Show 0 d va db r 61 4 IP N 75 nil 7 4 W k 9 14 rm P P fo 2 15 fay rf OF UL 0 4 ta t aa W in 44 1 aj 4 X PAN ae A y 41 W fro 0 T R ik 4 4 aa 4 I 1 ab b 0 i TV V M X i 0 A X T N 1 10 r R U 0 41 X icom ajr 0 0 por ial JE E ARP ARF told that the german surrounds his christmas W with more of an element of mysticism than does he ol 01 any other nation it I 1 I 1 probably a survival of the far back daj da a when his 4 painted ancestors celebrated their mysterious rites at christmas christma under their dark groves of forest oaks in nearly every district of the fatherland there still remains the quaint est and queerest of christmas customs whose origin Is lost in the hoariest antiquity they have all in the process of time assumed a christian character more or less burless led but the folklorists folk will tell I 1 ou that they date t f om the dal das s of wotan and fre freya a the peasants of silesia the woodmen of the black lorest and the hills hillsman men of bavaria happily know nothing of the origin of the queer pranks they pla at chri chatmas amas they only know that they have been handed down by their fathers and that they in turn will mill hand down the immemorial customs to their chil dren in germany the old custom of is still kept up from houss to house these mummers go the shepherds especially are entertaining they are the comic men of the troupe who in a half grotesque and half seri ous way represent the events of the nativity there was a famous coal comiano any of christmas mummers a couple of years ago in bavaria with a magnificent looking first shepherd shei shel herd who never wearied of poking fun at the minister of finance after these roving villagers have recited their farago of nonsense or it may be their WL TW awamy VO w Z lines of surpassing beauty before belore a person persons s house they are generally regarded revar re carded ded for their pains with gifts of lard bacon and alid eggs but with all the mysticism and ultra sent mental ways of regarding christmas the ger man never forgets it is eminently a season of good cheer pork in evera ever form and beer usually take the place of roast beef turkey and stronger drinks then they also have the boar s head with a lemon impaled between its grinning tusks of course this delicacy dates back to wotan s day tradition says wotan was fond of the boar s head but it ie Js not easy to see where the lemon comes in as the god was certainly not faill ar with mith this tart fruit in brandenburg and the any pig pigs s head will do the stock of boar 9 heads not hold out and round this animal animals s head are garnish ings of sausage and green cab bage silesia Is a province which has especially earned a reputation for succulent dial es some of the most renowned of german gastronome gastro nomi cal authorities hae hale hal e lent additional luster to the place by being born there at christmas time the dish most in request among the S le is a smoked pigs head with baked fruit packed in it and aiso aso generously spread over the whole dish this dainov rejoices in the name of the kingdom of heaven in north germany the pigs pig s head is not as prominent as in the south here there is more s CI eating hearty enough but altogether in variance with american tastes cakes of all sizes and shapes are also baked and eaten and some of these have a toughness of gutta percha and a hardness of granite these cakes take the ferm of ruprecht or nikolaus angels and other christmas novelties some of these are flavored with honey some with pepper but all are of such consistence consi that no ordinary old oid inary grown ua o 0 person could enjo a s infelt pt of them and survive the feast only children seem peem to be able to eat these konig bucken and live thuringia boasts of another curious christmas del cac which only the anit abed can truly appreciate this is boiled suet dump lings and herrings one cannot be blamed tor for asking why this mixture inas as the herring also favored by wotan the herring as a christmas dainty is also favored throughout saxony but there takes the form of a salad and is eaten with smoked pork and a delicate kind of or sauerkraut mauei kraut in which caraway seeds are prominent the saxony peasant peasants s christmas table is invariably decked with these dishes on christmas eve and remains thus spread out during the night his idea in doing this is that angels 1 possibly os sibly weary of nectar and ambrosia may condescend to visit his humble abode while he sleeps and regale themselves with saxon smoked beet beef and herring salad it is interesting to watch the transformation of a german village at christmas from its usually treeless ai al rance info a town laid in a forest of firs agon loads of these resin scented trees are sent from the hills of thurin gia he harta and silesia and are put up in ill even rows in the streets and squares of the town there is nothing like it in any other coi country for a fortnight before the gleat feast these long avenues of tannen are crowded with eager vager purchasers ers men women and children of all ages and of evera ever station in life the great desire of each is to get a symmetrical tree and as few hiees are liter ally perfect in shape it is the business of the tree merchant to supply branches and thus ghe the tree the desired roundness it is the tree that is the attraction of everi evers gei geiman man home from the kaiser s down to the humblest peasants falit ard around it the germans german s best and kindliest thoughts cen con ter the tree Is not for the german simply a convenient cluster ot of mere boughs on which to stick candles and hang presents it stands for the most sacred and most dread of ali all trees the one once erected on mount calvary and has thus become the sign and seal of his christian faith 1 11 1 lal v r www 0 1 A christmas decoration when the children have tired of even their new possessions and how soon the new be comes old and it is too early for the sandman to pay his nightly visit try this simple amusement suspend a wreath of holly or ever green from a doorway and give to each child an equal quantity of nuts paper wrapped can dies or favors that will stand handling then see who rho can throw the most articles through the wreath into a basket placed to catch them give a simple reward to add zest to the game in the same manner the game of twos is conducted take a large napkin or piece of stout paper place a lot of nuts or hard can dies in the center let a child take hold of each corner and give three vigorous tosses singing goodies goodies dance my christmas goodies up they go down they go dance my christ mas goodies then there will be a lively scrimmage to see who can recover the most these little devices will make inake a jolly ending to the happiest day in the year for the chil dren put them to bed with pretty songs ring ing in their ears avers where everywhere christmas tonight christmas where snow peaks stand solemn and white christmas where the cornfields lie sunny and bright everywhere everywhere christmas tonight to night |