| Show CHRISTMAS IN MANY LANDS copyright and du au rights reserved by G geoffrey frey williston christine christi wherever the christian religion is known no matter what the country the race the people the creed christmas the birthday of the great founder of that faith is the most universally ver sally and joyously celebrated festival both religious and social of the entire year but though chris fians of every shade of belief unite in honoring the occasion yet every country and every people impart to their observance of it certain distinguishing features which harmonize with and are the outgrowth of the national characteristics to the traveler in foreign lands nothing presents itself of greater interest than the different methods of celebrating christmas in fil different countries the english christmas is perhaps the richest of all in that hearty hospitality pita lity and merriment and that profusion of substantial good cheer which our people like their british cousins so closely associate with the occasion the old english christmas as it was celebrated centuries ago in the great halls of the feudal baron be best known from the pages of sir walter scott who frequently describes it and who in his poem of Marmion admirably sums it all up in a few words when he says england was merry marry england when old christmas brought his sports again christmas broached the mightiest ale christmas told the merriest tale A christmas gambol oft would cheer A poor marls mans heart through half the year 11 the december liberties as the wild gambols pranks and masquerades que rades of christmas time were called the famous christmas dinner of the barons with its dish of boars baars head borne upon a massive silver platter in great state the whole length of the immense banqueting hall by the major domo of the household attended by a large number of servants and vassals the murmuring I 1 or masquerading the singing of christmas carols the playing at snapdragon snap dragon hot cockles cackles and all the other christmas sports and games presided over by a specially appointed officer of the household called the lord ol 01 ot misrule or the abbot of unreason all these and countless other features of the old english christmas scott that wonderful wizard of the north has described as only he could do it the modern english christmas found its apostle in dickens who in his vivid word pictures has most clearly and accurately portrayed its every light and shadow the wild abandon of its predecessor of cen ago has been somewhat restrained but within the limit of becoming mirth there is still no merrier christmas it is a strange fact however that in england the day after christmas or boxing day as it is called is a day of even greater festivity among the working classes than christmas day itself it de rives its name from the christmas boxes or donations of christmas AW spending money which are collected on that day by letter carriers milk men butchers boys and other equally useful members of society the spanish christmas is largely an outdoor out door celebration as I 1 found while residing in the city of seville some years ago the spaniards like the french are much in the streets at all times and even more than usual during the christmas season for more than three weeks before christmas the magnificent cathedral of santa maria de la sede as well as the noble churches of san juan de la palma santa catalina and santa maria la blanca are crowded to repletion with devout worshipers every morning at the mass which is sung daily throughout the year As boxing day is to the english so is nache buena to the spaniards the words literally mean the good night ff but they are also used in spain to designate christmas eve which is even more joyously celebrated than christmas day itself then the whole city seems to have turned out en masse into the thoroughfares and the great public squares of the plaza del the plaza nueva the plaza del duque and the plaza de la constitution even the most unlucky pedestrian in all the great throng he who has lost a loosely fitting hat or has had his pocket picked spanish pick pockets are the most expert of all artists in their line or whose ribs have been bruised or his corns trodden upon even he must find some alleviation of his misfortunes and misery in contemplating the scene that meets his gaze on christmas eve in any of the plazas named numerous naming flaming torches throw a rich crimson glare upon the winning brilliancy of jellies artfully heightened by a light placed behind them to display their transparency red festoons fes of sausages jamo nes chams hams both salt and sweet a thousand dainty combinations of hog fruit and sugar luckless capons camons fleeting upon past misfortunes and fatted batted turkeys lying in fetters among aromatic heaps of apples figs oranges lemons and countless other delicious fruits displayed by hundreds of vendors who have converted the plazas into temporary fair grounds there is the kaleidoscopic mingling and changing of sex nationality Ks tume ume and language the angry of buyers against the exactions of vendors the joyous shouts of countless children the music of street bands and your own ejaculations of pain as some big fellow plants himself on your favorite toe form the obligate accompaniment