Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian., 1859-01-01
BY CaARLES ]. PETRRh0y.

Christmas is the festival of the year
With modern Christian nations it takes pre-
cedence Of all and every religious celebration.
It's blessing are for the old as well as the
young The magnificent shows, which well
coined it, in the old baronial times, have, in
deed, long been disuscd. We no longer sec
the boar shead borneIin, to the sound of the
violin and harp,t TO grace the over loaded table
We no longer behold the page, with the was
sail bowl, preceded by the mimic trumpeter
We no longer hear the shouting, the music,
and the niIth Of the jester, as crowds of SER
vitors drag the yule log into the great hall,
where the baron and his lady stand, in state,
to welcome it. The mines, the games, the
buffooncry, the noisy revels have passed away.
But not the less hearty is our modern obser-
vance Of Christmas. On the contrary, the
festival is the more appropriately kept, in what
ever it is more sedate than formerly. In thou
sands of happy homes, the Christmas tree Is
raised in thousands Of churches prayer and
thanksgiving &c up. All over the land, the
hospitable board, at the old homestead, is
spread for the. children and grandchildren
Once more the parental root-tree overshndows
the reunited family, and sheds down upon
them its calm aud peaceful blessings. Alien.
ationS are forgotten, jeaiousieS disappear, heart
burnngs cease to be- The genial atmosphere
Of Christmas thaws out even seitishness itself.
And the angels, who sang "peacc and good
will to men," on that still, calm morning,
eighteen centuries ago, seem even yet to rev.
erent minds, to usher in this sacred dawn. The
last star paling before the morning. Hark! do
you not hear seraphic voices!
In England many OF the old customs still
survive On Christmas Eve, groups of singers
rove about. from house to house, singing
d" Christmas Waits" and are usually reward
ed, after the ancient fashion, with a dole
The church bells are set merrily ringing
Many of the wealthy landed proprietors still
keep UP the habit Of dispensing Goals and blan-
kets to the poor, and at the door of the castle
or the mansion. Children 80 out into the
woods, 10 cut holly or look for misletoe and
their nlirthful laughter makes many siIen.
dell with gladness The churches are oil
decked out with evergreen. AS IN the Unit
ed States, gifts are exchanged between hus-
band and wife, parents and children, betro-
| thed lovers, friends ,ssisters, and old acquaint
ances. Hampers Of game are sent from
country relatives, to cousins in the city. The
poorest indulge, on Christmas day, in a
good dinner. Hilarity every where pre-
walls.
! On this side of the Atlantic, Christmas is
less universally observed: indeed, until with
in few years, it was hardly kept at all in
New England except by the members Of the
| Episcopal church and even yet, over large
portions of that Intelligent section, it is regar
ded as of secondary Importance to Thanks
giving Day But in the Middle States it has
| always been the chief festival .of the year
In Virginia, where so much of the old cava-
| lier spirit survives, Christmas has been kept,
| from the era Of the first settlement of James
town, with more unanimity, perhaps, than
anywhere else in the United States AS we
90 further South, we find it the national ho!i-
| day, if we may use such a phrase, for the
| Anglo African races. In Charlestown, it is
welcomed by the negroes, with the discharge
Of Chinense crackers, and all the uproar
which distinguishes the Fourth of July at the
North. At Havana it becomes almost Sat
urnaIia, or, 10 speak more strictly, an uproar-
ious 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, "Isn't Christmas most
here?'' Visions of plum-puddings, turkeys
and other delicacies float before their imagin-
alton; they linger about the kitchen doors, all
Christmas morning, if not at church and
when the pudding is triumphantly taken mp
they follow it, shouting and dancing, wild with
glee. 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 exquisite. Will we ever
again enjoy anything as We enjoyed the Christ
mas pudding?
But the Christmas tree is the crowuine
10Y for children With what rapt wonder
they gsze on it, when it is revealed to them
for the first time in their lives, with its golden
fruit, its twinkling tapers, and its loads o.
tempting toys! As they grow older, they
grow older, they begin. to doubt the fable
which they have been told, perhaps, of a Ger
tain Kriss Kringle, (the german of Santa
Claus, who brings gifts for good childreI
and is the omnipresent architect of all Christ
mas trees. They understand, now, why
their parents, on Christmas Eve, are so per
tinacious in shutting them out of the roou
where the Christmas tree is to appear, al
glorious, tomorrow. They peep under tn,
doors and listen on the staircase; !; they even
sometimes, steal in on the busy parents =
TIL, at last, there is nothing left for it, but Il
put inquisitive, excited little rebels to bed
So to bed they 90 where they lie awake
talking of what they had, ON last Christmas
and of what they would like to get on this
and so gradually fall asleep, to dream o
Kriss- -Krmgle, to wake at daylight and to b