Evening star., 1925-12-25

"lCH It's carols, 1tS CTllneS, ltS ever
green garlands, its laurel and holly
, "a! it's mistletoe bough: Christmas
with its Yulelog, its Santa Claus, its
gifts: Christmas with its family din
ner, its tall tree of spruce. pine or
hemlock, trimmed with cleaning tin
sci and toys, This is the American
Christmas-the Christmas that has be-
come universal from the Atlantic to
the Pacific.
Christmas is of Catholic origin, re-
ceiving its name from Christ mass, the
mass celebrated in honor of the Ma.
tiyity. Its adoption as a festival OF
the Christian Church is attributed to
Pope Telesphorus in the second cen
tury. For many years it was NOV
able festival and celebrated in the
early Spring. In the fourth century
however. Pope Julius I ordered st.
Cyril of Jerusalem to ascertain, If
possible, the date of Christ's birth.
December 25 was the day chosen by
St. Cyril and. by the Pope's decree,
was established in the Roman Church
According to all records, the church
had great difficulty in wedding out the
evils OF the festivity of sin and lust
before the modern festival of Christ.
mas was finally adopted. Very grad
ually the evolution of Christmas went
Saxon days of England the Lords of
Misrule" held full sway, and disgrace
full scenes, rivalinS Roman eXcesses.
were enacted. In the middle ages,
Christmas was observed with gay spec
tacles and dramatic mysteries per.
formed by people in grotesque masks
and costumes. When the Latin Ian
guage was no longer used, the carols
took the place of the ancient hymns.
These carols were enlivened with
dance and the music of many instru-
ments. In the Feast of Fools. of
medieval times, in which even the
great dignitaries took part, everything
serious was burlesqued.
Change With Puritanism.
The great change came with the ad-
vent of Puritanism. Revelry was ta-
booed entirely and it became a grave
offense even to rejoice and make
merry. In the British Museum is pre-
served the original order of Parlia.
ment, dated December "a, 1925, direct
ing that there shall be no observance
of the fifth and twentieth day of De-
cember, commonly called Christmas
day, nor shall any church services be
held on that day"
The Long Parliament, in 1914, order
ed that the 25th of December should
be kept as a natiolal feast. that AL
men should pass II in humble bemoan'
fhg the great national sin which they
and their fathers had so often commit
ted on that day by romping under the
mistletoe, eating boar's head and
drinking ale favored with roasted ap
pies" This act. according to Macau
lay, greatly irritated the common peo
pie, and the Christmas feast was later
resumed, but in harmony with the
ideals of peace on earth. good will to
men"
Barred jn America.
In the United States the celebration
of Christmas as season of joy Is OF
mparatively recent origin. In the
mother country the celebration o1
Christmas had been associated with
kings and kingly society and II was
for this reason that they ahstainet
from any observance of the day. Sc
bitter was the feeling against Yuletide
merry-rrlaking among the leaders o1
the Puritan Fathers that the Massa
chusetts Legislature in 1851 imposed
a fine OF IS shillings upon who
ever shall be found observing any such
day as Christmas or the like, either
by fcrebearing labor, feasting or any
other way upon any such account.
was as late as 1900 before the
churches observed the Christmas
feast. 1t has been said that the Puri
tans established the Thanksgiving
festival as a substitute for Christmas
The naming of the turkey, the centra-
figure in every American Christmas
dinner, dates back 10 the time of Capt
John Smith, who, as the story goes.
fresh from his wars with the Turks
saw the wild gohbler In the Virginia
forests, strutting before the hens and
disporting his fine plumage. The
bird" said he, is exactly like proud
Turk. showing off before his harem."
From the earliest observance of
Christmas in England II was the Gus
tom 10 pay special attention to the
retreShment of the body. and the dOml-
nant note Of the old-time Christmas
was the great family dinner which
was not complete without some visit.
ing stranger. Among the earliest Of
Christmas dinners on record were
those of the renowned King Arthur
who, according to the ballad Of Sir
Gawain-
"a royal Christmas kept,
With rnirth and princelye cheare;
To him repaired many a knight
That came both farre and neare."
The wassail bowl, large cup %
spiced ale over which greetings were
voiced in Saxon Woes hoel' (water
Of healthl, was a feature often asso~
ciated with the earliest English Christ
mas dinner. The English national
dish of plum pudding is also Of early
origin, having been introduced by the
Merry Monarch" Charles II. The
miuce pie, now SO universally used,
originally had a religious symbolism.
1t was baked in oblonE form to repre-
sent the manger of Bethlehem. The
meat used in the compound was NUT
ton, in memory, it Is said. Of the fiocks
watched by the shepherds on the first
Christmas night, and the spices were
designed to represent the frankincense
and myrrh of the offering of the Magi
to the Holy Child.
Season of Reunions.
In modern times, christmas is the
season throughout Great Britain for
scattered families to reunite, when
tender memories and old associations
are renewed. The royal family sets
the example for the celebration of the
merry Christmastide so highly cher
ished by the British people, and 1t was
he custom Of King Edward VII and
Queen Alexandra to pass the day
quietly at Sandringham and give per
sonal supervision to the distribution
of gifts. The Christmas tree was in
troduced into England at the time OF
he marriage of Queen Victoria to a
German prince.
The modern observance Of Christ
mas differs greatly in different lands
In France the Christmas dinner in
cludes the poulet, cooked and gar
nished in French style, liver pudding
,-;cl, yr,itb tr,If11es and seasoning Ir