Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-12-20
CHRISTMAS JOYS.
The Origin Of the Customs d
the Season.
mistIetoe Bough and WassaiI Bow
EyoA from Antiquity.
santa ciaus 10 the Most Modern o,
Them All.

me actual birthday of Christ can.
not De determined with any degree 81
accuracy. but 1t has been celebrated or
the 1oth day of December since ths
| year ~ A. d. Some of the apostles
| were alive at this time. and it is nc,
| recorded that they disapproved of the
date, SO 1t is fair to assume that il Is
| approximately correct. 1t is true that
almost every pagan gods supposed
Dlrth was celebrated about the same
time. ran. and Ammon, and Buddha
| ana many a lesser were supposed t.
nave been born at the time of the win
ter solstice. Since the beginning the
return of the sun and the renewing of
the year have been greeted with re-
]oicings. and it was but natural that
primitive man should assume that his
deity first visited the earth at this
most favorable season.
| Longfellow's Christian warriors sa:
at meat with their Scandinavian COM
rades. on Christmas eve, and as thew
drank deep they made the eign of the
cross over their ale horns. the wild
vikings at the same time making "the
sign of the hammer of Thor over
| theirs"
1t was one of the circumstances that
| made the introduction of Christianity
| easier than it might otherwise 'hav.,
| been. that pagan and Christian could
thus keep feast with each other. The
early fathers realized this. and wisely
| forebore to Danish the saturnalia Of
the Romans or the New Years
| festivals of the Britons. Instead they
| adopted the custom and made it 4
| part of the new religion.
1t is curious and interesting to trace
the commonest Christmas observances
back to the childhood of civilization,
on the world.
| One Of the old fathers writes know
4 ingiy that: 1.-THE trymyng of the tenn
pies with hangyngs, fiOures, boughes
and garlandes was taken of the heath
en- people which decked their idols and
house with such array" And so j,
was. and very sensibly at that.
| Perhaps the Oldest idea in existence
IS of world tree. n tree of life, whose
roots reached into immortality. In the
| far North the ash tree was TYPICAL in
Germany and Central Europe the pine
| was held sacred. Their branches
played u prominent part in the rejoic-
ings attendant on the holy season,
| which was known as Yule, Guile, Iul,
| and a number of similar names. These
people brought the Yule tree into their
| Christianity, the missionaries little
protesting, as a rule. In England The
skin-clad AnglO-Saxons were made to
hew their yule trees to pieces, as
idolatrous symbols, and every good
Catholic was hidden to burn the .ogs
in token that the Holy Child had
destroyed heathenism.
| The converts asked nothing better.
At that time of year yule log was
twice as comfortable as yule branch,
and much more conducive to good
cheer. 1t has blazed on the Christmas
hearth for more than a thousand
| yuletides since, and went out only
when the hearth itself gave way to
Hess poetic but more effective methods
of heating. Many of the superstitions
and traditions of the pagan yule tree
were continued as long as the Christ
mas log was alight. In some parts oil
England the log was represented by o
bundle of ash fagOts bound together
In all cases brand was kept every
YEAR 10 light the next years log with
The careful preventative of the brand
Twas n certain preventive of the des'
Itrlction of the house by fire.
,rhe most beautiful tradition attached
| TO the burning of the yule log was that
old wrongs and heartburnings Ter
isbed therein, and as long as the flame
| was bright on the walls enemies were
| n, peace with one another. This truce
was not always rigidly kept 1t is tire
There have been dark and cruel yIle-
tides in the history of our race. But
| In tho main the true spirit of Christmas
was kept.
There were several reasons for the
sanctity which attached to the mist"-
toe of the Druids. They did not re-
gard all mistletoe with reverence. VI
n. least they did not gather IT IN thei'
ceremonies from any tree except l 'e
oak. which was their sacred tree. NY.
the mistletoe almost never grows vi
oak trees. In England. the continent
OF Europe. and in America the pi
PARASITIC growth, the viscum album ol
the bota nists, is found growing OF
arp,e-trees, willows, larches. syca-
mores. poplars. elms. and many oan =
tress. but very rarely on OAK uees.
some wears ago careful canvass wa
made of the mistletoe oaks OF E's
Land. Only fourteen were repor,eu =,
all the island. One ancient giah' -,
Eerefordshire had fifteen Oh
branches adorned with the my SUI
shrub.
That tree would have been Dru pa
ten,nle in the old days. The OAK 'iee
was worshipped by them. possibly &c
canse of its antiquity. for OAK ~, ia
.erex in Britain when elephants n.,.ish
tiyars were members of the s, srl.,o.,
ina An oak tree on which mis'le ,s
srsw was especially reverence Us
s svs the appearance of the plant ~. ,se
ta,'an m be a miraculous sign tha' '''e
gods were pleased.
Tho pruids in common with almo ss
an ,r,mitive men, had deep reVeren.r
ASv