Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1891-12-24
THE CHRISTMAS TREE.
Interesting Facts About 4 Perennial
sapltug Tha Blossoms annually
Ia 0urIl
tcopvright isal and all nshis reserved By
aeogruy wllliston Chutune.l

or All the plants All flowers tho
earth has evor produced there IL only
one that has never 'aioi nor died, amt
,b,t blooms on our haar,hstonus to-
day as bright and hardy vs. whou its
beaullfui living green iirst shed it,
adjoining, cheeriny, tender Influence
aver the hearts OF men more than 1900
ve.r. ago. In that long period dynas-
lies have dissolved; nations have pass.
ed away, the mighty Roman Empire
whose soldiers bound the King o.
Christmas to the cross, has perished
from of the face Of tho earth; once
uroud races have been humbls1 In the
dust; even the very face Of nature hor.
self has changed, but the Christmas
tree, with its bright green undimmed,
,,lll spreads Its branches OF peace on
earth, good will 10 men, over the
whole civilized world, for In all that
vast space there II not spot, no mat.
ter what the race. the nation, the peo-
ple or their creed, where there Ia not
come Unt WIN mas eaN Ab'
believed the glad tidings that -Fay
over Ia Bethlehem Of Judea more ,nsu
eighteen centuries ngo beautiful
maiden mother gave birth to lovely
taby boy and Graded him In man.
ger, while kings and wise men, who
had seen hi8 altar IN the East had come
TO worship him, knecled Mt his feet and
presented him with rich gifts. Wher.
ever that story-most wonderful and
beautiful OF all the stories that have
been told-is known and believed,
there tho decorations and ornaments
OF the Christina tree CLEAN Ia tho fire.
light anu its gifts make glad the hearts
Of the little ones who gather around II.
But though the Christmas tres Is m
emblem Of the fundamental event Of
the ChriHtmap religion, and though II
Is very pleasant TO trlce--B 10 often
enormously done-the origin OF the
custom Of giving Christmas presents
10 the bringing Of glfts TO the infant
Jesus by the kings and wise men who
came 10 worship him, yet regard for
sttict antiquarian truth compcls us to
admit that both the tree and the gifts
we hang upon II are Of h-s,hen origin.
Years before the birth Of Christ, many
healhen nations were accustomed 20
hold great feasta nj about the time Of
year at which We now celebrate
Christmas. Among the ancient
Romans these were the feasts Of Saturn
and Ops, which began on December 10
and continued for seven days. During
that period II was customary for all
the members Of every household to
give gifts TO einh other. As there Ia
no positive Information ohtainAble n
10 the exact date Of Chriatis birth, and
a. the prepondernucc OF such evidence
a. we have, makes n extremely i'm.
probable that He was born Ia DBceIn.
brr. there can be little question
that the early fathers Of tho
Church, being anxious 10 induce tho
recently converted people 10 abandon
their heather ussses, chose for the
Christmas season the time Of year that
had formerly been devoted to the great
heather festivals above psmcd, and ~
they desired TO make their heathen
converts icel that they had LOST n1tn-
ing ia innocent pleasure by the subfti-
tuition Of a Christian festival for a
heather opc, thry modified and re.
tainet. ~ fat rs possible, tho customs
uf tho mtter-notSbly that Of giving
gifts.
The ancient Germans we're also nc.
customud to'hOlj great festivals nc the
time u our Christmas seasons, and they
then not only exchanged giits alter the
manner Of the Romans, but they also
attached those gifts 10 large trees, VIII cn
they decorated with lights. When
Christianity first gained fOothOld In
Germ my the fathers purtubd with the
Germans the same course that they
had adopted with the II ,mnns, Chris.
tianizing aud permitting them TO r..
tain, ~ lar ms practicable, the cus'Oml
OF the heather festival that had been
replaced by the Christmas season.
Thus ihe trees hung with gifts became
Christians trees, and gs such were In
trOiucad by the Saxons into England,
whence they have come To us aud " all
the rest VI tho Christian world.
Aud how many Christmas trees do
you think sre USED annually Ia the
United Ststss? You can form same
Idea OF the number from the fact that
New York alone used more than 900,
600 last year. And where do the
Christmas trees come iroin2 Well,
those that are used In New York are
obtained principally from Maine, that
grand and quaint old pine tree state,
WHttt lNt tHtllN1 lnHtNithhiS HaNg NJ
many clever ways OF making an hon.
est dollar. In summer Maine takes
summer poarders, that being tho third
largest industry In the State. In No.
vember and December she cuts Christ
mas trees. Along the upper Pnnob'
scot river the number OF trees suitable
for bearing Christmas gifts Is literally
legion. Here are people In Maine who
have acquired handsome oompetanu,
hy the Christmas tree industry, ant
not few OF them are grlzzled olt
veterans who for thirty or forty year
have annually contributed to the enjoy
ment OF Young America by sending
him thousands anu thousands Of tree
upon which to hang the presents III
receives from loving friends.
AZ the miners Of old used to q
prospecting for gold in the famous
tabled days OF 40, 30 the Maine Christ
mas tree hunter OF today starts out ear
ly In autumn to prospect forChristma
trees. He must ind spot where thor
IL sufficient numOrr Of trees suitable
for Christmas purposes To make VI Wort
his whileto cut them. This spot mus
be convenient Of access either to
navigable river or TO some railroad, 10
they must be gotten To market as mex
peusiveiy AZ possible, aud the turtle
thuy have to be hauled by borse or Oxel
poHer--oxen are largely used In tn,
Maine wOois--the greater the expens
must necessarily be. When the Chrlst
mas tree prosl ector has found n spot Il
La. al