The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1906-12-21

Salutatons of Merry Christmas
will soon be heard on every hand,
and the greeting itself compared TO
the customary good morning, bears
With ii the spirit of the well wisher.
Few, however, stop to think Of the
time when Christmas did not exist, or
Of the history and development Of
the festive day which is now SO nee
essary to complete cur year.
Whence came Christmas, or
whence came those customs which
so distinctly mark it's celebration
every year? "Merrie" is an English
word, and its meaning pleasant,
thus it happened that among its
other uses il formed the compound
Christmas salutatiOn. It's use here
is very exclusive, birthday celebra-
tions are every day affairs, but there
can be but one Lords birthday, but
one Merry Christmas
Tradition thus gives the origin Of
Merry Christmas TO England. How
ever, no one country should feel joal-
Gus, for they all have helped TO make
Christmas what it ia.
Definitely speaking, Christmas Is
the day on which the nativity of the
Savior is observed. While the origin
of its first celebration Is unknown, it
is a fact that December 25 was not
generally observed as the specific day
previous TO the fourth century. 1t
was observed, but there was no uni
formity i'm the time Of its observance
among the churches. BY some it was
observed as early i'm the year rs Jan
uary, by others i'm May or April.
If one is to Judge by the seasons
as they now come and go, December
s5 could not reasonably have been
the birth time Of Christ, as 1t is then
the rainy season there.
Christmas was the parent OF many
later festivals, especially from the
fifth TO the eighth century, and com
ing SO close together they made up
what might be termed a Christmas
cycle. These days surpassed all
other groups OF Christmas holidays
in richness and festal usages, and
this group as whole had much to
do with the complete and orderly dis
tribution of the church festivals Of
the whole year. The cause that led
to the choice OF December % as the
day to be observed was not the result
OF impulsive or casual appointment.
1t appears that the heathen people
OF the earlier centuries regarded the
winter solStice as the most important
time of the whole year. Then nature
took on new signs Of life, and the
gods personified the seasons; espec-
tally was this true in the more
northerly countries Of Europe, and
there is was that the Cclts and Ger
mans from the Oldest time celebrated
this season with great festivities.
The beginning of the winter solsticc
was marked by the Yule feast: and
here began the use OF the term "Yulc-
tide"
Many OF these customs, beliefs and
usages passed over from hcathenism
to Christianity, and some have sur
vived unto this day. There was such
a clear cut distinction between heath
enism and Christianity that a clash
had to follow. Christianity strove to
abolish the bondage OF existing
heathenisms, and substitute the pres
ent grandly deserved liberty of the
Christian church. Out of the ira
ditional observance OF Christmas
came the carols, and the Christmas
dramas, and later came the Christ
trees, or now known as Christmas
trees.
With the tree came the candles and
gifts. Gradually came those dishes
so distinctive to Christmas, and
Christmas itself became a joyous So
cial function for old and young. and
Merry Christmas meant pleasant
wish TO all who were to participate in
its observance. AS the festive time
draws near, few thoughts Of our
modern Christmas may naturally
have rrst place The more knowl-
edge one has, the more intense are
the experiences in life, thus at one
time we may be very happy, at an
other we may suffer intense sorrow.
Germany is the home OF much Of
our Christmas sentiment, and a
knowledge OF some of he customs
which are characteristic of the Ger
man celebration may add to our own
pleasant experiences OF the day. The
word holiday" has different sig
nifcance when used in relation to