CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 15, 15 December 1937, Page 18

CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS

PLAN FOR REVIVAL. At Christmas-tinle everyone feels impelled to he traditional. So many of the old customs, however, have fallen out of use, that one can achieve quite an original effect by reviving some of the less well-known ones. For instance, a Christmas-tree is not the only, way of distributing the presents. An old German custom was to have, on a table, a big ornamental ship loaded with presents. This could easily be made by the clover-fingered—-or one of the cracker-filled golden galleons could be bought and. When emptied, used for this purpose. Another and rather amusing old custom from Sweden was to wrap each present up in manifold complicated wrappings—-the smaller the present, the bigger the resulting parcel. Nor is Father Christmas the only person to distribute your presents, Doth in Switzerland and in Sweden a “Mother Christinas,” representing St. Lucy, is quite in the picture. The Swedish wav of dressing her is rather picturesque; the prettiest girl is chosen and wears a white dress with a red sash; and an evergreen crown bearing line candles. A more boisterous distribution might e made by the hobby-horse, or mockorsc (composed, say, of two longuflering uncles), which, in Kent and .’orkshire, Germany and Scandinavia, .eilt round at Christinas, sometimes affecting money and goods, sometimes listributing presents. Or tiffs, aughter-making animal might be intro- | luced later in the evening when the ild Christmas game of forfeits was leing played ; the hobby-horse, accord-| ng to an ’old custom, chasing and i ffting anyone it can catch, and only ■eleasing them on payment of a foreit.

“Masking” was, and always will he, popular, and the wise modern hostess will follow tradition by getting out every fancy-dress “prop”—scarf, headdress, and mock-jewel—she can lay her hands on for the purpose of fancy-dress charades. An amusing and very little-known Christmas custom is that of “jumping for cakes.” Small cakes are suspended on strings (incidentally in the boisterous old days they were thickly coated with treacle, but this is a little too much for quieter modern tastes), but out of reach of the players, who have to spring up and try to snatch a cake with their mouths. Talking of cakes, tables at Christmas parties, might borrow a traditional centrepiece from Sweden and Denmark, in the shape of a big cake fashioned like a hoar’s head. Another very old. perhaps pagan, cake-custom that might he copied is to distribute small round cakes—they should he flavoured with caraway—to everyone to symbolise the turn of the year. If your cake breaks in the handing out, it menus had luck for vou. Which is a reminder that Christmas is regarded in Slavonic countries as a propitious • time for fortune-telling, so that if there is anyone so gifted in your party, persuade them to go ahead. Even your Christmas decorations can he more interesting if thev are traditional. Instead of using Holly only (though admittedly holly is hateful to witches, who are reputed to lie much abroad at the Christmas season), you should vary it with hay, to symbolise the victory of good over evil, and the grev-green rosemary, which keeps off evil spirits. '