The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1909-12-24
RESPECTFULLY,
Boyd e. Battle
1878 MAIN. FIFTH AVENUE. N, AND CEDAR STREET,
ESPECTFULLY

lous in p%leventing their husbands
from coming home drunk and fero-
cious. All that is necessary is to
sprinkle a little of the ashes Of the
mistletoe in his drink, when he isn't
looking, and his appetite for drink will
decrease. The ashes will, at least,
keep him soberer than he would be
without them. That is the reason
why a mistletoe bough hangs outside
most of the taverns in Breton; it
is calculated to prevent the tipplers
from seeing pink snakes, purple rab-
bits and the like flying through the
air while making their unsteady way
homeward.
In many sections of Germany Christ
mas is celebrated in many diverse
ways. Yet all the festivities cling to-
gether by tradition and have many
parts quite similar. Santa Claus is
the main feature and he differs a great
deal from the Santa Claus of America.
The German Kris Kringle never dis
tributes any toys, but he carries a
large bag of nuts. These nuts are
distributed among the German chill
dren on Christmas Day. Santa is pc
culiar in that he also carries a bundle
of switches. They are for the chill
dren who have been disobedient dur
ing the past year. When the nuts
are distributed the bad children re-
ceive a switching, instead of their por-
ton of the nuts. In distributing the
nuts they are usually placed in the
center of the table and Santa Claus
hands them to the youngsters. Ere
quently the lads are too anxious for
their portion of the goodies, and the
switches of Santa Claus come down
across their shoulders with a whack.
Then they keep a safe distance from
the table.
The German children believe in
Santa Claus until they become about
10 years Of age. In Germany only
one day is celebrated, Christmas Eve
being left unnoticed. This is more so
among the laboring people, as the
shops and factories never give a half
holiday on the day before Christmas.
On Christmas day almost all Of the
churches have a Christmas tree for the
little folks, and the gifts are distrib-
uted from it. In nearly all Of the
homes Christmas trees are to be found.
The gifts are very rarely given out on
the night before Christmas.
German children have many Of the
same Christmas amusements that the
American children have, and some Of
them are very similar to the Ameri-
a Halloween. Candles always cover
the Christmas tree, yet this is never in
full blaze until the night Of Christmas
Day in Germany. There is no week
or festivities lasting until the first
day of the year, as in this country.
Christmas festivities in England
are probably more fully enjoyed than
in any other country. Many Of the
old English customs have been trans
planted to America, but many of them
are still known only in the country
across the sea. In no other country
are the festivities more joyfully well
coined than in England, where the
Olu uOHOr, DIS IL Is CdllSu, udo AOJ
fled. In that country it is the Gus
tom on Christmas Eve, after the usual
devotions are over, to light large
candles and throw on the hearth a
huge log, called the Yule log, Of Christ
mas block.
At court and in the holmes of the
wealthy an officer, named the Lord Of
Misrule, is appointed to superintend
the Christmas revels. In Scotland
a similar officer is appointed and is
called the Abbot of Unreason. This
is merely one mode Of creating an
abundance of fun, but long years
ago this officer was really appointed to
superintend the festivities. In the
year 1916 the Office was abolished by
an act Of Parliament. The reign Of
the original law Of Misrule started at
Halloween and continued until Can
dlemas Day. The favcrite pastimes