St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-12-25
CHI RISTMAS.
The Beautiful Custom of Hangin.
Up the Stocking.

commenced by being more strict, more
sternly spiritual than their fellows in Eng
land, the tender influences of the climate
the inevitable expansion produced by long
course of prosperity, have had most
potent effect. But still the copy retains
some traces of the island original, especially
in those places where the effect of Dutch
and German Christmas customs is not felt.
Santa Claus and the Christmas tree, how
ever, are making havoc with the sad So
briefly and the restricted enjoyments of
Christmas in Puritan homes. The heart of
father must be stern. indeed, who can re-
fuse to his little ones the ecst acy of expec-
tation created by hanging up the stocking.
The things themselves are so much more
enjoyable when they come to little thing
in this solemn, mysterious way. In the old
Walloon and Tristan custom there was first
an awful ceremony before the stocking
could be placed in the chimney. There
was an ominous bustling of the parents
and the elder children, and the young ones
were told that Santa Claus was coming and
would question them as to their behavior
during the past year.
''Its no use lying to Santa Claus, !" an I'M
kind elder sister would say to bad little
brother with one of those fearful classical
names that godfathers in Amsterdam and
Rotterdam used to infiict upon their god !
children; Santa Claus knows all about the
window you broke, Odyssus, and the oily.
cakes you stole. So when he asks you, it
is better to confess. Then. perhaps, he
may relent and fill your stocking" And
Odyssus felt, with beating of the heart,
that it would be good policy, in view of this
terrible visit, to withstand the charms of
oily cakes and to refrain from surreptitiOus
visits to the kitchen cupboard. Then in The
midst of his gloomy reflections three loud
knocks were heard. The lights seemed to-
burn blue and nervous children began to-
sob. The father and mother went to the
door and opened it, disclosing stranger
clad in outlandish garments like those Of
the wild men who lived far away in the
northland. His boots, his furs, his great
cowl were covered with snow.
''Ho! ho." he cried. ''Ho! no! Who
lives here?' -
"Virgilius Roosevelt, his wife and family"
was the answer. f9
Have you any young children?" ~.
1--WE have four young ones" -
''Where are they?"
This is Augustus. this is Matilda, this
is Gertrude and this is Odyssus."
Then the questioning began. and it was
terrible. Augustus was examined regard
ing that little transaction when he had been
sent to the Milk Veg and had confscated
part of the change. Matilda had to coll
fess, with tears, that she had slapped Ger
trude and bitten her eldest sister Livia;
Gertrude sobbed over the story of the seam
which she had refused to do, and the cups
and plates which she had broken and hbbed
over. AS for Odyssus, that wanderer
thought at times of going to Norroway, or
far off Muscovy, to get away from that ter
rible old man with the beard. When it was
ali over, however, he seemed not so cruel,
and remarked that children would be chill
dren. that he would not utterly forsake
them, that if they would all prom
faults and obey their parents, they might
hang up their stockings and he would fill
them. Then he departed, went out into
the unknown. the bleak, the dark. the fear
full night, and the parents told the awe
struck young ones how he travelled. The
tow-headed Odyssus. having dawning
imaginative fancy, had fearful glimmeringS
of the power of the mysterious stranger,
and listened with open mouth and bullying
eyes to the tales of his sledge drawn by
wild deer careering over the frozen wastes
of snow more rapidly than the wind. and
fitting noiselessly over the roofs of houses.
Then the four young ones were escorted to
the great hearth of the kitchen, and placed
their Stockings where they thought they
would be likely to catch the eye of the
benevolent being. Had it not been for the
previous Christening experience, no doubt
Odyssus who, i'll right of his sex, consid-
dered himself master ovel his young sisters 1
and tyrannized over them accordingly, /
would have insisted upon the best place.
But that fiery boy was humbled and soft
ened. and with novel modesty put his
stocking where he was instructed, and made
no remOnStFanceS at being in the back row.
In many American households tits beau
tiful custom has been adopted as regards
the stockings which are duly hung up
But the disciplinary visit of Santa Claus is
omitted out of mistaken tenderness to the
children, who have obtained mastery in
this country that is not for their real good.
In many others the North German Gus
tom of the Christmas tree has been adopted,
and with the tree we have also adopted the
anomaly of combining the tree with the
mystery of Santa Claus. 1t is true that the
Germans did so, because the Knecht Ru-
pert, who is supposed to bring the tree, is
obviously Identical with Santa Claus whose
name-a melange of Spanish and Frisian-
tells of the old Spanish occupation of the
Low countries. And Knecht Rupert re-
veals what the Dutch name hides-that the
visitor comes not for himself. but for
another, whose servant he is. For Knecht
individually means servant. Rupert also ex-
plains the costume and the deer, for it
means ''bright red man. and plainly refers
to the Jotnns or Cweenas of the frozen
North, whose consanguinity with the
Algonquins seems unmistakable. The hood
the costume. the sledge and the deer are all
accessories of the Northern wanderers, to
whom. from time immemorial, both Rus
SLAMS and Germans have aScribed magical
powers. Whose servant this was supposed
to be has been lost in the long descent of
centuries, but the probabilities are strongly
in favor of the God Thor, the terrible
bearer of the hammer in Icelandic sagas.
The connection with the tree then becomes
Ineligible, for it is beyond question that
the goddess Foster or Easter is the same as
Aster or Ashtaroth, who was worshipped
as a sacred tree. The Santa Claus myth is
a clear Christianization of an old custom,
going back to the pagan days when Thor
was the chief deity of the trinity worshipped'l
at Upsala, Wooden being on his right hand
and Fricco on his left. And there is this
merit about Santa Claus, altogether lack
ing in the Knecht Rupert, that he is a
Christian saint the servant of Him who
said ''Suffer little children to come unto
me and forbid them not, for of such is the
kingdom of heaven"