The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1910-12-29

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Had seized their troubled mind):
Glad tidings Of great joy.l bring
To you and all minkind..'
$ And who would forget the swing Of
melody, and the charity taught IN
Good King Weneslaus looked forth
On the least aof Stephen. !.
He saw the begEar gathering fuel
in the snow that lay round about.
and calls to his servants to bring him
robes and wine and to fetch the poor
man in from the. cold. - >
In the rural districts the nature fes.
tival lived long after the church had
taken the feast. There were remains
of tree worship and sacrifice to Po-
mona In Cornwall as late as $50 years
ago. The peasants used to go into
the orchards on Christmas day with
pailfuls of cider and roasted apples
The health of the trees was drunk to
song, and tibations poured upon the
roots. In various sections OF north.
ern Europe It 10 the custom to deco
rate trees out Of doors. The Ar trees
az .evergreens. and fruit trees for their
promises, were trimmed with long
streamers of ribbon, or paper.
The Christmas tree finds its ances
tor in the German ash Ygdrasil.
great tree whose top reached to Wal
hula, the home Of the gods, and whose
roots were fast In the earth.
The Germans have at,wealth Of car.
OILS. but nearly ali are Ola religious ma.
ture. -
"oh Tannenbaum. oh Tannenbaum"
or the song of the Or tree at Christ.
mas time has become world wide.
Who could count the households that
gather around the tapers lighted and
the tree loaded with gifts to sing this
in unison.
In the English household the song
IL:
Gather around the Christmas tree,
Ever green has its branches, been
1t is king of all the woodland scene"
Or 1t may be:
Carol, brothers, carol,
Carol joyfully,
Carol for the coming Of Christ's M.
tivity."
The good old custom Of singing
from house to house on Christmas eve
has crept across the water from Eng
land to America. 1t was q part of the
program Of the season to learn these
carols and to gather in bands, going
from house to house across the snow
and singing before the doors. The
neighbors knew they were coming, pre-.
pairing cakes and warm drinks, and
gifts Of money. Whoever
has heard God rest ye. merry gentle
men. let nothing ys dismay," sung
heartily in the frosty air has q thrill
and An experience that returns to him
every Christmas after.
And every Christmas morn is awak-
ened with the stirring strains Of
Shout the glad tidings exultingly
sing"
But We must rot think that England
or Germany sing all the carol music.
France had quaint literature Of its
own. Here is one If NOVEL;, or Noel.
and from north to south there are
delightful variations of 1t. These
words or the English translated long
ago preserve the spirit:
NOVEL;. novel;. novel;. novel;
This is the .salutacyon Of the. ANGEL "a.
bryell.
Tydyngs: treu Their be cum, neu sent
froms the trynyte,
Be sabryell to nazareth Getty of salile.
A clene maydyn. and pure virgin
:thorow her humylyte.
Hath conceybyd the person secund in
deite." -.
Pere Noel comes down the chimney
and gives gifts just as Father Christ
mas does across the channel. and. the
little French children sing:
'Nosl. Noel Noel, Noel singeth clear.
Holpen are all folk on earth &
Born ID Gods son 90 dear"
i. NJ. MccAULEY.
,.s.-.