Show ORIGIN OF CHRISTMAS FIRST celebration WAS HELD IN THE YEAR 98 forty years later before it wa was bially adopted as christian festival was first celebrated V CHRISTMAS in the year 98 observes a writer but it was 40 years later before it was officially adopted as a chris tian festival nor was vivas it until about the fifth century that the day of ita its celebration became permanently fixed on december 25 up to that time it had been irregularly observed at varl ous times of the year in december in april and in may but most frequently in january in borne rome the Satur saturnalia nalla or feast of datuin fell at about the same time as oui Chilst christmas mas and it marked the greatest festival of the he korean itoman year fhe city abandoned itself to gayety universal mirth was the order of th the 0 day friends feasted and foes foell were ere reconciled all social distinctions were laid aside work was stopped aid no war was nias ever enteles upon at that time one by one other legends and cus toms have been disproved and over oner tl ti rown roan vet yet none I 1 as dared attack the legen Is and the customs sacred to christmastide it remains with us and will always remain christmas n irks the winter solstice the daya days begin to lengthen and the sun no longer journeys journeys away from the earth but enters upon its return it Is a prom se of renewed light and warmth of the approach of summer and men hailed balled alese tl ese signs with every espres si if n of gladness when cl anity spread abroad men adapted the old customs of their ancestors to the new order of things the word yuletide lule tlde tide used to give a picturesque flavor to the christmas idea comes from yule an old name for christmas the term springs from an english word used to designate the two months of decem her ber and find january one of which aich was called the former yule the other the after yule there Is a legend which relates that it was the custom years ago for every saxon household to burn the yule log on christmas eve this was a great gnarled root or tree trunk cut the day before christ mas and brought into the hall on christmas eve eie with great ceremony and accompanied by music each member of the household would sing a iule lule song standing on the center of the log in germany german and other european countr es it was a as belle believed ed by the children that the christmas tree glitter ing with candles and brightness and the gifts found beneath the tree were the work of jolly old st nicholas or santa claus as we know him this kindly saint was nas no legendary char acter lie ile lived about A D and was a noted bishop of asia minor he ile was looked upon as a patron saint of generosity because of his liberality the idea of st nicholas traveling trawling in a sleigh drawn drann by reindeer originated in the cold northern nort lern ern coun countries tiles the reindeer were the swiftest animals known and they must needs fly III a 0 the wind to carry st nick the round rounds of the world in one night klir in ost as important as the gift div ing and gift lec elving on day Is the feast of dainties spread oia oi that occasion but even the chrisi christ mas dinner has its origin in the dim distant past feasts were always the accompaniment of any festival in egypt at the winter solstice every enery family killed and ate a goose as a re lillous observance ve preserve the custom of eating fowl on christmas but the toothsome turkey has more generally supplanted the goose |