The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-12-24
Origin Of Quaint Traditions
of the Yuletide

4
The holiday season recalls quaint ideas
and ChristmaA fancies of old, even back
to the ancient days of the Druids-a time
when the mistletoe sprig, as potent mas
cot. was presented as an omen of good for
tune. as a symbol of health, wealth and
prosperity, and in those days long ago the
house that sported a branch of mistletoe
at Christmas would never be unlucky.
1t is from the Druids that the custom
of decorating our churches and homes with
evergreens comes, for they believed that
all the sylvan sprites hocked together on
these boughs, there to remain until the
warm weather came. In midwinter the
Druids sent around sprigs of ivy and mis-
tIetoe to remind the people TO decorate
their dwellings with evergreens, in order
TO propitiate the sylvan sprites and secure
protection from frosts and wintry blasts.
Holly berries long have been considered as
giving wonderful power when worn in the
shane of a wreath, which must be made
and worn in imitation of a sacred crown
of thorns and of berries, and the wearer or
this crown must go alone at midnight on
Christmas and sit in the dark, and, In ac-
cOrdance with that ancient tradition, when
q
will evoke visions of spirit forms coming
i'm the air to sing their Noel songs, and all
the beasts will be seen to kneel down IN
, worship.
The Yule cake and Yule log. too, have
their important part in this ancient Saxon
tradition for the Christmas festival sea-
SON The cake had the same powers as
the bride cake has on Christmas night.
The Yule log was used to light the Christ
In hnpanCp If
served the house from fire during the year
and subdued the spirit of the flames It's
powers were bestowed in the days of the
Druids. when the betting fires were lighted
and the brands secured from the fire to
light the fire the next year, The ancient
Saxons burned the lule log as symbol
of the turning of the SUN toward spring.
Even the moon contributed its share To
Christmas Superstitions, for, as the legend
runs, if Christmas comes during the wan
ing of the moon we shall have a very good
year, and the nearer to the full moon the
better.
Holland, perhaps, has the prettiest GUS
tom of all nations for the Christmas feS-
tival On the night before Christmas in
commemOration of the star of the. East,
the Young men of their towns assemble
and carry through the dark streets a
large, bright star; all the people 80 out
to greet and give to the bearers Of this
''star of Bethlehem as it is called, aims
for the poor.
Seven days before their New Year, the
Chinese worship the Kitchen God by pre-
pairing dishes of candy and various sweets
with which they smear his mouth. Later
they burn him amid the firing off of crack
ers, the deity being sent up in a chariot Of
smoke and fire to a conference with the
king Of the celestial regions. The idea of
smearing his mouth with sweets is that he
may not say anything but honeyed words,
or that his lips may stick together and so
prevent his talking too much.
The Kitchen God. according to story,
had been i'll treated by his brother and
sster-in-law. who were very rich and had
many servants, but allowed their brother
to work with the servants and have dinner
with them. Their cruelty developed day
after day. until at last they treated him
heavenly by seating him in a sedan chair
made of paper.
The creation of giving gifts at Christ
mas came not from presents of gold and
silver given to the Christ child, as many
believe, but from an old custom of priests
putting on board of all outgoing ships a
box of aims. This box was opened at
Christmas time and masses said for the
giyers of the aims, and was called "0hrist-
mass" box, and from this has come our
custom of Christmas boxes and gift giving.