The Falls City tribune., 1909-12-17

they sing 10 the little
ones, We're old with those who sang
them to theirs on the banks of the
Nile. when Thebes and its temples
of Ell Karnak, mighty in their ruins.
were in their glory, and the Pyra
mids were newly constructed. If
we only knew it, there are many fam
iliar customs among us, that have
the mould and dust of the ages upon
them-so old, indeed, that their ORR
gin is lost in the darkness of forgot
ten time.
In this year of grace Nineteen Hun
dred and Nine, and very near the
joyous season, | have been writing
about, feel like recalling some of my
past experiences in the celebration
of the day that all the world loves so
well. | am not able to fix the date
of the first Christmas | remember as
a fact,in the early years of my life,
and | doubt whether there is any
body who can do that in his or her
experience, but We can all recall
them as a group of peculiar events,
occurring after we had attained to
an age to know that the 25th day of
December, was not regarded by the
people about us, with the same indif-
the year. In the country where
was brought up, in II of tho pref
test river valleys in the state of Hi
nois, Christmas was a day of fun and
frolic, by the young people, and by
some of the older ones too,-for it
is hard for anybody to forget what
it is to be young,-commencing with
the evening before, that is Christmas
Eve, and winding up with a dance III
some neighbours house the following
night, in which everybody participant
ed who was physically able to do SO.
Sixty years have dimmed my recol-
lection of those days to some extent,
but | have a pretty clear remembran-
ce of some of those functions though
| was only fourteen years old when
| left the neighborhood to attend an
academy in a distant town, and was
present at a country dance
afterwards in that vicinity. AS |
now recollect, it was our habit on
Christmas Eve for all the young men
and such of the boys who We're com
petent for the exercise, 10 assemble
at some rallying point, armed with
guns or any old shooting irons to
be had for the occasion. and then
make the rounds of the neighborhood
for a general Christmas salute. That
was always after dark. When a house
was reached we formed in a circle in
front. and at a signal from the leader
each of the company shouted at the
top of his voice "A Merry Christmas,
and a Happy New Year and a fus-
illade was fired in the air from every
gun in commission. That, of course
alarmed the people in the house, III
in nowise surprised them, for some
thing OF the kind was expected, and
they were prepared to do the hos
pitable act that immemorial custom
demanded of them.
The whole proceeding was akin to
the doings of the ancient Lord OF
Misrule and the Abbot of Unreason
of which | have made mention, only
there was no rioting or destruction
of property. Having made proclama-
ton and given the salute, the sere-
naders were invited into the house,
and for a short time treated to a
lunch and a liberal supply of hot
punch, so skillfully compounded that
the controlling ingredient, whiskey, was
tolerably well disguised, so much so
fact, that an over dose would be
imbibed before the consumer be-
came aware of the fact, and the same
result that attended Mr.. Pickwick's
attack on cold punch, was liable to
follow, which was generally the case
with most of the fellows on the grand
rounds before the exercises of the
night We're ended. a like proceed
ing took place at every house III
the community, and that was the com
mencement of the Christmas festlv-
tiles that were to continue through
the next day and highland all
night. Eating and drinking was the
order from which none were excused,
except the sick. the bedridden and the
dying. 1t was all hilarious frolic and
generous hospitality, in which pro
fusion of good things and their Law
ish distribution was as universal as
a Christmas welcome could make it.
The uncharitable might suppose,
or affect to do SO, that the moral
standard of those people vas not
high, but they would be mistaken.
These were of the average citizenship