Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-12-16
Origin Of Some Christmas Customs
BY c. r. MERRILL.

HtAtNNos pto. aDh hAo4Ndt SnoNi
ments and singing In the early cen
4 turtles 1 is stated that the Germans
celebrated Christmas Day by mount
! ing 10 the roofs Of their dwellings and
greeting their neighbors with carols
The strenuousness of this perform
ance was evidently sponsibie for the
bringing about OF the custom of hav-
ing the children 90 from house TO
house singing carols and wishing the
/ occupants good luck.
] We Of Hawaii know very little
| about the Yule log. but IL Is a much
cherished part Of the Christmas cele-
| bration throughout England, and also
! in the eastern part OF the United
States. The Scandinayians in centu-
ries gone by worshiped the god Thor.
and at the feast of JUL, during the
winter months. lighted a monster fire
to do honor to the occasion. A Gus
tom of like na.nre made itself mani
fest in England. and several days be-
| fore Christmas retainers were sent in
to the forests 10 select and prepare
! log for the Christmas fire. Great
ceremony was observed by the lords
of that day in bringing in the Ynle
log and placing il in the great fire
place where it was TO foretell prosper
! ify or reverse accordingly as it took
| fire and burned freely or reluctantly.
Strange as il may seem. most OF
! the Christmas customs that we cher
! ish so fondly originated in Roman pa
4 ganism and were adopted by Chris
/ tianitys followers to celebrate the
I day Of days.
+ Druids Used MistIetoe
/ During the soistice festival the Dru-
ids used profusely for decoration the
plant We know as mistletoe. People
of that sect went into the mountains
: I'm large numbers and gathered the
plant with much ceremony, il being
necessary that the plant be first
touched by a priest. 1t was after
wards distributed among the populace.
who suspended q sprig over the door
Intel which signified that shelter and
comfort might be found within for all
sylvan deities during cold and stormy
weather
Mistletoe does not figure so extern
sively in church decoration as does
other plants, and one CLEANS from old
ll1dl Tic ICdcOn III THIS 10
that in the early days when the plant,
or more properly speaking, the para
site was largely employed for church
decoration, it being regarded emblem
attic to the mystery of the. Savior's
birth on account of its springing into
life from branch and apparently re-
ceivingt no nourishment from any par
emit stock, somebody started the idea
that a young lady caught beneath a
bunch OF mistletoe couid be kissed by
the young man who caught her there.
II is recorded that kissing became so
fast and furious that the church
feared for results, and this particular
plant was somewhat curtailed in its
use,
within the advance of Christianity
came into being the more advanced
sense of generosity. and at Christmas
tide those who had much began to
look about for chance to help those
who had little, and so the coming
about Of giving presents to each other.
In the Trenches
, Preparations are going forward for
spending another Christmas in the
trenches of the opposing armies now
at war in Europe. 1t is worldwide
knowledge that wherever there may
be German at Christmas surely will
that dag of days be celebrated. The
same can be said of the Britisher. Can
anybody imagine a British soldier
minus his plum pudding at Christmas?
The heat of hatred and personal bit
terness has long since cooled in the
individual soldier facing his enemy in
the trenches. That this is so is clear
~ set forth in one happening on the
front the first Christmastide, ana
shows to what an extent the Christ
mas spirit can prompt men to forgive
and forget for the time being at least.
The trenches of the Germans and
English were but short distance
apart The light of Christmas Day
was breaking in the east. The Ger
man soldiers. ever ready to celebrate
the day, were already moving about,
clothed in an atmosphere of the I'M
usual. 1t was Christmas Day. Why
should we talk war and fighting to-
day exclaimed one of them. 1T
would be better IL we talked peace
and good will Those Britishers are
but fighting for the honor of their
homeland same as we are doing. Why
fight today?s 1t is stated by those
who were present that the theme grew
warm as the sun rose; they were for
forgetting the great differences of
opinion for the ,nonce, and after the
Christmas tree in the German trenches
was trimmed with such. things as a
war trench would afford, they boldly
walked out of the trenches, carrying
flag OF truce and, sending Christmas
greetings TO the Britishers, invited
them to stack. their guns and come
over and celebrate Christmas. The
feeling was mutual The invitation
was accepted and truce for the day
and night was arranged. They poured
out of the trenches on both sides;
joined hands on neutral ground while
hospitality and good wishes were free
ly exchanged. Ii is stated that they
acted like lot of children celebrating
May day Toward night the sol
diers separated, disappearing silently