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Christmas in Nrpiss. As J'^'m^'^js' PRE s/Piq.— Page 135.
YULE-TIDE in MM LATIDS
by
MARY P. PRINOLE
Re/krenceUbrarUm. Minnesota Public Library Coiamisstan
^ and J
CIARAA.URANN
Illustrated
/ LJ.Bridpasn \
(and from photographs ;
BOSTON
LOTHROP. LEE 6c SHEPARD CO
Published August, 1916
Copyright, 19 16,
By Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co,
^il Rights Reserved .,
Yule- Tide in Many Lands
■Worwooft press
BERWICK & SMITH CO.
Norwood, Mass,
U. s. A.
SEP-! 1316
©CLA4875U ^ Y^
'' The old order changeth, yielding place to
new,
And God fulfills Himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the
world."
— Alfred Tennyson.
2^7
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks are due to the following pub-
lishers for permission to reprint poems :
Houghton Mifflin Company for " King
Olafs Christmas " by H. W. Longfellow,
" Night of Marvels " by Violante Do Ceo;
Paul Elder & Company for " The Christ-
mas Tree " by H. S. Russell, " At Christ-
mas Time " ; Edgar S. Werner & Company
for "The Christmas Sheaf" by Mrs. A.
M. Tomlinson ; John Lane Company for
" A Palm Branch from Palestine " by
M. Y. Lermontov; American Ecclesiastical
Review for " The Eve of Christmas " by
Pope Leo XIII ; E. P. Dutton & Company
for " The Voice of the Christ-child " by
Phillips Brooks.
Mary P. Pringle
Clara A. Urann
[7]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
PAGE
I.
YULE-TlDE OF THE AnCIENTS
13
11.
Yule-Tide in England.-
30
III.
Yule-Tide in Germany^
55
IV.
Yule- Tide in Scandinavia . .
75
V.
Yule-Tide in Russia - .
103
VI.
Yule-Tide in France .
120
VII.
YuLE-TiDE in Italy
132
VIII.
Yule-Tide in Spain
148
IX.
YuLE-TiDE in America
168
Index
199
[9]
ILLUSTRATIONS
Christmas in Naples.
(Page 135)
An Itaiisia I*resepto
Frontispiece \/^
FACING PAGE
King Olaf s Christmas .
Serenaded by the Waits .
Toy-Making in Germany
Decorating the Christmas Tree
On the Way to Christmas Eve Service in
Norway
A Christmas Bonfire in Russia
A Christmas Tree in Paris
A Game of Loto on Christmas Evening in
Naples
Christmas Festivity in Seville .
Lighting the Yule-Log in Colonial Days
Children of Many Nationalities at Christ-
mas Celebration in a New York School
26 ^
38 >y
60 "^
64 v^
82 -
no '''
126 >
138^
150/
178 ^'
192
[11]
CHAPTER I.
YULE-TIDE OF THE ANCffiNTS
" There in the Temple, carved in wood,
The image of great Odin stood,
And other gods, with Thor supreme
among them."
\ S early as two thousand years before
■^^ Christ Yule-tide was celebrated by
the Aryans. They were sun-worshipers
and believed the sun was born each morn-
[1?]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
ing, rode across the upper world, and
sank into his grave at night.
Day after day, as the sun's power
diminished, these primitive people feared
that he would eventually be overcome by
darkness and forced to remain in the
under world.
When, therefore, after many months,
he apparently wheeled about and grew
stronger and stronger, they felt that he
had been born again. So it came about
that at Hweolor-tid, " the turning-time," ^
there was great rejoicing at the annual
re-birth of the sun.
In the myths and legends of these, our
Indo-European ancestors, we find the
origin of many of the Yule-tide customs
now in vogue.
According to the Younger Edda, Wodin
or Odin, the pioneer of the North, a
» Yule-tide.
[14]
YULE-TIDE OF THE ANCIENTS
descendant of Saturn, fled out of Asia.
Going through Russia to Saxland (Ger-
many), he conquered that country and
left one of his sons as ruler. Then he
visited Frankland, Jutland, Sweden, and
Norway and established each one of his
many sons on a throne.
This pioneer traveler figures under
nearly two hundred different names, and
so it is difficult to follow him in his
wanderings. As Wodin, he established
throughout the northern nations many
of the observances and customs common
to the people of the Northland to-day.
The Edda gives an ancient account of
Balder, the sun-god, who was slain be-
cause of the jealousy of Loki (fire). Loki
knew that everything in nature except
the mistletoe had promised not to injure
the great god Balder. So he searched for
the mistletoe until he found it growing
[15]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
on an oak-tree " on the eastern slope of
Valhalla." He cat it off and returned
to the place where the gods were amusing
themselves by using Balder as a target,
hurling stones and darts, and trying to
strike him with their battle-axes. But
all these weapons were harmless. Then
Loki, giving the twig of mistletoe to the
blind god, Hoder, directed his hand and
induced him to throw it. When the
mistletoe struck Balder it pierced him
through and through and he fell life-
less.
"So on the floor lay Balder dead ; and round ^
Lay thickly strewn swords, axes, darts, and
spears.
Which all the Gods in sport had idly thrown
At Balder, whom no weapon pierced or clove ;
But in his breast stood fixt the fatal bough
Of mistletoe, which Lok the Accuser gave
To Hoder, and unwitting Hoder threw —
'Gainst that alone had Balder's life no charm."
^From Matthew Arnold's " Balder Dead."
[16]
YULE-TIDE OF THE ANCIENTS
Great excitement prevailed among the
assembled gods and goddesses when Bal-
der was struck dead and sank into Hel,^
and they would have slain the god of
darkness had it not occurred during their
peace-stead, which was never to be dese-
crated by deeds of violence. The season
was supposed to be one of peace on earth
and good-will to man. This is generally
attributed to the injunction of the angels
who sang at the birth of Christ, but ac-
cording to a much older story the idea
of peace and good-will at Yule-tide was
taught centuries before Christ.
According to the Edda, gifts from the
gods and goddesses were laid on Balder's
bier and he, in turn, sent gifts back from
the realm of darkness into which he had
fallen. However, it probably is from the
Roman Saturnalia that the free exchange
^Hel or " Ais grave " ; the terms were once synonymous.
[17]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
of presents and the spirit of revelry have
been derived.
The Druids held the mistletoe in great
reverence because of its mysterious birth.
When the first new growth was discov-
ered it was gathered by the white-robed
priests, who cut it from the main bough
with a golden sickle never used for any
other purpose.
The food peculiar to this season of re-
joicing has retained many features of the
feasting recorded among the earlier peo-
ple. The boar made his appearance in
mythological circles when one was offered
as a gift to Frey, god of rain, sunshine,
and the fruits of the earth. This boar
was a remarkable animal ; he could run
faster than a horse, through the air and
over water. Darkness could not overtake
him, for he was symbolical of the sun, his
golden bristles typifying the sun's rays.
[18]
YULE TIDE OF THE ANCIENTS
At one time the boar was believed to
be emblematical of golden grain, as he
was the first to teach mankind the art of
plowing. Because of this service he was
most revered by our mythological an-
cestors.
In an account of a feast given in Val-
halla to the dead heroes of many battles,
Saehrimnir, a sacred boar, was served.
Huge pieces were apportioned to the de-
ceased heroes and the meat had such a re-
vivifying effect that, restored to life, they
called for arms and began to fight their
battles over again.
An abundance of heavenly mead made
from goats' milk and honey was provided
for the feasts and on occasions ale, too,
was served.
Toasts were usually drunk in honor of
Bragi, god of poetry, eloquence, and song.
The gods pledged themselves to perform
[19]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
remarkable deeds of courage and valor as
they tossed off horn after horn of mead
and ale. Each time their mighty valor
grew until there was no limit set to their
attainments. It is possible that their
boastful pledges may have given rise to
the term, to brag.
Apples were the favorite fruit, as they
prevented the approach of age and kept
the gods and goddesses perpetually young
and vigorous.
Certainly Yule-tide was a very merry
season among the ancient people who
feasted, drank, and danced in honor of
the return of the sun, the god of light and
new life.
When messengers went through the va-
rious countries bearing tidings of a new
religion and of the birth of a Son who
brought light and new life into the whole
world, they endeavored to retain as many
[20]
YULE-TIDE OF THE ANCIENTS
of the established customs as possible, but
gave to the old-time festivals a finer char-
acter and significance.
As the fact of Christ's birth was not
recorded and there was no certainty as to
its date, the early Christian Fathers very
wisely ascribed it to Yule-tide, changing
the occasion from the birthday of the ^tm
to that of the ^on. For a while the birth
of Christ was celebrated on dates varying
from the first to the sixth of January ; on
the dates of certain religious festivals such
as the Jewish Passover or the Feast of
Tabernacles ; but the twenty-fifth of De-
cember, the birthday of the sun, was ever
the favorite date.
Pope Julius, who reigned from 337 to
352 A. D., after a careful investigation,
considered it settled beyond doubt that
Christ was born on or about the twenty-
fifth of December, and by the end of the
[21]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
fifth century that date was very generally
accepted by Christians. The transition
from the old to the new significance of
Yule-tide was brought about so quietly
and naturally that it made no great im-
pression on the mind of the masses, so
nothing authentic can be learned gf the
early observance of Christmas.
The holly, laurel, mistletoe, and other
greens used by the Druids still served as
decorations of the season, not as a shelter
for fairies, as in former days, but as em-
blems of resurrection and of immortal
hope.
The glorious luminary of day, whether
known as Balder, Baal, Sol, or any other
of the innumerable names by which it
was called by the primitive peoples, still
gladdens the hearts of mortals at Yule-
tide by " turning-back " as of old ; only
to-day it yields its place to a Superior
[22]
YULE-TIDE OF THE ANCIENTS
Power, in whose honor Yule-tide is ob-
served.
All Christendom owes a debt of grati-
tude to its pagan forbears for the pleas-
ant features of many of its holidays and
especially for those of Yule-tide. The
Fathers of the early church showed rare
wisdom in retaining the customs of these
ante-Christian festivals, imbuing them
with the spirit of the new faith and mak-
ing them emblematic of a purer love and
hope. /
New Year's Day as a feast day is one
of the oldest, if not the oldest, on record.
It is mentioned by Tacitus in the First
Century, but first referred to as a Chris-
tian festival about the year 567.
In Rome the day was dedicated by
Numa to the honor of god Janus, for
whom Julius Csesar named the month ■
[23]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
of January. Numa ordained that it
should be observed as a day of good-hu-
mor and good-fellowship. All grudges
and hard feelings were to be forgotten.
Sacrifices of cake, wine, and incense were
to be made to the two-faced god who
looked forward and backward. Men of
letters, mechanics, and others were ex-
pected to give to the god the best they
had to offer of their respective arts. It
was the great occasion of the entire year,
as it is now in many countries.
The date of New Year's Day has varied
among different nations. Among the
Egyptians, Chinese, Jews, and Romans it
has been observed on dates varying from
March first to December twenty-fifth. It
was as late as the Sixteenth Century be-
fore the date of January first was uni-
versally accepted as the New Year by the
Romans. Nations retaining the Grego-
[24]
YULE-TIDE OF THE ANCIENTS
riaii calendar, such as Russia and Greece,
observe it thirteen days later than those
who reckon time by the Julian cal-
endar.
Among northern nations the love of
fire and light originated the custom of
kindling bonfires to burn out the old year
and destroy all evil connected with its
past. Light has long been an expression
of joy and gladness among all branches
of the Aryan race.
The Greek and Latin Churches still
term Christmas the " Feast of Lights,"
and make it a period of brilliancy in
Church and home. The Protestant covers
the Christmas tree with lighted candles
and builds a glowing fire on the hearth.
The innate love of light and warmth — the
inheritance from the sun-worshipers of
ages past — is always dominant in human-
ity at Yule-tide festivals.
[25]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
'' The King of Light, father of aged Time,
Hath brought about that day which is the
prime,
To the slow-gliding months, when every eye
Wears symptoms of a sober jollity,
And every hand is ready to present
Some service in a real compliment."
KING OLAF'S CHEISTMAS
At Drontheim, Olaf the King
Heard the bells of Yule-tide ring,
As he sat in his banquet-hall,
Drinking the nut-brown ale,
With his bearded Berserks hale
And tall.
Three days his Yule-tide feasts
He held with Bishops and Priests,
And his horn filled up to the brim ;
But the ale was never too strong,
Nor the Saga-man's tale too long,
For him.
O'er his drinking-horn, the sign
He made of the cross divine,
As he drank, and muttered his prayers ;
But the Berserks evermore
Made the sign of the Hammer of Thor
Over theirs.
[26]
YULE-TIDE OF THE ANCIENTS
The gleams of tlie firelight dance
Upon helmet and haubert and lance,
And laugh in the eyes of the King ;
And he cries to Halfred the Scald,
Gray-bearded, wrinkled, and bald,
''Sing!''
** Sing me a song divine,
With a sword in every line.
And this shall be thy reward."
And he loosened the belt at his waist,
And in front of the singer placed
His sword.
*^ Quern-bitter of Hakon the Good,
Wherewith at a stroke he hewed
The millstone through and through.
And Foot-breadth of Thoralf the Strong,
Were neither so broad nor so long,
Nor so true.''
Then the Scald took his harp and sang,
Aud loud through the music rang
The sound of that shining word ;
And the harp-strings a clangor made.
As if they were struck with the blade
Of a sword.
And the Berserks round about
Broke forth in a shout
That made the rafters ring 5
[27]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
They smote with their fists on the board,
And shouted, " Long live the sword,
And the King."
But the King said, ' ' O my son,
I miss the bright word in one
Of thy measures and thy rhymes."
And Halfred the Scald replied,
" In another 't was multiplied
Three times."
Then King Olaf raised the hilt
Of iron, cross-shaped and gilt,
And said, '' Do not refuse ;
Count well the gain and the loss,
Thor's hammer or Christ's cross :
Choose!"
And Halfred the Scald said, "This
In the name of the Lord I kiss,
Who on it was crucified ! "
And a shout went round the board,
^ ' In the name of Christ the Lord,
Who died!"
Then over the waste of snows
The noonday sun uprose,
Through the driving mists revealed,
Like the lifting of the Host,
By incense-clouds almost
Concealed.
[28]
YULE-TIDE OF THE ANCIENTS
On the shining wall a vast
And shadowy cross was cast
From the hilt of the lifted sword,
And in the foaming cups of ale
The Berserks drank '■ ' Was-hael !
To the Lord ! "
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow..
[29
CHAPTER II.
YULE-TIDE IN ENGLAND
'' Christians in old time did rejoice
And feast at this blest tide."
— Old Carol.
""VTO country has entered more heartily
-^ ^ into Yule-tide observance than
England. From the earliest known date
her people have celebrated this festival
[30]
YULE-TIDE IN ENGLAND
with great ceremony. In the time of the
Celts it was principally a religious ob-
servance, but this big, broad-shouldered
race added mirth to it, too. They came to
the festivities in robes made from the skins
of brindled cows, and wearing their long
hair flowing and entwined with holly.
The Druids in the temples kept the
consecrated fires burning briskly. All
household fires were extinguished, and
any one wishing to rekindle the fiame at
any time during the twelve days preced-
ing Yule-tide must buy the consecrated
fire. The Druids also had a rather unique
custom of sending their young men
around with Yule-tide greetings and
branches of mistletoe {quiviscum). Each
family receiving this gift was expected in
return to contribute generously to the
temples.
With the coming of the Saxons, higher
[31]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
revelry reigned, and a Saxon observance
of Yule-tide must have been a jolly sight
to see. In the center of the hall, upon
the open hearth, blazed a huge fire with
its column of smoke pouring out through
an opening in the thatched roof, or, if
beaten by the wind, wandering among the
beams above. The usually large family
belonging to the house gathered in this big
living-room. The table stretched along
one side of the room, and up and down
its great length the guests were seated in
couples. Between them was a half-biscuit
of bread to serve as a plate. Later on this
would be thrown into the alms-basket for
distribution among the poor.
Soon the servers entered carrying long
iron spits on which they brought pieces of
the meats, fish, and fowls that had been
roasted in isen pannas (iron pans) sus-
pended from tripods out in the yard.
[32]
YULE-TIDE IN ENGLAND
Fingers were used instead of forks to
handle the food, and the half-biscuit
plates received the grease and juices and
protected the handsome bord-cloth.
There was an abundance of food, for
the Saxons were great eaters. Besides
flesh, fish, and fowls their gardens fur-
nished plenty of beans and other vege-
tables, and their ort-geards produced rasp-
berries, strawberries, plums, sweet and
sour apples, and cod-apples, or quinces.
The cider and stronger drinks were
quaffed from quaint round-bottomed tum-
blers which, as they could not stand up,
had to be emptied at a draught.
The Saxons dined at about eleven
o'clock and, as business was not press-
ing in those days, could well afford to
spend hours at the feast, eating, drinking,
and making merry.
After every one had eaten, games were
[33]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
plaj^ed, and these games are the same as
our children play to-day — handed down
to us from the old Saxon times.
When night came and the ear-thyrls
(eyeholes, or windows) no longer admitted
the light of the sun, long candlesticks
dipped in wax were lighted and fastened
into sockets along the sides of the hall.
Then the makers, or bards as they came
to be called in later days, sang of the
gods and goddesses or of marvelous deeds
done by the men of old. Out-of-doors
huge bonfires burned in honor of Mother-
Night, and to her, also, peace oflPerings of
Yule cakes were made.
It was the Saxon who gave to the heal-
all of the Celts the pretty name of mistle-
toe, or mistletan, — meaning a shoot or
tine of a tree. There was jollity beneath
the mistletoe then as now, only then
everybody believed in its magic powers.
[34]
YULE-TIDE IN ENGLAND
It was the sovereign remedy for all dis-
eases, but it seems to have lost its cura-
tive power, for the scientific men of the
present time fail to find that it possesses
any medical qualities.
Later on, when the good King Alfred
was on the English throne, there were
greater comforts and luxuries among the
Saxons. Descendants of the settlers had
built halls for their families near the
original homesteads, and the wall that
formerly surrounded the home of the
settler was extended to accommodate the
new homes until there was a town
within the enclosure. Yule within these
homes was celebrated with great pomp.
The walls of the hall were hung with
rich tapestries, the food was served on
gold and silver plates, and the tumblers,
though sometimes of wood or horn, were
often of gold and silver, too.
[35]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
In these days the family dressed more
lavishly. Men wore long, flowing ring-
lets and forked beards. Their tunics of
woolen, leather, linen, or silk, reached to
the knees and were fastened at the waist
by a girdle. Usually a short cloak was
worn over the tunic. They bedecked
themselves with all the jewelry they could
wear ; bracelets, chains, rings, brooches,
head-bands, and other ornaments of gold
and precious stones.
Women wore their best tunics made
either of woolen woven in many colors
or of silk embroidered in golden flowers.
