CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS AT HOME AND ABROAD

Evening Star, Issue 17541, 22 December 1920, Page 5

CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS AT HOME AND ABROAD

Of all the saints whose 'names fill the ecclesiastical calendar, none is more intimately associated with Christmas than St. .Nicholas. has handed down a host of Nicholas legends, and each country has its own particular favorite. In France, for instance, the children are taught that the good Bishop Nicholas became their patron saint on account of the part which he is reputed to have played in a particularly gruesome murder. littte boys were sent by their father to a school situated far away in the country. On the journey they stayed overnight at an inn. The innkeeper, knowing they were rich, killed the children, cut them up into little pieces, and put them into barrels of brine in the cellar. He then stole all their belongings. Late at night there came a knock at the door, and when the servant opened it e ‘ le found St. Nicholas standing there. Although very much frightened, she dared not _ bar his way. St. Nicholas went straight to the cellar, found the barrels of brine, put the little mutilated bodies together again, and one by one they returned to life. And the eldest one said: “ Why did you wake me?” The second one said: “ What a sweet dream I had!” And Jacquot, the smallest!, of all, said; “I thought I was in Paradise." This is the story of St. Nicholas French mothers tell their little ones. In Switzerland they have another legend. There lived an old nobleman who had three beautiful daughters. He was exceedingly poor. His chateau had practically fallen in ruins about his head. His daughters could not marry the men they loved because he had no dowries to give them, and in that country marriage without dowry was impossible. One night, after working together in the fields, the nobleman and his daughters went cold and supperless to bed. There was a little wood fire burning on the hearth, and before its dying embers they placed their worn and sodden shoes to dry. Now, it happened that Nicholas, the son of a nobleman who had died, leaving him an enormous fortune, lived near by. He looked upon the money as belonging to God, and felt that he was but its steward. So he went about doing good, and sharing his riches with those who were in need. Tlie plight of the poor nobleman and hip daughters had come to the- ears of Nicholas, and he studied how he might help them without disclosing his identity. On tlie night in question he procured a ladder, and dropped a purse of gold down the crumbling chimney. It landed •in one of the shoes which were drying before the fire. The poor nobleman, when he found it, was delighted, and at once gave the purse to his eldest daughter as a dowry, so that she might marry the man of her choice. Next night they again placed their shoes before the fire, and the same thing happened; so the nobleman was able to dower his second daughter. On the third night, after the girls had gone to bed, he determined to keep watch. Just as a third purse dropped down the chimney he ran oijt. and, seizing his benefactor by the long robe which he wore, knelt before him and said : “ Oh, good. Nicholas, servant of God. why do you seek to hide?” and he kissed his hands and feet. Nicholas answered: “Do not thank me, but thank the Heavenly Father, Who sent me in answer to your prayers.” Later the good Nicholas was made a bishop, and travelled from place to place, preaching and doing deeds of kindness. When he died the people called him “ Good Saint Nicholas,” and to this day little children all over the Continent place their shoes in front of the fire on Christmas Eve In the hope that St. Nicholas may drop a gift down the chimney for them.

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Our own rule ol hanging np stockings is really a remnant of the same custom. A third and, at the present, most poignant Nicholas legend comes from Russia.. It was in the depth of winter, and » little village, cut off from the rest of the world by. deep snows, had consumed all its available stores of food, and was on the verge of starvation. Christmas drew near; but instead of joyous preparations for a feast there were groans and lamentations. Mothers, in anguish, saw their little children falling around them; they had not even a crust of bread to keep them from starving. Suddenly' an old man who was keeping watch said he could see a bright light in the distance. It came nearer and nearer. The inhabitants rushed out of their houses, hope giving them a new strength, and they gathered on the river bank, kneeling down in the snow to pray. At last the light came near enough, for them to recognise St. Nicholas, floatingdown the frozen Volga on a slat of ice. He had with him all the good things the poor villagers were in need of—food, fuel, and clothings—and as soon as he had distributed them and given the people his blessing h® , appeared. \ This legend is commemorated hr the Dutch children, who keep St. Nicholas’s ; Day on December 6. Every room in th 3 house is scoured from floor to ceiling) atari in the evening, when all is quiet, St. Nicholas (generally the grandfather of thq family, arrayed in suitable attire) olaokf: a heavy chain at the door, and then enterflto distribute nuts, cakes, and comforts' among the good children—and blows With ■' a stick among the bad ones! ; Another pretty Christmas Eve custom * observed in many villages on the Conti*' nent is worthy of notice. It is believed that the Christ Child Still visits tlie earth on Christmas Eve, He rides upon an ass, and bestows His blessings on houses where a welcome is ptepared for Him. Therefore, the farmer’s wife, before retiring, never fails to place on a clean, white cloth a little loaf of new bread and a dish of salt for the Christ Child’s refreshment, and a little bundle of hay for the ass.

Next morning these things are carefully taken in, and, before any other meal is taken, the family gathers round the table to eat the blessed bread, dipping it in the salt. The hay is distributed among the animals on the farm, and is believed to preserve them from disease throughout the ensuing year. The idea that animals should participate in Christmas blessings is very old indeed. Many Tyrolese peasants still believe in the fairy lore of midsummer’s eve (when witches as well as good "little folks” are believed to wander abroad), and they are encouraged by the clergy to combine this belief with Christian usage. One of the quaintest Christmas customs, however, is an English one. It is seldom practised now. It is a Twelfth Night ceremony, and is called “Blessing the Apples.” Late at night on January 6 the farmer and his entire family go into the orchard bearing with them cakes and cider. The cakes are hung from the branches of the biggest apple tree, and the cider is solemnly poured over its roots. Then the farmer and his family join bauds and dance round the tree, singing i Here’s to thee, old apple tree!. When thou mayest bud, When thou mayest blow, When thou mayest bear apples BO I Hats full, Caps full, Bushels, bushels, sacks full. And my pockets full, too, huzza 1 This is supposed to make the whole orchard fruitful throughout the year. The cakes are borne back to the house, and the day ends in feasting and rejoicing.