The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1894-01-13
THE CHRISTMAS TREE.

| The CHRISTMAS TREE.
| Obscrvances in Different Countries In
Which u Decorated Tree Is Used.
| OF course the Ygg Drasill Ash and the
Irmen Saule are, geographically, the near
est archetypes of the German Christmas
trees that have spread SO much over Eng
land since the marriage OF our present
sovereign. But on that pair of grand SYM
Dol givers it is not needful here mlnutely
| to dwell. Here at home, perhaps, the only
genuine native instance of the Christmas
tree now easily discovered by us was the
wassail (or vessel, or wesley bob-that is,
bunch-of holly and other winter greens,
| put together ''like bower" hung with
oranges, apples and colored ribbons, and
sometimes inclosing a pair of dolls also
decked with ribbons, which was still car
ried about on stick on Christmas day in
Yorkshire some forty or fifty years since.
Let us therefore, in default of better,
take flight to Japan, where we shall find
a dozen centuries ago in it's sacred book,
the "Kozhiki," the then doubtless most an
Gent legend of the adorable five-hundred-
fold Saka tree, which the gods pulled up
by the roots on the heavens mountain
Kagu, and they then hung, as to it's top
branches, with sacred jewels, mirror and
blue and white peace offerings to the shin
ing goddess of the heavens, devoutly re-
citing grand ritual the while.
This might almost have come from
Lucian, where he described those trees,
covered with ornaments and sacred attri-
butes, which were brought each year to bo
burnt offerings in the temple of the god
dess Atergatis at Hierapolis, of Syria.
And he gave us an even more savage,
though coexistent type in the great trees,
loaded with goats, sheep, garments and
gold and silver objects hanging to the
branches, which were burned before the
Syro-Phoenician gods at the same fes-r
tival The pine of Cybele and Attis, as
still to be seen on the ancient bas-reliefs,
is hung with bells, a reed flute wheel
and so on, and there are sacred birds among
the branches and ram and bull standing
for sacrifice beneath. Pictures and other
votive objects were attached to the laurel
of Apollo.
The central theory that PROFOUND for
all this and all other tree worship is that
the tree that was really worshiped, of
which all these decorated ex-voto'd trees
were mere idols, was the abstract universe
tree, whose trunk was the cosmic axis,
whose roots were in the under world and
whose branches spread aloft into the skies
and bore up the heavenly hostess. Ever.
thing in nature grew on, was a fruit of,
this tree, which was the Hindoo .parijata
and kalpavriksha, yielding all tie objects
of desire (alias every mortal thing') and
also the Iranian harvisptokhm the tree Of
all Seeds RI
But before dealing any, further with
eastern instances, let us hank back to Eng
land and look at one cf the strangest
survivals of this tree-Yhich survival is
not in any way connected by date with
Christmas, remember in the Besant
which, until 1880, was'carried in procession
with music at SALISBURY (alias Shaston}
on the Monday before Ascension Thursday.
1t was trophy some four feet high, con-
structed on framework and covered with
ribbons, foweEsan peacock g tail feathers
Around it were hung jewels, coins and
other objects of value lent by the local
gentry for the purpose. "Hutchin's His
tory of Dorset" said in 1903 that this ''be-
son" or "byzant" was sometimes valued at
as much as 81 500. 1t is futile to theorize
any but sacred pagan rituaistic origin
for this puzzling and for the matter in
hand) most important observance.
And if we now go eastward again, and
CAduSC WIG SCeAc W DuOOulSC Olam, Ala
baster shall show us at cremation cere-
monies a framework made to represent q
tree whereto are tied lines and nutshells,
instead of which are put lottery tickets
and money. These, which are called Kara
phruk (Kalpavriksha) fruits, are scrambled
for by the crowd after the ceremony And
the scavenger caste of upper India have
professions Of their deity Zahir Pr, in
which they carry q bamboo pole decked
with bright colored cloths and crowned by
a huge bunch Of peacock's tail feathers at
the top. Fans and punches of cocoanuts
are also slung from the pole. The 'con-
vention1" made up tree that we see on
endless Babylonian cylinders was doubtless
similar arIf6.l 'Christmas'' tree or
May Natin, ma;S,); and one of the bilin-
quail hymns translated by Professor Sayce
describes how the place of the tree (of
which these idols were inevitably symbolsl
is the central spot Of the earth, while its
fruits-ObviouSly the stars-are of brilliant
crystal and reach into the liquid vast
National Observer.