Their " abundant tresses," curled by
means of hot irons, were confined by the
richest head-rails. The more fashionable
wore cuffs and bracelets, earrings and
necklaces, and painted their cheeks a
more than hectic flush.
In the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Cen-
[36]
YULE-TIDE IN ENGLAND
turies the magnificence of the Yule-tide
observance may be said to have reached
its height. In the old baronial halls
where :
'^ The fire, with well-dried logs supplied,
Went roaring up the chimney wide,"
Christmas was kept with great jollity.
It was considered unlucky to have the
holly brought into the house before
Christmas Eve, so throughout the week
merry parties of young people were out
in the woods gathering green boughs,
and on Christmas Eve, with jest and
song, they came in laden with branches
to decorate the hall.
*' Lo, now is come our joyfulPst feast 1
Let every man be jolly,
Eache room with yvie leaves be drest,
And every post with holly."
Later on, men rolled in the huge Yule-
log, emblematic of warmth and light.
[37]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
It was of oak if possible, the oak being
sacred to Thor, and was rolled into place
amidst song and merriment. In one of
these songs the first stanza is :
" Welcome be thou, heavenly King,
Welcome born on this morning,
Welcome for whom we shall sing,
Welcome Tule.'"
The third stanza is addressed to the
crowd :
" Welcome be ye that are here,
Welcome all, and make good cheer,
Welcome all, another year ;
Welcome Yule.^'
Each member of the family, seated in
turn upon the log, saluted it, hoping to
receive good luck. It was considered
unlucky to consume the entire log during
Yule ; if good luck was to attend that
household during the coming twelve
months, a piece ought to be left over
with which to start the next year's fire.
[38]
Seren ded by the Waits.
YULE-TIDE IN ENGLAND
'* Part must be kept wherewith to tende
The Christinas log next yeare,
And where 'tis safely kept, the fiend
Can do no mischiefe theere."
The boar's head held the principal
place of honor at the dinner. So during
September and October, when the boar's
flesh was at its best, hunters with well-
trained packs of boar-hounds set out to
track this savage animal. They attacked
the boar with spears, or surrounded him
and drove him into nets. He was a fero-
cious antagonist to both dogs and men,
and when sore pressed would wheel
about, prepared to fight to the death.
Before the dogs could grip him by
the ear, his one weak point, and pin
him down, his sharp teeth would often
wound or even kill both the hunter
and his dogs. The pluckier the animal
the louder the praise sung in his honor
when his head was brought into the halL
[39]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
The great head, properly soused, was borne
in on an immense salver by the " old
blue-coated serving-man " on Christmas
day. He was preceded by the trumpeters
and followed by the mummers, and thus
in state the boar's head was ushered in
and assigned to its place on the table.
The father of the family or head of the
household laid his hand on the dish con-
taining the " boar of atonement," as it
was at one time called, swearing to be
faithful to his family and to fulfil all
his obligations as a man of honor.
This solemn act was performed be-
fore the carving by every man pres-
ent. The carver had to be a man of
undaunted courage and untarnished rep-
utation.
Next in honor at the feast was the pea-
cock. It was sometimes served as a pie
with its head protruding from one side
[40]
YULE-TIDE IN ENGLAND
of the crust and its wide-spread tail from
the other ; more often the bird was
skinned, stuffed with herbs and sweet
spices, roasted, and then put into its skin
again, when with head erect and tail out-
spread it was borne into the hall by a
lady — as was singularly appropriate —
and given the second place on the
table.
The feudal system gave scope for much
magnificence at Yule-tide. At a time
when several thousand retainers^ were fed
daily at a single castle or on a baron's es-
tate, preparations for the Yule feast — the
great feast of the year — were necessarily
on a large scale, and the quantity of
food reported to have been prepared on
such occasions is perfectly appalling to
Twentieth-Century feasters.
Massinger wrote :
^ The Earl of Warwick had some thirty thousand.
[41]
YULE-TIDE IK MANY LANDS
" Men may talk of Country Ohristmasses,
Their thirty-pound butter'd eggs, their pies
of carp's tongue,
Their pheasants drench' d with ambergris,
the carcasses
Of three fat wethers bruis'd for gravy, to
Make sauces for a single peacock ; yet their
feasts
Were fasts, compared with the City's."
In 1248 King Henry III held a feast
in Westminster Hall for the poor which
lasted a week. Four years later he enter-
tained one thousand knights, peers, and
other nobles, who came to attend the
marriage of Princess Margaret with Alex-
ander, King of the Scots. He was gener-
ously assisted by the Archbishop of York
who gave £2700, besides six hundred fat
oxen. A truly royal Christmas present
whether extorted or given of free will !
More than a century later Richard II
held Christmas at Litchfield and two
thousand oxen and two hundred tuns of
[42]
YULE-TIDE 11^ ENGLAND
wine were consumed. This monarch was
accustomed to providing for a large
family, as he kept two thousand cooks to
prepare the food for the ten thousand per-
sons who dined every day at his expense.
Henry VIII, not to be outdone by his
predecessors, kept one Yule-tide at which
the cost of the cloth of gold that was
used alone amounted to £600. Tents
were erected within the spacious hall
from which came the knights to joust
in tournament ; beautiful artificial gar-
dens were arranged out of which came
the fantastically dressed dancers. The
Morris (Moresque) Dance came into vogue
in England during the reign of Henry
VII, and long continued to be a favorite.
The dancers were decorated from crown
to toe in gay ribbon streamers, and cut all
manner of antics for the amusement of the
guests. This dance held the place at Yule
[43]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
that the Fool's Dance formerly held dur-
ing the Roman Saturnalia.
Henry VII's daughter, Elizabeth, kept
the season in great magnificence at Hamp-
ton Court where plays written for the
occasion were presented. The poet Her-
rick favored :
" Of Christmas sports, the wassell boule,
That's tost up after Pox-i-th'-hole."
This feature of Yule observance, which
is usually attributed to Rowena, daughter
of Vortigern, dates back to the grace-cup
of the Greeks and Romans which is also
the supposed source of the bumper. Ac-
cording to good authority the word bumper
came from the grace-cup which Roman
Catholics drank to the Pope, au bon Pere.
The wassail bowl of spiced ale has con-
tinued in favor ever since the Princess
Rowena bade her father's guests Wassheil.
The offering of gifts at Yule has been
[44]
YULE-TIDE m ENGLAND
observed since offerings were first made
to the god Frey for a fruitful year. In
olden times one of the favorite gifts re-
ceived from tenants was an orange stuck
with cloves which the master was to hang
in his wine vessels to improve the flavor
of the wine and prevent its moulding.
As lords received gifts from their ten-
ants, so it was the custom for kings to re-
ceive gifts from their nobles. Elizabeth
received a goodly share of her wardrobe
as gifts from her courtiers, and if the
quality or quantity was not satisfactory,
the givers were unceremoniously informed
of the fact. In 1561 she received at Yule
a present of a pair of black silk stockings
knit by one of her maids, and never after
would she wear those made of cloth.
Underclothing of all kinds, sleeves richly
embroidered and bejeweled, in fact every-
thing she needed to wear, were given to
[45]
YULE-TIDE m MAI^Y LANDS
her and she was completely fitted out at
this season.
In 1846 Sir Henry Cole is said to have
originated the idea of sending Christmas
cards to friends. They were the size of
small visiting-cards, often bearing a small
colored design — a spray of holly, a flower,
or a bit of mistletoe — and the compli-
ments of the day. Joseph Crandall was
the first publisher. Only about one thou-
sand were sold the first year, but by 1862
the custom of sending one of these pretty
cards in an envelope or with gifts to
friends became general and has now
spread to other countries.
During the Reformation the custom of
observing Christmas was looked upon as
sacrilegious. It savored of popery, and
in the narrowness of the light then dawn-
ing the festival was abolished except in
the Anglican and Lutheran Churches.
[46]
YULE-TIDE IN ENGLAND
Tenants and neighbors no longer gath-
ered in the hall on Christmas morning
to partake freely of the ale, blackjacks,
cheese, toast, sugar, and nutmeg. If they
sang at all, it was one of the pious hymns
considered suitable — and sufficiently dole-
ful — for the occasion. One wonders if
the young men ever longed for the sport
they used to have on Christmas morning
when they seized any cook who had neg-
lected to boil the hackin'^ and running
her round the market-place at full speed
attempted to shame her of her laziness.
Protestants were protesting against the
observance of the day ; Puritans were
working toward its abolishment ; and
finally, on December 24, 1652, Parlia-
ment ordered " That no observance shall
be had of the fi.ve and twentieth day of
^ Authorities differ as to whether this was a big sausage or
a plum pudding.
[47]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
December, commonly called Christmas
day ; nor any solemnity used or exer-
cised in churches upon that day in re-
spect thereof."
Then Christmas became a day of work
and no cheer. The love of fun which
must find vent was expended at New
Year, when the celebration was similar
to that formerly observed at Christmas.
But people were obliged to bid farewell
to the Christmas Prince who used to rule
over Christmas festivities at Whitehall,
and whose short reign was always one
of rare pleasure and splendor. He and
other rulers of pastimes were dethroned
and banished from the kingdom. Yule
cakes, which the feasters used to cut in
slices, toast, and soak in spicy ale, were
not to be eaten — or certainly not on
Christmas. It was not even allowable for
the pretty Yule candles to be lighted.
[48]
YULE-TIDE IN EIS:GLAIfD
Christmas has never regained its former
prestige in England. Year after year it
has been more observed in churches and
families, but not in the wild, boisterous,
hearty style of olden times. Throughout
Great Britain Yule-tide is now a time of
family reunions and social gatherings.
Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the Islands
each retain a few of their own peculiar
customs, but they are not observed to
any extent. In Ireland — or at least in
some parts — they still indulge in drink-
ing what is known as Lamb's-wool, which
is made by bruising roasted apples and
mixing the juice with ale or milk. This
drink, together with apples and nuts, is
considered indispensable on Christmas
Eve.
England of all countries has probably
known the merriest of Yule-tides, cer-
tainly the merriest during those centuries
[49]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
when the mummers of yore bade to each
and all
' ' A merry Christmas and a happy New Year,
Your pockets full of money and your cellar
full of beer."
There seems always to have been more
or less anxiety felt regarding New Year's
Day in England, for " If the morning be
red and dusky it denotes a year of robber-
ies and strife."
"If the grass grows in Janivear
It grows the worse for 't all the year."
And then very much depended upon the
import of the chapter to which one opened
the Bible on this morning. If the first
visitor chanced to be a female, ill luck
was sure to follow, although why it
should is not explained.
It was very desirable to obtain the
" cream of the year " from the nearest
[50]
YULE-TIDE IK^ ENGLAND
spring, and maidens sat up till after
midnight to obtain the first pitcherful
of water, supposed to possess remarkable
virtues. Modern plumbing and city
water-pipes have done away with the ob-
servance of the " cream of the year," al-
though the custom still prevails of sitting
up to see the Old Year out and the New
Year in.
There was also keen anxiety felt as to
iiow the wind blew on New Year's Eve,
for
'' If New Year's Eve night wind blow South,
It betokeneth warmth and growth ;
If West, much milk, and fish in the sea ;
If North, much cold and storm there will be ;
If East, the trees will bear much fruit ;
If Northeast, flee it man and brute."
AT CHEI8TMAS TIME
At Christmas time the fields are white,
And hill and valley all bedight
With snowy splendor, while on high
[51]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
The black crows sail athwart the sky,
Mourning for summer days gone by
At Christmas time.
At Christmas time the air is chill,
And frozen lies the babbling rill :
While sobbingly the trees make moan
For leafy greenness once their own,
For blossoms dead and birdlings flown
At Christmas time.
At Christmas time we deck the hall
With holly branches brave and tall,
With sturdy pine and hemlock bright,
And in the Yule-log's dancing light
We tell old tales of field and fight
At Christmas time.
At Christmas time we pile the board
With flesh and fruit and vintage stored,
And mid the laughter and the glow
We tred a measure soft and slow,
And kiss beneath the mistletoe
At Christmas time.
O God and Father of us all,
List to Thy lowliest creature's call :
Give of Thy joy to high and low,
Comforting the sorrowing in their woe ;
Make wars to cease and love to grow
At Christmas time.
[52]
YULE-TIDE m ENGLAND
Let not one heart be sad to-day ;
May every child be glad and gay :
Bless Thou Thy children great and small,
In lowly hut or castle hall,
And may each soul keep festival
At Christmas time.
THE NEW YEAE
** A good New Year, with many blessings in it ! "
Once more go forth the kindly wish and word.
A good New Year ! and may we all begin it
With hearts by noble thought and purpose
stirred.
The Old Year's over, with its joy and sadness ;
The path before us is untried and dim ;
But let us take it with the step of gladness,
For God is there, and we can trust in Him.
What of the burled hopes that lie behind us !
Their graves may yet grow flowers, so let them
rest.
To-day is ours, and it must find us
Prepared to hope afresh and do our best.
God Jcnows what finite wisdom only guesses ;
Not here from our dim eyes the mist will roll.
What we call failures, He may deem successes
Who sees in broken parts the perfect whole.
[53]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
And if we miss some dear familiar faces,
Passed on before us to the Home above,
Even while we count, through tears, their va
cant places.
He heals our sorrows with His balm of Love.
No human lot is free from cares and crosses,
Each passing year will bring both shine and
shower ;
Yet, though on troubled seas life's vessel tosses,
The storms of earth endure but for an hour.
And should the river of our happy laughter
Flow 'neath a sky no cloud yet overcasts,
We will not fear the shadows coming after.
But make the most of sunshine while it lasts.
A good New Year ! Oh, let us all begin it
With cheerful faces turning to the light !
A good New Year, which will have blessings
in it
If we but persevere and do aright.
— E. Matheson.
[54]
etiAPTER ffl.
YULE-TIDE IN GERMANY
" Feed the wood and have a joyful minute,
For the seeds of earthly suns are in it."
— Goethe.
TT was away back in the time of Alex-
■*■ ander the Great that Germany was
made known to the civilized world by an
adventurous sailor named Pytheas, a
man of more than ordinary talent, who
[55]
YULE-TIDE IS MANY LANDS
was sailing northward and discovered a
land inhabited by a then unknown
people. He reported his discovery to
the Romans, but the difficulty was that
Pytheas had seen so much more than
any of the Greeks or Romans of those
days that they utterly refused to believe
his statements. Time has proved that
the sailor was nearer right in many of
his apparently visionary statements than
his countrymen dreamed, although it
has taken centuries to prove the fact in
some cases.
The people whom Pytheas then intro-
duced to the polite world were Teutons,
a branch of the great Aryan race and
closely related to the early English.
The men were simple, truthful, and
brave, but were sadly addicted to drink,
it was said, and consequently were often
quarrelsome. The women were much
[56]
YULE-TIDE m GEEMANT
like those of to-day in their character-
istics : virtuous, proud, and dignified ;
very beautiful, with golden-hued hair,
blue eyes, and fresh, fair complexions.
Like most of the early peoples, the
Teutons worshiped gods and goddesses,
and so have many customs and tradi-
tions in common with other branches of
the Aryans.
If England has enjoyed the merriest
Yule-tides of the past, certainly Germany
enjoys the merriest of the present, for in
no other country is the day so fully and
heartily observed. It is the great occa-
sion of the year and means much to the
people.
For a week or more before the day,
loads of evergreen trees of all sizes may
be seen coming into the cities and towns
to be piled up in squares and open places
until the entire place looks like a forest
[57]
YULE-TroE IN MANY LANDS
of small firs. One wonders where they
all come from and for how many years
the supply will last, but it is not likely
to fail at present.
The Lutherans gave Martin Luther the
credit of introducing the Christmas tree
into Germany. He may have helped to
make it popular, but certainly there is
abundant evidence to prove that it was
known long before the Reformer's time.
It is generally supposed to have its origin
in mythological times and to be a vestige
of the marvelous tree, Yggdrasil.
Possibly Martin Luther thought of the
old story of the tree and imagined, as he
traveled alone one cold night, how pretty
the snow-laden fir-trees along his path
would look could they be lighted by the
twinkling stars overhead. But whether
he had anything to do with it or not, the
tree is now one of the most important
[58]
YULE-TIDE IN GEEMANT
features of Yule-tide among the Germans
of all denominations.
Nearly ten million households require,
one or two trees each Christmas, varying
in height from two to twenty feet. Socie-
ties provide them for people who are too
poor to buy them, and very few are over-
looked at this happy holiday season.
The grand Yule-tide festival is opened
on the eve of St. Nicholas Day, December
sixth ; in fact bazaars are held from the
first of the month, which is really one
prolonged season of merrymaking.
In Germany, St. Nicholas has a day
set apart in his honor. He was born in
Palara, a city of Lycia, and but very
little is known of his life except that
he was made Bishop of Myra and died in
the year 343. It was once the custom
to send a man around to personate St.
Nicholas on St. Nicholas Eve, and to
[59]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
inquire how the children had behaved
through the year, who were deserving
of gifts, and who needed a touch of the
birch rods that he carried with him
into every home. St. Nicholas still goes
about in some parts of the country,
and in the bazaars and shops are sold
little bunches of rods, real or made of
candy, such as St. Nicholas is supposed
to deal in. In some places Knight
Rupert takes the place of St. Nicholas in
visiting the houses. But Kriss Kringle
has nearly usurped the place St. Nicholas
once held in awe and respect by German
children.
Because St. Nicholas Day came so near
to Christmas, in some countries the Saint
became associated with that celebration,
although in Germany the eve of his birth-
day continues to be observed. Germans
purchase liberally of the toys and confec-
[60]
Toy-making in Germany.
How the rough figures are chipped from the wooden ring coming
from the cross-section of a tree,
YULE-TIDE m GEEMANY
tionery offered at the bazaars, and no-
where are prettier toys and confectionery
found than in Germany — the country
which furnishes the most beautiful toys
in the world.
From the palace to the hut, Yule-tide
is a season of peace, rest, joy, and devo-
tion. For three days, that is the day be-
fore Christmas, Christmas, and the day
after — known as Boxing-day — all business
not absolutely necessary to the welfare
of the community is suspended. Stores,
markets, and bazaars present a festive ap-
pearance ; the young girl attendants are
smiling and happy, and every one seems
in the best of humor.
Many of the poorer class of Germans
do not eat much meat, but at Christmas
all indulge in that extravagance, so the
markets are unusually crowded. They
all like to purchase a plant or a flower for
[61]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
Christmas and the flower stores are mar-
vels of beauty and sweetness.
Every one is busy preparing for the
great occasion. Grown folks become chil-
dren again in the simplicity of their enjoy-
ment and enter into the excitement with
as much enthusiasm as do the children.
Newspapers are not generally published
during the three days of business suspen-
sion, for no one would have time or in-
terest to read them at such a season.
