The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1858-12-16

mansion. Children go out into the
woods, to cut holly, or look for misle.
toe; and their mirthlnl laughter makes
many a silent dell vocal with gadncss.
The churches are all decked out with
evergreen. As in the United States,
gifts are exchanged between husband
and wife, parents and children, be.
trothed lovers, friends, sisters, and old
acquaintanccs. Hampers of game
are sent, from country relatives, to
cousins in the city. The poorest in.
dulgc, on Christmas day, in a good
dinner. lliarity everywhere pre-
walls.
On this side of the Atlantic, Christ,
mas is less universally observed; in.
deed, until within a few years, it was
hardly kept at all in New England,
except by the members of the Episco'
pal church; and even yet, over large
portions of that intelligent section, it
is regarded as of secondary impor.
tance to Thanksgiving Day. But in
the middle statcr it has always been
the chief festival ofthe year. In Vir-
ginia, where so much Of the old caval.
ier spirit survives, Christmas has been
kept, from the era of the first settle.
ment at Jamestown, with more unani-
nifty, perhaps, than any where else in
the United States. As we go further
south, we find it the national holiday,
if we may use such phrase, for the
Ang 10. African races. In Charleston,
it is welcomed, by the negroes, with
the discharge of Chinese crackers, and
all the uproar which distinguishes the
Fourth Of July at the North. At lIa,
vana it becomes almost a Saturnnlia,
or, to speak more strictly, an uproar-
ions negro carnival.
Oh! blessings on Christmas! How
the little hearts of children throb with
delight, as it draws near; and how,
week after week, the dear ones ask,
"lsn't Christmas most hcre." Visions
of plum.puddings, turkeys, and thcr
delicacies, float before their imagin..
tion; they linger about the kitchen
doors, all Christmas morning, if not
at church; and when the pudding is
trlumphantly taken up, they follow it,
shouting and dancing, wild with glce.
All! our mouth fairly waters at the
thought; we are child again; we
taste, in fancy the delicious dish, than
which nectar could not be more eX-
quisite. Will we ever again enjoy
anything as we enjoy the Christmas
pudding!
But the Christmas tree is the crown
ing JOY for children. With what rapt
wonder they gaze OH it, when it is re.
vealed to them for the first time in
their lives, with its golden fruit, its
twinklng tapcrs, and its loads OF
tempting toys! AS they grow older,
they begin to doubt the fable, which
they have been told, perhaps, of a cer-
tain Kriss krnglc, who brings gifts
for good children and is the omnipres-
ent architect of all Christmas trecs.--
They understand, now. why their pa
rents, on Christmas Eve, are SO peril
naciOus is shutting them out of the
room where the Christmas tree is to
appear, all glorious, tomorrow. They
peep under doors and listen on the
staircase: they even, sometimes, steal
in on the busy parents, till, at last
there is nothing left for it. but to put
the inqusitivc, excited little rebels to
bed. So to bed they 60, where they
lie awake, talking of what they had
on last Christmas, and of what they
would like to get, on this; and so grad
ually fall asleep, to dream OF KRIS
Kringlc, to wake at daylight, and tc
be filling the house, with glad uproar
an hour before their parents usually
rise. But who would have house
at Christmas, with out children. ever
though the little mad-caps dealen til,
ears with their noisy gladnessl Alas
alas for the homes, where, this year
no little feet patter about overhead, OF
Christmas morning, as they did a
twelve-month ago.
! -----~~e~----
A LAWYERS SToRY.-Tom strike.
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