Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1917-12-07

tuI III merry tones IN the DellS
I'M - that ring throughout the
"a Christian world on Christ
tG 5% mas day. To mothers,
NL% wives, s~weethearts, who
- have lost sons, husbands,
lovers, in the world madness, Christ
mas bells will sound as harsh, metal
lie clangor, crystallizing sadness and
despair. Perhaps the women whose
men are in the armies will receive in
the music from the church towers mes
sages of hope and inspiration.
But speaking metaphorically, how
n 1uletide bells ring and just when
ahey ring, who rings them and how
aong, are matters of national taste
that will seem queer to you If while
you happen to be registering in Spain,
you think of Sweden kneeling In sol
emnity or in England eating your way
through Christmas day, you consider
lhe russians chanting the myths of
the Goddess Of the Sun, or in Italy
listening to the children r~eciting their
godly pieces in the streets, you remem-
Der New York and its theaters with
special Christmas performances"
Christmas in England never has re-
gained the measure Of pure revelry it
held before the reformation. Only the
remnants Of those hearty times when
the a N was glutted with epicurean
richness are what are left for old
England today, but these are enough
to make the celebration distinct In its
ponderosity. Wherever Christmas is
found In the British isles there Is a
plum pudding, that heaviest of edibles
thai seems to improve In taste with
every pound tipped off on the scales.
In Ireland they accompany a gen.
erous slice with long drinks of what
they call "lamb's-wool," made by bruis-
Ing roasted apples mixed with ale or
milk. If food and drink are the great
er parts of jollity, there are no mer-
rier ChristmaseS In the land than these
In England. But there is little Christ
mas lore and superstition. Now and
then you will hear some old ireside
crony drone away about the bad con
sequences of a red and dusky New
Years day, or peer out anxiously for
the first visitor, whose sex determines
good or i'll luck during the coming
year. The authors have put into
rhyme just what you would do If you
were passing your Christmas day with
the British:
AT Christmas time we deck the hall
With holly branches brave and tall,
With sturdy pine and hemlock bright
And In the Yule-log's dancing light
We tell old tales of field and fight
At Christmas time.
With flesh and fruit and vintage
stored.
And mid the laughter and the glow
We tread a measure soft and slow,
And kiss beneath the mistletoe
At Christmas time.
Germany has no long years of riot
Gus ChristmaSes to look back upon
There is no country In peace time.
where the celebration is more whole
somely merry than in Germany. Thu
iGermans begin Il week before Christ
mas day to bring IN evergreens of al
sizes which they pile up in the public
squares of the cities and towns unit
these look like forests Of pines ant
,hemlocks. Not one tree, but two, eacl
German family must have and those to-
Door to buy them are assisted by thos,
who have plenty. st. Nicholas Is thu
old fellow at the bottom of this sea
sonal merriment. On the eve Of ST
Nicholas day, December g., the Christ
mas festival begins. That is the da.
when the German children behave
For q man who is good at keepini
secrets impersonates the saint an,
goes around inquiring how the chill
dren have acted during the year. H
carries a bundle of birch switche
with him and leaves them in the home
where he thinks they may be needed
The day before Christmas In Ger
many (peace time Germany, remem
ber) the mothers trim the house fror
top to bottom with strings Of hard
frosted Christmas cakes and railin
greens. When 1t to trimmin
the Christmas trees themselves, the.
you may play out in the yard, take
walk, or get out of the way some
where, for this is secret business be
tween mothers and Kris Kringle. o