In many places churches are open dur-
ing the week before Christmas, for with
all the bustle and excitement incident to
the preparations, the people, j^oung and
old, are filled with a deep spirit of devo-
tion, and never for an instant forget the
significance of the occasion they com-
memorate.
Churches are not trimmed nor are they
made attractive with flowers, songs, or in
[62]
YULE-TIDE IN GEEMAIS^Y
any special way, but the people go to lis-
ten with devotion to the telling of the
old, old story of Christ's birthday and of
the first Holy Night at Bethlehem.
The day before Christmas all are busy
trimming up their homes and preparing
for the great day. Usually the mother
of the household trims the tree, not ad-
mitting any other member of the curious
and expectant family into the room. Ta-
bles are provided for holding the gifts, as
every one in the family is expected to
make a gift to every other member, and
it is surprising to note the interest taken
in these simple gifts — often a soap-rose,
an artificial flower, knitted lace, even
sausages, cheese, or butter — and with each
and all the ever-present Christmas cake.
It is spiced and hard, cut into every man-
ner of device — men, women, animals,
stars, hearts, etc. The Pfeffer Kuchen
[63]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
(pepper cakes) or some similar cakes are
to be seen everywhere at Christmas time.
The gifts are often accompanied with
short verses, good, bad, or indifferent, ac-
cording to the talent of the giver, but all
serve to make the occasion merry. In
some families these simple inexpensive
gifts are so carefully kept that collections
may be seen of gifts received by different
members of the family since their infancy.
On Christmas Eve the guests assemble
early, and by six o'clock a signal is given
for the door of the mysterious room to be
opened to admit the family to the tree :
" O Hemlock-tree ! O Hemlock-tree ! how faith-
ful are thy branches !
Green not alone in summer time,
But in the winter's frost and rime !
O Hemlock-tree ! O Hemlock-tree ! how faith-
ful are thy branches ! ' '
It is ablaze with tiny lighted tapers and
radiant with shiny tinsel cut in pretty
[64]
Decorating the Christmas Tree.
YULE-TIDE IN GEEMANY
devices or in thread-like strips. Bright
balls, gay toys, and paper flowers help to
enhance its beauty, and sometimes scenes
from sacred history are arranged with toys
at the base of the tree.
With the distribution of the gifts the
fun begins ; each person is expected to
kiss every other person present and help
make the occasion a merry one.
Holy Night, or, as the Germans term
it, Weihnacht — the Night of Dedication — ^^
is the time of family reunions, fun, and
frolic. Not alone in homes, hospitals,
prisons, barracks, and elsewhere is the
pretty betinseled tree to be seen on
Christmas, but in burying-grounds, on
the resting-places of the dead, stand these
fresh green trees in evidence of keeping
the loved one's memory green.
While the custom of having a tree is
universal throughout Germany, and from
[65]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
thence has been introduced into other
countries, there are many customs pecul-
iar to certain sections. In some of the
little out-of-the-way places in the Tyrolese
Alps the old-time Miracle Plays are en-
acted in a most primitive manner. As
the peasants rarely, if ever, attend the
theatre or have any opportunity to see a
modern play, this occasion attracts them
from far and near. Where is the theatre,
who are the actors, do you ask ? The
theatre is the largest place available,
sometimes a large room, sometimes a
barn, anything that will accommodate
the crowd that is sure to come. In one
description of a play given on Christmas
Day it is stated that the people assembled
in a barn belonging to the vicarage to
witness the Paradise Play. The top of a
huge pottery stove at least five feet high
served for the throne of God the Father,
[66]
YULE-TIDE m GERMANY
the stove being hidden by screens painted
to represent clouds. The play " began
at the beginning," — at Chaos. A large
paper screen bedecked with a profusion
of suns, moons, stars, and comets formed
a background, while in front sprawled a
number of boys in tights with board
wings fastened to their shoulders to repre-
sent angels. The language was as simple
and primitive as the scenery, yet for the
credulous, devout peasants " no distance
is too great, no passes too steep or rough, no
march on dusty highroads too fatiguing,
if a Miracle or Passion Play is their goal."
Does it seem sacrilegious ? Not to
those who attend it in the spirit of hu-
mility and devotion, as do these Tyrolese
peasants. In some places plays are given
in churches on Christmas as they were
formerly in England, but these are not
common, and are only found in remote
[67]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
places. Throughout this country there is
always a church service in the morning
which is very generally attended, Protes-
tants and Catholics alike making Christ-
mas the day of all the year in which they
attend church.
The name Christmas probably origi-
nated from the order that was given for
saying mass (called Christ-mass) for the
sins of the people on the day that com-
memorates the Saviour's Birth.
One beautiful feature of a German
Christmas is the wide-spread thought for
the poor and the interest taken in them.
Many wealthy families have charge of a
certain number of poor families, and on
Christmas Day invite them to their own
luxurious homes to receive gifts and enjoy
the tree prepared for them. An address,
prayer, and song as they stand around
the tree precedes the distribution of gifts,
[68]
"Xi
YULE-TIDE IN GEEMANY
usually of clothing and food, with which
the guests fill the bags and baskets they
bring with them. And for all there is an
abundance of Pfeffer Kuchen, or some other
Christmas cake.
In the midst of all the excitement of
lighted tree and pretty gifts, German
children seldom forget to return thanks
for what they receive. They are taught
that all these gifts come through the
Christ-child, and that the occasion is not
for selfish enjoyment but to give pleasure
to others, and that no one is too poor to
give kindly thought and pleasant words
to those around them.
In some parts of Germany — Lorraine
is one — the people burn the Yule-log ;
sometimes a huge log that will last
through the three days' festivity, some-
times one so small that the family sit
before it until it is all consumed. Some-
[69]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
times a part of the log is suspended from
the ceiling of the room and each person
present blows at it hoping to make a
spark fall on some watching face ; then
again some carry a piece of the log to bed
with them to protect them from light-
ning. But the Yule-log is not very gen-
erally known in this land of great pottery
stoves and closed fireplaces, and that may
be one reason why post-wagons go rum-
bling about at Christmas time, carrying
parcels from place to place and from door
to door, blowing their post-horns con-
tinuously, instead of the parcels being
dropped down chimneys by Santa Glaus.
It is customary, also, in some parts of
the country, for the people and their
animals to fast the day before Christmas.
At midnight the people attend church
and it is said that the cattle Jcneel; then
both man and beast partake of a hearty
[70]
YULE-TIDE m GEEMANY
meal. There are places in the German
Alps where it is believed that the cattle
are blessed with the gift of language for
a while on Christmas Eve, but as it is a
very great sin to listen, no one has yet
reported any conversation among them.
In another part of the country it is
thought that the Virgin Mary with a
company of angels passes over the land
on Holy Night, and so tables are spread
with the best the larders afford and
candles are lighted and left burning that
the angelic visitors may find abundant
food should they chance to stop on their
way.
Boxing-day, when boxes prepared for
the poor are distributed, follows the Holy
Day and after that business is resumed,
although festivities do not cease.
Sylvester, or New Year's Eve, is the
next occasion to be observed during Yule-
[71]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
tide. The former name was given in
honor of the first pope of that name, and
still retained by many. After the usual
church service in the early evening, the
intervening hours before midnight are
spent in the most boisterous merriment.
Fun of all sorts within the limit of law
and decency prevails. Any one ventur-
ing forth wearing a silk hat is in dan-
ger of having his hat, if not his head,
smashed. " Hat off," cries the one who
spies one of these head-coverings, and if
the order is not instantly obeyed, woe
betide the luckless wearer. At midnight
all Germany, or at least all in the cities
and the larger towns, may be seen out-of-
doors or leaning from windows, waiting
for the bells to ring out the Old Year
and welcome in the New. At first stroke
of the bells there arises one universal sa-
lute of Prosit Neujahr (Happy New Year).
[72]
YULE-TIDE IN GEEMANY
It is all good-natured fun, a wild, exu-
berant farewell to the Old Year— the
closing scene of the joyous Yule-tide.
THE OHEISTMAS TEEE
The oak is a stroug and stalwart tree,
And it lifts its branches up,
And catches the dew right gallantly
In many a dainty cup :
And the world is brighter and better made
Because of the woodman's stroke.
Descending in sun, or falling in shade,
On the sturdy form of the oak.
But stronger, I ween, in apparel green.
And trappings so fair to see,
"With its precious freight for small and great,
Is the beautiful Christmas tree.
The elm is a kind and goodly tree,
With its branches bending low :
The heart is glad when its form we see,
And we list to the river's flow.
Ay, the heart is glad and the pulses bound.
And joy illumes the face,
Whenever a goodly elm is found
Because of its beauty and grace.
But kinder, I ween, more goodly in mien,
[73]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
With branches more drooping and free,
The tint of whose leaves fidelity weaves,
Is the beautiful Christmas tree.
— Hattie 6'. Hussell.
[74]
CHAPTER IV:
YULE-TIDE IN SGANDINAVR
The horn was blown for silence, come was the
votive hour ;
To Frey's high feast devoted they carry in
the boar.
— Frithof^s ^^Saga,^^ Trans. Bayard Taylor.
"nr^O Norroway, to Norroway," the most
-■- northern limit of Scandinavia, one
turns for the first observance of Christmas
in Scandinavia, for the keeping of Yule-
[75]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
tide in the land of Odin, of the Vikings,
Sagas, midnight sun, and the gorgeous
Aurora Borealis. This one of the twin
countries stretching far to the north with
habitations within nineteen degrees of
the North Pole, and the several countries
which formed ancient Scandinavia, are
one in spirit regarding Christmas al-
though not in many other respects.
In the far north among the vast tribe
of Lapps, in their cold, benighted country,
as Christmas approaches each wandering
tribe heads its reindeer toward the nearest
settlement containing a church, that it
may listen to the story of the first Christ-
mas morn which is told year after year by
the pastor, and yet is ever new and inter-
esting to the people who come from great
distances, drawn over the fields of crisp
snow by their fleet-footed reindeer.
The Lapp is apparently a joyless indi-
[76]
YULE-TIDE IN SCANDINAVIA
vidual. Men, women, and children seem
bereft of all power of amusement beyond
what tends to keep them alive, such as
fishing, hunting, and traveling about to
feed their herds of reindeer. They have
no games, no gift for music, they never
dance nor play cards, but year after year
drag out an existence, living within low
earth-covered huts or in tents. Even the
best homes are low and poorly ventilated.
For windows are not needed where dark-
ness reigns for months together, where
the sun is not seen at all during six or
seven weeks of the year, and where people
live out-of-doors during the long summer
day of sunlight that follows.
In their low, stuffy homes which at
Christmas are filled with guests from the
wandering Lapps, there is no room for the
pretty tree and decorative evergreens.
The joy afforded these people at Yule-tide
[77]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
is in the reunion of friends, in attending
church services, in the uniting of couples
in marriage, and, alas, in the abundance
of liquor freely distributed during this
season. The children are made happy by
being able to attend school, for at Christ-
mas they are brought into the settlements
with friends for this purpose. They have
only a few weeks' schooling during the
year, from Christmas to Easter, and while
the schoolmasters are stationed at the
little towns, the children work hard to
gain the knowledge of books and religion
which they crave.
In this terrible winter night of exist-
ence, amidst an appalling darkness of
Nature and Mind, the one great occasion
of the year is Christmas. Not the merry,
bright, festive occasion of their more fa-
vored brothers and sisters, but what to
them is the happiest in the year.
[78]
YULE-TIDE IN SCANDINAVIA
Christmas Eve passes unnoticed. The
aurora may be even more beautiful than
usual, its waving draperies more fantastic,
more gorgeous-hued, but it is unnoticed
by the Lapps who have seen it from child-
hood. Men, women, children, servants,
guests, and animals, crowd into the small,
low homes, without a thought of Santa
Claus coming to visit them. Children
have no stockings to hang up, and there
are no chimneys for Santa to descend. In
fact, he and his reindeer, with their loads
of treasured gifts, probably left this region
with the sun, bound for more congenial
places.
The church bells break the terrible si-
lence of the sunless towns on Christmas
morning, and as the fur-encased natives
wend their way to church, greeting one
another as they meet, there is a faint ap-
proach to joyousness. Of course there
[79]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
mast be real sorrow and joy wherever
there is life and love, although among the
Lapps it is hard to discern.
During Yule-tide the Lapps visit one
another, attend to what governmental
business there may be, give in marriage,
christen the children, and bury the dead,
whose bodies have lain beneath their cov-
ering of snow awaiting this annual visit
of the Norwegian clergyman for their
final interment.
Think of Christmas without a tree,
without wreaths and flowers, without
stockings full of gifts, with a dinner of
reindeer meat and no plum pudding 1
And imagine what would be his sensation
could a Lapp child be put into a home in
England, America, Germany, or even in
other parts of Scandinavia I What would
he say could he receive such gifts as were
given you last Christmas !
[80]
On the Way to Christmas "Eve Service in Norway.
YULE-TIDE m SCANDINAVIA
But Lapps are only a small part of the
population of Norway. Norwegian chil-
dren have many jolly times around the
Christmas trees and enjoy hunting for
their little gifts which are often tucked
away in various places for them to find.
Then there are all sorts of pretty games
for them to play and quantities of appe-
tizing food prepared for their pleasure.
The young folks earn their feast, for all
day long before Christmas they are busy
tying bunches of oats and corn on the
trees, the fences, the tops of houses and
of barns, and on high poles which they
erect in the yards, until
'' From gable, barn and stable
Protrudes the birdies' table
Spread with a sheaf of corn. "
The Norwegians begin their Christmas
with divine services, after which they
meet together for a repast which is an ap-
[81]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
petizer for the feast to follow. A pipe of
tobacco is given to each man and boy
present, then they smoke while the feast,
the great feature of the day, is being
made ready. Fish, poultry, meats, and
every variety of food known to the Nor-
wegian housewife is served in courses,
between which toasts are given, healths
drunk, and the songs of Norway rendered.
Among the latter " Old Norway " is al-
ways included, for the people never for-
get the past history of their beloved
country.
One of the pretty customs of these occa-
sions is that each guest on arising turns
to the host and hostess, who remain seated
at either end of the table, and, bowing to
each, expresses his thanks for the meal.
Sometimes after the serving of tea
at seven o'clock, little boys in white
mantles, with star-shaped lanterns and
[82]
YULE-TIDE IN SCANDINAVIA
dolls to represent the Virgin and the
Holy Babe, enter the room and sing sweet
carols. Often strolling musicians arrive,
such as go from place to place at Christ-
mas. After a large supper the guests de-
part on sledges for their homes, which
are often miles distant.
Do you suppose on Christmas Eve,
as they look toward the fading light in
the West, the children of Norway ever
think of their Scandinavian cousins, the
little Icelanders, in their peat houses, on
that isolated island in the sea, where the
shortest day is four hours long, and where
at Christmas time the sun does not rise
above the horizon for a week, and wonder
how they are celebrating Yule-tide ?
Christmas is a great day with them also,
for they cling to the old songs and cus-
toms, and could the west wind convey the
sound of glad voices across the wide ex-
[83]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
panse of water separating the island from
the mainland, Norwegian children might
hear the Icelandic children singing one
of their sweet old songs.
'' Wlieii I do good and think aright
At peace with man, resigned to God,
Thou look'st on me with eyes of light,
Tasting new joys in joy's abode."
In Sweden there is a general house-
cleaning before Christmas ; everything
must be polished, scrubbed, beaten, and
made clean, and all rubbish burned, for
dirt, like sinful thoughts, cannot be toler-
ated during the holy festival.
As early as the first of December each
housewife starts her preparations for the
great day. Many have worked all the
year making gifts for the occasion, but
now the carpets must come up and be
beaten, the paint must be cleaned, and the
house set in order. The silver which has
[84]
YULE-TIDE IN SCANDINAVIA
been handed down from generation to
generation, together with that received
on holidays and birthdays, has to be
cleaned and polished, so must the brasses
— the tall fire-dogs, the stately andirons,
and the great kettles — all must be made
to reflect every changing ray of light.
Then the baking for a well-ordered
household is a matter of great moment,
and requires ample time. It is usual to
begin at least two weeks before Christmas.
Bread is made of wheat and rye flour,
raised over night, then rolled very thin
and cut into discs twelve or fourteen
inches in diameter, with a hole in the
center. After having been baked, these
are strung on a stick and left to dry under
the beams of the baking-room. As they
will keep a long while, large quantities are
made at this season in each household.
Then follows the making of sweetened,
[85]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
soft, rye, wheat, and other breads, as well
as the baking of the light yellow (saffron),
the chocolate-brown, and thin gray-col-
ored cakes, and those that are filled with
custard.
The preparing of Christmas drinks al-
ways requires the close attention of good
dames, for there must be an inexhaustible
supply of Christmas beer, made of malt,
water, molasses, and yeast, and wine with
almonds and spices, and various other de-
coctions.
Then the cheese must be made ready,
not only the usual sour kind, but the
more delicious sweet cheese that is made
of sweet milk boiled slowly for hours and
prettily moulded.
The Swedish wife is relieved of the bur-
den of making pies, as her people know
nothing about that indigestible mixture
so acceptable to American palates.
[86]
YULE-TIDE m SCANDINAVIA •
The festivities begin with the dressing
of the tree the day before Christmas. In
this the older members of the family, with
friends and relatives, join with great gusto,
preparing paper flowers with which^to be-
deck the tall evergreen tree which reaches
from floor to ceiling.
They cut long ribbons of colored paper
for streamers, and make yards of paper
fringe to wind with the tinsel among the
boughs, from which are hung bright col-
ored boxes of sweetmeats, fruit, and fancy
balls.
The children are, of course, excluded
from the room and obliged to content
themselves with repeating the tales of
Santa Glaus, as told by their elders.
When a gift is offered in person, or, as is
more generally the case, is thrown in the
door suddenly by an unseen hand, there
rings a merry Glad Frill (Good Yule)
[87]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
meaning " Merry Christmas," for that is
the wish of the preceding day or days,
rather than of Christmas itself
On Christmas Eve at early nightfall,
when the colored candles are ablaze over
the entire tree, and the great red ball of
light shines from its topmost branches,
the children are admitted to the room
amidst a babel of shouts and screams of
delight, which are increased upon the
arrival of a veritable Santa Claus be-
strewn with wool-snow and laden with
baskets of gifts. On the huge sled are
one or more baskets according to the
number of bundles to be distributed in
the family. Each bundle bears the name
of the owner on its wrapper, together with
funny rhymes and mottoes, which are
read aloud for the amusement of all.
Santa Claus always gives an abundance
of valuable counsel and advice to the
[88]
YULE TIDE m SCAKDIl^fAVIA
young folks as he bestows upon them
his pretty gifts.
After the distribution of gifts and the dis-
appearance of Santa Claus, all join in danc-
ing and singing around the tree simple,
childish jingles such as the following :
'' Now is Christmas here again,
Now is Christmas here again,
After Christmas then comes Easter,
Cheese and bread and Christmas beer,
Fish and rice and Christmas cheer !
