| Show LEGENDS CLUSTER AROUND THE YULE 1 1 a Tile Tho o as 3 They Thoy Were Enjoyed by j Our Ancestor In UIO llio Merry Days ot of L Long ng Ago It it riot now Is come our feast Let over every man be jolly l Each ach room toom with h Ivy l leaves vS Is n And every eury post with hollY 5 t No 1 alt our chimneys smoke a J a And nd Christmas blocks are burning 2 ovens the they with meats y choke I An And all theIr spits are oro turning s The celebration of at Christmas con by the Puritans popish and s Idolatrous has for tor any Centuries been c so universal that It may provo prove ot of In interest t terest to contrast the rites ceremonies and quaint beliefs or of foreign lands landa with those or of matter America I Many curious customs have hae become I I j completely obsolete and live 10 only In f t I but It Is surprising to find i f e what sIngular still exist j 1 among credulous classes oven even In the thelI t lI light ht of the nineteenth century I In the 1101 Holy Land nt at this season the I place ot of greatest interest Is naturally m the tho Church ot of the tho Nativity ot at I hem erected on the supposed location where Christ was burn born It Is said to bo be bothe bethe the oldest Christian church In exist once ence having been lIeen built more than fit fifteen teen centuries ago by the l Empress Hel Helena Helena ena ot of Constantine Repairs fr wore were made malle later by I Edward dw rd IV ot of England but It Is now again fast tast tan fall falling Ing to decay The root was orIginally composed of at cedar ot of Lebanon and the tho r walls were studded with precious Jew jaw ole cIs while numerous lamps of at sliver and ond gold were suspended from Cram the rafters The Tho Greeks and Armenians now claim Joint possession ot of the structure and Jealously guard Its sacred pre r f ImmediatelY beneath th the nave of at the tho cathedral Is a 11 commodious marble chamber constructed over oer the spot where the far famed stable was said to have hae stood and reached by a 11 flIght ot of stone litone steps worn smooth by the trend tread and kisses ot of multitudes ot of wor worshippers worshippers shippers The manger mangar Is represented b by a 11 marble marblo slab a couple ot of feet teet In heIght decorated with tinsel and blue satin and marked at the head with a chiseled star bearIng above It the In InscrIption inscription In Latin Hero Here was Jesus Christ born ot of time Iho VIrgin Nary Mar At Atthe Atthe the toot foot are nrc several altars on which Incense Is s ever kept burning and from which mass mus Is conducted while a 11 score ot of hanging lamps shed a fitful light over oer the apartment Many Inny theories have been advanced os as osto asto to the tho explanation of at the tho mysterious star In the east which guided the wondering shepherds but It Is now thought to have been Venus at the height of oC Its splendor Time The early oary ChrIstians decorated their churches with whim evergreens out lI of respect to thE passage ot of ScrIpture In Isaiah The Tho glory ot of Lebanon shall shaH come com unto thee the fir tree the pIne tree and the thebo I bo box together to beautify the place ot of m my the paganS be them to be omens or of good as the spirits ot of tho iho woods remained In theIr branches holly le Is known In Germany and Scan as Christs thorn and Is em everywhere ot of cheerfulness forgiveness peace on earth and ond good goodwill wily will to mca Inen The Tho oak mistletoe or missel was hold held In high veneration by the ancient Druids who regarding Us its parasitic character as a 11 miracle and ond II a symbol of at immortality worshipped It In theIr temples and used It as a panacea for tor forthe the physical aliments ailments of theIr follow ors ore When hen the moon was AS sIx days old It was ceremoniously cut with Ith a golden sickle by the tho chief prIest or of the order and re received with care Into the s spotless robes or of the company compan for tor It if It tell fell to the unholy ground Its virtues were con eldered lost Then crowned with oak leaves and singing songs of at thanksgiving they bore bora the Iho branches In processIon to the altars where two white oxen were sacrificed to the tho gods The custom ot of kissing under tinder the mistletoe dates dales back to the days das ot of Scandinavian mythology when the god of darkness shut shot his rival the tho tat tal Apollo ot of the North with an arrow made tram from Its boughs bough But the sup supposed posed victim being miraculously reo re restored stored to life lite the mistletoe was given ghen Into Inlo the tho keeping ot of the goddess of at nt af affection os as n a symbol ot of love loe and not ot of death to those who passed beneath it It A berry was required to be picked with every lies and presented to the maiden nil as n a sign ot of good fortune the ceasing when aU all the berrIes I were gathered In England Christmas was the chief event of oC the tho entire year ear and nos sometimes celebrated for nearly II a month The tables ot of the wealthy lit literally 13 ra II groaned with plenty but the tho poor IOor without theIr gates were not for tor forgotten gotten otton for Cor CorDill Old Dill Christmas had como coma for tor to keep open house Hed scam from to be GUilty or of starving a r mouse That com compound known as wassail was composed ot of warm ale alo i Or wIno wine sweetened with sugar and h na a i ored with spices and bearing upon Its J surface ce floating bits ot of toast and roast led Id crabs and ond apples The huge bowl bol t gaily with ribbons was j passed from hand band to hand around the I table each guest lost taking a 11 portion ot of liD its contents ns as a sign ot of joviality and good But the tho triumph ot of the pastry cooks art was time the rare minced pie the use ulle of oC which Is ot of great antiquity The Tho shape erns formerly a long narrow oval representing the C celebrated man manger mangot got ger at Bethlehem and the fruits and ond spices s ot of Which It was composed were symbolic of those that the wise men of oC the OrIent brought broucht as offerings to their now born while to partake ot of such Buch u was considered a proof that the tho tiller cater was II a Christian and not nota n a Jew JOI Candles were first used to demon the power ot of Christianity over ocr overtime time darkness ot of paganism and were sometimes arranged In triangular form torm to symbolize the tho Trinity Christmas carols enrols are commemorative or at the tho angola song sane to time the shepherds on the tho plains ot of Bethlehem and are 1110 seldom hoard In America save flae b by the tho choIrs ot of Episcopal churches The English waits or who sang Ian under the tho squires windows In t ot of receiving II a Christmas box unconsciously add II a touch or of romance and to the tho or of the tho a For upon the tho frosty rost If l evening nil air arose such sueh strains as glad cla 1 heart henrt arise and sing I It Is the birthday ot of th ICing KIn i Or God rest you OU merry mem Let nothing you dismay For lor Jesus Christ our leas born upon this day Q I I t t |
