CHRISTMAS IN OTHER LANDS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXV, Issue 32, 17 December 1897, Page 34 (Supplement)

CHRISTMAS IN OTHER LANDS.

(By D\W\ GRAY, in Are Manti.') " Yet doth the Star of Bethlehem shed A lustre pure and sweet, And still it lead* as once it led To the Messiah's luet. '• 0 Father, may thai holy Star (irow every year more bright. And send its glorious beam-- afar To till the world with light ! "' CmiTSTM/U. ihe joy-bringer. the '-tar-eyed day of day . i- 1 ere. While every heart is lull ot thanktulne— . .mil e\ery mind of sweet thoughts ot the blessed feast at home, a de-cuption of a tew customs pertaining to its celebration in other lands may interest some of the A re Maria's many readers. To get the true flavor of the French Christmas one must go up into the Burguudian hills or among the fisluT-iolk of Britt.my. In tlie centre and mmiUi ot Fiancr the hou-es are. all darkened (luring the first u.ilch ol llie liivht-Mlii' most aneienl ,md popular eeirluonv of the Irist takinu pl.ice l>i iween i 1 wu <> cluck and midnight. It commemoiir.es the nn-tic hour when <i\er the lillK> sleeping village hovei^d the angel band, Miiging tn the -In phenN The singers that a vvako the Freneli \illager-- ha\on<«t angelic voice-, it is true ; but they play well their part, and Uuir singing helps to prepare a feast for the poor. In the blue-skyed troubadour land of Provence, the strolling band, pausing before a hoiibe, knocks thrice upon the door. Before