—etc."
One of the prettiest dances is that of
''-Cutting the Oats," in which girls and
boys — there must be an extra boy — dance
in a circle, singing :
''Cut the oats, cut the oats,
Who is goiDg to bind them ■?
That my dearest will have to do,
But where will I find him?
"I saw him last eve in the moonlight,
In the moonlight clear and bright,
So you take one and I'll take one,
And he will be left without one."
[89]
YULE-TIDE IE MANY LANDS
The boys represent the cutters and the
girls the oats, and great merriment pre-
vails as the cutters' arms encircle the
waists of the pretty oats, leaving the un-
fortunate cutter, whom they all dance
around, bowing scoffingly as they shout :
" No one did want you,
Poor sprite, no one wants you,
You are left alone,
You are left alone."
Many of their games are similar to
"Blind Man's Buff," "Hunt the Key,"
and " Hot and Cold," or " Hunt to the
Music," the latter being one which by its
modulations from pianissimo to forte in-
dicate the hunters' nearness to the object
sought for. The game of " Blind Feed-
ing the Blind " causes much amusement
among the juveniles; two players sit op-
posite each other blindfolded and en-
deavor to feed one another with spoon-
[ 90 ]
YULE-TIDE IN SCANDINAVIA
fuls of milk, and their mishaps are very
entertaining to the on-lookers.
Between the hours of ten and eleven
comes the grand Christmas supper, when
all adjourn to the dining-room to partake
of the annual feast for which the house-
wives have long been preparing. The
table is usually tastefully and often elab-
orately trimmed with flowers and green
leaves. The comers of the long snow-
white homespun cloth are caught up
into rosettes surrounded with long calla
or other leaves ; possibly the entire edge
of the table is bedecked with leaves and
flowers. The butter is moulded into a
huge yellow rose resting on bright green
leaves, and the napkins assume marvel-
ous forms under the deft fingers of the
artistic housewives.
The Christmas mush holds the first
place in importance among the choice
[91]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
viands of the occasion ; it is rice boiled a
long while in milk and seasoned with salt,
cinnamon, and sugar, and is eaten with
cream. Several blanched almonds are
boiled in the mush and it is confidently
believed that whoever finds the first
almond will be the first to be married.
While eating the mush, each one is ex-
pected to make rhymes about the rice and
the good luck it is to bring them, and the
most remarkable poetical effusions are in
order on these occasions.
The Christmas fish is to the Swede what
the Christmas roast-beef is to the English-
man, an indispensable adjunct of the fes-
tival. The fish used resembles a cod ; it is
buried for days in wood ashes or else it is
soaked in soda water, then boiled and
served with milk gravy. Bread, cheese,
and a few vegetables follow, together with
a pudding made of salt herrings, skinned,
[92]
YULE-TIDE m SCANDINAVIA
boned, and cut in thin slices, which are
laid in a dish with slices of cold boiled
potatoes and hard-boiled eggs, covered
with a dressing of cream, butter, and
eggs — then baked and served hot.
The fish, rice, and a fat goose are said
to be served at every table on Christmas
from that of the king to that of the com-
monest of his subjects.
Christmas morning opens with an early
service in church, to which the older
members of the family go in sled parties
of from forty to fifty sleds, each drawn by
one, two, or even three horses, over whose
backs jingle rows of silver-toned bells.
The sled parties are an especial feature of
Christmas time. They start out while the
stars are still twinkling in the sky, and
the lighted trees are illuminating the
homes they pass.
The day itself is observed with less hi-
[93]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
larity than other days during the season ;
the " Second Christmas," or day following,
being far gayer. Then begin the family
parties, with the looking forward to the
great Twelfth-Night ball, after which the
children and young folks end their even-
ing parties by untrimming the tree of
their entertainer amidst peals of laughter,
songs, and shouts.
The tree, of course, has been supplied
anew with candles, fruit, and candy.
The first are blown out and the last two
struggled for while the tree is drawn
slowly toward the door out of which it is
finally pitched by the merry crowd.
The Swedes have four legal holidays at
Yule, beginning the day previous to
Christmas, and they make merry while
they last. Besides having the Jul-gran
or Christmas tree, each family places in
the yard a pole with a sheaf of grain on
[94]
YULB-TIDB IN SCANDINAVIA
top for the birds' Christmas dinner, a
pretty custom common to many countries.
Business is very generally suspended
during Christmas, the day following,
Twelfth Day, and the twentieth day.
" Do as your forefathers have done, and
you can't do wrong," is said to be the
motto of the Swedes. So the customs of
their forefathers are strictly observed at
Yule-tide.
Svea^ the feminine name of Sweden,
the " Queen of the North," contains what
is popularly believed to be the burial-
places of Wodin, Thor, and Freya. The
mounds are about one mile from Upsala
and are visited by travelers from all parts
of the world. Antiquarian researchers,
however, have recently had a word to
say in doubt whether these mounds con-
tain the remains of the renowned beings,
those ancient travelers. The Swedes,
[95]
YULE-TIDE m MAI:^Y LANDS
however, still cling to the belief that the
bones of Wodin, the Alexander of the
North, rest beneath the sod at Upsala.
In these mounds have been found the
bones of a woman and of a dog, a bracelet
of filigree work, and a curious pin shaped
like a bird, but no sign of Wodin's pres-
ence. Yet peasants believe that Wodin
passes by on dark nights, and his horse's
shoe, with eight nail-holes, is exhibited in
the museum at Utwagustorp.
New Year's Day is of comparatively
little importance ; the Christmas trees
are usually relighted for the enjoyment
of the poorer children and gifts are
made to the needy. The Yule fes-
tivities are prolonged for two weeks in
many places, during which the people
visit from home to home and enjoy many
social pleasures. The devout attend
church services each day, abandon all
[96]
YULE-TIDE IN SCANDINAVIA
work so far as possible, and on January
thirteenth generally finish up the joyous
season with a ball.
The Swedes do not trim their churches
with evergreen at Yule-tide as that is an
emblem of mourning with them, and is
used instead of crape on the door and
often strewn before the hearse and also
upon the floor in the saddened homes, so of
course at Christmas they would not think
of using it for decorations. But where
they can afford it or can procure them,
they use flowers to decorate their homes.
In Denmark, Christmas is a time of un-
usual merriment and rejoicing. No one
who can possibly avoid it works at all
from the day before Christmas until after
New Year, but spends the time in visiting,
eating, and drinking. " May God bless
jT'Our Christmas ; may it last till Easter,"
is the usual salutation of the season.
[97]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
With the people of Denmark the fa-
vorite dish for Christmas dinner is a
goose ; every one, even the cattle, the
dog, and the birds, receive the best the
larder affords on this occasion. There
is a peculiar kind of cake that is made
for each member of every family, and,
for some reason not explained, the salt-
cellar remains on the table throughout
Yule-tide.
Those who own fruit-trees feel it in-
cumbent upon them to go at midnight on
Christmas Eve and with a stick in hand
strike each tree three times saying as
they do so, " Rejoice, O Tree, — rejoice and
be fruitful."
In Denmark it is believed by many
that the cattle rise on their knees at mid-
night on Christmas Eve, but no one ever
seems to have proved this saying to be
true.
[98]
YULE-TIDE IN SCANDINAVIA
In this country also the children de-
light in listening to stories of trolls who
have been driven to the island of Born-
hern by the parsons although they once
ran riot through Zealand, and the little
folks sing pretty songs of Balder, the sun
god, which are a special feature of the
season.
It is customary to usher in the New
Year with a noise of firearms of every
description.
THE CHRISTMAS SHEAF
Far over in Norway's distant realm,
That land of ice and snow,
"Where the winter nights are long and drear,
And the north winds fiercely blow,
From many a low-thatched cottage roof.
On Christmas eve, 'tis said,
A sheaf of grain is hung on high.
To feed the birds o'erhead.
In years gone by, on Christmas eve.
When the day was nearly o'er,
Two desolate, starving birds flew past
A humble peasant's door.
[ 99 ]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
^' Look ! Look ! " cried one, with joyful voice
And a piping tone of glee :
'^ In that sheaf there is plenteous food and cheer,
And the peasant had but three.
One he hath given to us for food,
And he hath but two for bread,
But he gave it with smiles and blessings,
' For the Christ- child's sake,' he said."
'' Come, come," cried the shivering little mate,
' ' For the light is growing dim ;
'Tis time, ere we rest in that cosy nest,
To sing our evening hymn. "
And this was the anthem they sweetly sang.
Over and over again :
'' The Christ- child came on earth to bless
The birds as well as men."
Then safe in the safe, snug, warm sheaf they
dwelt.
Till the long, cold night was gone.
And softly and clear the sweet church bells'
Eaug out on the Christmas dawn.
When down from their covert, with fluttering
wings.
They flew to a resting-place.
As the humble peasant passed slowly by,
With a sorrowful, downcast face.
"Homeless and friendless, alas ! am I,"
They heard him sadly say,
[100]
YULE-TIDE IN SCANDINAVIA
^' For the sheriff," (he wept and wrung his
hands)
" Will come on New Year's day."
The birdlings listened with mute surprise.
" 'Tis hard," they gently said ;
*' He gave us a sheaf of grain for food.
When he had but three for bread.
We will pray to God, He will surely help
This good man in distress ; "
And they lifted their voices on high, to crave
His mercy and tenderness.
Then again to the Christmas sheaf they flew,
In the sunlight, clear and cold :
" Joy ! joy ! each grain of wheat," they sang,
*' Is a shining coin of gold."
*' A thousand ducats of yellow gold,
A thousand, if there be one ;
O master ! the wonderful sight behold
In the radiant light of the sun."
The peasant lifted his tear-dimmed eyes
To the shining sheaf overhead ;
" 'Tis a gift from the loving hand of God,
And a miracle wrought," he said.
" For the Father of all, who reigneth o'er,
His children will ne'er forsake,
When they feed the birds from their scanty
store.
For the blessed Christ-child's sake."
[101]
YULE TIDE IN MANY LANDS
'^ The fields of kindness bear golden grain,"
Is a proverb true and tried ;
Then scatter thine alms, with lavish hand.
To the waiting poor outside ;
And remember the birds, and the song they
sang,
"When the year rolls round again :
** The Christ-child came on earth to bless
The birds as well as men. "
— Mrs. A. M. Tomlinson.
[102]
CHAPTER V.
YULE-TIDE IN RUSSIA
"Light — in the heavens high,
And snow flashing bright ; —
Sledge in the distance
In its lonely flight. "
— 8he7isMn.
TN this enormous kingdom which covers
-*' one-sixth of the land surface of the
globe, and where upwards of fifteen mil-
[103]
YULB-TIDB IN MANY LANDS
lion human beings celebrate in various
ways the great winter festival of Yule-
tide, it will be found that the people
retain many traditions of the sun- wor-
shipers, which shows that the season was
once observed in honor of the renewal of
the sun's power. With them, however,
the sun was supposed to be di female, who,
when the days began to lengthen, entered
her sledge, adorned in her best robes and
gorgeous head-dress, and speeded her
horses summerward.
Russian myths indicate a connection
with the Aryans in the remote past ;
their songs of the wheel, the log, the pig
or boar, all show a common origin in
centuries long gone by.
Russia to most minds is a country of
cold, darkness, oppression, and suffering,
and this is true to an altogether lamen-
table extent. But it is also a country of
[104]
YULE-TIDE IN EUSSIA
warmth, brightness, freedom, and happi-
ness. In fact, there are so many phases
of life among its vast population that de-
scriptions of Russian life result about
as satisfactorily as did those of Saxe's
" Three blind men of Hindustan," who
went to see the elephant. Each traveler
describes the part he sees, just as each
blind man described the part he felt, and
each believes he knows the whole,
^..i-^here are certain general features of the
Yule-tide observance that are typical of
the country. One is the singing of their
ancient Kolyada songs, composed cen-
turies ago by writers who are unknown.
They may have been sa^crificial songs in
heathen days, but are now sung with
fervor and devotion at Christmas time.
In some places a maiden dressed in
white and drawn on a sledge from house
to house represents the goddess of the
[105]
YULE-TIDE IN MA.NY LANDS
Sun, while her retinue of maidens sing
the Kolyada, or carols. Here again ap-
pears the ancient custom of gift-making,
for the maidens who attend the goddess
expect to receive gifts in appreciation of
their songs.
The word Kolyada is of doubtful origin.
It may refer to the sun, a wheel, or a
sacrifice ; there is no telling how, when,
or where it originated, but the singing of
these songs has been a custom of the
people from time immemorial, and after
the introduction of Christianity it became
a part of the Christmas festivities.
Ralston in his '' Songs of the Russian
People " gives the following translation
of one of these peculiar songs :
*' Kolyada ! Kolyada !
Kolyada has arrived.
On the Eve of the Nativity,
Holy Kolyada.
Through all the courts, in all the alleys,
[106]
YULE-TIDE IN EUSSIA
We found Kolyada
In Peter's Court.
Bound Peter's Court there is an iron fence,
In tlie midst of the Court there are three
rooms,
In the first room is the bright Moon,
In the second room the red Sun,
And in the third room, the many Stars."
Strangely enough the Russians make the
Moon the master of the mansion above,
and the Sun the mistress, a twist about in
the conception of these luminaries worthy
of the Chinese, and possibly derived from
some of Russia's Eastern invaders. In
the above song, the Stars, like dutiful
children, all wish their luminous par-
ents good health,
" For many years, for many years."
In parts of Russia, the Virgin Mary and
birds take the place of the Sun and Stars
in these songs, which are sung throughout
the Yule season by groups of young folks
[ 107 ]
YULE-TIDE m MAinr LANDS
at social gatherings, or from house to
house, and form the leading feature of the
Christmas festivities.
It is hard to realize that the stolid, fur-
clad Russian is a child of song, for such
seem to belong to sunny climes, but
throughout his life from the cradle to the
grave he is accompanied with song. Not
modern compositions, for they are quite
inferior as a rule, but those melodies
composed ages ago and sung repeatedly
through generation after generation, usu-
ally accompanied with dancing in cir-
cles.
The Kolyadki cover a variety of themes
relating to the gods, goddesses, and other
celestial beings, to all of whom Christian
characteristics have been given until they
now form the sacred songs of Yule-tide.
On Christmas Eve it is customary for
the people to fast until after the first serv-
[108]
YULE-TIDE m EUSSIA
ice in church. They pray before their
respective icons, or sacred pictures, recite
psalms, and then all start for the church,
where the service is, in most respects, the
same as in the Roman Catholic Church.
There are many denominations besides
the established church of the country that
hold services on Christmas Eve ; but to
whichever one goes, it is wise to hasten
home and to get to bed in season to have
a pleasant Christmas Eve dream, as such
is sure to come true, according to Russian
authority.
On Welikikdenj — Christmas — the people
partake of an early meal. In some parts
of the country it is customary to send ex-
tremely formal invitations in the name
of the host to the guests who are expected
to arrive that day. These are delivered
by a special messenger and read somewhat
as follows :
[ 109 ]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
" My master and mistress beg you to
consider, Father Artanon Triphonowitsch,
and you, Mother Agaphia Nelidowna, that
for thousands of years it has been thus ;
with us it has not commenced, with us it
will not end. Do not, therefore, disturb
the festival ; do not bring the good people
to despair. Without you there will be no
pleasure at Philimon Spicidonowitsch's,
without you there will be no maiden fes-
tival at Anna Karpowna's."
Who could absent himself after such
an invitation as this ? The place of meet-
ing has been decided upon weeks earlier,
for it must be with a well-to-do family
possessing a large home to accommodate
the guests that usually assemble at Christ-
mas. The " fair maidens," each with her
mother and retinue, arrive first on the
scene, bringing cake and sweetmeats and
gifts for the servants. They would sooner
freeze in their sledges before the gate
than be guilty of alighting without first
[110]
YULE TIDE IN EUSSIA
receiving the greeting of their host and
hostess. Having been welcomed, they
next pray before the icon, and then are
ready for the pleasures arranged for them.
One peculiar phase of these house-
parties is the selecting of partners for
the maidens, which is done by the host-
ess, the "elected" sometimes proving sat-
isfactory and sometimes not. They feast,
play games, go snowballing, and guess
riddles, always having a jolly good time.
Reciters of builinas (poems) are often
present to sing and recite the whole
night through, for of song and poetry
the Russian never tires.
A pretty custom very generally ob-
served is the blessing of the house and
household. The priest visits each home
in his district, accompanied by boys bear-
ing a vessel of holy water ; the priest
sprinkles each room with the water, each
[111]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
person present kissing the cross he carries
and receiving his benediction as he pro-
ceeds from room to room. Thus each
home is sanctified for the ensuing year.
The familiar greeting of " Merry Christ-
mas " is not heard in Russia unless among
foreigners, the usual salutation on this
day being " Greetings for the Lord's
birth," to which the one addressed re
plies, " God be with you."
The observance of New Year on Janu-
ary first, according to the Gregorian Cal-
endar, was instituted by Peter the Great
in 1700. The previous evening is known
as St. Sylvester's Eve, and is the time of
great fun and enjoyment. According to
the poet, Vasili Andreivich Zhukivski :
*'St. Sylvester's evening hour,
Calls the maidens round ;
Shoes to throw behind the door,
Delve the snowy ground.
[112]
YULE-TIDE IN EUSSIA
Peep behind the window there,
Burning wax to pour ;
And the corn for chanticleer,
Eeckon three times o'er.
In the water-fountain fling
Solemnly the golden ring
Earrings, too, of gold ;
Kerchief white must cover them
While we're chanting over them
Magic songs of old."
Ovsen, a mythological being peculiar to
the season, is supposed to make his entry
about this time, riding a boar (another
indication of Aryan descent), and no
Christmas or New Year's dinner is con-
sidered complete without pork served in
some form. The name of Ovsen, being
so like the French word for oats, suggests
the possibility of this ancient god's sup.
posed influence over the harvests, and the
honor paid him at the ingathering feasts
in Roman times. He is the god of fruit-
fulness, and on New Year's Eve Russian
[113]
YULE-TIDE IS MANY LANDS
boys go from house to house scattering
oats and other grain while they sing :
^* In the forest, in the pine forest,
There stood a pine tree,
Green and shaggy.
O Ovsen ! Ovsen !
The Boyars came,
Cut down the pine.
Sawed it into planks,
Built a bridge.
Covered it with cloth.
Fastened it with nails,
O Ovsen ! O Ovsen 1
"Who, who will go
Along that bridge ?
Ovsen will go there,
And the New Year,
O Ovsen ! O Ovsen ! "
With this song the young folks endeavor
to encourage the people who are about to
cross the gulf between the known and the
unknown, the Past and the Future Year ;
at the same time they scatter good seed
for them to reap a bountiful harvest.
