Evening star., 1949-12-18
lust Between
Ourselves . . .
BY Philip H. Love

IL yOu WcIe q oiltioil wv o1
girl, you and your friends would
go from house to house every
night this week. singing Christ
mas carols and begging contribu-
tions to the Community Chest or
some other worthy charity. And
at most homes, you'd not only
get q gift for your pet charity
but would be invited in for a cup
Of hot tea or chocolate.
Britain's Yule customs are like
ours in some respects, but there
are many differences. The Brit
ish like roast turkey and plum
pudding, just as we do; their
Christmas decorations are the
same as ours (holly, mistletoe,
etc., they exchange cards and
gifts and maintain the same gen.
eral spirit of good will. They
even sing the same carols. But
our carol singers aren't called
waits" as the British are, and
they don't go about asking aims.
AS a matter of fact, Christmas
customs differ from one part Of
Britain to another. In Leicester,
for instance. a badger feast.
washed down with cider, Is an
important part Of the Yule cele-
bration. At Oxford, on the other
hand, q boar's head Is eaten.
And in Dewsbury, the devils
knell" is tolled-the ringing Of
bell once for every year since the
birth Of Christ. the idea being to
keep Satan and his stooges away
for another twelvemonth.
In nearly every British COM
munity. a "mummer's play" Is
presented-a show in which
townsfolk and farmers take parts
that have been handed down from
generation to generation. The
speeches, too, have been passed
along by word Of mouth and
therefore vary from year to year.
as we'll as from town to town.
This. as the British Travel Aso-
citation points out, makes for
some fascinating variations.
Theaters in London and other
cities put on what they call pan
tomimes" - dramatizations OF
such beloved fairy tales as "Alad-
din" and cinderella" The lead
ing boys part, for some reason.
is always taken by a pretty girl.
Christmas also is circus time in
London. Bertram Mills, the Brit
ish counterpart of our Ringing
Bros, puts on his big top show
from December 18 through jan
uary 81 and folks come from
many miles around to see 1t.
In Washington, the collectors OF
garbage and trash come to your
door a few days before Christmas
to ask, Has old Santa Claus left
anything here for us?" Just why
these people, who are paid salary
by the District government to haul
away garbage and trash, should
expect an additional reward from
Santa Claus. don't pretend to
know. But in Britain. they get
lit as a matter of course.
The day after Christmas Is q
holiday, too. Boxing Day" it's
called-the day when boxes" or
tips, are given to tradesmen. post
men and dustmen. the last being
the British name for collectors OF
garbage and trash.
II ~
One reason for the increasing
popularity of religious Christmas
cards. says Edwin N. Lewis. Red
Feather public relations director.
is an enterprise of the Washing
ton Cathedral. Since 1925, the
Cathedral has been offering greet
ings of reverent design to .
lengthening list Of Washington
area residents. This year, Curator
John Bayless has sent out 125 900
or more sets of a dozen each. Sew
eral famous Madonnas are In
cluded in the collection.
Il 4 X X
The pagan Angli. who went to
England from Germany in the
fifth century. and from whom the
English get their name, made q
holiday of December rs long be- 6
fore they were converted to Chris,
tianity. To them, it was New
Years. :. Mistletoe was used
in the marriage ceremonies Of the
ree-worshiping Druids. -. To
Britons, holly represents the
crown of thorns. and those among
them who are superstitious believe,
that it keeps away witches. .. .,
And that's the end Of my space
and time to wish every reader Of
"Just Between Ourselves, Of :
whatever nationality. race or
creed, a merry Christmas and a.
happy and proSperous New Year.