The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-12-19
CHRISTMAS DAY.
DECEMBER 20 WAS CHOSEN AS
CHRIST'S BIRTHDAY.
At First Christmas Was Movable
Festival-Origin Of Some
of the Yuletide
Customs.
.HRISTMAS was first kept as q

at Rome, though asserted by some of
the early fathers, is not now gener.
ally credited. As to the year, pre-
ponderance of opinion and of such
evidence as we have seems to favor
that of or B. G. 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
focks on it's plains while stars were
shining in the heavens on the night of
the Saviour's birth, makes it extremely
unlikely that it could have occurred
in that month. Many learned treatises
have been written and plausible argu-.
ments advanced to prove that it must
have taken place in October, but the
question will ever remain in allegiance.
For the first three centuries Christ
mas was one Of the most movable Of
all religious festivals. The Eastern
Church observed January 9Th as the
anniversary both of Christ's birth and
circumcision. But in the fourth cen.
tury Pops Julius I. ordered an inves-
tigation of the matter, and after long
deliberation, the theologians of both
the East and West united in appoint
ing December 25th to be kept as
Christ's birthday. It seems not i'm
probable that in selecting December
25th as the date of the greatest event
save one-the crucifzion-in the
worlds history the worthy fathers
were influenced by desire to sup
plant the many heather festivals OF
the winter solistice, such as the Sat.
urnalia or great festival of Saturn and
Ops, which began on the December
18th Tor after. Caesars reformation Of
the calendar on the 17th) and con-
tinued for seven days. This presump-
tion is made more probable from the
fact that for many centuries the fes-
tivities of Christmas were prolonged
until the 'Twelfth night" January
9Th, and even till Candlemas Day,
February I'd, while they usually began
as early as the night before All Saints
Day, or Hallow' 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 substitution of the
Christian festival for the heather
! one. ', $50, .... ...
Not only did the Romans observe
this period of the year at time for
lnirth and rejoicing, but many of our
most familiar Christmas usages are
derived from the old heather festivals
which Christmas replaced. The Gus
tom of giving Christmas presents, now
80 universally observed, was derived
from the old Roman Saturnalia, or
Feast of Saturn, above mentioned, at
which it was customary for all the
members of household to offer gifts
to each other. It is not traceable, as
has been sometimes ignorantly stated,
to the New Testament account of how
kings and wise men made rich offer
ings to the infant Jesus.
The Yule clog, or log-the great
stick of timber placed in olden times
upon the Christmas fre-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 super
stitions connected with it are among
the most venerable of Christmas asso-
Citations. The Yule clogs that blazed
in the vast halls of the old English
feudal barons of the middle ages were
large trees, and we are told that even
Just before the close of the last GEN.
tury the:mansion of an English gen.
tleman residing near Shrewsbury was
totally destroyed by fire in conse-
quence of too large Yule log having
been lighted on his hearthstone. When
the Yule clog was not all consumed be-
fore dawn and burned on 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 house
hold, but should they be scattered and
lost death and misfortune were thought
sure to follow.
The custom of decorating churches,
dwellings, and places of business with
evergreen, holly, laurel, bays and mis-
tletoe at the Christmas season has also
q 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 hovered near them,
untouched and unharmed by nipping
frost, until the death of winter.
Those same old Druids attached
much Importance to the mistletoe, in
vesting it with a peculiarly hallowed
and mystic character. They regarded
it IS an emblem Of love, and believed
Shat it typifed the benedcent feel
ings of their gods toward mankind.
It is doubtless to this old Druidical
association of the mistletoe 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 traceable.
But the celebration of Christmas,
with it's grand liturgy, it's magnificent
music and it's pictorial and dramatic
representations of the principal events
in the life of Him whose birth is COM
memorated, it was sought to replace
these heathen festivities and to lift
up the. minds of the people to some
thing higher and holier, though from
the first the day was regarded both as
a holy commemoration of most
sacred event and as q mirthful, joyous