Yule-Tide In Many Lands Part 2

Ma.s.singer wrote:

"Men may talk of Country Christma.s.ses, Their thirty-pound b.u.t.ter'd eggs, their pies of carp's tongue, Their pheasants drench'd with ambergris, the carca.s.ses Of three fat wethers bruis'd for gravy, to Make sauces for a single peac.o.c.k; yet their feasts Were fasts, compared with the City's."

In 1248 King Henry III held a feast in Westminster Hall for the poor which lasted a week. Four years later he entertained one thousand knights, peers, and other n.o.bles, who came to attend the marriage of Princess Margaret with Alexander, King of the Scots. He was generously a.s.sisted by the Archbishop of York who gave 2700, besides six hundred fat oxen. A truly royal Christmas present whether extorted or given of free will!

More than a century later Richard II held Christmas at Litchfield and two thousand oxen and two hundred tuns of wine were consumed. This monarch was accustomed to providing for a large family, as he kept two thousand cooks to prepare the food for the ten thousand persons who dined every day at his expense.

Henry VIII, not to be outdone by his predecessors, kept one Yule-tide at which the cost of the cloth of gold that was used alone amounted to 600. Tents were erected within the s.p.a.cious hall from which came the knights to joust in tournament; beautiful artificial gardens were arranged out of which came the fantastically dressed dancers. The Morris (Moresque) Dance came into vogue in England during the reign of Henry VII, and long continued to be a favorite. The dancers were decorated from crown to toe in gay ribbon streamers, and cut all manner of antics for the amus.e.m.e.nt of the guests. This dance held the place at Yule that the Fool's Dance formerly held during the Roman Saturnalia.

Henry VIII's daughter, Elizabeth, kept the season in great magnificence at Hampton Court where plays written for the occasion were presented. The poet Herrick favored:

"Of Christmas sports, the wa.s.sell boule, That's tost up after Fox-i-th'-hole."

This feature of Yule observance, which is usually attributed to Rowena, daughter of Vortigern, dates back to the grace-cup of the Greeks and Romans which is also the supposed source of the _b.u.mper._ According to good authority the word _b.u.mper_ came from the grace-cup which Roman Catholics drank to the Pope, _au bon Pere._ The wa.s.sail bowl of spiced ale has continued in favor ever since the Princess Rowena bade her father's guests _Wa.s.sheil._

The offering of gifts at Yule has been observed since offerings were first made to the G.o.d Frey for a fruitful year. In olden times one of the favorite gifts received from tenants was an orange stuck with cloves which the master was to hang in his wine vessels to improve the flavor of the wine and prevent its moulding.

As lords received gifts from their tenants, so it was the custom for kings to receive gifts from their n.o.bles. Elizabeth received a goodly share of her wardrobe as gifts from her courtiers, and if the quality or quant.i.ty was not satisfactory, the givers were unceremoniously informed of the fact. In 1561 she received at Yule a present of a pair of black silk stockings knit by one of her maids, and never after would she wear those made of cloth. Underclothing of all kinds, sleeves richly embroidered and bejeweled, in fact everything she needed to wear, were given to her and she was completely fitted out at this season.

In 1846 Sir Henry Cole is said to have originated the idea of sending Christmas cards to friends. They were the size of small visiting-cards, often bearing a small colored design--a spray of holly, a flower, or a bit of mistletoe--and the compliments of the day. Joseph Crandall was the first publisher. Only about one thousand were sold the first year, but by 1862 the custom of sending one of these pretty cards in an envelope or with gifts to friends became general and has now spread to other countries.

During the Reformation the custom of observing Christmas was looked upon as sacrilegious. It savored of popery, and in the narrowness of the light then dawning the festival was abolished except in the Anglican and Lutheran Churches. Tenants and neighbors no longer gathered in the hall on Christmas morning to partake freely of the ale, blackjacks, cheese, toast, sugar, and nutmeg. If they sang at all, it was one of the pious hymns considered suitable-and sufficiently doleful--for the occasion. One wonders if the young men ever longed for the sport they used to have on Christmas morning when they seized any cook who had neglected to boil the _hackin_[5] and running her round the market-place at full speed attempted to shame her of her laziness.

[Footnote 5: Authorities differ as to whether this was a big sausage or a plum pudding.]

_Protestants_ were _protesting_ against the observance of the day; Puritans were working toward its abolishment; and finally, on December 24, 1652, Parliament ordered "That no observance shall be had of the five and twentieth day of December, commonly called Christmas day; nor any solemnity used or exercised in churches upon that day in respect thereof."

