The Elbert County tribune., 1917-12-07

tables under the trees are the gifts
| surprising gifts they would seem TO
some-a soap-rose, an artificial flower,
knitted lace, a Christmas cake. or
| sausage Or cheese Most of them have
verses attached, written In curious me
ter. Not until six o'clock in the eve
ming are the doors open Tor the les
| tivity of the trees. Tonight the horses
and cows of the German farmers have
peculiar gifts. 1t Is said that the cat
tie kneel on Christmas eve and say
u few animal prayers. 1t Is very
| great sin to listen to their conversa-
| ton, else 1t would be recorded here.
If reindeer could talk on Christmas
eve, the ones that pull the family
| sleighs of the Lapps of Lapland, what
wouldn't they tell of long journeys over
ice and snow for days before Christ
mas in order to have their masters
| ard the children at church on Christ
mas morning Miles over the snow
come the people of the North TO hear
| the familiar monotoncd message OF
| the birth of the Christchild from their
pastors. There is no lightness In this
ceremony, nor any gifts for the chii-
| dren, nor gay music. The tent or hut
homes are filled with guests for the
Christmas holidays, so full that there
Is no room for evergreens or candles.
! They take their Christmas with faces
as solemn as mummies and make the
attendant ceremonies as unjoyful as
possible. Marriages are performed dur
| ing the season, children are sent to
| school for a few weeks, babies are
| christaned, the dead are buried, and
| liquor Is sent around with lavishness.
This is Christmas for the Lapps. Who
will change with them?
Norway outside of Lapland has
more joyous time of 1t. Norwegian
children have Christmas trees and lit
tie gifts that are hidden in out-of-the-
way corners for them to find. Every
bird in Norway must know of an ap,
proachlng Christmas. for the boys and
| girls tie oats and corn on the trees,
the fences. the tops of houses and
barns. and on high poles they erect in
their yards SO that the birds may feast
I with them. What chattering there
must be in Norway on Christmas MORN
| ing! After day of feasting and
church services, little boys with white
mantles and star-shaped lanterns. car
| rying dolls to represent the Virgin
Mary and the Christchild, sing carols
| in the homes Strolllng musicians
serenade at twilight.
To be clean for Christmas is the
problem that haunts the Swedish
housewife. For days she scours and
Of
| trimming or furniture is left unpol-
ished. All dirt is sinful. and must not
be tolerated Mt this holy season. While
the cleaning is going on, there is the
baking of Christmas breads, ring
| shaped, that must dry under the
beams for week or two, and the
brewing of spiced drinks. A wine that
| the Swedish women make with al
| monds and spices Is an aromatic quaff
with a holiday smell. Never can there
be a proper Christmas in Sweden with
out homemade cheeses, especially the
sweet ones made of boiled sweet milk
and nodded Enthusiastically, Santa Claus
4 appears in person to Swedish children
and distributes his sled of gifts. When
he has disappeared as mysteriously as
he came. they join hands and sing
Christmas jingles until they work up
fine appetite for Christmas mush,
m Indispensable sweet-rice boiled a
long time In milk with cinnamon and
sugar, with blanched almonds for fla
vor, to be eaten with cream. Christ
mas fish in Sweden has the sanre share
| OF respectability that rare roast beef
has In England. 1t Is buried for days
in wood ashes, then boiled and served
with hot milk. Sled parties of forty
or fifty sleds each go to church on
Christmas morning, with the ringing
of long rows of sleigh bells and festive
trappings. The day itself is one of
peace and quiet. But on the next day
the fun begins, and continues until all
their four holidays are over-Christ-
mas. the day after, the twelfth day.
and the twentieth. The ceremony of
untrimming the tree Is as much of a
frolic as Its decoration. There are no
house greens to take down, because
this is their sign of mourning. but
there are flowers If they can be OBJ
tained.