Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-12-20

=
ana ne moved him slowly round the Firth
or an aged oak, to see 81 -
II an orphan plant of wondrous birth
hau chung to the old oak tree
ana anon he knelt, and from his hoIt
~. : nioosened his golden blade,
men rose and called the mistlefoe
Under the woodland shade.
FOR many generations after the last
Druid was dust the smistletoe had its
SOtaries. The plant had almost every
medlcinal property, according to early
physicians. 1t was believed to be a
remedy for i'll, physical, mental. and
sentimental In pagan days it was
dedicated to Olwen. the Celtic Venus.
ara through the ages the plant ana
the tender passion were rather init
mately entwined. Kissing beneath /.
began SO far back in history that no
one has ever attempted to trace the
custom to its youth.
In vindication of the other old
| customs written at a time when the
| blight of Puritanism was over Christ
| mas joy, liberal minded father in
Israel wrote: "Heathens by the light
of natural reason, have done and do,
| many excellent things, and things COM
| mendable in Christians" He may have
had the memory of a pair of red lips
under a green bough in his well-dis-
ciplined mind. At all events it is GER
tain that a goodly number of his read
ers SO Interpreted his permission. The
mistletOe bough still hangs in the castle
hall. and in the cottage kitchen as we'll
The custom of giving presents at the
new year is older than our modern Gus
tom of Christmas gifts. In the middle
ages 1t was common usage in churches
to display boxes for especially liberal
aims giving, in honor of the season.
Parents gave their children, masters
their servants, employers their appren-
tees small sums OF money to put in the
box. By and by the money came to be
given in the form Of tips. Boxing
day" in England is still the day follow
ing Christmas. The boxes very seldom
remained in the hands of the recipients.
Usually they were passed on to parents
or sweethearts.
TN take it all and box it all,
And give 1t to my honey"
sings the enamored apprentice in the
ballad.
Christmas presents, up to a COMPARE
lively recent period, appear to have
been confined to the rich and great.
Kings and queens and mobiles spent
fabulous sums for guads to present to
their friends. The sovereign expected
royal gifts. A catalogue of the richesse
lavished on Queen Elizabeth year after
year by her subjects and parasites
reads like fairy tale.
The common people celebrated in an
other fashion. There is an mex
tingushable desire in man to disport
himself on every legitimate occasion;
to throw discretion, politeness. good
breeding, decency itself to the winds,
and just get down ana howl like n cave
man. Here in New York this is seen
several times every year. The satur-
MALTA of old Rome could not have been
much noisier or more bOistrous than
some of our own election celebra tons.
We certainly ought to sympathiZe with
the spirit which prompted the brief
annual reign of the Lord of Misrule,"
although it was undoubtedly attended
with some very rough usages. There
was more Drawn than sentiment about
those English ancestors Of ours, and
more animal spirits than delicacy.
The Puritan was naturally much
shocked at the annual holiday gambols.
and tried to put 4 stop to them. In
fact, he put Il quietus on the whole Gus
tom of Christmas keeping. In 1647, or
Whereabouts, even church services were
forbidden. To worship God on His
birthday was rank popery. in the
opinion of Praise God Barebones. and
to enjoy life, at that season even more
than another, was inherently bad and
vicious. The Christmas hearth was
black, and the wassail bowl empty dur
ing the rule of Cromwell. They came
back with the Restoration, but a chill
had fallen on the whole thing. Christ
mas has been kept more discreetly and
with less warmth since then.
This may be counted an injustice.
We are told in "MarmiOn'' that:
"A Christmas gambol oft would cheer
The poor mans heart through ali the
year
The Puritan on our shores kept
Christmas as a fast. or tried to at least.
1t was very difficult to censor all the
households in a single day, and there is
reason to believe that the sinful mince
pie and the meretricious plum pudding
were served on more than one back
Sliding housewives table within sight
l oil the uOOIS Vi hhu
Boston town. There is a pretty story
told of an irate elder coming upon n
feast in the house of one of thePilgrims.
The table was decked with greens and
holly berries, and luscious was the dis
play of pastries and baked meats upon
the board. There was really nothing to
be said in the way of defense. until the
ouick-witted hostess came forward and
invited the elder to partake of the cele-
bration of their wedding anniversary.
1t was quite true that they had been
married on Christmas day, but the
feast was for another anniversary.
OF all Christmas customs the best
known is also the most recent. Santa
Claus is modern improvement. Saint
Nicholas. it is not to be denied, is
fairly hoary figure, and he has long
been known as the patron saint of chill
dren. Just why is not clear. Practic-
ally nothing is really known about the
good saint except that he died Arch
bishop of Myra in the fourth century.
There are one Or two legends connect
ing him with love and compassion
for young people. but there are also
legends which cause him to be asso-