The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1881-12-27
Christmas in Old England.


uf all the holidays. ecclesiastical, ,sgi,
latiye or monetary, in rhi.h The English
calendar ;sh"Gnd>. there - None 80 UnIVer-
.ziiy welcomed and valued a. Christmas
tide
To a>criie This pariiaiity 10 Il religious
sentiment. traditional OF a'tu"i. would In
a. mistaken ~ 10 make 4 The offspring
Of Law making oT ijnan"Ierl'ic. i'oi>t syn
uathizes with lhe devon; ~ IA, nearly vel
come la this pious snniv, rsaFl. HE man
of business. thrifty II time and lrdIsi'cs'i
Z" waste golden MONT nio upon JunhutIig.
omooihs hiS wrInkIcd front ~ tie happy
,.av draws near, and JiIlte r. gardie~a ui the
sacred event CommemCrajch, ioo-eI'o ll>
purse-s,rlng and 0Iens his heart - II h.
had personal and especial :e;'S'. ~ iof graf
nlation ~ the recurrence II TIA, heaven
born dar.
In. iulitan heaven, which leaYened morr
or less thoroughly the Whole lump 81 cary
American Lille and mann-rs, rol"cieJ ami
east out Christmas, and Ia satisfy III" pop
,,lar demand Tor holidays IL sci ny ihanks-
giving Ter abundant harNCsts a. the ~dh-
.,ituta for a festival, which IL learned
teachers clearly traced 10 thai llnpur~ orr
piu. the Roman >a;urnaIIa, celebrated al
the same period of lie year. when slaves
became Tor 2 season masters. an: masters
slaves. and when the utmost Latitude 81
rioton, fun and ;rolic was permitted, ire
srective of rark, or wealth. CT position.
This conscientious substitution prevailed
and still largely obtains in poriious a. ear
country peoplcd directly "r indirectly by
the Puritan Fathers snd their enter prislnS
children bat " mere the primitive settlers
csu,. from the bosom oi ordinary English
Professionalism or from the Protestant ard
Catholic communities % cHntInrHi.i In
rope. Christmas wa5 celebrated VIII is"sTtv
ieryor and enjoyment, and anticipated a
IN. GROWING festival OF the year. IL was
so pre-erainently among the D@tch colo
nisis of New York anu Ihe German colo
nists of Pennsylvania; aud among their
descendants, Santa Claus, the cndrarlng
nickname al Saint Nicholas. was yeneraIeG
and his fete observed with all the more i'll
tsr..t that IL occurred with the anniversary
al Him whn opened The jors OF Heaven to
the saiuts Of all ages and ciImes.
II NAV be remarked OF the English
Christmas that, = the day In Catholic
lands preserves traces Of the ancient faiths
displaced nv the Gospel, so here vesils'> al
that druidical worship which once pre-
vailed throughout n"rllern EUROPE are
plain!y disrerniDlG in English traditions
OF the season. Conspicuous among these X
the gathering OF the sacred misti"ioe from
it, druidical osil, and lis susi e sion n thr
hall Of fes;Iyirv. - 4 symbol -; iaith and
friendship. tD De hvDored with chaste sslu-
,ations exchanged bsD-a'h - shadow bv
ih,. elect oi the lrO sexes. Tho s.oil 81 the
holiy refulgent with the "ai,!e-l ii berries,
and pinc-trees pluckod, like he hoods NJ
Rirna,n. from their native soil. AMI borne,
not TO Dunsiuane, but 10 Covent-GAr'ieu
land a market" contribul, their wheaIJh
90 the evergreenery ~ the occasion. mus
pensable In every Church Of our savior Snd
in every house ii his followers. The pine
is the fore-doolned bearer OF the presents
Tor little-folk, whose stockings no longer
suffice 10 receive the munihrcnce 81 SAINT
Nick and Tia. fruit il j. found "a bear IN
limiileSs abundance any tariy Ihristmas
morning demonstrates ~ I"cuni ard
varied fertility, at time OF year wher
fertility is miracle.
Another incident precursory 81 the En-
glish Christmas are the Wy alie 80 dear 10
artists addicted TO those genre represen-
tations OF homoly life, the favorites "i
Wilkie and Machine. These are companies
OF musicians, sometimes adult, somotime-
juvenile sometimes profess onai. oTtener
amateur which come beneath Tho window
Of Christmas Eve, and add their yolun
tarv music 10 the chorus al happy voices
within. HYMNS oi the nativity, i0yOn;
songs about Christmas and it, pleasures
supply the words of the vocaii &, "ho a!e
very frequently the pupils OF the yIllagt
school sustained bv the benehcencc oi the
Weather inmates OF the msnor-h"use and
the parsonage. Else are they mefcenar.
bands. recruited for the purpose among
the paupers OF the place, who thus aPpes
10 the charity set abroach 10y the occasion
and collect fund la he expended ~ then
and their friends In dissipation ON the
morrow, MANY OF the fruits ot which ~
yarn,rej in the police reports OF Deem
Der %
The English Christmas answers. IL
nearly all its prominent ;eatur'.. TO Ia
New England Thanksgiving. Famllio'
make it a point, when al all possible L
come together and presents are The ordeI
Of the day. In the country, visitors iron
town and from the neighborhood are per
peluallv arriving at the hall-door. when
they are received uprOariOusly; are carried
triumphantlv to the dining-room 10 shan
a bumper of welcome; and when thorough
ly toasted before roaring fire, are escorte'
10 their well-warmed chambers, and as
sisted 10 prepare for dinner, which bu
family foreshadows the banquet OF In
festival itself Then there Is hilariou
talk without restraint or bounds jests an
toasts hy about quickly 4; the old folks tel
Christmas stories Of their Younger dayS, nc