[114]
YULE-TIDE m EUSSIA
Often the boys sing the following Kol-
yadki :
'* Afield, afield, out in the open field !
There a golden plough goes ploughing,
And behind that plough is the Lord Himself.
Holy Peter helps Him to drive,
And the Mother of God carries the seed corn,
Carries the seed corn, prays to the Lord God,
Make, O Lord, the strong wheat to grow,
The strong wheat and the vigorous corn !
The stalks there shall be like reeds !
The ears shall be (plentiful) as blades of
grass !
The sheaves shall be (in number) like the
stars !
The stacks shall be like hills,
The loads shall be gathered together like
black clouds."
How singularly appropriate it seems that
boys, hungry at all times, should be the
ones to implore the god of fruitfulness to
bestow upon their people an abundant
harvest during the coming year !
In Petrograd the New Year is ushered
in with a cannonade of one hundred
[115]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
shots fired at midnight. The Czar form-
ally receives the good wishes of his sub-
jects, and the streets, which are prettily
decorated with flags and lanterns, are
alive with people.
On New Year's Day the Winter Palace
is opened to society, as is nearly every
home in the city, for at this season, at
least, hospitality and charity are freely
dispensed from palace and cottage.
On Sotjelnik, the last of the holidays,
the solemn service of Blessing the Water
of the Neva is observed. At two o'clock
in the afternoon the people who have
gathered in crowds at various points
along the river witness the ceremony
which closes the festivities of Yule-tide.
At Petrograd a dome is erected in front of
the Winter Palace, where in the presence
of a vast concourse of people the Czar
and the high church officials in a grand
[116]
YULE-TIDE IN EUSSIA
and impressive manner perform the cere-
mony. In other places it is customary
for the district priest to officiate. Clothed
in vestments he leads a procession of
clergy and villagers, who carry icons and
banners and chant as they proceed to the
river. They usually leave an open space
in their ranks through which all the bad
spirits likely to feel antagonistic to the
ruler of Winter — the Frost King — may
flee. For water sprites, fairies, gnomes,
and other invisibilities, who delight in
sunshine and warmth, are forced, through
the power of the priest's prayers, and the
showering of holy water, to take refuge
in a hole that is cut in the ice beside a
tall cross, and disappear beneath the cold
water of the blessed river.
[117]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
A PALM BEANOH FEOM PALESTINE
Brancli of palm from Palestine,
Tell me of thy native place :
"What fair vale, what steep incline,
First thy stately growth did grace ?
Has the sun at dawn caressed thee,
That on Jordan's waters shone.
Have the rough night- winds distressed thee
As they swept o'er Lebanon ?
And while Solym's sons, brought low,
Plaited thee for humble wages.
Was it prayer they chanted slow,
Or some song of ancient ages ?
As in childhood's first awaking
Does thy parent-tree still stand,
With its full-leaved branches making
Shadows on the burning sand ?
Or when thou from it wert riven,
Did it straightway droop and die,
Till the desert dust was driven
On its yellowing leaves to die ?
Say, what pilgrim's pious hand
Cherished thee in hours of pain,
When he to this northern land
Brought thee, fed with tears like rain ?
[118]
YULE-TIDE IN EU8SIA
Or perchance on some good knight,
Pare in heart and calm of vision,
Men bestowed thy garland bright —
Fit as he for realms Elysian 1
Now preserved with reverent care,
At the Ikon^s gilded shrine,
Faithful watch thou keepest there,
Holy Palm of Palestine.
Where the lamp burns faint and dim,
Folded in a mystic calm,
Near the Cross — the sign of Him —
Best in safety, sacred Palm.
— Michael Yourievich Lermontov.
(Translated by Mrs. Eosa Newmarch.)
[119]
CHAPTER VI.
YULE-TIDE IN FRANCE
" I hear along our street
Pass the minstrel throngs ;
Hark ! they play so sweet,
On their hautboys, Christmas songs ! "
— Carol.
/^NE would naturally imagine that
^-^ such a pleasure-loving people as the
French would make much of Christmas,
but instead of this we find that with
[120]
YULE-TIDE IN FEANCE
them, excepting in a few provinces and
places remote from cities, it is the least
observed of all the holidays.
It was once a very gay season, but now
Paris scarcely recognizes the day except-
ing in churches. The shops, as in most
large cities, display elegant goods, pretty
toys, a great variety of sweetmeats, and
tastefully trimmed Christmas trees, for
that wonderful tree is fast spreading over
Europe, especially wherever the Anglo-
Saxon and Teutonic races have settled.
Confectioners offer a tempting supply
of naulets — little delicate cakes — with a
sugar figure of Christ on top, pretty boxes
made of chocolate containing candy in the
form of fruits, vegetables, musical instru-
ments, and even boots and shoes, and all
manner of quaint, artistic sugared devices,
to be used as gifts or table decorations.
Early in December, wooden booths and
[ 121 ]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
open-air stands are erected throughout the
shopping districts for the sale of Christ-
mas goods. At night they are lighted,
and through the day and evening they
are gay with shoppers. Many of the
booths contain evergreens and fresh green
boughs for making the arbre de Nau. This
is a hoop tied with bunches of green, in-
terspersed with rosy apples, nuts, and
highly colored, gaily ornamented egg-
shells that have been carefully blown for
the purpose. The hoops are hung in
sitting-rooms or kitchens, but are used
more in the country than in the cities.
Although the cities are filled with
Yule-tide shoppers and lovely wares, in
order to enjoy a veritable Merry Christ-
mas one must seek some retired town and
if possible gain access to a home of ancient
date, where the family keep the cus-
toms of their ancestors. There he will
[122]
YULE-TEDE IN FEANOE
find the day devoutly and solemnly
observed, and legend and superstitions
concerning every observance of the day.
He will find that great anxiety is evinced
regarding the weather during the twelve
days preceding Christmas, as that por-
tends the state of the weather for the en-
suing twelve months.
He will notice that unlike the Yule-logs
of other countries, those of France are not
to be sat on, for if by any chance a person
sits on a Yule-log he will experience such
pain as will prevent his partaking of the
Christmas dinner. He will also find that
the log has benevolent powers, and if his
shoe is left beside it during the night it
will be filled with peppermints or candy.
The ashes of the log are believed to be a
protection against lightning and bad luck,
so some will be stored away beneath the
bed of the master of the house as a means
[123]
YULE TIDE IN MANY LANDS
of procuring good-fortune and other bless-
ings during the coming year, and if he
chance to fall sick, some of the ashes will
probably be infused into his medicine
and given to him.
If the log, the cosse de Nau, is of oak and
felled at midnight, it is supposed to be
much more eflBcacious, therefore all who
can do so procure an oaken log, at least.
In some families where the Yule-log is
lighted, it is the custom to have it brought
into the room by the oldest and youngest
members of the family. The oldest mem-
ber is expected to pour three libations of
wine upon the log while voicing an invo-
cation in behalf of wealth, health, and
general good-fortune for the household,
after which the youngest member, be he a
few days or a few months old, drinks to
the newly lighted fire, — the emblem of
the new light of another year. Each
[124]
YULE-TIDE IN FEANCE
member present follows the example set by
the youngest, and drinks to the new light.
Yale-tide in France begins on St. Bar-
bar's Day, December fourth, when it is
customary to plant grain in little dishes
of earth for this saint's use as a means of
informing her devotees what manner of
crops to expect during the forthcoming
year. If the grain comes up and is flour-
ishing at Christmas, the crops will be
abundant. Each dish of fresh, green
grain is used for a centerpiece on the
dinner-table.
For several days previous to Christ-
mas, children go into the woods and
fields to gather laurel, holly, bright ber-
ries, and pretty lichens with which to
build the creche, their tribute in com-
memoration of the birth of Christ. It is
a representation of the Holy Manger,
which the little folks build on a table in
[125]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LAliTDS
the corner of the living-room. With bits
of stones they form a hill, partly cover-
ing the rocky surface with green and
sometimes sprinkling it with flour to
produce the effect of snow. On and
about the hill they arrange tiny figures
of men and beasts, and above the summit
they suspend a bright star, a white dove,
or a gilded figure of Jehovah.
After the ceremony of lighting the
Yule-log on Christmas. Eve, the children
light up the creche with small candles,
often tri-colored in honor of the Trinity.
Throughout the work of gathering the
material and making and lighting the
creche, they sing carols in praise of the
Little Jesus. In fact young and old
accompany their Yule-tide labors with
carols, such as their parents and grand-
parents sang before them, — the famous
Noels of the country.
[126]
A Christmas Tree in Paris.
YULE-TIDE m FEANCE
The children continue to light their
creche each night until Epiphany, the
family gathering around and joining in
singing one or more of the well-known
Noels, for
'' Shepherds at the grange,
Where the Babe was born,
Sang, with many a change,
Christmas carols until morn.
Let us by the fire
Ever higher
Sing them till the night expires."
On the eve of Epiphany the children
all march forth to meet the Magi, who
are yearly expected, but who yearly dis-
appoint the waiting ones.
The custom of hanging sheaves of
wheat to the eaves of the houses for the
birds' Christmas, so commonly observed
throughout the cooler countries, is also
observed by the children of France, and
the animals are given especial care and
[ 127 ]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
attention at this joyous season. Each
house-cat is given all it can eat on Christ-
mas Eve for if, by any chance, it mews,
bad luck is sure to follow. Of course a
great deal is done for the poorer class at
Christmas ; food, clothing, and useful
gifts are liberally bestowed, and so far as
it is possible, the season is one of good
will and good cheer for all.
If the French still hold to many of the
Christmas customs bequeathed them by
their Aryan ancestors, New Year's Day
shows the influence of their Roman con-
querors, for a combination of Northern
and Southern customs is noticeable on
that occasion. Each public official takes
his seat of office on that day, after the
manner of the Romans. Family feast-
ing, exchanging of gifts among friends,
and merrymaking are features of New
Year's Day rather than of Christmas in
[128]
YULE-TIDE IN FEANCE
France, although children delight in
placing their sabots, or shoes, on the
hearth for the Christ-child to fill with
gifts on Christmas Eve.
In early times New Year's Day was the
occasion of the Festival of Fools, when
the wildest hilarity prevailed, and for
upward of two hundred and forty years
that custom continued in favor. Now
Christmas is essentially the church festi-
val ; New Year's Day is the social festival,
and Epiphany is the oldest festival ob-
served during Yule-tide in France.
The latter festival is derived from the
Roman Saturnalia, the main feature of
the celebration being lawlessness and wild
fun. Many of the features of former
times are no longer in vogue, but the
Twelfth-Night supper still continues in
favor, when songs, toasts, and a general
good time finishes the holiday season.
[129]
YULE-TIDE IN MAIO" LANDS
December is really the month of song
in France. From the first to the last
every one who can utter a sound is singing,
singing, singing. Strolling musicians go
from house to house playing and singing
Noels, and old and young of all classes in
society, at home and abroad, on their way
to church or to market, at work or at play,
may be heard singing these fascinating
carols.
Noel signifies " good news," and it has
been the greeting of the season since the
earliest observance of Christmas. The
word is on every tongue ; salutations, in-
vocations, and songs begin and end with
it. Carols peculiarly adapted to the day
or season in time came to be known as
Noels, and these songs are to be heard
everywhere in France during the holidays
of Yule-tide.
[130]
YULE-TIDE IN FEANCE
CHEISTMAS SONG
" Our Psalm of joy to God ascending
Filleth our souls with Holy fame.
This day the Saviour Child was born,
Dark was the night that now is ending,
But on the dawn were angels tending.
Hail ! Christmas, Hail ! Christmas
morn.
" In faith we see thee, Virgin Mother,
Still clasp thy Son, and in His eyes
Seek Heaven's own light that in them lies.
Though narrow shed His might confineth,
Though low in manger He reclineth,
Bright on His brow a glory shineth.
*' Oh, Saviour King ! Hear when we call
Thee,
Oh, Lord of Angels, glorious the song.
The song Thy ransom' d people raise.
Would that our hearts from sin and
sorrow
And earthly bondage now might sever.
"With Thee, Lord, reign forever and
ever.''
[131]
CHAPTER VE
YULE-TIDE IN ITALY
'■^ O'er mournful lands and bare, without a
sound,
Gently, in broadening flakes, descends
the snow
In velvet layers. Beneath its pallid glow,
Silent, immaculate, all earth is bound."
— Edmondo de Amicis.
I
TALY ! the land of Dante, Petrarch,
Bocaccio, Raphael, Michelangelo, and
[132]
YULE-TIDE I:N^ ITALY
a host of other shining lights in literature
and art I
Can we imagine any one of them as a
boy watching eagerly for Christmas to ar-
rive ; saving up money for weeks to pur-
chase some coveted dainty of the season ;
rushing through crowded streets on
Christmas Eve to view the Bambino, and
possibly have an opportunity to kiss its
pretty bare toe ? How strange it all
seems ! Yet boys to-day probably do
many of the same things they did in the
long ago during the observance of this
holy season in historic, artistic Italy.
In November, while flowers are yet in
bloom, preparations are begun for the
coming festivities. City streets and shops
are crowded with Christmas shoppers, for
beside all the gifts that are purchased by
the Italians, there are those bought by
travelers and foreign residents to be sent
[133]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
to loved ones at home, or to be used in
their own observance of the day, which is
usually after the manner of their respect-
ive countries. So shopping is lively from
about the first of November until after the
New Year.
The principal streets are full of car-
riages, the shops are full of the choicest
wares, and it is to be hoped that the
pocketbooks are full of money wherewith
to purchase the beautiful articles dis-
played.
During the Novena, or eight days pre-
ceding Christmas, in some provinces
shepherds go from house to house inquir-
ing if Christmas is to be kept there. If
it is, they leave a wooden spoon to mark
the place, and later bring their bagpipes
or other musical instruments and play be-
fore it, singing one of the sweet Nativity
songs, of which the following is a favorite.
[134]
YULE-TIDE IN ITALY
" For ever hallo w'd be
The night when Christ was born,
For then the saints did see
The holy star of morn.
So Anastasius and St. Joseph old
They did that blessed sight behold."
Chorus: (in which all present join)
" When Father, Son and Holy Ghost unite
That man may saved be."
It is expected that those who have a
presepio are ready by this time to receive
guests to pray before it and strolling
musicians to sing before it, for the pre-
sepio is the principal feature of an
Italian Christmas. It is made as ex-
pensive as its owner can afford, and
sometimes much more so. It is a min-
iature representation of the birthplace
of Christ, showing the Holy Family —
Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus in
the manger — or, more frequently, the
manger awaiting the infant. This is a
[135]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
doll that is brought in later, passed
around that each person in the room
may pray before it, and is then solemnly
deposited in the manger. There are an-
gels, and other figures several inches
high, carved in wood — usually syca-
more,^ — prettily colored and introduced
to please the owner's taste ; the whole
is artistically arranged to represent the
scene at Bethlehem which the season com-
memorates. When the festivities cease
the presepio is taken apart and carefully
stored away for use another year.
During the Novena, children go about
reciting Christmas pieces, receiving money
from those who gather around them to
listen, and later they spend their earn-
ings in buying eels or some other sub-
stantial delicacy of the season.
The Cippo, or Yule-log, is lighted at
two o'clock the day previous to Christ-
[136]
YULE-TIDE IN ITALY
mas, on the kitchen hearth in provinces
where it is sufficiently cold to have a
hearth, and fires are lighted in other
rooms, for here as elsewhere fire and
light are necessary adjuncts of Christmas.
During the twenty-four hours preceding
Christmas Eve a rigid fast is observed,
and there is an absence of Christmas
cheer in the atmosphere, for the season
is strictly a religious one rather than of
a social nature like that of Northern
countries. At early twilight candles are
lighted around the presepio, and the little
folks recite before it some poem suitable
for the occasion. Then follows the ban-
quet, made as elaborate as possible. The
menu varies in different parts of the
country, but in every part fish forms an
important item of food. In many places
a capon stuflPed with chestnuts is consid-
ered indispensable, and the family purse
[137]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
is often stretched to its utmost to provide
this luxury, yet rich and poor deem this
one article of food absolutely necessary
on this occasion. Macaroni is of course
the ever-present dish on all occasions
throughout the country, and various
sweetmeats are abundantly provided.
Then comes the drawing of presents
from the Urn of Fate, a custom common
to many countries. As the parcels are
interspersed with blanks, the drawing
from the urn creates much excitement
and no little disappointment among the
children, who do not always understand
that there will be a gift for each one not-
withstanding the blanks.
There is no evergreen used in either
church or home trimmings, but flowers,
natural or artificial, are used instead.
Soon after nine o'clock the people, young
and old, leave their homes for some
[138]
A Game of Loto on Christmas Evening in Naples.
YULE-TIDE IN ITALY
church in which the Christmas Eve
services begin by ten o'clock.
Bright holly-berries, sweet violets,
stately chrysanthemums, and pretty
olive-trees bedecked with oranges, — such
as are bought by those accustomed to
having a Christmas tree, — are displayed
in shops and along the streets, nearly all
of which are hung with bright lanterns.
The people carry flaming torches to add
to the general brightness of the evening,
and in some cities fireworks are set off.
From their sun-worshiping Aryan ances-
tors Italy derives the custom of burning
the ct]^^o, the love of light and fire, and
many other customs. A few of these may
be traced to Roman influence. Unfor-
tunately many, very many, of the old cus-
toms, once so generally observed through-
out Italy, are now passing out of use.
During the past few years several be-
[139]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
nevolent societies have distributed pres-
ents among the poor and needy at
Christmas time, an event that is known
as the Alhero di Natale — The Tree of
Nativity, — but little boys and girls of
Italy do not yet know the delight of
having a real Christmas tree hung with
lovely gifts, such as we have in Amer-
ica.
At sunset on Christmas Eve the boom-
ing of cannon from the Castle of St.
Angelo announces the beginning of the
Holy Season. Papal banners are dis-
played from the castle, and crowds wend
their way toward St. Peter's, the object of
every one's desire who is so fortunate as
to be in Rome at this season, for there
the service is the most magnificent in the
world. Every Roman Catholic Church
is crowded on Holy Night with men,
women, and children, anxious to see the
[140]
YULE-TIDE nsT ITALY
procession of church officials in their
beautiful robes, who carry the Bambino
about the church for the worshipers to
behold and kiss its robes or its toe. The
larger the church the more beautiful the
sight generally, although to a Protestant
beholder the smaller churches with their
enforced simplicity often prove more sat-
isfactory to the spirit of worship.
