The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1906-12-21
E:5 j;532' S9E{

in long white vestments, with a silk
scarf and furnished with a inter and
crozier He is accompanied by two
angels and a whole troop Of devils
The angels are dressed much like the
choir boys in Anglican or Catholic
churches Each carries a basket The
devils blacken their faces and add
horns of pigs shouts or such other
fantastic devices as the ingenuity
of boyhood can devise. They are girt
with chains, which they shake or rat
tie furiously. 1t is thought much bet
ter fun to be devil than an angel,
hence the number of the former is
only limited to the number of boys
who are able to command the neces-
sary regalia In the twilight of the
evening of December the good bish-
CD and his suite begin their round
Of visits 1t is the season for juvenile
parties, and almost all the children
of the village are collected in a few
separate houses, each of which ST.
Nicholas visits in turn. He enters
with the two angels, while his swar
thy followers are left to play their
FRANKS outside. A great silence falls
upon the children, and one by one
they are called up and examined by
the saint This part of the evenings
business is carried on with the great
est seriousness and decOrum. Simple
religious questions suited to the age
81 oh Oft
which il has to sing hymns and re-
cite prayers. If the ordeal is success
fully passed the angels present it
with nuts and apples. If it fails it has
to stand aside. When the examination
is ended the devils are called in.
They are not allowed to approach
the good children, but may tease and
fri8hten the naughty ones as much as
they like. They do this at first as a
matter of duty. Duty is followed by
the pleasures whose anticipation had
caused them to enlist-pleaSureG
which consist in pursuing the larger
girls with the attempt to blacken
their faces. Their whole appearance is
intended to be grotesque and farcical.
For the entire evening they are allow
ed full license in the villages, though
in some Of the towns the festival has,
for good reasons, been prohibited.
For weeks before the eve of st. Mich
olas devil may occasionally be seen
at the window of some cottage where
the children are supposed to be naugh-
ciC Sc IN
be particularly attractive. It is proof
Of the sound nerves of the children
that no harm comes from the ordeal.
When ST. Nicholas has left the chill
dren return to their own homes, but
they do not believe that the generosity
Of the sanity bishop has been ex-
hausted. After saying their prayers
and going to bed they place dishes or
baskets upon windowsill, with their
names written within them, and in
these their parents deposit small pre-
sents, which their little sons and
daughters fancy he has brought.
Iii many places the bugbear over
shadows in Importance both the
Christ child and st. Nicholas. He APP
pears under different names and in
different guises. In Lower Austria he
is the frightful Krampus, with his
clankfng chains and horrible devils
mask who, Notwithstanding his gildeG
nuts and apples, gingerbread and toys,
which he carries in his basket, is the
terror of the nursery. In Hanover,
Holstein and Mecklenburg he is
known as Clas. In Silesia his name
is Joseph.
Sometimes the bugbear was a fe-
male In Lower Austria she was call
ed the Budelfrau. In Suabia it was the
Berchtel who chastised children that
did not spin diligently with rods but
rewarded the Industrious with dried
pears, apples and nuts.
The female boyle survives, espec-
tally in Russia and in Italy. In the
e~,,,,.o~ oh ic IzoOuyr1 tho