to the brilliant scene presented by the spanish christmas eve the italian christmas presents many features identical with the spanish and the scenes enacted in the streets of florence during the christmas season closely resemble those of seville italy pays great attention to the christmas decoration of the churches and I 1 have found it more elaborate than that of any other country on christmas eve young men and women assemble at the churches and aid in their decoration a collation being served to them after midnight mass the devout italians have a poetic idea that to cheer and encourage the virgin through the pangs of maternity they must play upon instruments and sing before her shrines on christmas eve the german christmas has sup plied us with two of our best known j christmas customs hanging up stockings and attaching gifts to sprigs of pine called christmas trees from the german christmas also come santa claus and kris kingle the latter is a corruption of christ kind ain or christ child of whon whom 4 they have the beautiful fable that with his own hands he places christmas toys and sweetmeats sweet meats in the stockings of good children while those of bad ones receive nothing but a small birch rod placed in them by one nichol literally nicholas with the fur that is st nicholas dressed in fur it is a rare sight in a german household on christmas morning to see the expression of abject misery on the face of some poor little wight who having been disobedient or otherwise naughty on christmas eve finds only a birch rod in his stocking instead of bon bons and play things the dread of getting the rod from old nichol on christmas keeps many a german child in order all the year there is no country in the world where christmas is better observed than in mexico as I 1 found during my long residence in the mexican capital there as in spain the noche buena bana or christmas eve is an occasion scarcely secondary to the nos navidad christmas itself the streets and plazas are thronged thron ged of all the shop windows so gay and brilliant in their holiday attire none are so bright as the confectionery confectioners eis ers nowhere is the confectioners confection ers art carried to greater perfection the window of every large confectionery in mexico is a revelation crowded as it is with cakes of such an elaborate character as are never seen in our own country many of them consisting of numerous alter nate late layers of the richest creams of various colors and flavors sugared and d fruits etc if we look beyond the rich display such a window contains this christmas eve we all see within troops of bewitching readily complying with the invitations of their debonnaire es sorts and re velling in elaborately constructed cakes carameros cara melos ch chocolates oco and custards bustards cus tards at midnight of the N noche buena all mexico forsakes its pleasures and repairs to the misa del gallo or mass of the cock a high mass of the most imposing character which in every one of the magnificent temples reared by the catholic church in the city of mexico is celebrated exactly at midnight on christmas eve or morning horning to commemorate the savis ors birth all the churches have an augmented choir and a large orches tra a specially engaged for the occasion the mass is celebrated with every concomitant Gon that can heighten its effect fket and grandeur the magnificent old d cathedral on the plaza mayor displays a complete representation of the nativity in wax figures of life size cot on mucha propiedad pro firo piedad very like the original ri ginal and at midnight the signal for the mass to begin is given by the crowing of a real cock hence its name visa misa a gallo or mass of the cock christmas in the west indies is perhaps the most novel experience that a citizen of the united states can enjoy joy in connection with christmas boander To ander about among palm trees orange groves and fields of sugar cane on christmas day with the thermometer lr oetter at go 90 degrees in the shade certainly lias has the zest of newness if YOU are in the british west indies in m Xing kingston ston Jamaica jor or example as 1 1 as on christmas day 1885 your attention st will be most attracted in all the christmas gatherings of which YOU form a part whether in the streets the home or the church by the e close association of whites and bla blacks elks and you will find upon in that intermarriage between the two 0 o races is so common as to excite no ret remark nark I 1 passed alsed my christmas as a guest in the home of an english gentleman aleman of a noble family an of the governor generals staff whose wife a coal black was one of the most intelligent and refined hiL indies hildien dies and without exception the best amateur pianist I 1 ever ta met to my surprise I 1 found that tha the mixed race resulting from such inter karnages ar nages possessed the wealth cul ture lureana and influence of the island the ahe swedish christmas has many quaint superstitions in sweden for It antunes there has been handed down from generation to generation a popular belief that all cattle fal upon their knees at midnight on christmas eve as the ox and the ass of bethlehem are said to have done when jesus was born in the manger beside them GEOFFREY WILLISTON CHRISTINE |