But whether the officials are clothed in
scarlet robes, ermine capes, and purple
cassocks, and the walls covered with silken
hangings of gold and crimson, with thou-
sands of wax tapers lighted, and real
flowers adorning the altar and organ
pipes ; whether the Madonna on the left
of the altar is attired in satin and gleam-
ing with precious jewels, and the presepio
on the right is a marvel of elegance, with
the Bambino wrapped in gold and silver
tissue studded with jewels ; or whether
[141]
TULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
all is of an humble, simple character ;
the devout watch eagerly for the appear-
ance of the Babe to be laid in the manger
when the midnight bells peal forth the
glad tidings of its birth. In each church
the organ sounds its joyous accompani-
ment to the sweet voices of the choir
which sings the Magnificat. The music
is in itself a rare treat to listeners as it is
always the best, the very best that can be
procured. At two o'clock on Christ-
mas morning the Shepherds' Hymn is
chanted, and at five o'clock the first High
Mass is held. In some of the larger
churches solemn vespers are held Christ-
mas afternoon, when the Holy Cradle is
carried around among the audience.
At St. Peter's it is required that all the
men present shall wear dress-suits and
that the women be clothed in black,
which offsets the brilliancy of the robes
[ 142 ]
YULE-TIDE m ITALY
worn by the church officials, for even the
guards on duty are in elegant red and
white uniforms. About ten o'clock in
the evening a procession of monks,
priests, bishops, and cardinals, walking
two and two, enters the vast building
just as the great choir of male voices with
organ accompaniment sounds forth the
Magnificat. The procession is long, glow-
ing in color, and very attractive to the
eye, but the object of each Romanist's de-
sire is to see the Pope, who, in magnifi-
cent robes, and seated in his crimson
chair, is borne aloft on the shoulders of
four men clothed in violet. On the
Pope's head gleams his richly gemmed
tiara and his heavy robes sparkle with
costly jewels. Waving in front of His
Eminence are two huge fans of white
ostrich feathers set with eyes of peacock
feathers, to signify the purity and watch-
[143]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
fulness of this highest of church func-
tionaries. Before His Holiness march
the sixty Roman noblemen, his Guard
of Honor, who form his escort at all
church festivals, while Cardinals, Bish-
ops, and others, according to their rank,
march beside him, or near at hand.
With his thumb and two fingers ex-
tended in recognition of the Trinity, and
at the same time showing the ring of St.
Peter which he always wears, the Pope,
followed by the ecclesiastic procession,
passes down the nave between the files
of soldiers, blessing the people as he
goes.
Upon reaching the altar the Pope is
escorted to an elevated seat while the
choir sings the Psalm of Entrance. Later,
at the elevation of the Host, the cannon
of St. Angelo (the citadel of Rome, which
was built in the time of the Emperor
[144]
YULE-TIDE IN ITALY
Hadrian) booms forth and every Roman
Catholic bows his head in prayer, where-
soever he may be. At the close of the
service the gorgeous procession is again
formed and the Pope is carried out of the
church, blessing the multitude as he
passes.
New Year is the great Social feature of
Yule-tide in Italy. Visits and some pres-
ents are exchanged among friends, dinner
parties, receptions, and f^tes of all kinds
are in order, but all interest centers in
the church observances until Epiphany,
or Bafana, as Italians term it, when chil-
dren hang up their stockings, c^ppo boxes
are exchanged, and people indulge in
home pleasures to some extent. The wild
hilarity of the Saturnalian festivities of
former times is fast dying out, for the
growth of cities and towns has not proved
conducive to such observances, and only
[145]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
in the smaller places is anything of the
sort observed.
Yule-tide in Italy at the present day is
principally a church festival.
THE EVE OF CHEISTMAS
(1901)
Cometli tlie yearly Feast, the wonderous Holy
Night,
Worthy of sacred hymn and solemn rite.
No harbingers of joy the olden message sing.
Nor gifts of Peace to waiting mortals bring.
Alone the thronging hosts of evil men I hear.
And see the anxious brow and falling tear.
The Age will bear no yoke j forgets the God
above,
Nor duteous payment yields to parents' love.
Suspicious Discord rends the peaceful State in
twain,
And busy Murder follows in her train.
Gone are the loyal faith, the rights revered of
old—
Eeigns but a blind and cruel lust of Gold !
[146]
YULE-TIDE IE ITALY
O come, Thou holy Child ! Pity the fallen world,
Lest it should perish, into darkness hurled.
Out of the laboring Night grant it a newer birth.
And a New Age to bloom o'er all the earth.
Circle with splendors old the brow of Faith
divine ;
Let her full glory on the nations shine.
Nerve her to battlings new ; palsy her foes with
dread ;
Place the victorious laurel on her head.
Be Error's mist dissolved, and ancient feuds re-
pressed.
Till Earth at last find quietude and rest.
O gentle Peace, return nor evermore depart ;
And link us hand in hand and heart to heart !
—Pope Leo XIII.
(Translated by S. T. Henry.')
[147]
GHAPTER Vffl.
YULE-TIDE IN SBAIN
^' "With antics and with fooleries, with shouting
and with laughter,
They fill the streets of Burgos — and the Devil
he comes after. "
TN Spain, the land of romance and song,
of frost and flowers, where at Yule-tide
the mountains wear a mantle of pure
white snow while flowers bloom gaily in
[148]
YULE-TIDE IN SPAIN
field and garden, the season's observance
approaches more nearly than in any other
country to the old Roman Saturnalia.
The Celts who taught the Spaniards the
love of ballads and song left some traces
of the sun-worshipers' traditions, but they
are few in comparison with those of other
European countries. Spain is a land ap-
parently out of the line of Wodin's travel
and influence, where one looks in vain
for the inysterious mistletoe, the pretty
holly, and the joyful Christmas tree.
The season is rigidly observed in
churches, but otherwise it loses its spirit
of devotion in that of wild revelry. Mu-
sic, mirth, and hilarity are the leading
features of the occasion, and home and
family pleasures are secondary affairs.
Of course the customs vary in different
provinces, some of which still cling to
primitive forms of observance while oth-
[149]
YULE-TIDE Ilf MANY LANDS
ers are fast adopting those of foreign resi-
dents and becoming Continental in style.
But everywhere throughout the land
Christmas is the day of days, — the great
church festival observed by all.
The Noche-buena or Good Night, pre-
ceding Christmas, finds the shops gay
with sweets and fancy goods suitable for
holiday wear, but not with the pretty gifts
such as circulate from home to home in
northern countries, for here gifts are not
generally exchanged.
Doctors, ministers, and landlords re-
ceive their yearly gifts of turkeys, cakes,
and produce from their dependents, but
the love of presenting dainty Christmas
gifts has not reached the land of the three
C's — the Cid, Cervantes, and Columbus.
Do you know what you would probably
do if you were a dark-cheeked Spanish
lad named Miguel, or a bright-eyed, light-
[150]
YULE-TIDE IN SPAIN
hearted Spanish maiden named Dolo-
res?
If you were Miguel you would don your
black jacket and brown trousers, knot
your gayest kerchief around your neck,
and with your guitar in hand you would
hasten forth to enjoy the fun that pre-
vails in every street of every town in
Spain on Christmas Eve, or, as it is known
there, the Noche-buena.
If you were pretty Dolores you would
surely wear your red or yellow skirt,
or else of striped red and yellow, your
best embroidered velvet jacket, — handed
down from mother to daughter, and a
wonderful sample of the handiwork that
once made the country famous, — your
numerous necklaces and other orna-
ments. You would carefully braid your
heavy dark tresses and bedeck your
shapely head with bright flowers, then
[151]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
with your panderetta or tambourine in
hand, you too would join the merry
throng that fill the air with mirthful
songs and music on Noche-buena; for re-
member,
" This is the eve of Christmas,
No sleep from, now till morn."
The air is full of the spirit of unrest,
castanets click joyously, tambourines jin-
gle their silvery strains, while guitars and
other musical instruments help to swell
the babel of sound preceding the hour of
the midnight mass :
" At twelve will the child be born,"
and if you have not already done some
especially good deed to some fellow mor-
tal, you will hasten to clear your con-
science by such an act before the bells an-
nounce the hour of its birth. As the
stars appear in the heavens, tiny oil lamps
are lighted in every house, and among all
[152]
YULE-TIDE m SPAIN
devout Roman Catholics the image of the
Virgin is illuminated with a taper.
The streets, which in many cities are
brilliantly lighted with electricity, are
crowded with turkeys awaiting pur-
chasers. They are great fat birds that
have been brought in from the country
and together with quacking ducks and
cooing pigeons help to swell the sounds
that fill the clear, balmy air. Streets and
market-places are crowded with live stock,
while every other available spot is piled
high with delicious fruit ; — golden or-
anges, sober-hued dates, and indispen-
sable olives ; and scattered among these
are cheeses of all shapes and kinds, sweet-
meats of all sorts, the choice candies that
are brought from various provinces, and
quaint pigskins of wine. No wonder
every one who can do so hurries forth
into the street on Noche-huena.
[153]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
If you are not tempted to stop and gaze
at these appetizing exhibits, you will pass
quickly on to the brightly lighted booths
devoted to toys. Oh, what a feast for
young eyes I Here yours will surely light
on some coveted treasure. It may be an
ordinary toy, a drum, a horn, or it may
be a Holy Manger, Shepherds, The Wise
Men, or even a Star of the East.
It is hard to keep one's purse closed
among such a surfeit of tempting arti-
cles, and everywhere money flows freely
from hand to hand, although the Spanish
are usually very frugal.
As the bells clang out the hour of mid-
night, you will hurry to join the throng
wending its way to the nearest church,
where priests in their gorgeous robes, —
some of them worn only on this occasion
and precious with rare embroidery and
valuable jewels, — perform the midnight
[154]
YULE-TIDE IN SPAIN
or cock-crow mass, and where the choir
and the priests chant a sweet Christmas
hymn together. What if it is late when
the service ends? Christmas Eve with-
out dancing is not to be thought of in
Spain. So you go forth to find a
group of Gipsy dancers who are always
on hand to participate in this great fes-
tival ; or you watch the graceful Spanish
maiden in her fluffy skirts of lace, with
her deep pointed bodice, a bright flower
in her coal-black hair beside the tall comb,
and her exquisitely shaped arms adorned
with heavy bracelets. " Oh, what mag-
nificent eyes ! What exquisite long
lashes ! " you exclaim to yourself. See
her poise an instant with the grace of a
sylph, one slippered foot just touching
the floor, then click, click, sound the cas-
tanets, as they have sounded for upwards
of two thousand years and are likely to do
[155]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
for two thousand more, for their inspirit-
ing click seems necessary to move Span-
ish feet and give grace to the uplifted
arms. At first she may favor you with
the energetic fandango, or the butterfly-
like bolero, but on Christmas Eve the Jota
is the universal favorite. It is danced
and sung to music which has been brought
down to the present time unwritten, and
which was passed from mouth to mouth
through many generations. Translated
the words read :
" Of Jesus the Nativity is celebrated everywhere,
Everywhere reigns contentment, everywhere
reigns pleasure,"
the audience joining in the refrain :
" Long live merrymaking, for this is a day of
rejoicing,
And may the perfume of pleasure sweeten our
existence. "
It will probably be late into the morn-
ing before the singing, dancing, thought-
[156]
YULE-TIDE IN SPAIN
less crowd turns homeward to rest, and
although it is certainly a crowd intoxi-
cated with pleasure, it is never in that
condition from liquor.
There are three masses on Christmas
Day, and all devout Catholics attend one
of them at least, if not all. In some
places Nativity plays are given on Christ-
mas Eve or else on Christmas Day, They
are long performances, but never tedious
to the audiences, because the scenes appeal
to them with the force of absolute realism.
On Christmas morning the postmen, tele-
graph boys, and employees of various
vocations, present to their employers and
others little leaflets containing a verse
appropriate to the day, or the single sen-
tence " A Happy Christmas," expecting to
receive in return a Christmas box filled
with goodies of some kind.
While Spanish children do not have the
[157]
YULE-TIDE IN MAKY LANDS
Christmas tree to gather around they do
have the pretty Nacimiento, made of
plaster and representing the place of
Christ's nativity, with the manger, tiny
men and women, trees, and animals, such
as are supposed to have existed at the
time and place of the Nativity.
The Nacimiento (meaning being born)
is lighted with candles, and little folks
dance gayly around it to the music of
tambourines and their own sweet voices,
joyously singing one of the pretty Nativ-
ity songs. Groups of children go about
the streets singing these songs of which
there are many.
In this pleasing custom of the Naci-
miento one sees a vestige of the Saturnalia,
for during that festival small earthenware
figures used to be for sale for the pleasure
of children. Although the Spanish race
is a mixed one and various peoples have
[158]
YULE-TIDE IN SPAIN
been in power from time to time, at one
period the country was, with the excep-
tion of Basque, entirely Romanized. It
is interesting to note the lingering influ-
ence of this mighty Roman nation and
find in this century that some of the main
features of the great Roman feast are re-
tained in the great Christian feast at Yule-
tide.
Southern races were always firm be-
lievers in Fate. The Mohammedans
reverenced the Tree of Fate, but the
Romans held sacred the urn containing
the messages of Fate. So the Spaniards
cling to the urn, from which at Christ-
mas gatherings of friends it is the custom
to draw the names of the men and women
whom Fate ordains shall be devoted
friends during the year, — the men per-
forming all the duties of lovers. This
drawing of one's Fate for the coming year
[159]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
creates great merriment and often no little
disappointment. But Fate is inexorable
and what is to be must be, so the Spanish
maiden accepts graciously the one Fate
thus assigns her.
After the midday breakfast on Christ-
mas morning the people usually seek out-
of-door pleasures. Among many of the
old families only blood relations are ex-
pected to eat and drink together on this
holy day.
Ordinarily the Spaniard " may find
perfect entertainment in a crust of bread
and a bit of garlic " as the proverb claims,
but at Yule-tide his stomach demands
many delicacies peculiar to the season.
The Puchero Olla, the national dish for
dinner, must have a few extra ingredients
added on this occasion. The usual com-
pound of chickens, capons, bacon, mutton,
beef, pig's feet, lard, garlic, and everything
[160]
YULE-TIDE IN SPAIN
else the larder aflPords, is quite insufficient
to be boiled together on this occasion.
However, if one has no relatives to in-
vite him to a feast, it is an easy matter to
secure a Christmas dinner on the streets,
where men are ready to cook for him
over their braseros of charcoal and venders
are near at hand to offer preserved fruits,
the famous almond rock, almond soup,
truffled turkey, or the most desirable of
the season's delicacies, — sea-bream, which
is brought from Cadiz especially for
Christmas use, and which is eaten at
Christmas in accordance with the old-
time custom. Nuts of all kinds are
abundant. By the side of the streets,
venders of chestnuts — the finest in the
world — lean against their clumsy two-
wheeled carts, picturesque in costumes
that are ragged and soiled from long
service. Rich layer-cakes of preserves,
[161]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
having almond icing with fruits and
liquor-filled ornaments of sugar on top,
are frequently sent from friend to friend
for dinner.
In Seville, and possibly in other places,
the people hurry to the cathedral early in
the afternoon in order to secure good
places before the high altar from which
to view the Siexes, or dances. Yes,
dances ! This ceremony takes place
about five o'clock just as the daylight
fades and night draws near. Ten chor-
isters and dancers, indiscriminately
termed Siexes, appear before the altar
clad in the costume of Seventeenth-Cen-
tury pages, and reverently and with
great earnestness sing and dance an old-
time minuet, with castanet accompani-
ment, of course. The opening song is in
honor of the Virgin, beginning :
** Hail, O Virgin, most pure and beautiful."
[162]
YULE-TIDE IK SPAIN
Among the ancients dancing was a
part of religious services, but it is now
seldom seen in churches. This Christ-
mas dance, given in a beautiful cathedral
just at the close of day, is a very impress-
ive ceremony and forms a fitting close
to the Spanish Christmas, which is so
largely made up of customs peculiar to
ancient and modern races.
In every part of Spain song and dance
form an important part of the festivities
of Yule-tide, which lasts two weeks, al-
though the laboring class observe but two
days of pleasure. At the palace the King
holds a reception on New Year's, not for
the public generally, but for the diplo-
mats and grandees.
The higher circles of society observe
New Year as a time of exchanging calls
and visiting, feasting and merrymaking.
At the banquets of the wealthy every
[163]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
possible delicacy in the way of food is
temptingly displayed, and great elegance
in dress indulged in by the ladies, who
wear their finest gowns and adorn them-
selves in priceless jewels and rare laces.
But there is so much etiquette to be ob-
served among this class of Spaniards that
one looks for the real enjoyment of the
season among the common classes.
In some parts of Spain bull-fights are
given as late as December, but cold
weather has a softening effect on the
poor bulls and makes them less ferocious,
so unless the season proves unusually
warm that favorite entertainment has to
be abandoned for a time. Meanwhile in
the streets and homes one may often see
a father on all fours enacting the infuri-
ated bull for his little sons to attack ; in
this way he teaches them the envied art
of bull-fighting. The Yule-tide festivi-
[164]
YULE-TIDE IN SPAIN
ties end at Twelfth Day, — Epiphany, —
when crowds of young folks go from
gate to gate in the cities to meet the
Magi, and after much merriment they
come to the conclusion that the Magi
will not appear until the following year.
NIGHT OF MAEVELS
In such a marvelous night ; so fair
And full of wonder, strange and new,
Ye shepherds of the vale, declare —
Who saw the greatest wonder ?
Who?
(First Shepherd)
I saw the trembling fire look wan ;
(Second Shepherd)
I saw the sun shed tears of blood ;
(Third Shepherd)
I saw a God become a man ;
(Fourth Shepherd)
1 saw a man become a God.
[165]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
O, wondrous marvels ! at the thought,
The bosom's awe and reverence move ;
But who such prodigies hath wrought ?
What gave such wondrous birth ?
'T was love!
What called from heaven the flame divine,
Which streams in glory far above,
And bid it o'er earth's bosom shine,
And bless us with its brightness?
Love!
Who bid the glorious sun arrest
His course, and o'er heaven's concave move
In tears, — the saddest, loneliest,
Of the celestial orbs ?
'Twas love !
Who raised the human race so high,
E'en to the starry seats above.
That, for our mortal progeny,
A man became a God ?
'Twas love !
Who humbled from the seats of light
Their Lord, all human woes to prove,
Led the great Source of day to night,
And made of God a man ?
'Twas love !
[ 166 ]
YULE-TIDE m SPAIN
Yes ! love has wrought, and love alone,
The victories all, — beneath, above:
And heaven and earth shall shout as one,
The all-triumphant song
Of love.
The song through all heaven's arches ran,
And told the wondrous tales aloud,
The trembling fire that looked so wan,
The weeping sun behind the cloud,
A God, a God become a man !
A mortal man become a God.
— Violante Do Ceo.
[167]
CHAPTER IX.
YULE-TIDE IN AMERICA
'' And they who do their souls no wrong,
But keep, at eve, the faith of morn,
Shall daily hear the angel -song,
'To-day the Prince of Peace is born.' "
— James Bussell Lowell.
