CHRISTMAS IN SCOTLAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21266, 21 February 1931, Page 16

CHRISTMAS IN SCOTLAND.

It is evident that Christmas is gaining in popular favour in Scotland. Not only is it being observed by the Churches to a greater extent than ever before, but ' the people themselves are taking part in. those customs and celebrations' associated with the season in England. But it is only a return to the ways of our forefathers. There is every evidence to prove that before the Reformation not only was Christmas observed in Scotland, but that the people celebrated it with universal enthusiasm. The Reformers prohibited any Christmas festival or custom, holding that such would remind the people of the faith they had left. The ministers and authorities of the day evidently found that to banish Christmas from the land was a much harder task than they had anticipated.

Evidence of the efforts made to eliminate Christmas is found in the various kirk records of the sixteenth century, while writers of the day refer to the laws and prohibitions passed by the civil authorities. Christmas seems to have been a day when the people did no work as being considered unlucky on the day on which our Lord was born. Thus we find, recorded, “The ministers of Scotland cause their wives and servants to spin in opin sicht of the people and tenants are constrained to yok their pleuchs on Yeul day in contempt of Christ’s nativitie.” “ But,” adds the scribe solemnly, “ God did not allow this clerical order to go unpunished, for their oxen ran mad, and brafc their nekis and, lame some pleuchmen, as is notoriously known in sindrie parts of Scotland.” To stamp out Christmas in rural districts might be assumed to have been difficult. But the same difficulty seems to have prevailed in the cities and towns. The records of Glasgow Presbytery contain the following minute under the date, January 26, 1582:—“The Presbytery had before its members five persons appointed to make repentance because they kept the superstitious day called Yuil.” That the Presbytery had suspicion that many were carrying out the prohibited practice despite the decree of the Church is seen by the fact that the Presbytery passed a resolution that the bakers be tasked for whom they baked Yuil bread. While certain customs prevailed previous to the end of the sixteenth century, the order of the day seems to have been fun and merriment. All work was suspended, people met in each other’s houses and Christmas Day was spent as gaily as any modern party. We learn, too, that it was the custom to appoint a “Lord of Misrule.” A similar functionary was appointed during the harvest season to organise the various customs and frivolities associated with that season. The Lord of the Christmas season organised and superindended all the revels connected with the festive season. In the monasteries, this personage went by...the name of “The Abbot of Unreason.” Readers of Scott will recollect that in “ The Abbott ” he gives a graphic description of these mock ecclesiastics. It was in 1555 that such were prohibited by act of Scottish Parliament. From Scott, too, we get a clue to a similar dish to that of plum pudding—so universally associated with the Christmas dinners of to-day In “ Marmion ” Sir Walter tells us— There the huge sirloin reeked, hard by Plum porridge stood and Christmas pye. What was this plum porridge? Is it the origin of the modern plum pudding? We learn that at one time it was a very popular Yuletide tit-bit. It was made by boiling beef and mutton (liberally spiced from being preserved over the winter),{thickened with brown bread, and adding raisins, currants, prunes, and such ingredients as the housewife might think would add to the flavour. This somewhat heavy dish was served in a semi-liquid state, and acted as the first course in the Christmas dinner. We find another dish peculiar (in this case) to the Highlands. This went by the name of “ sowens ” and seems to have been somewhat similar to the plum porridge. The ingredients were boiled until they could easily be poured into as many “ bickers ” as there were persons in the •family. It was served to the household in bed so that they could rise to the fun and frivolity of the day with becoming strength and enthusiasm.