The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1899-12-21
Thoughts About Christmas.
At Christmas-tide the open hand
Scatters it's bounty DER sea and land,
And none are left to grieve alone,
For love is heaven and claims its own


And none are left to grieve alone,
For love is heaven and claims its own.
The Christmas feeding of the birds is
prevalent i'm many of the provinces OF
Norway and Sweden. Bunches Of oats
are placed on the roofs of houses, on trees
and fences, for them to feed upon. Two
or three days before, carloads of sheaves
are brought into the towns for this pur-
pose, and 10th rich and poor buy and
place them everywhere. Every poor man
and every head of a family had saved
penny or two, or even one farthing, to
buy bunch of oats for the birds to have
their Christmas. On this day, on many
farms, the old horse, the young colt, the
,'attle, the sheep, the goats, and even the
pigs receive double their usual amount of
food. 1t is a beautiful custom, and speaks
che Scandinavian.
The old custom of kissing under the
nistletOe bOugll, cones down from times
20 ancient that its origin Is lost in the
nists of the middle ages. Back in the
lays OF the Druids this sacred plant was
gathered with many mystic rites. 1t is
common upon apple trees, but was held
O have special virtue when found grow
ing upon the sacred oak. In flower lam
,uage its sentiment is, II rise above all,
referring 70 its sacred qualities, and many
ire the SuperStitiOIS connected with 1t.
rhe Druids used it as a charm agains:
Evil spirits, and it was said TO he u certain
are for epilepsy.
In India it grows upon the ill-Omened
,,ipal tree, and is supposed to partake of
ITS qualities. In the Tyrol it is thought
10 be guarded by tho hazel-wOrm (blind-
worm, or viper). In Bavaria il is tied
with palm and savin to IA hazel stick, and
when this is hung above the entrance to "a
dwelling no witch can enter it. In Austria
I.,sI tI,n Il To- vvs
away the nightmare.
In northern mythology it was associated
with Balder, god of sunshine, son Of Frey.
This legend is woven by LOngfcllOw into
his poem beginning Bladder the be ,uti-
full, is dead, is dead"
Among the Christmas fancies that long
est survived i'm Europe, and even became
nafuraliZed in our own prOsaic land, was
one that the cattle at o'clock on Christ
mas morning, whenever they were free
to do so, would turn their heads to the
eastward, and get down upon their knees
to worship the King that WAS born in a
| stable; and still another, which cOntin-
aed to comparatively recent times, that
during the Christmas season the barn
ard cocks were accustomed to crow with
iore than usual force and frequency,
| 10Th by day and by night.
There are so few ChriStmases in our
lives that it is apity one should be wasted
by anybody.
Yet I fear there are as many, if not
more, unhappy hearts then than at any
other time Of the year, chiefly because
many of US feel we cannot give as we
would like, or cannot give at all.
The women and children on farms,
with limited means, and far from good
stores, are the first to give up, although
some of the most acceptable gifts are right
at their hands
There are rows and dozens of rows OF
fruit jars in the pantry, and what could
he prettier present than jar of clear
preserves labeled "SOme of my fancy
work. was thinking of you in the hot
weather, too, you see."
City children are buying last years
nuts at so much pint. How rich they
would feel with whole peck of fresh
ones, or a box of homemade nut can
| dies!
| A peck of apples is almost as good
| though it wont last as long.
| A little bantam hen and rooster once
made an all-the-year-rOund present tC
two delighted town children.
| If we would get the idea into our head.
| that Christmas is more a sharing than
buying time, there would be more gifts
more happiness, fewer heartaches before
aud after, and less of that miserable del
lars and cents value that hurts both tn,
giver and receiver.-Farm Journal.