The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1906-12-21
TIL GENESIS OF CHRISTMAS

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Comparatively few 'oi the millions
of persons who annually enter SO heart
iiy into the festivities OF Christmas
give thought to t.e origin OF the
customs they observe. Young pc"
pie. N dbl. aged pee pie and old PEG
pie who take Understandable pleasure in
decorating their BONES with holly,
mistletoe and other eversreens in an
t.cipa,ion Of reign of fun and irvol-
ity, do not, ~ \ rule, give much
thought TO the Nativity, and never
f,r moment does any idea concern
ing the origin ofssuch decorations en-
ter their heads.
How many good souls there ar,
who delight in the old fashione,'
Christ mas customs, and who orce
year, ut least, let themselves out u
enjoy the rsvels OTIS. Nicholas feast
in the good old style, who would hold
up their hands in hsrror were it even
suggested that they were simply ina
tating the wicked old Pagans." AL
most all our popular prae tees in honor
OF the birth Of Christ have their orr.
gin in ante Christian ones.
1t is no longer = controversial point
that the Christ child was not born on
the 25th, or even during the month OF
December. We do net celebrate the
actual anniversary of His birth, but
the Significance OF the event. The Oh
servance of our modern Christmas has
it's foundation in perennial eu>tom
OF the ancients, from whom our fore
fathers took their idea Of celsi'ra
ton.
Later We find Christmas and Epiph
any being celebrated on the same day.
and still later, various dates-ln
March. April and December-were
set aside.
II is pretty certain also, that th'
Jewish feast Of the Dedication of the
Tahernacles, held toward the end 81
tie year, Influenced the selection OF
tile 25th of December 40 Christmas.
About 800 A. D. a boy was born i'll
Lycia. HIS parents called him Mich
OILS, but $50 the chronicles tell us),
though that was mans name, he
preserved The nature of child, foI
he chose "to kepe verlues, meknes,
and simpleness, and therefore children
doe him worship before all othe,
saints"
The modern chila's "Santa G aus
is Dutch contraction Of S INK,
Nikolaus," Sank nj Klaus; and th.
saints custom of giving presents Sc
cretly and in dead OF night as the de-
velopment Of deed of charity be per
formed when he assisted by tossing
three well-illed purses into their bed
room long after they had retired.
Thas, Santa Claus comes abou,
when the children are asleep and gives
them their hearts desire. St. Nicho
las day was originally early in De-
cember, but later it was eonfounded
with Christmas.
The idea tina, ST.. Nicholas was an
old hoary. bearded man comes from
the ancient representations of S,turn,
who was pictured 3 patriarch, and
also from the eonfounding Of the
Christmas Saint with Father Time,
WHO has always had his special day.
on New Years eve, q week after
Christ mas.
HIS SuSIou NC uSIISG IIO" tilc
Romans, who on the nrst day of the
Saturnalia gave to their servants, and
children dolls, candles and little doll
like pastles, the exact significance of
which, itls believed, had TO do with
those days when human sacrifices con
stituted feature Of the Saturnalian |
ritual.
The dolls were given principally to
although thtir signifiral.c c..
it is believed, was relative TO that sac
rlfice Of human lives to the internal
god which was practised at Garth
age.
Hardly was the Sa,urnalia over
when the Paganalia began. At this
festival an altar was erected in each
village thre ughout Italy. For this
al persons contributed money. Hence
arose the custom, so an old medieval
writes, for "the parents to
give cakes. toys, boxes, garments, lit
ie wagons, apples, nuts, .tc., to their
children on Christmas Eve, and some
lines rods were added to the presents