gifts. I 'ii Nnrvuiv and Sweden at this sea- 1 ,, Yiile-ncacc" such a spirit of j f o; exists that even the animals I n '"'-riboi-d. puss and ..-Rover, : Ul'!'r tl'ir Scandinavian cognomens. 1 I ,.',';!v'' fxtri portion: bunciies of I :r,th;-, sn, .j prajn are jsold in all the I j;"' J'iaces, and every one. no mnt- ,iL''v i""'r- sharp their mite that the .!, s !,'-a y have a Christmas cheer. ( v' iJt is tied to a pole and fast- 'h. n raised in the air for the d.Ms. i:,-n, the pood Christine, who h- with ,he gifts, is provided for fn-V'' al -ake heing left in the snow 1 thL ' tapers are placed in y' :nw to show him the way from : t'se to house. There is a very pret-7 pret-7 ustom 0f flinging gifts, carefully : into the house of a friend Pleas', n np Is lookinS- Great is the ; dis,., anfl surprise when these are ; In1",D nmark there Is no Santa Claus. tror- V'f him the thildren hear of a foundi n Brownie that lives under-thei,-' hose ,iu,e Danes save all hen n 'S fo1' lhe Christmas season, Bhanert buy "''own earthen dishes 1 u iJHe pips called "Trule pigs." Each pig has a slit running lengthwise length-wise through his back and into thin the money is dropped. The older folks place their gifts on plates, while the children receive theirs on trees. To me, the mos beautiful belief of Christmas customs emanates from the Fatherland, where the little ones are taught to believe that the Christ child comes to earth with gifts to them, as he really does spiritually to those in whose hearts the taper of love is burning burn-ing with which to light for him the way. In Germany the poor are always remembered first. There is one gift which every child receives and expects, ex-pects, namely, his Christmas cake. This is a strange little cake similar to our animal cookies, but always rich with nuts and spices. Here also the tree is the center of attraction and no place is the tree so beautiful as here. Tt is llsnnlU- o fir troo TVir, branches are set on fire and perfume the. entire room with their fragrance. Every child in Germany makes some gift to its parents, usually a product of its own little fingers. How dear to the parent those feeble efforts of their childhood days must become when, as time has gone by and taken those dear ones from the earth, and the parents are again alone, as so often happens in life. Such good times as Christmas brings to dear little Hans and Gretchen! In Germany they seem to bring much of their happiness, by the pleasure they receive in giving pleasure to others. Surely they have learned that "it is more blessed to give than receive." In brave little Holland the beautiful spiritual significance of Christmas seems to have been kept uppermost in their minds. It is not regarded as a time for merrymaking and gift-exchanging, gift-exchanging, but as a holy day. Nearly three weeks before Christmas, however, Santa Claus visits every home to delight de-light the . little ones. St. Nicholas, as he is called, rides a fine white horse in place of the reindeer.. Carefully the little ones clean their big, clumsy wooden shoes, fill them with oats and hav for the tired and hungry steed. In the morning, in place of the oats and hay, is found candy, fruits and gifts I which await the eager little owners. Sometimes, by way of warning, the naughty child finds a rod, but how fortunate for-tunate that all children seem good at Christmas time! In Belgium little shoes do service as the stocking does in our own land. They are filled with carrots, which the horse scents from afar and stops, but romehow they never find St. Nick's ,50od horse munching the carrots but never fail to find the goodies the old i saint has left in gratitude for the kindness shown his horse. Beautiful, sunny Italy has a dear old Mother Goose who rides through there on her broomstick, bringing gifts to our little black-eyed friends. They are put in urns and the anxious children chil-dren put in their hands and pull out toys ;'nd sweetmeats. Santa Claus is not known in Spain, but in his place comes Balthasar, one of the three wise men who followed the star. He rides on a great camel laden with wifts from which he fills the little shoes set out for him. The beautiful name of "Little Evening Even-ing Star'" is given to Christmas eve in Poland in memory of the Star of Bethlehem, which guided the three kings to our divine Savoir. A great, feast is given, at which the children are allowed to eat with their elders as a rare treat. Before eating, their wafers are given to . the children, who go about among the guests and break the wafers, in token of peace and good will. The little French people believe that while they sleep the little Christ child comes from the sky with beautiful angels whose arms are laden with gifts. These are placed on either end of the great log before the fireplace, where the children find them in the morning. Thus throughout the world we find the same gift-giving spirit shown at Yuletide, which carries with it a deeper deep-er signiiioanee of peace and good will which the Christ child brought on the first Christmas 2.C0 years ago. |