The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-12-25
LEGENDS CLUSTER
AROUND The YULE.
The Reyels of Christmas as They
We're Enjoyed by Our Ancestors
IN the Merry Days of Long Ago.

IN the Merry Days of Long Ago.
Lol now is come our joyfuTst feast,
Let every man be jolly.
Each room with ivy leaves is drest
And every post with holly
Now all our neighbors' chimneys smoke,
And Christmas blocks are burning:
Their ovens they with bak't meats
And all their spits are turning.
The celebration of Christmas. con-
sidered by the Puritans popish and
idolatrous, has for many centuries been
so universal that it may prove of in
terest to contrast the rites ceremonies
and quaint beliefs of foreign lands with
those of matter-Of-fact America
Many curious customs have become
completely obsolete and live only in
tradition, but 1t IS surprising to find
what singular superstitiOns stiIl exist
among credulOus classes, even in the
light of the nineteenth century.
In the Holy Land at this season the
place of greatest interest is naturally
the Church of the Nativity at BethIe-
hem, erected on the supposed location
where CHRIST was born It is said to be
the oldest Christian church in exist
ence, having been built more than df-
teen centuries ago by the Empress Hell
ena, mother of Constantine Repairs
We're made later by Edward " OF
England; but it is now again fast fall
ing to decay. The roof was originally
composed of cedar of Lebanon and the
walls were studded with precious few
els, While numerous lamps of silver and
gold were suspended from the rafters-
The Greeks, Latins and Armenians now
claim joint possession of the structure
and jealousy guard its sacred pre-
cincts.
Immediately beneath the nave of the
cathedral is a cOmmOdiOus marble
chamber, constructed over the SPOT
where the far-famed stable was said
to have stood and reached by a flight
of stone steps, worn smooth by the
tread and kisses of multitudes of vvor-
shippers. The manger is represented
by a marble slab a couple Of feet in
height, decorated with tinsel and blue
satin and marked at the head with a
ch1Seled star, bearing above it the in
Scr1puOn in Latin, Here was Jesus
Christ born of the Virgin Mary At
the foot are several affairs. on which
incense is ever kept burning and from
which mass is conducted, while a score
of hanging lamps shed a fitfuI light
over the apartment.
Many theories have been advanced as
TO the eXplanat ton of the mysterious
star in the east" which guided the
wondering shepherds, but it is now
thought to have been Venus at the
height of it's splendor.
The early Christians decorated their
churches with eVergreens out of respect
to the passage of Scripture in Isaiah
The glory of Lebanon shall come unto
thee; the FIR tree, the pine tree and the
box together to, beautify the place OF
my sanctuary''-and the pagans be-
lieved them to be omens of good. as the
spirits of the woods remained in their
Holly is known in Germany and Scan
dinaVia as "Christ's thorn and is en-
blematic everywhere Of cheerfulness.
forgiveness, peace on earth and good
viii to men"
The oak mistletoe or "misseI'' was
held in high veneratiOn by the ancient
Dru1ds, who, regarding its parasitic
character as miracle and a symbol
OF Immortality, Worsnipped it in their
temples, and used it as a panacea for
the physical ailments of their follow
erS- When the moon was six days old
1t was tremendously cut with a golden
sickle by the chief priest of the order
and received with care into the spotless
robes of the company, for if it fell TO
the unhoIy ground its virtues We're con-
sidered lost.
Then, crowned with oak leaves and
singing songs of THANKSGIVING, they
bore the branches in solemn procession
to the affairs, where two white oxen
We're sacrificed to the gods
The custom of kissing under the
mistletoe" dates back to the days OF
scandinavian mythology, when the god
Of darkness shot his rival, the immor-
tai Apollo of the North. with an arrow
made from its boughs But the sup
posed victim being miraculously re-
stored to life, the mistletOe was given
INTO the Keeping OF the goddess OF ar
lection as symbol Of love and not
Of death, to those who passed beneath
it, berry was required to be picked
with every kiss and presented to the
ceasing when all the berries
We're gathered.
In "Merrie England" Christmas was
the chief event of the entire wear and
was sometimes celebrated for nearly a
month. The tables of the wealthy lit
orally grOaned with plenty, but the
poor without their gates were not for
gotten, for
Old Christmas had come for to keep
open house,
ETaf6 he. ~4He
mouse.
That remarkable compound known as
wassaff' was composed of warm ale
lr wine, sWeetened with sugar and ia
7Ored with spices, and bearing upon its
surface floating bits of toast and roast
ID crabs and apples The huge bowl.
Saily decorated with ribbons. was
passed from hand to hand around the
able, each guest taking a portion OF
IS contents, as sign Of Joviality and
Candles We're first used to demon
;trate the power Of Christianity oyer
he darkness of pagauism and were
ometimes arranged in triangular form
o symbolic the Trinity
Christmas carols are commemorative
# the angels song to the shepherds on
he plains of Bethlehem and are seldom
leard in America, save by the surpuced
.hOirs of Episcopal churches The =
English waits or serenad ers who
ang under the squires' windows in
ropes Of receiving a christmas boz
add a touch Of romance
nd picturesqueness to the associations
# the season For upon the frosty
vening air arose such strains as
Awakei glad heartl arise and sinzl
It is the birthd1y OF thy King.
)r-
God rest you, merry gentIemenG
Let nothing you dismay,
For Jesus Christ, our Savior,
Was born upon this day.