Weekly Trinity journal., 1866-12-22

| Some hat
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrate
The bird of dawning singeh all night long;
And them they spirit walks ABROAD -,
The nights wholesome then ne planets STRIKE
No fairy takes, witch hath power to charm'
So hallowed and so gracious is the time. O., -,
| A MERRY CHRISTMAS is the expression that
breaks from the lips of millions in chrlstendom
as this anniversary of the natal day OF the pa
vour of Mankind breaks upon the world NO
holiday is so universally observed as thls-nohe
has associated with it so many pleasing associa-
tions tender recollections, noble aspirations no.
lv mementoes Christmas comes to the ChriSt-
ian world as glowing festival. Poets ana paint
ers have learned to impersonate old Christmas as
an ancient Bacchanal, with hoary locks streaming
in the December wind, and face youthful ana
radiant with tue smiles of the Jolly Goa. lhlS
conception is the Christmas of merriment, COM
bining the sober memories of many buried Christ
masses with their dear friends once laughing and
merry, now entombed in the cold earth, with the
{ tipsy dance and jollity " of the present, and
its good cheer and happy surroundings The
combination is one of high enjoyment and pleas
ant sadness The wrinE les the brow of old
Christmas are not the deep furrows of melan-
choly. but rather the lines formed by centuries of
merriment Happy old fellow may he contin-
ue to smile as long as the world lasts
Who that has read the accounts of an old Eng
lish Christmas does not wish that be had lived
in the good old time when dull care was un-
!
at the old family mansion, down in the country,
nmong- the ancestral oaks-when the scattered
members of the family wended their steps home
ward to the annual reunion-when the Christ
mas board groaned under its load of roast beef,
plum pudding, venison, pastry, and the emhel-
lishments of Substantial Chri stmas dinner
when the guests al had good appetites, for IN
the good old times there no melancholy from
dyspepsia-when every face wore smile, and
every heart brm full of gladness-when the
very atmosphere seemed to exhilarate with
mysterious influence, making morose men aiih-
ble dull men witty, and sad ones happy And
then. after dinner. what night of merrment
The long hall is cleared the fddles get to work;
the limbs of the aged even become 1.-THE as they
lead in the dance, to the intense delight and bos-
ferrous merrimsnt of the young; the young are
full of happiness the mistletoe bough hangs
from the ceiling, and as the reluctant maiden is
whirled in the dance under its pendant boughs,
the loud kiss announces the fact, while she, with
coy bushes. affects to retreat beyond the magic
circle the pleasure never flags until all are
surprised to hear that it is morning, and that
even Christmas has its end. The succeeding
sumber is dream of a long series OF happy
Christmases. When the guests disperse, mel
Il ancholy pleasure fills each heart and the great
store-house, memory, has added to it a treasure
that will while away many heavy hour with
pleasant recollcctions. This is what we imagine
of the good old times when Christmas was Christ
mas-when England was =" Merrie England"
To this utlitariau age and country all this is a
fancy picture. and yet the fancy is pleasing to
most men, Without we had some such fancies,
what a dry, matter-of-fact people we would be-
come. So
Heap on wood the wind is chill;
But let it whistle as it will
! Well keep Christmas merry still
Each age has deemed the newborn year
The fttest time for festal cheer,
And well Christian sres of old
Loved when the year its course hti i' role''
And brought blithe Christmas back again.
With all its hospitable train"
merry Christmas to our readers ALL in town
or in country All over the Christian world the
glad peals of swinging bells will usher IN the
Christmas morn, and hearts old and young VIII
exult in the sweet sense that the dear old holiday
has come again. What though the Christmas OF
oden time has gone, to be known no more forev-
! er? The quaint ceremonies and rude festivities
of our English ancestors replaced by customs
and observances equally cheering The ule-
log no longer blazes the cheerful hearth
The boar's head no longer figures on the we'll
filled board. The wassail bowl, steamlng WITH
the beverage of ale, nutmeg, sugar, toast ana
roasted apples has been drained for the last
time, and finds its place now only among the
musty relics of the past. The Master Of the Rev
els and the Lord of Msrule have forever ceased
their gibes their gambols, their songs, and the
flashes of merriment that were wont to set the
table in roar. The rafters longer ring wiki
roistering choruses the voice of the harper is
heard no more and all the gallant trubadours
have vanished from the earth. The motley mum
mers no longer make merry among their friends
and neighbors, and the children no longer 60
from door to door, singing their Christmas car
OILS ; dining halls no longer green with holly
and ivy and few are the fair maidens that are
kissed in this country under the mstletoe bough.
And yet Christmas still comes welcome as OF old
the day above all others consecrated to the
high hopes and noble affections and sweet cheri-
-. e. ell tlf
pulpit, and with more attentive car, for fuller
and clearer the good tidings of great JOY
he now proclaims to the sons OF men. Inc
Christmas table is yet loaded with substantial
cheer that maketh the heart glad and plum pud-
ding, goose, turkey, minced pies and roast neei'
have more than made good all the boars heads
that forest ever teemed with Santa Claus yet
makes his annual rounds, and stockings are faI
er and Christmas trees brighter, and merry VOL
ces merrier and rosy cheeks roster than ever pe-
fore The games and the sports are not All dohe
with vet and millions of homesteads wiz Oh
Tuesday echo, like spring groves, with the Joy o'
birds 1t will be the hey-day OF youth anu iui,o-
cence and the oldest hearts, if they be not tne
searest and hardest it will make them fresh ahd
Young again. There may be, nay ihieeu' VIC
know that there are, those whose spifhs nave
been soiled with the dust and cankered Win tue
| mildew of the world,-but who OF our reauers
shall be intoerant or careless, or ashamed OF 'he
| household loves that shall this day be uttered
in words and embodied in actions?
| 4yo marvel Christmas lives 50 long
lie never knew but merry hours:
| His nights spent with mirth and song,
In happy homes and princely bowers:
| Was greeted both by serf and lord
And seated the festive board
| While every voice cried Welcome Efve.'
| Old Christmas comes but year
! Therefore do we wish our readers one aud all,
! upon this returning anniversary, MERRY
! CHRISTMAS"
| IS paper in the North american Reeisnc, Geo.
/ W. Curtis answers Mr.. Stewards question to