Mistletoe played role First Christmas card
was issued in 1846
in ancient Drui
By M. McIntyre Hood
LONDON — Dianna into the origins of some of the typical EngliSh w a y} of observing cm Christmas provides me in, ce tcrcsting a finiteth CHR character. rows - oush e Christmas uddin dates om edition of The Sunday Times dat- the 17111: eenlury. ghen it £trook ed Dec 25. 1960. I found an un- the fonm of plum—porridge. Ac~ usual feature in which details of cording to an old writer. this con. mme of these stoma were ed of given. along with a large car. icon illustrating all of them ' winter's night setting. From this. some extracts are worth giving. as adding to the wealth of lore surrounding the Christ- mos season.
In medieval England, it ap- pears. it was customary to ring a pea] of bells at midnight on (‘hristmas Eve. This custom still survives in many places.
Mistletoe, in pagan days. was a sacred plant to the ancient Druids. It was never allowed to be used in decorating 'Ihristian churches. except at York, where,
.— B
which. when it was half boiled was fortified with raisins, cur- rants. prunes. clove, mace and ginger". Mince-pies are older th s 11 Christmas pudding. Tradition- ally, every mince-pie eaten in a different house during the 12 days of the Christmas season brings the eater a happy month. some authorities say the mince- pie should be oval, not round, as it represents the manger in which Christ was born. Carol-singers u s e d to be known as “Waits"~—perhaps be-
tury par of the traditional Christmas ‘ fare. Until then. goose was the favorite bird. Dickens, Christmas Carol" mentions Bob Cratchlt's goose and the turkey boglght by Scrooge.
gei still glace lighted candles in , - er win ows. Su .
thickened with brown bread a Ch candles are came into the world at Christ- mas. There was also an old idea that they would the house for might be the Christ-Child. I
berries of holly were thought to
t'horns which would wear one day. Holly was also considered valuable in driv- ing away witches and bringing good luck to men.
s
by M. LONDON facts and stories have been re- corded surrounding the obser- turkey became gvance of Christmas.
d rites
it was not until the 16th, can? that th
McIntyre Hood - — Many
signed a special Christmas greeting is the form of a paint~ ing on a card, for distribution to close friends. he started some thing which has grown to tre-
in "A
stmas Eve. many pen in the year 1846 and is believed to have been the origin of Christ-
is to be seen in the Church of him 0” . - unusual Ara Coeli, in Rome. Made from s 01 ms partner; Round the wood of an olive tree grow- ‘
is swathed m gold, silver and en W.E. Dobson. R.A.. de- tissue, and studded with jewels. It is
lantic, however. comes the story ‘copper king. It was 30 feet h h ' of what was probably the most ‘ Lg ' co tl Christmas tree. It '
mendous proportions. That was the y graced
meats, one of the pioneers of the gifts valued at more than 90,000.
Klondyke gold rush of was. He lived at the Lafayette Hotel in
The. Guardian, Charlottetown. Mon. Dec. 23. 1968. 11
New York, and was determined to have a 'v as tree such as had never before been seen.
it was not a large tree, but every branch was hung with gold nuggets dug by Clements
the stem wcre piled m gold ms. The value of the tree was 5. )0.
k the biggest Christmas . , , crac or ever made was pro- symbolac of the Chi“Latfhlld- ‘bably that made to the order of From the other snde of the At- James Clarke. an American
land had a winding staircase run- umg up the inside. while on shelves running around it were
e apartments of James Cle-
reminder of the light which
mas cards. After that, cards were printed in outline and colored by hand. Some of them were outstanding as work; of art. few years ago, a speci- men of one of these early Christ- mas cards was sold in London {or $150. And it is on record that
stranger. who‘ The sharp pricklcs and red‘
the emblems of the crown of
the How Child verses to appear on Christmas
a. What is regarded as possibly the most expensive Christmas gift is the doll. worth $60,000. the famous “Bambim”, which
in the middle ages. a mistlcloe was brought into the minister and laid on the altar to be bles.
cause of their watching and wait- ing. Some carols date back to the 15th century. sod. IBOXING DAY The pulling of crackers at Dec. 26 was the day when the Christmas is sai to be the ; apprentices broke the modern counter-part of ancient j earthenware boxes in which they {Ire—games which were played at had collected gifts Christmas. . CHRISTMAS CRIB . in the 13th century. St. Francis imas Box", which some persons
of Assisi gave the poor people of (ix-occio a Christmas crib. To- day. many churches have one. to remind churchgoers t h at Christ's birth is the central {es-5
call at homes to collect.
