Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1896-12-25


The most beautiful legend is Of
G rnan origin, and comes from that
borderlaud of history between Pagan
and Christmas days:
BEAUTIFUL GERMAN LEGEND
.Harken, we sons Ct the forest!
No blood shall! flow this night, save
that which pity has drawn from a
mothers breast. For this is the
birth nigh of the white Christ, the
son of the Ali Father, the Savior of
mankind. Fairer is He than Baldur
the Beautiful, greater than Odin the
Wise, kinder than Freya the Good.
Since He has come sacrifice has end
ed. The dark Thor. on whom We
have vainly called is dead. Deep in
the shades of Niff.lhein he is lost
forever. And now on this Christ
right We shall begin to live. This
Blood.tree shall darken your land no
more. Iu the name Of the lord,
will destroy it,
"He grasp the broad axe from the
hand of Gregor, aud striding to the
oak, began to hew against it. Then
the sole wonder i'll Winfrid's life
came to pass. For as the bright
blade circled above his head, and tho
flakes of wood flew from the deep.
ening gash in the body of the tree
~ whirling wind passed over the
forest. 1t gripped the oak from its
foundations. Backward it fell, like q
tower, grooming as it split asunder
III four pieces. But .jnst behind it,
and unharned by the ruiz, stood a
young frtree, pointing gree, spire
toward the stars.
"Winfrid let the axe drop, aud
turned to speak TO the people.
"'This little tree, young child of
the forest, shall be your holy tree to
night. II is the wood of peace, for
your houses are built of fir. 1t is
the sign of on endless life, for it's
leaves are evergreen. See, how it
points upward to heaven! Let this
be called the tree of the Christ child:
gather about it, not in the wild wood
but in your own homes; there it
will shelter no deeds of blood, but
loving gifts and rites of Kindness
$50, they took the tree from its
place and carried it in joyful process
ion to the edge of the glade, and
laid it on one sledges. The horse
tossed his head and drew brave!y at
his load, rs if the new burden had
lightened it. When they came to
the village, Alvoid babe them open
the door of this great hall, and set
the Tree i'll tho midst of it,"
n dlSIOKG.
Historically. the Christmas tree
can only be traced back to the six
teenth century. During the middle
ages it suddenly appears in Stras
burg. a valuable authentic manu-
script OF 1908, by Strasburg burg
her now i'll private collection in
Friedburg. Hesse, describes the holi
days very much as we are used to
celebrate them. The manuscript OF
book. entitled THE Milk of Cate.
chism" by the Strasburg Theolo
glan nanhauer. mentions the same
subject in a similar. During the
next 200 years the Christmas tree
could only be met along the Rhine,
when suddenly, at the beginning OF
this century, the habit spread all ov.
er Germany, and fifty years later had
conquered the world.
The fist description of a Christ
mas-tree in modern literature is TO be
found in The Nutcracker." a fairy
tale, by Fougue & Aoffman.
In 1880 the Christmas. tree was
introduced by Queen Caroline into
Munich. At the same time it beat
it's path through Bohemia into Hun
gary, where it became fashionable
among the Magyar aristocracy =
New York Herald.