The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1920-12-23

fortune, as a symbol of health, wealth
and prosperity, and in those days long
ago the house that sported branch of
mistletoe at Christmas would never be un-
lucky.
1t is from the Druids that the custom
of decorating our churches and homes
with evergreers comes, for they believed
that all the sylvan sprites Aocked together
on these boughs, there to remain until the
warm weather came. In midwinter the
Druids sent around sprigs of ivy and
mistletoe 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 shape of wreath, which must be
made and worn in imitation of sacred
crown of thorns and of berries, and the
wearer of this crown must go alone at
midnight on Christmas and sit in the
dark, and, in accordance with that ancient
tradition when worn on Christmas eve the
holly wreath will evoke visions of spirit
forms coming in 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
mas fire the next year because it preserved
the house from fire during the year and
subdued the spirit of the flames. Its
powers were bestowed in the days of the
Druids, when the betting fires were lighted
and the brands secured from the fires to
light the fire the next year. The ancient
Saxons burned the Yule log as symbol
of the turning of the sun toward spring.
Holland, perhaps has the prettiest Gus
tom of all nations for the Christmas festi-
val. 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 go 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 diety 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
sister-in-law, who were very rich and had
many servants, but allowed their brother
to work with the servants and have din
ner with them. Their cruelty developed
day after day, until at last they treated
him heavenly by seating him in 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
givers of the aims, and was called "Christ
mass" box, and from this has come our
custom of Christmas boxes and gift CIV
ing-Selscted.