New-York tribune., 1891-12-27
THE LORE OF YULE-T1DE.
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS IN MANY LANDS.

in, 60 which tho anniversary is kept? Who can
Ill tho connection between the birth Of the
Wondrous Child at Bethlehem OF Judea ana 'ie
host Of observances, merry and solemn, 'ha. III
succeeding arcs have marked the date ? Inc origin
Of most of them is hopelcssly lost, and the pest
the antioparian now can do is 10 put their char-
actor on record as a memorial against the muta-
tions of social manners. In this young county
young with the youth Of scarce -FOUR huhuicu s''ih
mers. there are scarcely any distinctive christmas
customs Nearly all are borrowed from cousins
and great-uncles beyond the sea. 30 IL Is 10 'neu,
ono must look for the love and the legends OF
Chrstmastide. r.,
The Christmas carol" Song of joy is of al
most universal use and very ancient date. The
earliest Christmas CAROL observes Bishop Taylor
,,as the Gloria in Excclsis which the choir of
angels sung TO the congregation of shepherds on
the .Judean hillside" In France the songs OF
&" Noel" were common many centuries ago.
Henry VIII of England and his family were iona
of singing carols at the splendid feasts with when
they marked the Christmas season. In the days
Of Shakespeare singing formed conspicuous pai0
Of the Christmas celebration There were two
kinds of carols One sung IN the open ar.
from house to house, early on the morning vi
Christmas Day-a practice still popular in England.
These carols were devotional in tone. Inc o'her
kind was convivial in character, and WIS used
at the feasts which occurred later in the DAY.
One of the earliest probably the very hrst, printeu
collections of Christmas carols appeared III lo-i'
The ringing of church bells and chimes mas also
for ages been popular Christmas custom III Eng
land 1t is to this that the splendid stanzas re-
fer. in Tennyson's In Memoriam,' beginning.
with
s.Ring out wild bells, TO the wild SKY,
The flying cloud, the frosty light!
The year " dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him de -"
Christmas trees are another ancient feature OF
the day: older, indeed, some have declared than
the day itself-if the bull be permissible IL had
its origin in Germany, and German tradition tracts
it back to the very Garden ef Eden and makes IL
a symbol of the Tree of knowledge. 1t is probably
q heathen custom, engrafted, as mhumeraoie
heather customs have been upon the ceremonials OF
Christendom Long before the beginning OF the
Christian era the Romans in certain festivities
made use of nnetrees tl,e branches Of which were
laden with little earthenware images sacred to the
pods. Among the ancient Germans, GOths ana
Scandinaviaps the advent OF the winter solstlce
was celebrated with great interest, and the chief
feature of the occasion was the erection IN every
bouse of a fr-tree adorned with burning tapers'
This tree was first made a part OF the ChrlstnIiS
ceremonial by Gregory the Great, doubtless with
a view to making the Northern nations ieei more
at home in the Christian Church
The mistletoe which plays so important part
in Christmas festivities, was selected Tor this
honor many centuries ago, before the Christian
era The Northern people found 1t growing on the
holy oaks, and remaining green IN wlnter-thie'
So they supposed it's seeds bad fallen from heaNeh
and they held it sacred to Baldur. the Sun-sod.
They decorated their homes and their altars WIN IL
at Yuletide, and every greeting Deneath IL was
inspired with love and friendship In the name OIL
Allfather Odins pure and righteous son. baihur
had been put to death through the treachefy oi
dark-hearted Hoedur. Rut he had arisen 10 uie
again. And so the mistetoe, green and full OF
life when all the trees of the forest seemed dead'
was a fitting emblem OF him.
1t was the Teutons, then. that founded the
Christmas festival The birthday of the Saviour
WAS not celebrated by the early Church. nor does
any record of its date appear to have been kept.
Century after century passed, and there was no
tbonqht of observing such anniversary. But
at the beninning of the fifth century the Gauis
had come down upon Rome. and TeutOnic in
anences prevailed The festival OF Iule and the
honors paid to Baldur superseded the Roman Sat
urnalia And so the polite Churchmen hit upon
the happy eypedient OF commencing Chrhuahi'y
TO the Northern conquerers by establishing an
identity between the festival OF Christ and the
festival of Baldur. Nor was Scriptural authority
lacking The words of John the Baptizer were
quoted. where speaking of Christ he says, " lie
must increase, but l must decrease" SO the
| nativity of Christ YVES set at the 25th OF Decem-
ber. when the days begin to increase. and the day
| of St John the Baptizer at June "a, when they
| begin to decrease.
| Feasting has always been Christmas custom
| almost the world over. In England the Yule log,
| the boar's head and the wassail bowl were In
| oldcn times the features of the festival. The
frst-named was a huge log of OAK decked with
| holly wreahs and mistletOe. AT Christmas il
was dragged into tue great hall BY all the members
| of the household, the merrest Of them, dubbed
| the Lord of Msrule, seated upon it singing songs
and making tests. 1t rolled into the fireplace
| and made a mighty blaze all day and night. Thi.
was a survival of the Scandinavian custom O
| kindlinQ great fires at e-tde-the winter sol
stce The boar's head the dish of honor on
the Christmas table, and WAS brough! in on huge
platter. ganshcd with leaves and fruit. 1t wal
| a German custom, and down TO the present day
| the German Emperor has sent each Christmas {
! boars head a. a present to the Queer Of England
| This also is a relic Of the Scandinavian myths
| Trsyr, the god OF peace and plenty, used to rd'
| upon the back of BOAR and festival was helt
| in his honor at Yule-tide. OF course the wassai
bowl" Was Hael"--came down from the hard
| headed old Norsemen who could fight all day an6
drink ale and mead all night IT'S contents wer'
ii mixture Of ale, roasted apples, cloves ginger
nutmegs and sugar, and il drank smoking
hot. Peacock-pe was famous Christmas disl
| in Shakespeare's time. So was plum Iorridge,
| in which may he discerned the antetype of th,
plum-pudding of day. An invitation to
| Christmas dnaer in 1857 advertises tie chee
to be as follows: A Messe of Plum Pottage,
Sirloyne of Roasted Bcee, Minced Pye, and
| merry Cup OF Sackc."
/ peculiar observance in Devonshire, not ye
wholly abandoned, was apple bowling, or drink
| ing the health of appe-trees. In herefordshir
teen fires in wheatield, one IN the centre anc