•^ I ^0 people who go into a new country
■*■ to live, Christmas, which is so gen-
erally a family day, must of necessity be
[168]
YULE-TIDE 11*1^ AMERICA
a lonely, homesick one. They carry with
them the memory of happy customs, of
loved ones far away, and of observances
which can never be held again. So many
of the earliest Christmasses in America
were peculiarly sad ones to the various
groups of settlers ; most especially was
this the case with the first Christmas ever
spent by Europeans in the New World.
The intrepid mariner, Christopher
Columbus, entered the port of Bohio,
in the Island of Hayti, on St. Nicholas
Day, December 6, 1492, and in honor of
the day named that port Saint Nicholas.
The Pinta with her crew had parted from
the others and gone her own way, so the
Santa Maria and the Nina sailed on to-
gether, occasionally stopping where the
port seemed inviting. While in one of
these, Columbus heard of rich mines not
far distant and started for them. The
[169]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
Admiral and his men were tired from
continued watching, and as the sea was
smooth and the wind favorable, they
went to sleep leaving the ship in care of
a boy. Who he was no one knows, but
he was evidently the first Christian boy
to pass a Christmas Eve on this con-
tinent, — and a sad one it was for him.
The ship struck a sand-bank and settled,
a complete wreck, in the waters of the
New World. Fortunately no lives were
lost, and the wreckage furnished material
for the building of a fortress which oc-
cupied the men's time during the re-
mainder of the Yule-tide.
The Nina was too small to accommo-
date two crews, therefore on Christmas
Day many of the men were wondering
who were to stay on that far-away island
among the strange looking natives of
whom they knew nothing.
[170]
YULE-TIDE IN AMEEICA
The Chief of Guarico (Petit Anse),
whom Columbus was on his way to visit
at the time of the disaster, sent a fleet of
canoes to the assistance of the strangers,
and did what he could to make them
happy during the day. The Spaniards
and the natives worked until dawn on
Christmas morning, bringing ashore what
they could secure from the wreck, and
storing it away on the island for future
use. Strange to relate, they succeeded in
saving all of their provisions, the spars,
and even many of the nails of the
wrecked 8anta Maria. But what a
Christmas morning for Columbus and his
men, stranded on an island far, far from
home, among a strange people ! There
were no festivities to be observed by that
sad, care-worn company of three hundred
men on that day, but the following morn-
ing Chief Guacanagari visited the Nina
[171]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
and took Columbus ashore, where a
banquet was prepared in his honor, the
first public function attended by Colum-
bus in America. It can be pictured only
in imagination. There on that beautiful
island which seemed to them a paradise
on earth, with tall trees waving their
long fronds in the warm breeze, with
myriads of birds such as they had never
seen filling the air with song, Columbus
stood, attired in his gorgeous uniform
and dignified, as it befitted him to be,
beside his host who was elegantly dressed
in a shirt and a pair of gloves which
Columbus had given him, with a coronet
of gold on his head. The visiting chief-
tains with gold coronets moved about in
nature's garb, among the " thousand," —
more or less, — who were present as guests.
The feast consisted of shrimps, cassavi,
— the same as the native bread of
[172]
YULE-TIDE IN AMEEICA
to-day, — and some of their nutritive
roots.
It was not a sumptuous repast although
it may have been a bountiful one, yet
they probably enjoyed it.
The work of building a fortress began
at once. Within ten days the Fortress
of Navidad was completed. It stood on
a hill and was surrounded with a broad,
deep ditch for protection against natives
and animals, and was to be the home of
those of the company who remained in
the New World, for the Nina was too
small to convey all hands across the ocean
to Spain, and nothing had been heard
of the Pinta. Leaving biscuits sufficient
for a year's supply, wine, and such pro-
visions as could be spared, Columbus
bade farewell to the forty men whom he
was never to see again, and sailed for
the Old World on January 4, 1493.
[ n3 ]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
So far as recorded, Columbus was the
only one among the Spaniards who re-
ceived gifts during this first Yule-tide in
America. But what seemed a cruel fkte
to him was the means of bestowing a
valuable gift upon the world. Had the
Santa Maria continued her course in
safety that Christmas Eve there might
never have been a fortress or any Euro-
pean settlement founded. So, although
it was a sad, troubled Yule-tide to the
Spanish adventurers, it proved a memo-
rable one in the annals of America.
Four hundred years later the anchor
of the Santa Maria was discovered and
brought to the United States to be one
of its treasured exhibits at the great
Columbian Exposition, where a descend-
ant of Columbus was the honored guest
of the Government.
One hundred and fifty years after the
[174]
ii
YULE-TIDE m AMERICA
building of the Fortress of Navidad, after
many ineffectual attempts, a settlement
was effected in the New World by a col-
ony from England. They sailed from
Blackwell, on the Thames, on Decem-
ber 19, 1606, and for six weeks were
" knocking about in sight of England."
Their first Christmas was spent within
sight of their old homes. According to
Captain John Smith's account, " It was,
indeed, but a sorry Christmas that we
spent on board," as many of them were
very sick, yet Smith adds, " We made
the best cheer we could." The colonists
v' landed and solemnly founded Jamestown
on May 13, 1607. That year Yule-tide
was spent by Captain Smith among the
Powhatan Indians, by whom he was
taken captive. This colony consisted of
men only ; no genuine Christmas ob-
servance could take place without women
[175]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
and children, and no women arrived until
1609, and then only twenty came. But
after the ninety young women arrived
in 1619, supplied to planters for one
hundred pounds of tobacco each, and a
cargo of twenty negroes had landed to
help with the work, there may have been
an attempt at keeping Christmas although
there is no record of the fact.
At this season there was usually a raid
made upon the Indians. Smith's last ex-
pedition against them was at Christmas-
time, when, as he records in his journal,
" The extreme winde, rayne, frost, and
snow caused us to keep Christmas among
the salvages where we weere never more
merry, nor fed on more plenty of good
Oysters, Fish, Flesh, Wild Fowl and good
bread, nor never had better fires in Eng-
land."
In after years prosperity smiled on the
[176]
YULE-TIDE IN AMEEICA
land of the Jamestown settlers. Amidst
the peace and plenty that followed the
earlier years of strife and poverty, the
Virginians became noted for their hospi-
tality and lavish observance of Yule-tide.
It was the happy home-coming for daugh-
ters, sons, uncles, aunts, and cousins of
the first, second, and even the third de-
gree. For whosoever was of the name
and lineage, whether rich or poor, was
welcomed at this annual ingathering of
the family. Every house was filled to
overflowing; great hickory fires were
lighted on the open hearths ; the rooms
were brilliantly lighted with candles, and
profusely trimmed with greens. From
doors and ceilings were hung sprigs of
the mysterious mistletoe, for
"O'er the lover
I'll shake tlie berry'd mistletoe ; that he
May long remember Christmas,"
[177]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
was the thought of merry maidens as they
decorated their homes.
Christmas brought carriage-loads of
guests to these old-time homes, to partake
of the good cheer and enjoy weeks of fun
and frolic, indoors and out. For many
days before Christmas arrived, colored
cooks, the regular, and extra ones, were
busy cooking from morning till evening,
preparing for the occasion. The store-
rooms were replete with every variety of
tempting food the ingenious minds of the
cooks could devise, for Christmas dinner
was the one great test of their ability and
woe to Auntie whose fire was too hot, or
whose judgment was at fault on this oc-
casion.
To the whites and blacks Christmas
was a season of peace, plenty, and merri-
ment. In the " Great House " and in the
cabin there were music, dancing, and
[178]
YULE-TIDE IN AMEEICA
games until New Year. This was " Hir-
ing Day," and among the blacks joy was
turned to sadness as husbands, fathers,
brothers, and lovers were taken away to
work on distant plantations, for those
who hired extra help through the year
were often extremely cruel in their treat-
ment of the slaves.
The gladsome Virginia Christmas in
time became the typical one of the South,
where it was the red-letter day of the year,
the most joyous of all holidays. The
churches were lovingly and tastefully dec-
orated with boughs of green and flowers
by the ladies themselves and conscien-
tiously attended by both old and young.
In the South there was never any of the
somberness that attended church services
in the North among descendants of the
Plymouth Colony who came to America
later.
[ 179 ]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
The Puritans of England early discoun-
tenanced the observance of Christmas.
But among the Pilgrims who reached the
American coast in December, 1620, were
mothers who had lived so long in Hol-
land they loved the old-time custom of
making merry on that day. To these
dear women, and to the kind-hearted,
child-loving Elder Brewster, we are in-
debted for the first observance of the day
held by the Plymouth Colony.
According to the Journal of William
Bradford, kept for so many years, the
Pilgrims went ashore, " and ye 25 day
(Dec.) begane to erecte ye first house for
comone use to receive them and their
goods." Bradford conscientiously refrains
from alluding to the day as Christmas, but
descendants of these godly Puritans are
glad to learn that home-making in New
England was begun on Christmas Day.
[180]
YULE-TIDE IN AMEEICA
Many very interesting stories have
been written about this first Christmas.
One writer even pictures the more
lenient Elder Brewster as going ashore
that morning and inviting the Indian
Chief Massasoit to go aboard the May-
flower with him. According to the story,
the good man endeavored to impress the
chief with the solemnity and significance
of the occasion, and then with Massasoit,
two squaws, and six boys and girls, be-
comingly attired in paint and feathers, he
returned to the ship.
The women and children from over the
sea met their new neighbors and guests,
received from them little baskets of nuts
and wintergreen berries, and in exchange
gave their guests beads, toys, raisins,
and such simple gifts, to which Elder
Brewster added a blessing bestowed upon
each child.
[ 181 ]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
The story reads well. But the truth,
according to history, makes the first visit
of Massasoit occur some three months
later, on March twenty-second. The
Puritans had a happy Christmas dinner
together on board the ship which was the
only home they possessed as yet, and it is
to be presumed that the exceedingly con-
scientious non-observers of the day par-
took quite as freely of the salt fish, bacon,
Brussels sprouts, gooseberry tarts, and
English plum pudding, as did those home-
sick, tear-choked women who prepared
the dinner.
It is certainly to be regretted that ves-
sels are no longer built with the wonder-
ful storage capacity of the Mayflower !
Beside bringing over the innumerable
family relics that are treasured throughout
this country, it is stated that this ship
brought a barrel full of ivy, holly, laurel,
[182]
YULE-TIDE IN AMEEICA
and immortelles, with which the table was
decorated, and wreaths woven for the chil-
dren to wear. Bless those dear, brave
women who dared to bring " green stuff"
for " heathenish decorations " way across
the ocean ! Let us add a few extra sprays
of green each Christmas in memory of
them. The greens, plum puddings, and
other good things had such a happy effect
that, according to Bradford, "at night the
master caused us to have some Beere."
This was an event worthy of a capital B,
as the men had worked all day in the
biting cold at house-building, with only
a scanty supply of water to drink.
Alas I That Christmas on the May-
flower was the last the Pilgrims were to
enjoy for many a long year. Other
ship-loads of people arrived during the
year and in 1621, " One ye day called
Christmas Day, ye Gov. called them out
[183]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
to worke (as was used), but ye most of
this new company excused themselves and
said it wente against their consciences to
work on yt day. So ye Gov. tould them
that if they made it mater of conscience,
he would spare them till they were better
informed. So he led away ye rest and
left them, but when they came home at
noone from their worke, he found them in
ye streete at play, openly, some pitching
ye bair, and some at stoole-ball, and shuch-
like sports. So he went to them and tooke
away their implements, and tould them
that was against his conscience, that they
should play and others worke. If they
made ye keeping of it mater of devotion,
let them kepe their houses, but ther
should be no gameing or revelling in ye
streets. Since which time nothing had
been attempted that way, at least openly."
And thus ended the last attempt at Christ-
[184]
YULE-TIDE IN AMBEICA
mas observance during Governor Brad-
ford's many terms of office.
The Massachusetts Colony that arrived
in 1630, and settled in and around Boston,
believed that Christ's mission on earth as
the Saviour of man was too serious a one
to be celebrated by the fallen race He
came to save; they considered it absolutely
wicked for any one to be lively and joy-
ous when he could not know whether or
no he was doomed to everlasting punish-
ment. Beside that, jollity often led to
serious results. Were not the jails of Old
England full to repletion the day after
Christmas ? It was wisest, they thought,
to let the day pass unnoticed. And so
only occasionally did any one venture to
remember the fact of its occurrence.
Among the men and women who came
across the ocean during succeeding years
there must have been many who differed
[ 185 ]
YULE-TIDE 11^ MANY LANDS
from the first colony in regard to Christ-
mas, for in May, 1659, the General Court
of Massachusetts deemed it necessary to
enact a law : " That whosoever shall be
found observing any such day as Christ-
mas or the like, either by forbearing of
labour, feasting, or any other way, upon
any such accounts as aforesaid, shall be
subjected to a fine of five shillings."
For upward of twenty-two years it re-
mained unlawful in Massachusetts to
have a merry Christmas. There were no
pretty gifts on that day to make happy
little God-be-thanked, Search-the-scrip-
tures, Seek-wisdom, Prudence, Hope, or
Charity. However, Santa Claus had em-
issaries abroad in the land. In December,
1686, Governor Andros, an Episcopalian,
and a representative of the King, brought
about the first concession in favor of the
day. He believed in celebrating Christ-
[186]
YULE-TIDE IN AMEEICA
mas and intended to hold appropriate
services. The law enacted by Parlia-
ment in June, 1647, abolishing the ob-
servance of the day, had been repealed
in 1659, and Gov. Andros knew he had
the law in his favor. But every meeting-
house was conscientiously (or stubbornly)
closed to him. So he was forced to hold
service in the Town House, going with an
armed soldier on each side to protect him
from the " good will " exhibited by his
fellow townsmen. He held services that
day, and it is believed to be the first
observance of Christmas held under legal
sanction in Boston.
The great concession was made by the
Old South Congregation in 1753 when it
offered its sanctuary to the worshipers
in King's Chapel, after that edifice was
burned, for them to hold their Christmas
services. It was with the implicit under-
[ 187 ]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
standing that there was to be no spruce,
holly, or other greens used on that oc-
casion to desecrate their meeting-house.
Little by little the day was brought
into favor as a holiday, but it was as late
as the year 1856, while Nathaniel P.
Banks was Governor, that the day was
made a legal holiday in Massachusetts.
The good Dutch Fathers, true to the
teachings of their forefathers, sailed for
the New World with the image of St.
Nicholas for a figurehead on their vessel.
They named the first church they built
for the much-loved St. Nicholas and
made him patron saint of the new city on
Manhattan Island. Thanks, many many
thanks, to these sturdy old Dutchmen
with unpronounceable names who pre-
served to posterity so many delightful
customs of Christmas observance. What
should we have done without them?
[188]
YULE-TIDE IN AMEEICA
They were quite a worthy people not-
withstanding they believed in enjoying
life and meeting together for gossip and
merrymaking. Christmas was a joyful
season with them. The churches and
quaint gabled houses were trimmed with
evergreens, great preparations were made
for the family feasts, and business was
generally suspended. The jolly old City
Fathers took a prolonged rest from cares
of office, even ordering on December 14,
1654, that, " As the winter and the holi-
days are at hand, there shall be no more
ordinary meetings of this board (the City
Corporation) between this date and three
weeks after Christmas. The Court mes-
senger is ordered not to summon any one
in the meantime."
Sensible old souls ! They were not go-
ing to allow business to usurp their time
and thought during this joyful season I
[189]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
The children must have their trees, hung
with gifts ; tlie needy must be especially
cared for, and visits must be exchanged ;
so the City was left to take care of itself,
while each household was busy making
ready for the day of days, the season of
seasons.
What a time those hausfraus had
polishing up their silver, pewter, brass,
and copper treasures, in opening up best
rooms, and newly sanding the floors in
devious intricate designs ! What a pile
of wood was burned to bake the huge
turkeys, pies, and puddings ! What
pains the fathers took to select the
rosiest apples and the choicest nuts to
put in each child's stocking on Christmas
Eve. Fortunately, children obeyed the
injunction of Scripture in those days, and
despised not the day of small things.
How fortunate it was that there were
[190]
YULE-TIDE IN AMERICA
no trains or other rapid modes of
conveyance to bring visitors from the
Puritan Colonies at this season. There
was no possibility of any of their strict
neighbors dropping in unexpectedly to
furnish a free lecture, while the Dutch
families were merrily dancing. The
Puritans were located less than two hun-
dred and eighty-five miles distant, yet
they were more distantly separated by
ideas than by space. But a little leaven
was eventually to penetrate the entire
country, and the customs that are now
observed each Christmas throughout the
Eastern, Middle, and Western States, are
mainly such as were brought to this
country by the Dutch. Americans have
none of their own. In fact, they possess
but little that is distinctively their own
because they are a conglomerate nation,
speaking a conglomerate language.
[ 191 ]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS ,
According to the late Lawrence Hutton,
" Our Christmas carols appear to have
come from the Holy Land itself; our
Christmas trees from the East by way of
Germany; our Santa Claus from Hol-
land; our stockings hung in the chimney,
from France or Belgium ; and our Christ-
mas cards and verbal Christmas greetings,
our Yule-logs, our boars' heads, our plum
puddings and our mince pies from Eng-
land. Our turkey is, seemingly, our
only contribution." Let us add the
squash-pie !
These customs which have become
general throughout the United States,
varying of course in different localities,
are being rapidly introduced into the
new possessions where they are engrafted
on some of the prettiest customs observed
by the people in former years. In Porto
Rico on Christmas Day they have a
[192]
YULE-TIDE IN AMERICA
church procession of children in beauti-
ful costumes, which is a very attractive
feature. The people feast, dance, attend
midnight mass on Christmas Eve, then
dance and feast until Christmas morning.
In fact they dance and feast most of the
time from December twenty-fourth until
January seventh, when not at church
services. On Twelfth Night gifts are ex-
changed, for as yet Santa Claus has not
ventured to visit such a warm climate, so
the children continue to receive their
gifts from the Holy Kings. However,
under the shelter of the American Flag,
the Christmas tree is growing in favor.
In Hawaii, so far as possible, the so-called
New England customs prevail.
In the Philippines even beggars in the
streets expect a " Christmas present,"
which they solicit in good English.
So from Alaska to the Island of Tu-
[193]
YULE-TIDE IN MANY LANDS
tuila, the smallest of America's posses-
sions, Yule-tide is observed in a similar
manner.
Yule-tide has been singularly connected
with important events in the history of
the United States.
In the year 1776 Washington crossed
the Delaware on Christmas night to cap-
ture nearly one thousand Hessians after
their Christmas revelries. A few days
later, December 30th, Congress resolved
to send Commissioners to the courts of
Vienna, Spain, France, and Tuscany; and
as victory followed the American leader,
the achievements of this Yule-tide were
declared by Frederick the Great of Prussia
to be " the most brilliant of any recorded
in the annals of military action." The
year following, 1777, was probably one
of the gloomiest Yule-tides in the experi-
ence of the American forces. They lay
[194]
YULE-TIDE IN AMEEICA
encamped at Valley Forge, sick and dis-
couraged, destitute of food, clothing, and
most of the necessities of life.
