Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1874-12-23
CHRISTMAS CHEER.
The Customs and Reyelries of Merry
Observation-Disclosures, Yule Log.
and Evergreens.
BY SOPHIE SPARKLE.

BY SOPHIE SPARKLE.
..'I ~as Christmas preached the migbtiest ale,
Twas Christmas told the merriest tale.
A Christmas gambol oft would cheer ).
The poor mans heart through half the year "
Once again Christmas looks in upon
us just as merry, just as jovial as ever.
1t makes no difference whether times
are hard or not, every one seems deter
mined to enjoy the annual festival to the
utmost. The Christmas gift may be
less costly than it was last year, the
Christmas tree less heavily laden, but
SO that there are gifts, and that there is
q Christmas tree, around which the lit
tie ones may skip with delight, every
body is happy and contented Holidays
are too few In this age and in this coun-
try to be sighted, and in all the year
there is no holiday SO universally vel
coined by the young and the old as
Christmas, and SO at this time it is well
to-
:" Dance and sing and make good cheer
For Christmas comes but once year!
The stores are brilliant with beautiful
holiday gifts, the markets are filled
with tempting viands of all kinds, and
the streets are thronged with crowds OF
eager purchasers. Busy housewives are
deep in the mysteries of plum pud
dings, mince pies, and other Christmas
dainties, and the little folks are upon
the very tiptoe of expectation as they
await the beautiful presents which Santa
Claus is to bring them
One of the prettiest customs of this
time is that Of placing green tree
laden with gifts, and lighted with waxen
candles, in the parlor, around which
the family circle and friends are
gathered.
This charming German custom of
illuminating the "mistletoe- bough, ="
and loading it with presents, may be
compared to the quaint old festival our
ancestors kept when they lighted the
great yule-log in the hall upon Christ
mas Eve, and around which they gath
cred merriy to repeat the oft-told
Christmas tales, to eat yule cakes, and
to drink deep from the iovial wassail
bowl. The yule-log was always lighted
with a brand which had been preserved
from the previous years burning says
that quaint old poet Herrick:
:" Kindle the Christmas brand, and then til
sunset let 1t burn;
Which quencht then lay it up agen till Christ
| mas next return :;
Part must be kept wherewith to tend the
| Christmas log next year;
And where tbs safely left the fend can do no
| mischief there!"
So that even an old fire brand, safely
tucked away in some pantry corner, was
| believed to keep witches away, and to
1,,.0faot tho xr,ho1n 1x,,,oolD1l
Would that modern times had some
such Christmas charm to save us from
murderous disasters.
When Christmas happened upon a
Sunday it was believed to usher in a
most prosperous year, and if one
wished to know all the secrets of the
weather, he had only to cut an onion
in half, thus making twelve small cups,
fill them with salt, and let them stand
unjl the next morning. Those cups in
which the salt was dry betokened the
dry months of the year, and those in
| which the salt was found to be wet
were to be dreary and stormy. There
was primeval almanac, of the simplest
style, to be had without expense
From time immemorial Christmas
has been season of feasting and re-
Jolclng. For many long century old
Father Christmas made his annual visit
amidst the greatest hilarity and the
widest frolics. Celebrations and
feasts, such as we do not dream of now,
were kept in his honor. The tables of
the wealthy were loaded with viands and
the doors thrown Hospitality open to all,
SO that the poor neighbor was gladden.
ed by the Christmas bounty as we'll as
the rich. A quaint old book thus re-
cords the manner in which Christmas
was kept in the times of Henry the
Eighth by wealthy family in Cornwall:
"They kept open house for all corners
and goers, drinkers, minstrels, dancers,
and what not, during the Christmas
time, and usual allowances for provis-
ions for those twelve days were twelve
bullocks, twenty Cornish bushels Of
wheat, thirty-six sheep, with hogs,
| lambs, and fowls of all sorts, and drink
made OF wheat and oat malt proportion
able, for at that time barley malt was
little known or used in these parts. "
And here is an amusing account of a
wonderful Christmas pie, made by Mrs.
Dorothy Patterson, housekeeper at Har-
wick. It was made for Sir Harry Grey,
and shipped to London, and it's ingre-
dents were as follows: Two bushels of
flour, twenty pounds of butter, four
geese, two turkeys, two rabbits, -four
wild ducks, two woodcocks, six snipe
and four cartridges, two heats tongues,
two c11rlews, seven blackbirds, and six
pigeons! Now .4
| ''Wasnt that a dainty dish
To set before the king?
In view Of this enormous pie, how in
significant are the proportions of the
dishes which grace our modern board ?
1t is appalling to reflect what appetites
| people must have had in those days.
No wonder that as long ago as the year
1866, Edward the Third considered it
his duty to issue an act forbidding his
subjects to partake of more than two
courses and two kinds of meat at table.
Our modern writer's upon the topic of
health would restrict us to still more
moderate diet. Whirtlecraft, in an
amusing old book, thus describes the