The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-12-25
TABLE AND KITCHEN.

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Chicago.
Though sweet the voice OF Christmas
bells,
That ring across the wintry dells.
May loving voices sweeter far,
Ring on your hearts whereer you are,
And make this season of good will
More bright than ever and gladder
still"
OF all the yearly festivals, religious
as well as secular. Christmas is the
most important and significant, as well
as the most democratic; for in all lands
every class and condition is privileged on
this day that might fttingly be called
Humanity day. for at no other season
does the heart open so wide to receive
the spirit of peace, good will toward
men" as at Christmas time when,
1.-THE open hand
Scatters its bounty DER sea and land.
And none are left to grieve alone,
For love is heaven and claims it's own"
During the dead season when Nature
sleeps beneath its mantle of snow and
ice, when the harvests have been gath
cred and the season of waiting between
the harvesting and seedtime is upon Us,
and the fullness thereof. Christmas
should be a season of mirth and jollfty
in cottage and hall, when the scattered
members of the family are reaSSembled
under the hOme-roof.
THE ORIGIN OF CHRISTMAS.
Great as is this feast day, and al
though so widely celebrated, no one
knows for a certainty it's origin, who
first celebrated it, or when or how, even
the date being lost in obScurity.
The early Christians who frowned up
on all celebrations of birthdays as
heatheniSh and considered Christmas
customs and festivities relics of pag-
an1Sm and even worse, in their sight,
popish," are no doubt in a graf rce1s-
ure responsible for the general ignor-
ance as to the original significance of
thew
the obServances as fitting anniversary
of the solemn event in the worlds his
tory that caused the heavens and earth
to sing together and stars rejoice over
the birth of a Goldman. But it needed
not the institution of a new religion to
inStil a feeling of peace and good will
into the minds Of men at such time. On
the contrary we find that each and all
the practices that marked the close of
the Christian year We're derived most
directly from the Objectionable pagan
sources.
CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS.
Even these owe their origin to pagan
rites, although adopted by the most
austere churches. The holly, box, ivy,
laurel and bay which now enter so ex--
tensively into our Christmastide church
decorations and without which the day
would be bare indeed, adorned the tenn
pies and houses of the Romans during
their Saturnalia, well as the rude
huts of the ancient Britons The holly
and the miSt1etOe bore a special Signif-
icance in Druidica1 worship during their
great winter festival. The miStletoe on
account of its supposed peculiar Inedi-
cinal properties and also because it
was found on the stalwart oak, the ia
vorite tree of their god-Tutanes or
Bel. kissing under the miStletOe comes
from an old Scandinavian legend.
The Druids sent sprfgs Of holly and
mistletoe around to their friends as
peace Offering several days before the
great events (thuS even our peace on
earth, good will to men, seems of pagan
conception). This offering was also
reminder to all to decorate their dwell
lings with evergreens so that sylvan
sprites might repair to them and in
this way shelter their inmates from
the wintry frosts and blasts until
spring renewed their natural foliage
OLD ENGLISH CHRISTMAS.
While we have children from all ma
tions" within our borders who have
brought with them from their far-away
homes their own peculiar customs, the
American Christmas festivities follow
closely the order of merrie old England,
which probably welcomed the day with
more hearty jollity than any other ma
ton. The religious significance was less
evident than the spirit of mirth and
pleasure. Little of the solemn aspect
was observed and. much time given to
feasting. Our modern Christmas revels
lack the organization of the old-time
festivals and much less tine is given
to the celebration. 1t may be that in
this age of commercial plenty we lack
the motive that justified the riotous liv-
ing and feasting of I'VE olden times"
We certainly have no reason for over
eating at any time, as there is at all
seasons an average Sufhciency of foods
that is good a feast every day.
That this is not the case in every Amer
lean home proves bad and inexcusable
management by One-half the popuIa-
ton at least. For in this land of album
dance no one need or should go hungry
for day if the question of food econ
omy was properly handled "Wilful
To FIJI "a
poor, and a prodiga1 feast at Christmas
can not assuage this, or discharge the
obligation we owe the less fortunate
part of humanity.
THE YULE-CLOG OR CHRISTMAS
BLOCK.
The bringing in of the Yu1e-clog or
Christmas block, and hanging of the
mistletoe was the occasion of much
ceren ony as well mirth. With song
and dance and music of pipes and bells
these were brought into the great halls
on Christmas eve. Then when the usual
evening devOtionS were over it was the
custom to light large candles made for
the occasion; place the yule-logs or
yule-clog and light the Christmas fire.
Family and guests gathered around this
and ate the yule-dough with draughts
from the mighty wassai1 bowl and
tankards of spiced ale and the evening
ended late with sports and songs. Each
member of the family had their own
particular kind of cake in this night
and the children had their sweetmeats.
YULE-DOUGH.
This was made into cakes of spiced
dough; each cake being six or seven
inches long and roughly fashioned to
represent the human figure, with raisins
for eyes, nose and mouth.
PLUM PUDDING.
The plum pudding of today originated
in plum broth-a dish tlla1 was included
in festival menu, even in Elizabethian
times
The introduction into the pudding of
the ring, sixpence and thinnble probab bly,
springs from the luck bean which was
put into the bean cake. He that found
the bean in his slice of cake was APP
pointed bean king or master of the
evening entertainment. The bean
cake was a twelfth night institution