Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-12-14
THE KING OF DAYS.
Christmas Day and the Origin Of Many
Christmas Observances.
HOW THE DATE WAS FIxED-FEsTIvITIEs DERIVED
FROM OLD PAGAN cUsToMs-TnE DECORATION
OF CHURCHES AND DwKLLISGs-sNAP DRAGON
AND ITS WEIRD ORIGIN.

ana ninety second time, Tor Christmas was nrSt
kept as holy day AID. 90. We have no means
of determining the exact date of the Savior's
nativity. The statement that the date was pre-
| served in the public archives at Rome, though
| asserted by some of the early fathers is not
now generally credited. AS to the year. pre-
ponderance of opinion and of such evidence as
we have seem to favor that Of four or five b. C.
| As to the month"; December is the height Of the
| rainy season in Judea and therefore the fact,
as stated by the New Testament, that shepherds
| were watching their fiocks on its plains, while
stars were shining in the heavens on the night
| Of the Savior's birth, make it extremely I'M
likely that it could have occurred in that month.
Many learned treatises have been written and
plausible arguments advanced to prove that it
must have taken place in October, but the
question will ever remain in allegiance.
THE EARLY PRACTICE.
For the first three centuries Christmas was
one of the most movable of all religious festiv-
ais. The eastern church observed the 9th Of
January az the anniversary both of Christ's
| birth and circumcision. But in the fourth GEN.
fury Pope Julius ordered an investigation of
| the matter, and after long deiiberation the
theologians of both the east and west united in
appointing December Is to be kept as Christ's
birthday. 1t seems not improbable that in
selecting December 25 as the date of the great
worlds history, the worthy fathers were in
huenced by desire to supplant the many
heather festivals of the winter solstice, such as
the saturnaiia, or great festival of Saturn and
Ops, which began on the 10Th of December Cor
after Caesars reformation of the calendar on
the 17th) and continued for seven days. This
presumption is made more probable from the
fact that for many centuries the festivities of
Christmas were prolonged till twelfth night"
January 6. and even till Candlemas day, Febru-
1 or In tl,x.xr,
| night before All Saints day, or HalIow Fen.
thus showing the desire of the early fathers of
| the church to make the heather converts to
| Christianity feel that they had lost nothing in
harmless pleasure and enjoyment by the SUBJ
stitution of the Christa festival for the heather
one.
Not only did the Romans observe this period
| of the year a time of mirth and rejoicing.
The ancient Celtic and Germanic races did the
same. The Germans. especially we're accus-
toned to hold great feasts. OF which the most
prominent continued during the twelve days
from December Is to January 6.
FROM THE OLD PAGANs.
Many of our most familiar Christmas usages
are derived from the old heather festivals
which Christmas replaced. The custom Of
giving Christmas presents, now so universally
observed, was derived from the old Roman
saturnalia or feast of Saturn, above mentioned,
at which 1T was customary for all the members
| is not traceable, as has been sometimes ignor-
antly stated, to the New Testament account of
how kings and wise men made rich offerings to
| the infant Jesus.
The yule clog or log-the great stick of tim
Der placed in olden times upon the Christmas
| ire-was derived from the Saxon feast of Jul
| or Yul, at which similar piece of timber gave
| the principal fire and the principal light. The
| yule clog and the supersttions connected with
| 1t are among the most BILE of Christmas
| associations. The yule clogs that blazed in the
vast halls of the old English feudal barons of
| the middle ages were huge trees, and we are
told that even Just before the close of the last
century the mansion of an English gentleman
residing near Shrewsbury was totally destroyed
| by fire in consequence of too large q yule log
having been lighted on his hearthstone. When
| the yule clog was not all consumed before dawn
| and burned OH into the light of Christmas day
its ashes were carefully preserved until the next
| Christmas eve, and were believed to bring good
health and fortune to all the household, but
should they be scattered and lost death and
misfortune were thought sure to follow.
CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS.
The custom of decorating churches dwell
ings and places of business with evergreens,
| holly, laurel, bays and mistletoe at the Christ
mas season has also heather origin, being
perpetuation OF an observance of the old
| British Druids, whose belief it was that kindly
sylvan spirits sought these ornaments of living
green and lowered near them, untouched and
| unframed by nipping frost, until the death Of
winter.
Those same old Druids attached much i'm
portance to the mistletoe, investing it with a
| peculiarly hallowed and mystic character
| They regarded 1T as an emblem of love and
4 believed that 1t typified the benetcent feelings
| Of their gods toward mankind. 1t is doubtless
to this old Drnidicai association of the mistIe-
\ toe with love that the English custom, which
| still obtains, OF enforcing the forfeit of kiss
| from any female who is caught under a branch
OF IT at Christmas time IS traceabe.
We are also indebted to the Druids for the
Christmas game of "snap dragon" which is
played, IA every one knOws.by trying to snatch
raisins from blazing brandy in an otherwise
dark room. But probably few Of those who
have played it are aware that the old Druids
were accustomed to worship
FLAME OF BURNING SPIRITS,
| into which they cast and from out of which
they plucked certain objects. BY the celebra-
| ton of Christmas, with its grand liturgy, its
magnificent music, and its pictorial and dra-
| matte representations of the principal events in
the life of Him whose birth it commemorated
| the church sought to replace these heather fes-
tiyities and to lift up the minds OF the people
| to something higher and holier though from
| the first the day was regarded both a holy
commemoratlon OF q most sacred event and as
a mirthful, joyous festival. In the middle
ages the festive observances of the day often
| SO far overtOpped its more sacred features that
the clergy were frequently compelled to check
the unseemly merriment of their iiocks. The
name of Christmas assigned to the festival was
derived from Christ and the Saxon maesse or
| mass, and the two words were combined to de-
note special service in honor OF the birth of
the Son Of God.
Probably one of the most generally known of
the old Christmas observances, next to the Civ
ing OF presents, is the singing of the Christmas
| carols. These were pious cantcles designed to
replace the ribald songs OF the old heather fes-
rivals, and the custom of children and even
grown people, going about from house to house
singing them at the door ON Christmas eve and
being rewarded with Christmas cheer and
Christmas spending money is maintained in
many parts OF England even ut the present day.
REGAL CELEBRATION.
The manner in which Christmas is celebrated
at the present time seems very poor and mean
in comparison with the olden time observance
of it. The old English sovereigns set an ex-
ample liz this regard which their successors Of
later days would do well to follow. When
Richrd III kept Christmas at Litchfeld no en-
iarged the Episcopal palace and daily dined
10000 poor people at his expense, besides
an immense retinue of mobiles and courtiers
To feed this vast number 1900 oxen were
slaughtered daily, while 200 tuns Of wine were
consumed at each days dinner.
One of the most elaborate celebrations of
Christmas that ever took place occurred in the
year 1852, during the reign of Henry Ill The
marriage of the kings daughter, the Princess