During a pagan festival. called the Saturnalia the Romans used to give presents to the poor. Be cause of this heathen associa-
tnro of Christmas. .tion, Christians did not at first
During the middle ages. na-iwelcome the ‘ However, tivlty plays formed a prominent when they remembered the first part of pageants performed in lChristmas gift. and the presents the open air by members of given by St. Nicholas. they too. guilds. In recent years. there exchanged gifts. The custom of has been a revival of such plays hanging a decorated wreath on
in schools. churches and halls.1the
A legend tells how St. Nicholas. ‘- on one of his journeys. dropped a purse of money down a chin-i-l
custom of
door of a house probably goes back to the ancient Roman giving wreaths as gifts.
Are kids to doubt
By M. McINTYRE HOOD
LONDON — Is Santa C l a u a slowly but surely being debunk— ed. and will have to look to his laurels? Is the Christmas tree now taking his place. and doing away with the old legend that Santa comes down the chimney on Christmas Eve to put pres- ants in the hanging stockings of the children?
There is good reason to be licve that this is the case, and much of it is blamed on the fact that in practically all of the de- partment stores, Santa Claus makes his appearance much too early. In many cases he appears in October. and at least early in November. And he appears in 50 many stores at the s a m e tune that children are beginning to associate Santa Claus not so muc ' ristmas as with the coming of winter.
Another reason is that children taken along to see Santa Claus at a department store are often
starting Santa?
disappointed with the giftfs they receive from his “lucky dip bag." A boy of six. for instance. might discover his gift was a pack of playing cards. or a little girl might find her gift was a toy which she already had. She would naturally feel that some- one like Santa Claus should have known that she already had that to
On the other hand. no such complications are likely to arise around the Christmas trees when gifts are being '“ ‘ "‘ ‘ " The gift the child receives from a Christmas tree is one specifi- cally chosen for that particular child. Thus the Christmas tree is becoming more and more the centre of family celebrations of the Christmas season.
And to many people, the fam- ily tree is becoming one of the most lovely institutions of Christ- mas. because it seems to sym- bolize the spirit of goodwill and of the joy of giving.
Various id
on origin of Boxing Day
By M. McIntyre Hood LONDON ~— At the Christmas
season. in England, and parti-
cularly on the day after Christ-
mas. known as Boxing Day. one ' to the
incomes accu
\‘lSllS of various people. such as milk delivery men.~ newspaper delivery boys. postmen, garbage caller-tors. and others. seeking their traditional "Christmas Box."
There has been considerable research into the origin of Box- tng Day. and antiquarians are not at all unanimous s to how it, and the custom of giving Christ- mas boxes. came into being.
One suggestion. made by a Bishop Heber in 1N7. but which is not given much credence to- day. is that tbe term Christmas
from rlen-
day she rfit of the poor of the parish. 17TH CENTURY IDEA Research into tibia question has long time
s the color of a crucible and the ‘prentioe's Christ-
ects given
postmen, etc."—much to the cha- grin of the latter.
light.
mm Office dawned :1: expee
by $132.. It sent out u ok- culu' to all it.
him bones to mes- new, servants of Visoo‘m I
‘ ‘ May your days be bright and your hearts
In your home this Christmastide May love and happiness abide; May ioy and peace ever true Be this season’s gift to you.
BELL BOOK and NOVELTY STORE
14 Summer St. Summer-side:
'my the Joy: of “mm In! nun”
HAROLD L. MATTHEWS
319 Water St. Summersido
as you store up a rich
and Stuff
Management M. ‘F. SCHURMAN (0. “D.
Summer-side Charlottetown
150 Summer St.
for us all to enjoy E
good fellowship. good cheer and Holiday happiness. A time. also. for us to express gratitude for
, the year—a time
‘5
_ g . i_ w ".3 ,. , 3. May all the many wonders of this ‘“ Holy Season be yours!
pleasant associations and warm
friendships such as yours.
WILLIAMS & MURPHY “0.
Water Street Summerside
COMPTON’S FUNERAL HOME
Directors
Carl" C. Moose & Son
Summerside
and the many ioyl of giving and receiving, at this happiest
of holiday seasons. May truly In a Christmas to remember! With our best wishes we
want to express our warm
. \:. appreciation of your ltind ' patronage and good We sincerely liope that our cordial relations will long continue. MANAGEMENT and STAFF \ re ‘\.
‘ . 00" - \
SMALLMAN’S LTD.
WATER ST.
SUMMERSIDE
: j