Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1860-12-25

A-Aas ~ - A-A~ A41AAA VI ~ AAeeAN - -
elusive to its enjoyment, On this day the
rich and the poor, the great and the small,
the good and the bad, the learned and the
uhlearned, have equal claims, for Il isthe
anniversary fan event which ushered inneW
light to the world, and brought "Pesee on
earth, good viii to men, It is the anni-
versary Of the birthday of the Redeener q
mankind. through whose Ogency alone can
We hope for redemption, end in whose love
ell conditions Of men abide. To the Christian
man it is an occasion of joy and great glad
ness. His thoughts viii revert to-day 10
the mangeF where lay the infant Jesus and
his mother, and as did the shepherds of old,
he win bow IN humble reverence before his
Saviour and the saviour of his race. Bis
heart will be filled With emotions of the
deepest love, the bondage whish the cares Of
the world have for tWelvemopth imposed
on him will be thrown of, and his soul, free
and unrsstrained, viii mount toward the
throne of its God with praise and thanks
giving. .t
Z But the good things Of this life, which
have been Fouehsafsd unto us through the
mercy of God, and the condition to ration
ally enjoy which We must refer TO the
teachings Of Him whose birth this day is the.
anniversary, are not to be forgotten. We
conceive to-dsy to be oEe for general enjoy
ment- tempered with moderation. It is
right and proper that We should meet to-
gsther in Christian fellowship, and exchange
greetings Of brOtherly affection. tits right
and proper that we should maks each other
glad by tokens Of love and esteem. It is
proper that we should on this day enjoy, to
our satisfaction, all the good things which
it may be in our good fortune to procure
The Christmas feast is not only an els- I
ment of the days pleasure--a feature for
which the arrival Of the day is anxiOusly
awaited-but it is also 8 tims-honored GUS
iom, common to all Christian nations. In
this connection we will give an outline Of
the Christmas festival in the olden time, TO-
gsther with brief history of its origin,
Its institution is attributed by the deeretal
letters 70 Pope Telesphorus, who died A. D.
lSs, and throughout the subsequent history
Of the church, it has been one of the most
noted of Christian solemnities. At first it
was the most movable of the Christian fes-
tive days, often confounded with the Epi-
phany, and celebrated by the Eastern
churches in tbs months Of April and May
In the 4th century the urgency Of St. Cyril |
of Jerusalem obtained of Pope Julius Ian or
der for an investigation to be made concern
ing the day Of Christ's nativity. The result !
Of inquiry by the theologians Of the East |
and the West was an agreement upon the |
25th of December. The chief grounds for |
the decision were the tables Of the censors in |
the archives of Rome and although in the |
opinion Of some of the. fathers, there was |
not authentic proof of the Identification Of /
the day, yet the decision was uniformly ae-
cepted, and from that time the nativity has /
been celebrated throughout the church on 1
the same day. Il has also been the common /
tradition that Christ was born about the 4
middle of the night. The custom in Roman |
Catholic countries of ushering in Christmas /
day by the celebration of three masses, one |
at midnight, the I'd at early dawn, and the i
81 in the morning, dates from the 6th cen
tury. The day was considered in the double
light Of holy commemoration and cheer
fnl festival, and was accordingly distiguish-
y -
and by merriment. During the middle ages
It was celebrated by the gay fantastic specta-
Gle of dramatic mysteries and moralities,
performed by personages in grotesque masks
and singular costumes. The scenery gene
rally represented an infant in 3 cradle, sur
by the Virgin Mary and st. Joseph, /
BY bulls heads, eherubs, eastern magi, and I
manifold ornaments. The custom Of sing i
ing canticles at Christmas, called carols,
which recalled the songs Of tbs shepherds at
The birth of Christ, dates from the time /
when the common people ceased to under
stand Latin. The bishops and lower clergy
often Joined with the p0pulace in carolling,
md the songs were enlivened by dances and 4
by the music Of tambours, guitars, violins
and organs. Fathers, mothers, sons and i
daughters mingled together in the dance; if
IN the night, each bearing in his hand a
lighted wax taper.
During the last days preceding Christmas
t is still the custom for Calabrian uinstrels
10 descend from the mountains 10 Naples and
Rome, saluting the shrines of the virgin
mother with their wild music, under the
DoeticaI notion of cheering her until the
5irth-time of her infant at the approaching
Christmas, In picture Of the nativity by /
Raphael ne has introduced shepherd at the
door playing on sort of bagpipe. Prepsra-
tory to Christmas the bells are rung at dead
throughout England and the con-
tinent and after the solemn celebration of
the mass, for which the churches in France
and Italy are magnifeently adorned, it is
usual for the jewellers to psrtake of cola
ton that they may be better to
sustain the fatigaes of the night. Among
the revels Of the Christmas season were the
so-called feasts of fools and Of asses, gro
r-hf,h aof1,
termed I" December liberties" in which /
every thing serious was burlesqued, interiors
their superiors, great men be-
coming frolicsome, and which illustrate the /
proneness Of man occasionally to reverse the
order Of society and ridicUle its decencies.-
In the Protestant districts of Germany and /
the north of Europe, Christmas is often call |
ed the "children's festival" and Christmas |
eve is devoted 70 giving presents, especially |
between parents and children, and brothers |
and sisters. by means Of the so-caIled Christ |
mas tree. A large yew bough is erected in |
one of the parIors, lighted with tapsrs, and |
hung with manifold gifts, sweetmeats, ap-
piles, nuts, playthings, snd ornaments.
Each Of these is marked with the name Of
the person for whom it is intended, but not
with the name Of the donor, and when the
whole family party is assem- bled, the pre-
sents are distributed around the room ac-
cording to their labels, amid joyful accla-
nations and congratulations. A more sober
scene succeeds, for the mother takes this oc-
casion, to say privately to her Daughters, and
the father to the sons, what has been OBJ
served most praiseworthy and what most
faulty in their conduct. Formerly, and
still in some of the smaller villages of North
Germany, the presents made by all the pa
rents were sent to some one person, who, in
4
enormous FAX wig, becoming the bugbear
Of children, known as KHset Rupert, goes
from house to house, is received BY the ps-
rents with great pomp and reverence, calls
for the children, and bestoWs the intended
gifts upon them according 10 the character
which he hears from the parents after Sc
we're inquiries.
Christmas has always been at once q reli-
gious, domestic and merry-making festival