CHRISTMAS

Evening Star, Issue 20984, 24 December 1931, Page 12

CHRISTMAS

OLD-TIME FEASTS SOME ANCIENT CUSTOMS Christmas comes but once a' year, which is not nearly often enough in the view of the rising generation. The hardened cynic who thinks that once a year is-,-too ■•often may be disregarded. And Christmas Day 1 always comes on December 25, and has for many centuries past; and apparently it always will in-the future, for the calendar reforms likely t». be considered seriously by the forthcoming session of the League of Nations do not include an alteration of the time-honoured date of Christmas.

But Christmas Day was not always celebrated on December 25. In the early days of Christianity the date of the celebration varied, January 6 and March 25 being the two main rivals of December 25 Not without some wrangling was December 25 finally adopted as the date by the church as a whole. That date, as the winter solstice, was a feast day in many heathen countries before the advent of Christianity, and it was policy on the part of the early Church Fathers to adapt heathen festivals to Christian celebrations as far as possible. . In heathen England and in the yiking lands of the north, fires were set blazing all over the country on December 25 in honour of the gods Odin and Thor. The Yule log is a survival of this fire-making. There were at the same time sacrifices and much feasting. The Druids held special ceremonies, in which the sacred mistletoe played a prominent part, a survival of this at the present day being the kissing under •the mistletoe in which the young and “frivolous have been known to indulge on Christmas Day. Many other Christmas customs aro survivals of pagan ceremonies, and have an origin dating back to before the , Christian era. Chief amongst these is the custom of giving presents. More than two thousand years ago the Romans, and the Vikings, too, began the custom, and it has been going on over since. The “ Christmas box ” and “ Boxing Day ” aro associated with this present giving. It used to be the custom on Christmas Day to place boxes in the churches, and into these offerings of money and goods wero placed for the benefit of the poor. Ao these boxes were not opened and the contents distributed until the day following Christmas,;. December 26. became known as “ Boxing Day,” the name having nothing to do with the pugilistic art. - In the Middle Ages the chief Chnst--mas dish was the head of a wild pig. With a flourish of trumpets the boar s head would be carried into the banqueting ball on a gold or silver dish, the guests meanwhile singing a Christmas song. After the boar’s head had been consumed and washed down with copious tankards of strong drink, the next 'delicacy,a roasted peacock, was_ brought in. The privilege of carrying it in was reserved for some high-born ’ady, whoso beauty or birth gave her the right to this honour. Hours were spent in preparing the bird for the feast. The skin was carefully removed with the feathers untouched; the bird was roasted and allowed to cook, and then the skin and feathers were carefully replaced. \ The beak was painted gold, and the peacock, liberally stuffed with spices and herbs, was ready for the feast. . . The gastronomical capacities or the folk in the Middle Ages were some‘thing. which would make the modern dyspeptic shudder. Geese, pheasants ■ drenched with amber grease, pies made of carps’ tongues, and many, anothet dish completed the banquet, which naturally lasted for hours. PRECIOUS PIES. Mince pies for centuries have been an indispensable ingredient of the Christmas dinner. So highly valued wore they in the “ good old days ” that the night before- Christmas a special guard was set to watch them, in case some hungry knave purloined ono or two. Then there was furmety, alternatively known as frumenty or furmity, which was made according to the following recipe;—‘‘Take clean wheat and.bray it in a mortar, so that the hulls all come off, and seethe it till it bursts. An'd take it up and let it cool. And' take clean fresh bread and sweet milk of almonds, or milk of cows, and take the yolks of eggs. Boil it a little and set it down and moss it thoroughly with fat venison or fresh mutton.” But furmety no longer figures on tho Christmas menu. Tho mince pie survives, but gone is the boar’s head, and the roasted turkey has supplanted the elaborately-prepared peacock. Cromwell and his Puritans had much to do with the disappearance of tho elaborateness of Christmas feasting; in fact, he forbade it altogether, but after his demise Christmas celebrations were revived again , The Christmas tree is a survival from Roman times, and Father Christmas is St. Nicolas. His calendar date falls on December 6, but his advent via the chimneys in order to fill the stockings of the children, whose special saint he is, in course of time became postponed until the night of Christmas Eve. Christmas cards are a comparatively modern appendage of Christmas. They first made their appearance about 1846, and immediately grow in favour, the trade in them subsequently reaching enormous proportions,;