The herald., 1895-12-22

rainy season in Judea was never chosen
by the shepherds for open-air watching
of their flocks by night-was selected,
as many other feasts long before
Christianity was founded, on account
of winter solstice, when the year had
completed revolution, or as was then
supposed, the fiery wheels of Phoebus's
chariot had once more rolled round
the earth.
At this period, which the Romans
first instituted as the beginning of the
yesr,the Celts and Germans celebrated,
! as do the Japanese at the present day,
the renewing of life in the dead earth,
the powers OF nature being again on the
move beneath the snow of winter.
For the twelve nights beginning De-
cember % and ending on January
(the English Twelfthnight and the
French Fete des Rois, or Feast of the
Kings the ance tors of the Siegfrieds
and the Lohengrins, held their Yule
festival in honor of the fiery wheel of
the sun.god. For the root of our word
"wheel" and of the Scandinavian ''yule"
are ono and the same.
As the church in the early middle
ages instituted dramatic representa-
lions of divine legends, at time when
reading and writing were monopolized
by religious orders and all impressions
on peoples fancy had to be made
through the eye and cars, one of the
most popular mysteries, as these early
stage plays were called, was the Christ
mas story-the birth of Christ.
These representations of the Christ
cradle, as they were called in France
and Germany, are still exhibited in
churches, Catholic and Lutheran, all
over Europe. From the early hymns
sung by the peasants as we'll as by the
monks at these mysteries came the
Christmas carols, or noels, as they are
called in French.
Some Of these 'mangers'' are pro-
| duced with care and elaboration, and
though they do not give the dialogues
and conversations of the old times,
| they give the holy representation in
places with movable figures, who nod
and kneel, and on the entry of the
three kings or wise men of the east
offer their presents with uplifted arms.
In all these groups there has been
! from time immemorial tree. It may
be seen outside the traditional hangers
in the missals and early paintings of
the pre-Raphaelite italian school. In
this tree or near 1t are seen angels in
flowing robes singing out of a scroll of
illuminated paper the "Peace on earth
and good will towards men," or "Glory,
glory, hallelujah."
The correct German Christmas tree
always has an angel or Christkind on
the topmost branch, with a tinsel star
at the end Of staff like any panto-
mime fairy, and if the tree belongs to a
very orthodox family there is usually
at its foot small toy group represent
ing the Saviour's birth in the stable at
Bethlehem. The tree represented,
though grown from a heather root, is
no doubt still the tanebaum which
from Germany has become naturalized
in America, France and England.
The extreme Puritans, originating
with the Presbytsrians of Scotland,
have always set their faces against
Christmas observances, and indeed the
Puritan parliament, of the Praise. God
Barebones period, abolished Christmas
altogether, and made it heinous crime
of lese nationality to exhibit holly and
ivy on their wallis.
It is true that the feast Of that date
had became an orgie and the Christmas
carol of that day was almost unfit for
publication; but with the return OF
Charles II. and the Restoration, holly,
ivy and nistlstoe came back with -