unbarring 1 , " Who goes there ? " demands the master from within. Three louder knocks are then returned for answer. Once more the master of the house cries out : '• Who goes there at such an hour / " Whereupon, after a short prelude of vigorous knocking, they begin the Noel song — a song to the Blessed Virgin, praying hospitality in memory ot that night when shelter was vainly sought in Bethlehem. Instantly the door is thrown wide open ; and the band, rushing in, finish their singing standing grouped before the blazing fireplace in the kitchen. Then each one, approaching the mistress of the house, holds out his basket with the simple, touching words : '■ In. the name of the Blessed Mother ! " To one she gives nuts and raisins, to the next apples and egg-*, to another a fowl ; saying each time : '• For the love of Jesus ! " Merrily then they depart, to repeat the ceremony at every door. No one knows the origin of these Christmas songs ; some of them dating hack to 1 KM), when Latin and French words were quaintly mingled in them. They have given their name to a certain form of music — the Noel. The word has several significations. j Etymologists differ much as to its origin. Some derive it from the old word Novel, which, in their mystic rites, the Druids had the habit of uttering as a cry of joy : '• Xouel ! Novel : " At all events Xool for a long time was nsed as an exclamation of gladness. We often find it in descriptions of public rejoicing-s. In the fifteenth century, on the entrance of Charles VII. into Paris, an ancient historian says that the streets were filled with crowds in holiday attire, joyfully shouting " Xoiil ! Noel!" Popular enthusiasm, whether glad or mournful, seems to have found expression in the word ; for there is an old verse relating to the death of Charles VII. where it occurs : " Les uns aux fenestres ctoient, A voir le dit feu roi passer, Puis les enfans s'agenouilloient En criant 'Noel ! ' sans cesser." vSome authors affirm that Noel comes from no.r — the night ; others believe that it is derived from natulin. In the Middle Ages they wrote '"Noex" to designate the feast; and "Noel," or '• Novel," to signify the joy-cry. It may be remarked that Noel, or a corruption of the word, is used by many nations. In Sweden and Ireland it is called Jul ; in England, Yule ; in Finland, Joulo ; in Lapland, Jouls : the ancient Saxons called it G-eol ; the Celts, Gwele. After the morning Mass, in every French city and hamlet comes the re re ifl on, or repast — for the very poor, the one feast of the year. In the humble Alpine villages the table is illuminated by a wax candle ; at other times the flame of a pine splinter furnishes the only artificial light. The dish par e.vcellnire is a meat soup, thickened with pastry in fantastic shapes ; in Burgundy and Brittany, a soup of chopped cabbage. In Marseilles every family has a little Bethlehem m the corner of the parlor, round which tapers are kept burning till Twelfth Night. In the sea-coast towns of Normandy, the boys march through the streets at dusk with lighted torches, singing a mournful strain — " The day is done. Noel is going away. Good-bye, Noel ! "' To French children. Christmas is not embodied in Santa Claus ; St. Nicholas, the good Bishop and the children's friend, of whom our Santa Clans is a direct descendant, having his fete-day on the (ith of December. It is to the '"little Jesus, tender and sweet," that they address their petitions for gifts. Instead of hanging up a stocking on Christmas E\e. they place their shoe (or shoes, when they base high hopes on previous good behaviour) close up m the ciiimney -corner. Alas for the poor peasant mother who has not the wherewith to fill the cryinu -s oid ot that little stubbed sabot ! The custom ot the Christmas-tree comes from Sweden and Norway. Thence it spread through England. llus«ia, Denmark, G ermany, Switzerland, and lastly France. Since the Franco-Prussian war. there i^ cut eacli December a Christmas-tree which has a sad interest tor the Fiench people. It is a giant evergreen from the forest in Alsace, near Mulhou-e. which is transported to Paris, with as much ot its native soil dinying to its roots as tender hands can leave there, l/arhre il< < e.nles, — '• the tree ot the exile-." who do not bow to the decree surrendering their beloved province to German rule. Set up in one of the largest halls of the city, covered with tapers, rlowei's. flags, and toys, early on Christmas morning all the AKaeian children resident in Paris — some four thousand — gather about it to sing the old songs of peace and goodwill. In Norway, the land of pines, they are not satisfied with one tree : the room is transformed into a miniature forest of green and feathery firs. Besides the gifts for the little ones, there is Homething for each ot the family and guests, securely wrapped and tied. The opening of the bundles occupy a merry hour. After presents and acknowledgements have been exchanged, promptly at ten o'clock begins the least. The place d'honneur among the eatables is generally accorded to a boar's head. Ranged about it are the roasts, the fish, and the national dish of rice boiled in milk. For the servants are provided quantities of sugared barley, roast carp, white broad, and libations of beer. The poor are never forgotten. The tiuueller is sure of a cordial reception everywhere on Christmas. In certain parts of Norway the innkeepers decline all remuneration for food or lodument given on that blessed day. Even tho animals receive more generous rations ; and the peasant who finds himself without grain to scatter for the birds, will beg it for tliem at the door of the rich when he would not ask food for himself. The Englishman'- idea of Christmas as a day of family reunion the French transier U> t lie Epiphany. Iti- the ambition of everyone in France to p.is-% the Fc;H ol thr Kinus, and eat his royal cake, in Ins <i\\ n cattle, with all bis ow n about him. The (lay has lost much (it its rrligioii-- character. "-a\e in certain part 1 -- of La lieauee. There tho good people June changed nothing ; and the t ultimate Parisian who has an opportunity to assist at one ot their ceremonies would readily believe himself transported to the Middle Ages. Before the feast begins, the oldest, most respected of the guests is chosen to preside. Previous to the cutting of the traditional cake, the youngest son of the family is lifted upon the table. As the host cuts

the first slice, he asks the child ; " For whom is this piece .' " And the boy replies : '• It is God's share." The slice — a very generous one — is thereupon laid by, to be given to the first poor person who shall ask food. As a half score arc usually wailing outside, they give warning of their pre a cncc at the proper moment by singing a dolorous strain, wishing a happy New Year to the guests, and ending by demanding' •'■la part mi hon JJieii"

Customs vary in different provinces. Tn Vauclausc. a chariot laden with burning faggots and brush is drawn through the streets by eight mules. A youth, attired in a wet sheet, stands in a triumphant pose among the smoking ruins.

At Dinan. '• King"s Day " is marked by a dramatic entertainment. The life of Herod is recited in verse : and a little duld, rtpio.->onting the Jewish Innocents, has his head, appan ntl/. se\ered from hir, body by a wooden sabre.

In La Finisterre, when the aah tt< , or cake, irf divided, the share of the absent ones i* religiously preserved. In La Berri it must be cut by a virgin's hand.

But one might, indeed, f'll a volume with the quaint customs of the simple people of thesy Old -World villages. — -trong. happy in the true faith : sharing their little with those having less. However Im-j their dwellings, one will always find a pictured Holy Mother to look up to in the time of sorrow or thank-giving. The hours of their days are marked by the Angelus bell : and the months of their year^. by the holydays. •■ Ah ! "' they say, " Christmas is gone. We fast, we pray, and then — then it will be Easter ! "'