The Democratic advocate., 1884-12-20

CHRISTMAS FEAsTING.-In the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries this whole sea-
son was given up to revels and jollity, in
which eating and drinking had prominent
part. In London in the fifteenth century
the first duty of the Lord Mayor and cor
poration was to dine, and then go, as So
berly as might be, to the Church of St.
Thomas Aeon, and sit through the whole
service. On other festival days and Sun
days they had habit of skipping out after
the prayers were under way, but on Christ
mas they were bound to set an example of
perseverance. Service over, their worships
rode on horseback, by torch-light, through
the market of Chepe and back to the
church, where, being in liberal frame of
mind on account of the day and the good
dinner, they made money offering to the
church. Each man contributed the mag
nifcent sum of one penny to its treasury
This du.y done, they returned to their own
houses, and made more or less night of
it, after the immemorial manner of good city
fathers, in private, the custom not having
yet arisen of manifesting happiness by
painting the town red" We read a good
deal about the excess of the Christmas
dinners. Sir John Reresby in his memoirs
makes a penitential note of dinner at
Therberg in 1851: ''The Earl of Hunting
ton, my Lord Ellend, and some others
dined with me, when we ended the year in
more than an ordinary debauch; which
God forgive me it being neither my Gus
tom nor my inclination much to do So"
The next year there was at table 'Mr.
Bolton, an ingenious clergyman, but too
much good fellow" The good fellows
liked Thyberg during the holidays as
many as forescore gentlemen and yeomen,
with their wives, dined daily at the hall.
Christmas was always democratic festi-
val: all classes mingled in the games and
merriment, and hospitality was universal
An English gentleman in the country, on
Christmas-day in the morning, had all his
tenants and neighbors enter the hall by
daybreak The strong beer was broached,
and the blackjacks went plentifully round,
with toast, sugar, nutmeg, and good Che
shire cheese. The great sausage (the
Hacking must be boiled at daybreak, and
if it failed to be ready, two young men
must take the maiden ii. e., the cook by
the arm and run her round the market
place till she was ashamed of her laziness.
The maids had, however, some privileges of
retort In some places in Oxfordshire it
was the custom for the maid-servant to ask
the man for ivy to dress the house, and if
the man refused or neglected to fetch the
ivy, the maid stole pair of his breeches
and nailed them up to the gate in the gar
den or highway. During the festival days
the tables were perpetually spread the
sirloin of beef, the minced-pie, the plum
porridge, turkeys, geese, and plum-pud-
dings, were all brought upon the board at
once, and every one ate heartily and was
welcomed, so that the proverb originated
of !" 'Tis merry in hall when boards wag all, y
The gentlemen went to early service in the
church, and retuffied to breakfast on Drawn
and mustard and malmsey. Brawn was
dish of great antiquity. 1t was ma 4e from
the flesh of large boars which lived in a
half-wild state, and when put to fatteR
were strapped and belted tig ght round the
carcass, in order to make the flesh become
dense and brawny. 1t came to market in
rolls two feet long by ten inches in dame
ter, packed in wicker baskets. At dinner
the first course served was the boar's head,
on silver platter, adorned with bays and
rosemary, carried into the hall with much
state, preceded by the Master of Revels,
and followed by choristers and minstrels
singing and playing compositions in its
honor. A stanza of common carol sung
was this
"Then sett downe the swineyard,
The foe to the vineyard
Lett Bacchus crowne his fall;
Lett this boare's head and mustard
Stand for pigg, goose, and custard,
And so you are welcome all"
Another dish, common in Shakespeare's
day, which added at least to the show of
the feast, was the "stately pye," that is, a
peacock or pheasant pie. In the days of
chivalry the knights took their VOWS at a
solemn feast, on presentation of a roasted
peacock in golden dish. This custom
was kept up at Christmas by the bringing
in, on the most magnificent dish the house
could afford, of peacock in pie, preserv-
ing as much as possible the form of the
bird, with the head elevated above the crust,
the beak richly gilt, and the beautiful tail
spread out to its full extent 1t was from
this superb dish that the oath came, "By
cock and pye, sir" At the supper two
servants attended bearing fair torches of
wax next before the musicians and the
trumpeters, and they stood above the fire
(the fire of sea-coal being originally in the
middle of the room) with the musicians
till the first course was served, when they
retired, with the music, to the buttery.
After supper, as we'll as before, there were
revels and dancing during the twelve days
of Christmas, and games in which all classes
Joined. One of the favorite games was
known as snapdragon. Brandy was set on
fire and raisins thrown into it. The di-
version consisted of adventures to pluck
out the raisins. The Master of the Revels
sang song or carol, in which the gentle
men took part at his command
The requisites for good Christmas fare
were plenty of good drink, a blazing fire in
the hall, Drawn, pudding and souse, and
mustard with all mustard is your great
provoker of noble THIRSTY beef, mutton,
and pork, shred or minced pies of the best,
pig, veal, goose, capon, turkey, cheese, ap-
Piles and nuts, with jolly carols. When the
company tired of games and romping sports,
it gathered about the ruddy fire, and had
tales of legendary lore, adventures of
knights and ladies and friars, of strange
apparitions and ghosts, of coaches on lonely
moors drawn by team of headless horses
driven by headless coachman, with grave
yard passengers, of wonderful portents in
nature, stories of true love wrapped in mys-
terry and ending in grief, and all sorts of
ghostly "reminiscences, which seemed as
real as the dancing shadows which the
light of the Yulelog cast upon the dusky
timbers of the hall. Such tales, we read,
formed principal part of the rural CONVEX
sation at all such assemblies as this at
Christmas-time.
The Sheriff in England.