The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1897-12-31
A CHRISTMAS HOMlLY.
The Social and Secular Significance of
he

uNoptiuu ltN, CuEluNSls tHONSn, IL us
rived It's rites of merry making not from
Christianity so much as from the customs
of the heather world The rulers of the
early church, from Constantine down,
We're shrewd politicians They knew how
important Il was to include as many as
possible of the old pagan usages and be-
liefs to which the people Of the Roman
empire had been attached In tho observ-
anoes Of the new faith
Just why Dec 25 was selected as the
natal day Of the Saviour of the world no.
body has ever been able to tell Certainly
there is no historic reason nor the slightest
authentic chew, and it is well known that
December Is the rainy season in Judaa,
when neither shepherds nor flocks brave
the open sky 1t is more than probable
that the celebration Of Christ's birth,
which up to the fifth century had not been
observed at ALL got them to be recognized
as not less worthy of holiday conservation
than Easter and Whitsunday 1t was a
happy thought to make this as nearly
Identical rs might be with the old Roman
saturnalia which still survived In some Of
its forms, and with the annual feast of
Thor, observed among all the Teutonio
races, even those which had accepted the
white Christ 1t was the more opposite
too as the Roman festival and the leu
tonic alike had symbolic reference to the
great natural fact that the sun at or about
that date rises out Of the decadence of his
power to augmentipg heat and splendor.
This was easily applicable to the first ap-
pearance Of the Son of God and the Sun of
the World among men.
So we see imported into the observance
of the Christian holiday from the first on
Its social side the time honored heather
usages and ceremonies The universal
present giving of the saturnalia, especially
to children, and the democratic equality
which abolished distinction of rank at
that period were at once followed by the
Christian merrymakers From the old
Morse usages the day borrowed the Gus
toms of the huge bonflres, the Yule log of
holy ash or oak to be burned indoors, the
symbolism of the holly and mistletoe
boughs, alike sacred to the deities the
great boar's head served as the piece de re-
sistance of the Christmas feast and the
general bacchanalianism of the occasion
The latter, however, was also typical of
the old Roman festival Santa Claus (St
Nicholas) came by and by into the rich
symbolism of the Christmas show as the
successor of Cdin, the all father and all
giyer The Scandinavian god ON the oc-
caslon of the festivities of his eldest son,
Thor, distributed universal gifts, the ia
Their of each family being his special agent
in the matter AS Odin, or Wooden, became
in later myths the mighty huntsman who
ranged the forests, we see how the Christ
mas tree and evergreens found their places
Why however the functions of Odin
should have specially been finally transfer
red to St Nicholas out of all the Christian
canon roll, unless from the fact that this
fine old saint was the special patron Of
children and schoolboys, it is not easy to
divine These things go to show what a
curiously tangled composite our Christmas
is and how Justify it has grown out of d.
verse elements till it has become the most
significant and hallowed of holiday sea-
sons, marking really an epoch Of the year.
Among the causes which have enshrined
this day SO deeply in the heart Of the world
the fact that it is peculiarly children's day
is probably the most fetching in it's magic
| The young people everywhere among
Christian peoples constitute the factor
which dominates the social observance of
the season. Rich wassail at the dinner
board seraphic music and pomp of church
service, even the giving Of rich gifts
among the elders, were these all, would
leave Christmas but little different from
other holidays, notably SO in the case of
Easter, when present giving among the
rich has become so common. The Bambino
| or infant Christ, as the idol of the occasion,
would then have but little significance,
but when the Juvenile world declares that
it rules the jubilee the keynote is struck
which sends its thrilling music ringing
throughout humanity How Charles Dick
ems, the prose poet of Yuletide in fiction,
has spun this pregnant fact into exquisite
! episodes is probably the highest measure
| of his success in imaginative work. The
| images he has created will live forever in
the Christmas procession far more than
! puppets to the warm hearts of countless
readers And it is not among the children
| of the rich that Christmas most diffuses
| its felicity in real life any more than
| among the offspring of the great Christmas
| romancer
| 1t is among the poor and the lower mid
| die classes that Christmas JOY reigns with
| most potency The trifle spent to secure a
| Christmas tree with it's burden of cheap
| toys and sweets in the tenement house rep
resents vastly more than the correspond
ing splendid show among the affluent
The story of the little cripple, "Hiny
| Tim, sets its canticle to more resound-
| ing strains of harp and cymbal than can
| ever attend the festival music of palace
| The true "Chrissom child" was found in
the humble manager.
| The feeling that Christmas day is pecul-
iarly consecrated to the poor as well as to
the children has always been quite char
acteristic of the usages of the day The
lowest classes in medieval times were
made to share fully with their superiors In
| feasting and merrymaking At the pres
ent period we see an ever increasing bene-
faction in the way of helping the poor to
| enjoy Christmas more generously-the
turkey or goose for the home table, toys
and clothing for the youngsters, and public
dinners often supplemented by substan-
tial presents for the homeless waits On
this special occasion such philanthropy
shows its most sweeping and liberal form,
and the human heart Is softened to the
thought that in spite Of earthly distinc-
lions all men are equal before him whose
natal day as man is thus observed The
democratic influence of Christmas thus
| stands out great social factor
When classes are driven by SO many 9th
rr influences to become hostile, it is preg-
nant thought that more and more should
be done to intensity the spirit and tenden-
cies OF the Christmas season as an object
lesson in kindly sympathy between rich
and poor What wealth does for poverty
is sometimes turned from blessing to bane
by naughty and patronizing air in the
giver The Christmas spirit is that of the
fortunate man, who cordially helps his
unlucky brother the spirit of the good
Samaritan The habitual exercise of this
feeling on one day when all tradition and
religious sentiment turn toward it helps
to extend it to other days, and that is the
true function of Christ natal festivity
GEORGE T. FERRIS