Morning journal and courier., 1880-12-25
V HAVEN. CONN. SATURDAY MORNING. DECEMBER
eaOurnal altb Gourier.
Saturday Morning, Dec. 25. 1880.
CHRISTMAS.

Of all the days in the year the day which dawned this morning is the most sacred and joyful. It comes down to us hallowed by the associations of many centuries of observance. Year after year during all these centuries they who have gone before us have on this day snatched respite from care and wildly realized that the gospel of Christ is indeed the tidings of good will to man.
 According to some authorities, Christmas became general festival of the early churches in the beginning of the second century, and according to others not until the fourth It is stated that the theologians of the East and the West" agreed, after investigation, that Christ was born on the day which we now call the 25th of December. In the sixth century the custom was introduced in Catholic countries of celebrating three Christmas masses. one at midnight, one at early dawn and one at a later hour on Christmas morning Out of this custom, we suppose, arose the English name of the day, Christmas. The Germans call it s'Weinachter' and stdas Christfest !" The French name for it is Noel, '' which name, 1t is said, is derived from dies natalis (birthday). During the middle ages, and es- pecially in England, the Christmas revels be- came so wild, fantastic and offensive to so- cial decency that the authorities of the Cath olic church protested against them, though without much effect. But time has changed all that. The last recorded appointment of an English ''lord of misrule" to lead the Christmas reveIs was in 1927.
 That delightful institution the Christmas f< &1,o D,,o Ct.-. many. In the Protestant provinces of Ger many Christmas is called the Children's Fes- trval ;" and there the children's gift bringer known here as Santa Claus" is called 'EKnecht Rupert" These Germans take the yew for their Christmas tree and devote Christmas eve to the giving of presents They conine this part of the celebration very closely to family circles. The Christmas tree is lighted with tapers, the gifts, bearing the names of those for whom they are intended, are hung upon it's branches, and the distribution goes on with festive acclanations from the children We have adopted their custom with but little modification. In England the use of evergreens at Christmas was borrowed from the Druids, whose fes- tival of the winter solstice was in many re- spects similar to what the Christian celebra- tion of Christmas became. An excellent au- thority states this fact as follows: 1.-The common custom of decking the houses and churches with evergreens is derived from an cient Druid practices it was an old belief that sylvan spirits might flock to the ever greens and remain unnipped by frost till a milder season. The holly, ivy, rosemary, bays, laurel and mistletoe furnished favorite trimmings"
 In our day and country the great feast seems to be kept with increasing enthusiasm, yet we are told that the religion of Him whose birth and gospel is thus celebrated is decaying. It is hard to believe at this sea- son that such is the case Christendom re- mains faithful to the memory of its Lord, and his birth is still recognized as the su- preme fact in the history of the universe.
 From what our eyes have beheld during the past week we know that many of our read CTS will have a merry Christmas if the gen. erous expression of kindness and good will can make it merry for them. And we hope that all of them will have share in the mer- riment and the blessedness of giving and re- ceiving that belong to the day