The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1918-12-12
CELEBRAT|NGDEC.25
'uletIde Festival Once Marked
Return of Sun God.
observance of Day Is Habit Of More
man twenty Centuries Standing
|, fuie" Means sun-commu.
nifty Christmas Tree.

oI our early ancestors. which
nas disappeared to great extent with
Tue irritating problems of civilization
an the rest of the year, writes Fred.
eric j. Haskin, we fight and oroh
tnings away from each other and wear
our nerves to fragile, but at Christ.
mas we close our commercial ax.
ehanges, eat tremendous Quantities ~
ioou ana send presents and nostal
.aius TO our friends and relatives
Dearing our good wishes. At least this
= Wiiat we are supposed to do. Many
people do great deal more in tbe
way Oh community Christmas trees
aisits 10 the hospitals and baskets for
the poor, and still others regard tbe
whole thing as absurd and consider ah.
stlnence from Christmas gifts sign
of strength of character.
| Long before the birth of Christ orr
ancestors in northwestern Europe cele-
DRAFTED the 25th of December, which
marked the passing of the winter SOL
stlce or the return Of the sun in the
heavens after conquering the powers
Oh darkness. That was the day of the
sun Worshipers. The problem of the
universe was just beginning to puzzle
ana our ancestors figured it out in a
straightforward manner that was not
naif bad for supposed savages. All
plant life, it was observed, depended
on the sun for its existence, and all
animal life depended on plant life, so
that the power of the sun was greatly
respected and it was personified I'm the
person of the god Thor. Thor was
watched with considerable interest,
since there was always some doubt as
to whether he would survive the win
ter solstice. Hence the feasting and
merrymaking when he continued to
shine clear and strong in the heavens.
Meaning of the Word "YuIe."
Besides Thor there were numerous
gods who lived in the branches of
trees. Therefore the people gathered
mfStletOe bOughs and holly branches
and put them in conspicuous positions
In their houses, where they might
easily be seen from the outside, in the
hope that some wandering god would
take fancy to them and take up his
residence among the red berries. In
Germany the early Huns chopped
down the evergreens and brought them
indoors for the same purpose. The
burning of the yule log and the term
yuletide are survivals Of these early
December festivals whose influence Is
still to be seen today in our own
Christmas celebrations. "Yule" means
sun.
With the dawn Of Christianity and
the conversion of the sun wQrshipers,
the birth Of Christ was substituted as
the cause for celebration and the fes-
tivities became religious demonstra-
lions. The people still g0rmandized.
trimmed their houses with holly
branches and gave presents, but the
25th of December usually saw them
comfortably seated in church.
So Christmas has come down to us
with all these traditions. The German
Santa Claus legend has improved 1t
considerably for the children. and 1t Is
now known almost entirely as the chill
dren's season.
Community Christmas Tree.
Among the finest Christmas instftu-
lions today is the community Christ
mas tree, which originated in Madison
square, New York, five years ago and
since then has spread to communities
all over the United States. The cCm-
munity "Tree of Light" is usually
planted in a central location in the
city, trimmed with balls and orna-
ments and lighted with electricity.
Citizens are organized into committees
to collect donations for the tree and
employ bands of musicians to play
Christmas carols and hymns. In Bal
timore last year groups OF men and
boys carrying holly-trimmed lanterns
walked through the streets singing |
and greeting each pedestrian with
"Merry Christmas"
While every year there is an increas-
ing number of persons who decide to
sebe sensible" and send cards in the |
place of Christmas presents, the aver
age person lacks the courage to face |
his family empty-handed on Christmas
But Christmas is spirit,
which you either have or haven't. If |
you haven't it, the holidays are only |
a bore; on the other hand, if you allow
to become enthusiastic there |
is really lot of fun to be derived
from it, even though you're lonely and
away from home. Last year travel
ing man who was compelled to spend
Christmas away from his family in
strange city gathered number Of
little tenement waits together, took
them into large restaurant and treat
ed them all to a Christmas dinner. II
never had so much fun in my life,"
declared the travelling man.