The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1895-01-03

| legend of Martin Luther Memories o.
Tiny Tapers and sweet Surprises.
One may read in the folklore Of the
Rhine district of a mysterious tree that
blooms only on the night before Christ.
mas, and the old myth assures us we
have only to 90 to certain spot to find
it all to be true. AS the first authentic
accounts Of Christmas gift tree are in
Che annals of this same Rhine ncighbor
hood, may we not believe that the holy
| mystery supposed to be concealed In the
blossorning tree was commemorated and
perpetuated in the decoration of the
| Christmas spruce? At all events, it il,
in historical records Of Strasburg from
the year 1905 we first read of real
| Christmas tree. The man who has left
the record writes:
During the Christmas holidays a
| spruce is set up in Strasburg homes ON
which are hung horses of many colored
paper, apples, consecrated waters, clay
ouckoos, sugar, = etc.
The use of the tree spread very Glow
ly during the 200 years following, and
we next read of it in 1646 in theolog-
ical work called milk of the Cate
chism. !" This time it is not mentioned
lovingly, but the author inyeighs
against its use in the home in these
words:
Among other frivolities with which
more than with Gods word the holy
days are celebrated the Christmas spruce
is found, which is set up in the houses
and decorated with puppets and sweet
things. Finally one shakes it, and SO
its blossoms fall. Whence comes this
custom know not. The whole thing is
child's play. Better would it be if one
allowed the children to keep holy day
around that spiritual cedar tree, Christ
Jesus
Next we hear of it from the stand
point of the jurist in 1887. In very
learned treatise ION the Gifts Bestowed
on Our Redeemer's Birthday" jurist
striving for position of decent at Wit
tenberg speaks of the candle decked
Christmas tree, under whose boughs the
gifts TO the household are spread, gifts
whose justification he sees from legal
standpoint.
Late in the eighteenth century the
tree was more frequently mentioned,
and it was even the great Goethe who
introduced it to the literary world in
his Sorrows Of Werther. Goethe
first saw Christmas tree in 1865, when
he was 10 years old, at the house of
Theodor Korner's grandmother. He
says, ut was hung with all kinds of
sweets, managers holding the Christ
child, the Virgin Mary and Joseph
standing beside the oxen, asses and
lambs. -
Do you remember Werther's visit to
Lotte on the Sunday before Christmas,
when he finds her alone, preparing
packages of presents for her small
brothers and sisters? just as he, suspect
ing nothing, pours out his ecstasy over
their friendship the door suddenly
opens, and the Christmas tree bursts on
his view, with its glimmering wax can
dies, its cakes and apples
Germany's other idol, Schiller, does
not himself write of any Christmas tree,
but in work by friend of his we
learn that at Christams time, 1889, he
became betrothed to Lotte Won Lenge-
field and withdrew from an engage
ment to pass the holidays under the
Christmas tree" with family In Jena
in order to be with her.
The following Christmas he and his
wife Lotto stood beneath brightly
glowing tree" in their own home
The first time the Christmas tree was
1nshrined in verse was in 1906, Just
200 years from its first historic mention
From that year the custom of decorat-
ing spruce at Christmas spread rapid
ly all over Germany until about 1880 it
vent over the border into France and
was introduced in 1910 by Helen, duch-
ess of Orleans, into the Tuileries.
Now over 40, 900 trees are decorated
annually in France. The French people
observe the custom with all their char
aoteristic enthusiasm and warm piety.
They have very pretty way of protect
ing the roots of the tree and planting
it again after the holidays are over.
The Christmas tree found its way into
England through Prince Albert soon aft
er his betrothal to Queen Victoria A Pc
culiar English custom is that of passing
small tree round the table after the
Christmas dinner, from which each per-
son plucks the gift previously placed
there for him or her.
Nor are these the only countries to
follow the Germans in their Christmas
festival. In Italy, the Netherlands,
Russia and Scandinavia the little ones
are made happy by the blooming of the
Christmas tree. Indeed an old German
legend ascribes the origin of the custom;
to Sweden, whence it was introduced
into Germany at the time of the Thirty
Years war. But this is only legendary
and has no more claim to our belief
than that other legend of Martin Lu.
Their taking forest tree into his house
and decking it with numerous lights to
symbolize the glory Of the starlit heav-
ems.
In our own country the history Of the
Christmas tree is young, and although
many foreigners think the only kind