Then Christmas became a day of work and no cheer. The love of fun which must find vent was expended at New Year, when the celebration was similar to that formerly observed at Christmas. But people were obliged to bid farewell to the Christmas Prince who used to rule over Christmas festivities at Whitehall, and whose short reign was always one of rare pleasure and splendor. He and other rulers of pastimes were dethroned and banished from the kingdom. Yule cakes, which the feasters used to cut in slices, toast, and soak in spicy ale, were not to be eaten--or certainly not on Christmas. It was not even allowable for the pretty Yule candles to be lighted.

Christmas has never regained its former prestige in England. Year after year it has been more observed in churches and families, but not in the wild, boisterous, hearty style of olden times. Throughout Great Britain Yule-tide is now a time of family reunions and social gatherings. Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the Islands each retain a few of their own peculiar customs, but they are not observed to any extent. In Ireland--or at least in some parts--they still indulge in drinking what is known as _Lamb's-wool_, which is made by bruising roasted apples and mixing the juice with ale or milk. This drink, together with apples and nuts, is considered indispensable on Christmas Eve.

England of all countries has probably known the merriest of Yule-tides, certainly the merriest during those centuries when the mummers of yore bade to each and all

"A merry Christmas and a happy New Year, Your pockets full of money and your cellar full of beer."

There seems always to have been more or less anxiety felt regarding New Year's Day in England, for "If the morning be red and dusky it denotes a year of robberies and strife."

"If the gra.s.s grows in Janivear It grows the worse for 't all the year."

And then very much depended upon the import of the chapter to which one opened the Bible on this morning. If the first visitor chanced to be a female, ill luck was sure to follow, although why it should is not explained.

It was very desirable to obtain the "cream of the year" from the nearest spring, and maidens sat up till after midnight to obtain the first pitcherful of water, supposed to possess remarkable virtues.

Modern plumbing and city water-pipes have done away with the observance of the "cream of the year," although the custom still prevails of sitting up to see the Old Year out and the New Year in.

There was also keen anxiety felt as to how the wind blew on New Year's Eve, for

"If New Year's Eve night wind blow South, It betokeneth warmth and growth; If West, much milk, and fish in the sea; If North, much cold and storm there will be; If East, the trees will bear much fruit; If Northeast, flee it man and brute."

AT CHRISTMAS TIME

At Christmas time the fields are white, And hill and valley all bedight With snowy splendor, while on high The black crows sail athwart the sky, Mourning for summer days gone by At Christmas time.

At Christmas time the air is chill, And frozen lies the babbling rill: While sobbingly the trees make moan For leafy greenness once their own, For blossoms dead and birdlings flown At Christmas time.

At Christmas time we deck the hall With holly branches brave and tall, With st.u.r.dy pine and hemlock bright, And in the Yule-log's dancing light We tell old tales of field and fight At Christmas time.

At Christmas time we pile the board With flesh and fruit and vintage stored, And mid the laughter and the glow We tred a measure soft and slow, And kiss beneath the mistletoe At Christmas time.

O G.o.d and Father of us all, List to Thy lowliest creature's call: Give of Thy joy to high and low, Comforting the sorrowing in their woe; Make wars to cease and love to grow At Christmas time.

Let not one heart be sad to-day; May every child be glad and gay: Bless Thou Thy children great and small, In lowly hut or castle hall, And may each soul keep festival At Christmas time.

THE NEW YEAR

"A good New Year, with many blessings in it!"

Once more go forth the kindly wish and word.

A good New Year! and may we all begin it With hearts by n.o.ble thought and purpose stirred.

The Old Year's over, with its joy and sadness; The path before us is untried and dim; But let us take it with the step of gladness, For G.o.d is there, and we can trust in Him.

What of the buried hopes that lie behind us!

Their graves may yet grow flowers, so let them rest.

To-day is ours, and it must find us Prepared to hope afresh and do our best.

G.o.d _knows_ what finite wisdom only _guesses_; Not here from our dim eyes the mist will roll.

What we call failures, He may deem successes Who sees in broken parts the perfect whole.

And if we miss some dear familiar faces, Pa.s.sed on before us to the Home above, Even while we count, through tears, their vacant places, He heals our sorrows with His balm of Love.

No human lot is free from cares and crosses, Each pa.s.sing year will bring both shine and shower; Yet, though on troubled seas life's vessel tosses, The storms of earth endure but for an hour.

And should the river of our happy laughter Flow 'neath a sky no cloud yet overcasts, We will not fear the shadows coming after, But make the most of sunshine while it lasts.

A good New Year! Oh, let us all begin it With cheerful faces turning to the light!

A good New Year, which will have blessings in it If we but persevere and do aright.

--_E. Matheson._

CHAPTER III.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

YULE-TIDE IN GERMANY

"Feed the wood and have a joyful minute, For the seeds of earthly suns are in it."