Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-12-25
CHRISTMAS.

AOOtNVtObsS.
The mode OF observing this period
of the year has often varied. The re-
ligious ohservances of the day became
universal as regarded the Catholic
Church about the Year 800, and our
ancestors looked on it in the mixed
light Of religious and joyful season
OF festivities. For instance, the mid
night preceding Christmas. day every
person "gentle and simple attended
high mass, and on Christmas-s|ay three
different services were sung with much
solemnity. The great Alfred saw fit to
publish an elict ortlnining, that 'sye
twelve days after ye Nativitie be
festivalc;'' and Bishop Holt assures us
that tue whole OF the days were detlica-
ted to ''high jinks," and celebrated with
great parade, splenlor, and con-
VITALITY. Business was superseded by
merriment and hospitality oha cara,
which Horace assures rs "rides on
everyboiy's back" was for the nonce
kicked off, and the most careworn
countenance frightened up for the oc-
casion.
From Christmas-day to Twelfth. day
the origin OF this letter dies testus
was from Alired's elict-there was a
mad and continuous career of enter.
tainments; the mobiles aud barons gave
their countenance to the various sports;
the palace OF royalty and the labourer's
cot alike resounded with tumultuous
JOY.
's Now too was heard
The hap'eSs cripple, tuning through the streets
Ills cuT0t new anu OFT, amid the gloom
Ofmldnisht hours, pcyall'd tn accustoT, d sounds
OF waseiu ''aits, whose harmony-composed
OF hautboy, organ, violin, and flute,
And various other Instruments of mirth--
IL meant to celebrate the coming time.''
The custom OF stroliing from street
to street, playing musical instruments
and singing seems to have originated
from very ancient practice which pre-
vailed, Of the minstrels attached to the
kings court and retinue of the barons,
who paraded the streets and sounded
the hour from Christmas-eve till dawn.
The ''lord mayors music is a relicJ
of this custom and it may not per
haps be generally known that in the
year OF grace 1871 ''waits" are regularly
sworn before the "court OF burgesses.''
at Westminster, an act under the au-
thority Of Il warrant, signed by the
clerk, and sn"!ed with the arms Of the
city and libe. J; in addition to which
they We're bound to provide themselves
with silver badge, also bearing the
arms of Westminster.
The custom of serving boars' heads
ut Christmas feusts is one to which
much pomp and ceremony formerly at
tached. Henry II. "served his son ut
the table as server, bringing up the
boar's head with trumpets before it =
! SO saith the eruditc dignitary of the
Church hcreinbefore quoted. The
Il master OF the revels, called the 'Lord
of Misrnle," whose dnty it was to keep
the best order he could during the
sports and pastimes. The universities,
the lord mayor and sheritfs, and all
noblemen and gentlemen, had their
lords of misrule. These lords were
animadvertel on severely at Cambridge
by the Puritans, in the reign of the
Scotch Scion, james l., cas- unbecom-
ing the gravity and dignity of the
university" in1eriting evidently the
mantle of che ''vaine players of inter
ludes " stigmatised by act of parlia-
Durlug the Commonwealth stern
Nolls p,,ritanical followers i'll broo1ed
what they We're pleased to term "super-
sti:ious festivals" and amongst these
was Christmas. So determined was the
Puritan party to make clean sweep of
all vestiges of "evll creeds and evil
Deeds" that they resolved in council
to attack old Father Christmas and his
concomitants. The holly and mistlctoe
bough were TO be cxterminatcl root
and branch, as plants OF the evil one :;
cakes and splcel ale we're :oted not
only fuperAuous, but simply "impious
libations to superstition" and the
Observation-Disclosures we call them
-wonla have none ofit. Accordingly,
in the year 1947, Cromwell announced
through the mouth of the common,
cricr, the Il ,llal mode of announcing
anything unpleasant in those days
that Christmas day should no longer
be observed, being {; superstltious and
hurtful custom; aud that in place
thereof, and the more eifcctually to
work change, markets should be held
on the 25th OF y 'ccmber." The news.
| letters and PR, te correspondence OF
those days are full Of indignant com.
ment on such an arbitrary proceeding.
This WAS attacking thepeople, especially
the country folks, in their most sen
sitivc part. It was hardly to be tx
pcctc'l that they would quietly submit
to such IL bcreavment nor did they
The author Of this black act aud LII:
aiders and abettors came in time to bt
detestcd, and made people: long for :
moro liberal rule in fact. such want
of consideration for the conservative
feelings of the English people coule
not fail to bring about the downfall o
any government. lreton, who was re
Dutcd to have hcc, Il prime mover j,
nromntin..' such an unpopular cdict
had forever a,.."r ns,dcrahlc persona
od,um attache.| :" him; and at hi
death in Whitehall, one OF IL glees"m
mob standing outside the "nor' owe
the portal Of which Wa. ihSc' ''"'
"Decus ct decorum est p.o p'tf'
NOR" with bitter irony constr"".- \ az
ct was a good thing for bis coi''>'
that he died
The rosemary, the holly, and tho
mistIetoc, from time immemori,u have
been plants used for Christmas dccoTa
tions. GAY says:
"Wlcn roxsn", and hav*, tn: poets crown;
Are baWl'd in frequent rrir through all the tOwl
Then Judge the festival of CIlTStn n near
Christmas, the ',vOrs ,:tri',i OF tn: year
Now with bright h'Hy I'll your ,:lnil~ rtrOw,
With 'u"rA green AID sacred mtaktttoe.''
Jnc y'lIe log, or yuletide log, so call
ed from IL huge log Of dry wood spark
ling and cr;cHling in the chimney corner
whilst the yulr cakes are baking on Il
",gridle ~ north-conntry parlance fol
"grlddlc us apparently OF very old
stan'ling as 81 rrnconltant Of Christmas
in those parts, an old song running
thus:
Now all our nci"hN,rs chiInncys smoke
And yufr- 1ile logs aud burning:
1!"" VEINS they with baked mcatc choke
And all f'cir :Its arc turl4in4;'
while the youth of both sexes cUnrr,
gate nightly 1T neiShboring trends
houses to hear OF
"ll0b"hllu ull"nl~ and ~nchlike l..rous 4,,. i!v~
1t IL to these gatherings We owe the