The Washington herald., 1911-12-25

There is one exception to the general
Christmas rule In England this year
there is no royal Yuletide to chronicle
There is, of course, a Christmas tree
and, as usual, the royal children are
assembled at sandringham, but neither
the King nor the Queen are with them.
They are both OF them away in far-on
India-King George tiger shooting and
the Queen resting quietly after the IA
tigue of the durbar and TO gain strength
for the last OF the ceremonies at Cal
cutta.
As the King is in daily telegraphic
communication with England throughout
his Indian visit. the royal children were
able to interchange the compliments OF
the season with their parents last night'
when they were gathered around the
mammoth tree prepared for their special
JOY and delectation under the superVi-
sion OF their fond grandmother, queen
Alexandra, and lighted in all its splendor
of the many gifts, according to the an
cient Teutonic fashion, to which the
house IF Saxe-Hannover still clings on
Christmas Eve.
1t is supposed generally that 1t was the
Prince Consort of Queen Victoria who
introduced the Christmas tree into Eng
land. This, as a matter of fact, Is not
so. 1t was Queen Charlotte. who set up
one each year for the royal children at
Kew or Windsor. But Queen Victoria
all her life remained German enough to
believe there could be no Christmas with
out a Christmas tree and throughout her
reign the preparations at Windsor Tor
the festival simply were stupendous.
Barons Of beef Cby the way. what Is
taron? were roasted whole in the great
kitchens in the Victoria tower Of the
castle; cygnets (royal "perks'O graced the
| dinner table; and a real. huge boar
head always stood on a sideboard that
had It not been a royal one and there
! fore bound to behave ITSELF would surely
have shrieked as we'll as groaned under
the weight of the good things piled upon
it. BY the way, this decorated and
stuffed boar's head is an institution at
Windsor 1t. is the Yuletide gift of the
HohenzolIern House to that Of Guelhp
sent to London by special messengers to
insure its safe arrival in the same appe-
tizing condition as it was prepared by
the royal chefs at Potsdam.
In the Victorian times no Christmas
ever came or went without hundreds Of
giant Christmas puddings, made from
special recipes. being sent from the
mammoth kitchens OF Buckingham Pal
ace to each and every one of Queen Vic
| tOria's relatives, far and near. 1t did not
matter in the least to the royal doner
whether the recipient liked them or not,
! they had to have them. Dozens Of self
! important special Queens messengers
would start out for different corners and
81 1prtr rKyffh Ia
arduous duty Of delivering their succu-
| lent, IL slightly indigestible, charges into
| the hands of the fortunate recipients.
But the demise of the Queen saw also
| the end of the travelling Christmas pud-
ding.
Its abolition was one of the needed re-
| forms in the royal menage instituted by
her son and successor, Edward VII, at
the instance of his banker-housekeeper,
| Lord FarQuhar.
Nowadays Christmas at Sandringham,
or Potsdam, or at the Vienna Hofburg,
| or at Tsarskoe-Selo Is very much like
Christmas at every big country house
where there are children to be amused,
tenants to be made happy. and many be-
loved pets to get their extra special bit
Of sugar or what-not in honor Of the
great festal day.
At Sandringham, the most intimate
] friends of the royal house usually are
gathered. On Christmas Eve there are
distributions of beef, blankets, and the
! like at the village to the children Of
which the chatelaine Of Sandrtngham
gives a tea There is, of course, church
to be attended in the morning, and visits
! to all the stables and kennels in the
| foa 10 d.
journment to the beautiful ballroom, in
the midst OF which is set the giant Christ
mas tree. One of royalty's chief pastimes
| is the selecting and giving Of presents,
and the many gifts piled around the tree
are the result of many days and weeks
of much enjoyed shopping, probably in
cognito. among the big stores Of the
| capitals.
But there is one particular feature in
the observance of which ''merrie old
England" differs widely from all other
countries. 1t is an old established rule
to look upon Christmas as a home" cele-
bration, devoted to family reunion and
to bringing Joy to the hearts Of the little
| ones.
In England il is different. There they
have Christmas house parties in other
|
the hallowed circle OF domestic peace of
| the immediate family.
| These English Christmas parties" are
pretty much the same as any other par
ties-most OF the great ducal houses
celebrate in Just such a manner. Their
parties consist chiefly Of shooting and
eating, dancing, and perhaps some the
atricals, with the excitement of present
giving thrown in. At Dalkeith the Duke
and Duchess of Buccleuch invariably
collect an immense multitude of their
descendants and relations for the Yule-
tide feast. At Arundel the Duke and
Duchess of Norfolk entertain score or
mere of the nobility in honor Of the small
| boy heir. At Badminton the Duke and
Duchess of Beaufort have large parties
also in their children's honor.
| Other houses where big Christmas par
ties take place annually are WeIbeck.
the sent OF the House of Portland; wyu-
yard, the Londonderry's place; Knows
ley. where Lord and Lady Derby have
| young peoples party; Burghley, where
Lady Exeter has guests; Chatsworth,
where the Duke Of Devonshire must
manage his brood alone this year, the
duchess being in India: and Knoyle.
where the Duke and Duchess Hamilton
Douglass-Hamilton in Scotland and
Due de Chatellerault in France) reside
when in England.