The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-12-16


y Ar II e b o TIL Nors e.
m n or t h is Cne erful Gus
tom.
1t was the Norsemen who added to the
JOY Of the home at Yuletide by placing a
tree, an evergreen, in the. dwelling. and
II is from them that the picturesque GUS
tom OF the Christmas tree is derived.
Ihey decorated the tree with rude orna-
ments, and placed it SO that the glow
OF the Yule log might light up it's
branches, for to them the tree in it's
greenness and life, as a symbol Of eter-
p qlty was the representative Of their
goo and worthy Of all homage and re-
Spect
TO this day we continue to illumine
the Christmas tree, making it as bright
ana attractive as possible with its can
dles and its adornments, but the use of
candles is not associated w tn the Scan
d1naVians and the Norsemen of old
1hey did not have such luxuries. They
were Obliged to content themselves with
torches-pine knots-and with the glow
OF the log fire.
Inc employment of candles at Christ
mas time dates back to the saturnaIia.
When they Were used not only for pur-
poses Oh illumination, but as gifts from
one friend to another as tokens of
brightness and cheerfulness
Inc Jewish feast OF the dedica ton was
also marked by the use of cand es and.
as tIils Least occurred about the same
time of the year that Christ was horn
1t is not unlikely that at the time of EFis
pifth lnnumerable candles were brightly
burning throughout Palestine, fitt;no
though unlntentional symbol of the Light
t1at mad been born into the world
buI the adoption Of these various GUS
t t1iils' however innocent and, pleasing In
themselves was strongly opposed by
many sects and denominations of CbriS,
tians, and to this dav there aro +InSo
VINO not only deprecate the iolIitv that
cnafacterlzes the celebration of the Ma
IVltF' but who do not deem it proper to
attempt TO nix a particular date for the
coinmemoration of Chrfst's birth in tho
ity. 1'i0ical author
me Calvinists and the Puritans were
paIIicularly bitter against the introduc-
t.. " pagan customs into Christian cele-
of a C (Iuns ana would not tolerate the use
VI christmas trees and everoreens the
burning OF the Yule log and like fashions
our pilgrim fathers showed their dis
oaIh Tor the observance of Christmas h,
using to notice it. The wear tbeI
landed at Plymouth they worked bord
all day Christmas and gIoried in tbair
freedom from the superstitious customs
&c I'd: ndu oeen adopted by their fellow
The tree is said to have been used 70
pace gifts as early as 1910 adon+a1 ~
France III 1885 or thereabouts ana f. -
Introduced into England by Prince AL
pert the Christmas following his mar
FIage to Victoria. The custom has al
ways been observed at Windsor since
then' the queens tree" for her mo
JeSty Slfts' another for the royal chill
ofen and grandchildren, and the third
Tor the members Of the household
CHRISTMAS FRIED CHICKEN
SINCE the chicken, removing the min
feathers and oil bag. Divide at the ioin+,
ana remove the leg, thigh and breast
ooleS' pe1ng careful to keep the meat in
5000 shape. Wipe with a clean. wet
clotn' uredge with flour which has been
oS%SoIee WITH salt and pepper If not
Wen covered, dredge again with 1o,,r
Fry out several slices of fat salt ror1
ana COOK the chicken carefully in the hot
PORK rat 1t should be a uniform hroI,I,,
on each side, and use fat eno,,c-l -
keep 1t from burning. Arrange the chick
en- on hot dish with the legs and eido
hones at one end, wings and neck At H.
other and the breast in the middle
serve with gravy. Pour off the fat
that may be left in the pan, wipe ont
the Drowned crumbs, return the clear
1at' about one tablespoon of it. stir in
one rounding tablespoon of -four. and
Wnen Well mixed stir in one cup of hot
milk Season to taste and when tbicl,
stain it over the meat
NOT ON CHRISTMAS
absence makes the heart grow fonder ,,
Dees IT? Really, oft we ponder
II at Christmas 'twouId be n1easan+
| were there absence of the present
Baltimore American.
OAK AND MIsTLEToE.
70 the pruids the oak was a sacred
tree and fire a holy element. In n3anT,
English country households at the nras-
ent time the Yule log is dragged in ~,
Christmas eve with song and dancing
rolled into its proper place at the bacI,
| of the great fireplace and fire built
in front of it, Just as the custom hes
been from time immemoriaI in the for.
ests of Germany and the Scandinavian
/ peninsula.
To the DrHidical nr,aSts +I,o ,,,;.4,,