The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-12-26
From q Berlin Letter to the New York
 Fvaoine Post

N MEXICAN ana Engnsn neWspa- \Pu pers at Christmas time often
 have picturesque accounts of the German Christmas, which conjure up clear frosty atmosphere and re-echo the song of the skates on the frozen lakes. For the Anglo Saxon notion of the Ger man Christmas is drawn from those childhood hours spent over Hans An dersen and Grimm, and the sight of a Christmas tree brings to mind the woodcutter tramping home through the snow laden forest, trailing behind him the fir tree for his family Christmas celebration, while, in the towns. the black quadrangle of the venerable mar ket place is picked out in lights blazing on the trees in the windows of the gabled houses.
 Fifty years ago, before the young German giant had awakened from the sleep of centuries, this idea. of the peaceful German Christmas was correct. But if one of the burghers of old Ber- lin, returning from making his Christ mas purchases on Christmas eve, were to be transported into the roaring hub of empire which his haupstadt has be- come in the year of grace 1908. the good man would probably expire on the spot.
 Fifty years ago. when Berlin was dirty. unpretentious, provincial town, with i'll lighted, illspaved streets, with a population removed even in those days for its surly manners and uncouth- ness, and with the iron hand of mill- tarism unch ed over it all the Christ mas festival was the tranquil cele- bration of which one has read. In the Lustgarten, before the castle, Christ mas fair was annually established which the king and royal family used to visit to buy jumping jacks and gin gerbread for the palace Christmas trees, like any other German f" fly. The Lustgarten fair has passed away, the king of Prussia has become German Emperor Berlin has developed Into a fair and beautiful city. and all that re- mains of the Christmas of once upon a time is the spirit-indeed. precious inheritance. That still holds supreme sway and rests concealed in the branches of the myriads of Christmas trees which rich and poor alike set up in their houses on the eve of the feast
 Otherwise the old German simplicity has vanished. In the house of the rich merchant electric lights take the place of the Christ candles" and the motor car or the steam yacht which he gives his son as a Christmas present can find no place under the Christmas tree, as did the woolen comforter. the handful of gingerbread, or the new skates in the day of his father. Caruso or Destinn on the gramophone take the place of the Christmas hymns which used to be sung as an act of pious reverence to the '"Tannenbaum," or perhaps even horrible dictu. the tree will be fast ened to a clockwork contrivance, which, on being wound up, revolves to tune tangled out by musical box. The bulging one-storied shops with ginger bread and gilt angels stuck in their diamond paned window fronts have vanished, and their places are taken by stores built on the same style of pala- tial magnificence as across the Atlantic From the beginning of December till the feast they devote a considerable portion of their space to Christmas bazars, where one imagines ones self transported to Toyland. There are tre- mendous set pieces with electio trams airships and railway trains careering about amid wonderful papier mache mountain scenery; ravishing visions of fair doll fomen and army corps on army corps of the most gallant tin soldiers that ever manned 8 fort. The air is rent with an ear-splitting caco- hony of noise emitted by mechanical toys, and the atmosphere reeks with the smell of shavings and glue, that pe- culiar pungent odor of the toyshop which brings back to the old fogies the mysterious delights of the birthday table.
 On Christmas eve every German must have his Christmas tree. When one passes through the streets on a wet Christmas eve--the sparkling frost and snowy mantle of the feuilletonist rarely put in an appearance before January one has the curious feeling of being in the midst of sixty millions of people