It was on Christmas Eve, 1783, that
Washington laid aside forever his mili-
tary clothes and assumed those of a civil-
ian, feeling, as he expressed it, " relieved
of a load of public care." After Congress
removed to Philadelphia, Martha Wash-
ington held her first public reception in
the Executive Mansion on Christmas Eve,
when, it is stated, there was gathered" the
most brilliant assemblage ever seen in
America."
At Yule-tide a few years later, 1799,
the country was mourning the death of
the beloved Father of his Country.
In later years, the season continued
prominent in the history of great events.
The most notable of these were the two
Proclamations of President Lincoln, the
[195]
YULE-TIDE m MANY LANDS
one freeing the slaves, January 1, 1863,
and the other proclaiming the " uncondi-
tional pardon and amnesty to all con-
cerned in the late insurrection," on De-
cember 25, 1868t{y^ jLnd may the peace
then declared remain with this people
forevermore I
THE VOICE OF THE CHEIST-CHILD
The earth has grown cold with its burden of care.
But at Christmas it always is young,
The heart of the jewel burns lustrous and fair,
And its soul full of music breaks forth on the air.
When the song of the Angels is sung.
It is coming, old earth, it is coming to-night !
On snowflakes which covered thy sod,
The feet of the Christ-child fall gently and white.
And the voice of the Christ-child tells out with
delight
That mankind are the children of God.
On the sad and the lonely, the wretched and poor,
The voice of the Christ-child shall fall ;
And to every blind wanderer opens the door
Of a hope which he dared not to dream of before.
With a sunshine of welcome for all.
[196]
YULE-TIDE IN AMEEICA
The feet of the humblest may walk in the field
Where the feet of the holiest have trod,
This, this is the marvel to mortals revealed,
When the silvery trumpets of Christmas have
pealed,
That mankind are the children of God.
— Fhillips Brooks.
[ 197 ]
INDEX
Alaska, 193 Christian Fathers, The, 21
Alexander the Great, 55 Cid, The, 150
Alexander, King of the Scots, 42 Cole, Sir Henry, 46
Alfred, King, 35
American Flag, The, 193
Andres, Governor, 187
Archbishop of York, 42
Aryans, 13, 57, 104
Asia, 15
Baal, 22
Bambino, The, 1 33, 141
Balder, 15, 16, 17, 22, 99
Banks, N. P., 188
Berserks, The, 26, 27, 29
Bethlehem, 63
Boar's Head, The, 39, 40
Bocaccio, 132
Bolero, The, 156
Bornhern, Island of, 99
Boston, 185
'Boxing-day, 61
Columbus, 150, 169, 171, 172
Congress, 194, 195
"Cream of the Year," The, 50,
Czar, The, 1 16
Dante, 132
Druids, 17, 22, 31
Easter, 89, 97
Edda, The Younger, 14, 15, 17
Elizabeth (Daughter of Henry
VII), 44
Epiphany, 127, 129, 145, 165
Executive Mansion, The, 195
Fandango, 156
Father of His Country, 195
Feast of Tabernacles, The, 21
Bradford, William, 1 80, 183, 185 Festival of Fools, 129
Bragi, 19
Brew^ster, Elder, 180, 181
Brooks, Phillips, 197
BuU-fights, 164
Fool's Dance, The, 44
Frankland, 15
Frederick the Great, 194
Frey (Freya), 18, 45, 75, 95
Frost King, The, 117
Gregorian calendar. The, 24,
112
Cadiz, 161
Csesar, Julius, 23
appo, 136, 139
Cervantes, 150
Christ, 13, 17, 21, 28, 63, 135, Hackin, The, 47
185 Hadrian, Emperor, 145
Christ-child, lOO, loi, I02, 129, Hakon the Good, 27
196 Hampton Court, 44
[199]
INDEX
Hawaii, 193
Hayti, 169
Hel, 17
Henry III, 42
Henry VII, 43, 44
Henry VIII, 43
" Hiring Day," 179
Hoder, 16
Holy Family, The, 135
Holy Kings, The, 193
Holy Land, The, 192
Holy Manger, The, 125, 154
Holy Night, 63, 65, 71, 140
Holy Season, The, 140
Hweolor-tid, 14
Icons, 109
Indo-European ancestors, 14
Jamestown, 175, 177
Janus, 23
Jehovah, 126
Jesus, The Little, 126
Jota, 156
Julian calendar. The, 25
Jutland, 15
King's Chapel, 187
Knight Rupert, 60
Kolyada, 105, 106, 107
Kolyadki, 108, 115
Kriss Kringle, 60
Lamb'' s-wool, 49
Lapps, The, 76, 77, 79, 80, 8
Lincoln, President, 195
Litchfield, 42
Loki, 15, 16 ♦
Lorraine, 69
Luther, Martin, 58
Lycia, 59
Magi, The, 127, 165
Magnificat, The, 142
Margaret, Princess, 42
Massachusetts Colony, 185
Massasoit, 181, 182
Mayflower, The, 181, 182, 1 83
"Merry Christmas," 112
Michelangelo, 132
Miracle Plays, 66, 67
Mistletoe, 31, 177 -«
Mohammedans, The, 159
Morris Dance, The, 43 ^
Myra, Bishop of, 59
Nativity, The, 156, 157, 158
Naulets, 121
Navidad, Fortress of, 173, 175
Nina, The, 169, 170, 171,
173
Noche-buena, 151, 152, 153
Noel, 130
North Pole, The, 76
Norway, 15
Novena, The, 134, 136
Numa, 23, 24
Odin, 13, 14, 76 •
Olaf, King, 26, 28
Ovsen, 113, 114
Palara, 59
Paradise Play, 66
Parliament, 47, 187
Passover, The Jewish, 21
I Petit Anse, 171
Petrarch, 132
Petrograd, 115, 116
Pfeffer Kuchen, 63, 69
Philadelphia, 195
Philippines, The, 193
Pilgrims, The, 180
Pinta, The, 169, 173
Plymouth Colony, 179, 180
[200]
INDEX
Pope, 143, 144, 145
Pope Julius, 21
Pope Leo XIII, 146
Porto Rico, 192
Fresepio, The, 1 36, 137
Prince of Peace, The, 168
Puchero Olla, The, 160
Puritans, The, 47, 180, 191
Pytheas, 55, 56
" Queen of the North " (Sweden),
95
Raphael, 132
Reformation, The, 46
Richard II, 42
Ring of St. Peter, The, 144
Rome, 23
Rowena, 44
Saehrimnir, 19
Sagas, 76
St. Angelo, Castle of, 140, 144
St. Barbar's Day, 125
St. Nicholas, 59, 60, 188 %
St. Peter's, 140, 142
St. Sylvester's Eve, 112
Santa Claus, 70, 79, 87, 88, 89,
192, 193
Santa Maria, The, 169, 171,
174
Saturn, 15
Saturnalia, Roman, 17, 129, 149,
158
Saul, 22
Saxons, The, 31, 33, 34, 35
Seville, 162
Shepherds' Hymn, The, 142
Smith, Captain John, 175, 176
Sotjelnik, 116
Star of the East, The, 154
Svea, 95
Sweden, 15
Sylvester, 7 1
Tacitus, 23
Thames, The, 175
Thor, 13, 26, 28, 38, 95
Tree of Fate, The, 159
Tree of Nativity, The, 140
Trinity, The, 126, 144
Twelfth Night, 193
Twelfth-Night Ball, The, 94
Twelfth-Night Supper, The, 129
Tyrolese Alps, 66
Tyrolese peasants, 67
Upsala, 95, 96
Vrn of Fate, The, 138, 159
Utwagustorp, 96
Valhalla, 16, 19
Valley Forge, 195
Vienna, 194
Vikings, 76
Virgin Mary, The, 71, 83, 107,
162
Vortigern, 44
Warwick, Earl of, 41
Washington, 194, 195
Washington, Martha, 195
Wassail bowl. The, 44 »
Westminster Hall, 42
Whitehall, 48
Winter Palace, The, 116
Wise Men, The, 154
Wodin, 13, 14, 95, 96, 149
Yggdrasil, 58
Ynle-log,The^37, 123, 124, 136,
I9\ .
Zealand, 99
[201]
CHRISTMAS IN LEGEND AND STOEI
A Book for Boys and Girls
Compfled by ELVA S. SMITH
Cataloguer of Children's Books, Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh,
and ALICE I. HAZELTINE
Supervisor of Children's Work, St. Louis Public Library
Illustrated from Famous Paintings Net, $1.50; Postpaid, $1 .70
TN their experience in providing reading for
children, these trained and efficient li-
brarians saw the need of a book that should
group the bat of real literature regarding
Christmas. With wide research and great
pains they have gathered the noblest, grand-
est, sweetest, and most reverent of all that
eminent writers in varying lands and in
different times have told us in prose and
verse of the origin and sentiment of this
"gracious time." The style and decoration
of the book are in keeping with its contents.
** Clad in green, red and gold, the Christmas colors, comes this collection of
all the sweetest and noblest stories and leg-ends that have gathered round the
birthday of the Son of Man. This is an interesting volume, full of the spirit
of Christmas." — The Churchman.
" It is a superb book, beautifully printed, illustrated from famous paintings
and splendidly bound. It is as well adapted to the adult as to the children,
and will be read with interest, enjoyment and delight by many an older one." —
The Brooklyn Citizen.
" The literary standard of all these tales is exceptionally high, and the two
editors of the volume are to be congratulated on their choice of selections for
it." — The Christian Register.
" It is redolent of Christmas cheer and reverence. The Yuletide spirit
breathes from every page. The illustrations, taken for the most part from old
paintings, are an invaluable embellishment of the attractive text.— Columbus
Dispatch.
" Perhaps the best and most comprehensive collection of good literature
published regarding the birth of Christ and the celebration of^His birthday
is this well-illustrated, clearly-written and plainly-printed book by two experts
in children's reading. It will help to keep the spirit of Christmas alive through-
out the year." — The Continent.
For Bale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt
of price by the publishers
Lothrop, Lee k Sliepard Co. Boston
THE STORY-TELLER
For Little Children
By MAUD LINDSAY
Author of "A Story Garden for Little Children"
Illustrations and Jacket in Colors by
Florence Liley Young
Twelve
Square 8vo Cloth Price, Net, $i.oo; Postpaid, $i.io
npHIS book takes its name from
the wandering minstrel or "Story-
teller" of the Middle Ages, who,
from palace to cottage, was the most
welcome of all guests in the opinion
of the children. So will this book be
most welcome. Its stories are fasci-
nating, each one a gem of thought and
expression. Each story has an ex-
cellent full-page illustration in colors.
When this book was in prepara-
tion, Miss Poulsson, the noted author
of "Finger Plays," etc., wrote to Miss Lindsay: "I love your
poetic and imaginative stories so very much that I am more than glad
to know that you have written some of the ' fanciful ' kind, as you
call it. I think no one else can write that kind for children as well as
you."
" In makeup it is one of the most charming books of the season. The very
stuff which children's dreams are made of." — New Ycrrk Sun,
" Miss Lindsay is imaginative and has poetic fancy, and these stories
should find a warm welcome from parents on the lookout for easy literature for
their young people." — Independent.
" Twelve fanciful stories by one who is so well known as a story writer
that a book by her needs no word of recommendation." — Kindergarten
Review.
" Every story contains a suggestive thought — a lesson in helpfulness,
brotherly love, or kindness. The plot and atmosphere of each story suggest the
fairytale, the most fascinating cloak possible, perhaps, when the whole atten-
tion of the child is sought." — Springfield Republican.
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt
of price by the publishers
Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co. Boston
A STORY GARDEN
For Little Children
By MAUD LINDSAY
Author of "Mother Stories" and "More Mother Stories"
Profusely
Square 8vo Cloth Price, Net, $i.oo ; Postpaid, $i.io
With Introduction by Emilie Poulsson
Illustrated by F. Liley Young
XT' QU ALLY suitable for home or
school is this happily named,
happily written "garden of stories"
by an expert in the very difficult art of
worthily interesting the little ones. It
well deserves the warm commendation
which Miss Poulsson graciously ac-
cords it. There are twenty stories, in
large, clear type, and each with a full-
page picture and smaller decorative
illustrations by an excellent artist, and
every detail has been planned to delight
the eye and mind of our little people and those who love them.
"This is a book of mighty interesting- stories lor small children — the kind
of a book mothers might read from when they are getting toddlers ready for
bed. The stories are delightfully told, and should prove to be of absorbing in-
terest to youngsters." — Springfield {Mass.) Union.
" One of the daintiest, dearest volumes for the little people which we have
seen for a long time; just the kind of stories in which the little folks delight."
— Cleveland Town Topics.
' ' The beautifully decorated book, with pictures which will delight, is named
A STORY GARDEN, and the stories are for the very youngest children, ' a
public in pinafore and rompers ' — stories which mirror the familiar and which
are of the pure and beautiful order which will help guard the sweet child nat-
ure." — Chicago News.
"Miss Lindsay writes just the kind of stories that small children like to
hear and that mothers like to have them hear. This book may well become
familiar on the book-shelf of every nursery in the land." — Christian Register.
for sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt
of price by the publisbers
Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co. Boston
NEXT»NIQHT STORIES
By CLARENCB JOHNSON ME3SER
by L. J. Bridgman i2mo Clotlt
Pesorated Cover Price, Net, $1.00
A MASTER hand at te'ling "animal stories *=
holds the attention ci! four bright chiUren
so successfully that the demand for a "next-
night story-' cannot be denied, and twelve of
the finest stories since "Uncle Remus" and
Hans Christian Andersen are in this book. By
endowing animals with speech and causing them
to show human emotions, rich entertainment is
furnished, and an excellent lesson of kindness
and duty — not too proTiinent' — is ylain to see in
each night's fftscinating disclosure. The stories
in their order are; The Proud and Foolish
Peacock; TaclebeHs The Donkey and the Wolf ; ITie Fox, the Raccoon,
and tho Bus:.; The Dwarfs; The Frog Girl; Granny Chipmunk's Lesson;
The Horse Oild ths Hen; Dandy Beaver and Sippy Woodchuck; Sambc
and Je^iy; The Bird of Prey; The Hen That Ran Away. Children will
be :ha.mad r-cd grown-ups will not oiily be glad of such fine material fcr
captivating young listeners, but will themselves be interested in the skill-
fully-told tales and in the pretty, humorous connecting thread of incidents
that made the stories possible and ^d such a happy ending.
" When coiifrof.ted by the te.I' mca-story challenge for a hundredt^ time these
fsJes will prove a boon by replenishing your ejchausted supply. They are models
at theu: Mnd." — ChristiaK World. Cleveland.
" Children will be charmed, and even grown-ups ciuinot help bein^ interested in
(he skillfully-toid tales. "—Milwaztiee Free Press,
"NBXT-NIGHT STORIES are the kind that please as well as teach She evei
oseful lesson ot kindness to dumb creatures." — Buffalo Commercial,
" One need not fear lest th? volume will find wiliing listeners ; the difficult;
(vill be to limit them to a single story a night."— T oy Record,
For sals by ail bookmMen ar seat oss mesipt ofpontpaid
BOSTOi^
THE SLEEPY-TIME STORY-BOOK
By RUTH O. DYER
With Frontispiece by Alice Barber Stephens and Fifty-
four Pen-and-ink Illustrations by Bertha Davidson
HoxiE Decorative End-leaves and Title-page
Price, Net, $i.oo; Postpaid, $i.io
INTELLIGENT mothers have learned
better than to spoil the restful sleep of a
child, and probably exert an unfortunate
influence upon his disposition and character,
by tales of ogres, dark woods, and savage
beasts. They know he cannot rest well
with his mind excited and his blood
quickened by tales of adventure, but are at
a loss to answer the natural plea for a bed-
time story in a way that shall interest and
yet soothe. The simple nature -stories in
" this attractive book are the prescription of
an expert for all such cases. Using familiar objects, they, with words
adapted to a lulling tone of voice, will hold the attention of a child
until refreshing drowsiness comes to bring healthful rest.
"A unique and delightful volume of restful stories by which the mother
may put her little child to bed. They meet not only the need of the mother
who thinks she does not know how to tell stories, but their slow cadences must
be almost magical in the way of lulling a child to refreshing drowsiness." —
Bulletin of the American Institute of Child Life.
" In the fashion of prose lullabies, Ruth Dyer has put together a little vol-
ume of twenty -five short stories. Bach deals with the things of every-day child
experiences, and aside from the standpoint of nap-time stories, forms a pleas-
ant lesson for the child consciousness in making it aware of its surroundings."
— 714* Churchman.
•• Pretty little bedside tales of the tranquilizing order are grouped in this
neat little book for the pleasure of little people and the relief of mothers." —
Detroit Free Press.
For sale by all bookaellers, ot sent postpaid on receipt
of price by the publishers
Lothrop, Lee & Sliepard Co. Boston
XP
HOHE ENTERTAININQ
What to Do, and Mow to Do It
edited by WILLIAH E. CHENERY
92ano Cloth Price^Net, $.75 Postpaid, $.85
'T^IS book is the product of years of study
and the practical trying-out of every con-
ceivable form of indoor entertainment. All the
games, tricks, puzzles, and rainy-day and social-
evening diversions have been practised by the
editor; many are original with him, and many
that are of course not original have been greatly
improved by his intelligence. All are told in the
plainest possible way, and with excellent taste.
The book is well arranged and finely printed. At
a low price it places within the reach of all the
very best of bright and jolly means of making
be — ^the best piace for a good time by those of all
cheer and sunshine, A good
home what it ought to
agss.
•' The book is bright, an i up to date, full of cl
bolida,y hook."— 'lieii^ioui Idescope,J)ayton, Ohio,
" For those who want new games for the home this book supplies the very best
—good, clean, hearty games, full of fua and the spirit of laughte?:.'''^iV. T. Times,
"Altogether the book is a perfect treasure-house for the young people's ^ainy
day or social evening." — New Isedford Standard.
"The arrangement is excellent and the instructions so simple that a child may
follow them. A book like this is just the thing for social entenmg&."— Christian
Endeavor World.
" A book giving the best, cleanest and brightest games and tricks for home
entertaining."— iTy^acws* Herald,
«« The book is clearly written and should prove c& value to every young map
who aspires to be the life of the ^9xty,"-^Baltt«tore Sun.
"Only good, bright, clean games and tricks appeal to Mr. Chenery, and he
Itias told in the simplest asdinost comprehensive manner how to get up ' amuse
ments for evet^ oae.' "■"•^Bariford Courant.
Pas sate li^ all
LOTHROR LEE
or sent offi swoelpt otpta^tsla
hy the puhUabers
& SHEPARD CO., BOSTON
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