Christmas 1918

'Neath the shining of the Star,
Peace hath broken her treasure jar,
Spread her gracious gifts afar.

From the darkness comes the morn,
Out of suffering life is born,
Born anew this Christmas morn.

Newer sweeter wonders rest,
In the Child on Mary's breast,
And again the world is blest.

"Peace on earth" the age-old word,
Fathered by the broken sword,
And the promise of the Lord.
     Emmanuel

Grace I. Gibson

Poem: The Witness, 13 December 1918.

Christmas 1917

The bells of Christmas sweetly ring,
Glad tidings of great joy they bring;
On this bright and happy morn,
Unto you a Saviour’s born;
Pealing over hill and plain
Comes once more the glad refrain;
It echoes through the lonely-glen,
“Peace on earth, goodwill to men.”

Peace on earth, when war is rife
And nations meet in deadly strife,
When sorrow surges all around,
And pain and suffering abound.
O Christmas bells, on this glad day,
We yearn for loved ones far away;
For round the hearth a vacant chair
Tells of a loved one wanting there.

And memory brings again to view
Happier days that once we knew,
Days when we welcomed in the birth
Of Christ the Lord, with peace on earth.
O Christinas bells, ring out old strife,
Ring in a purer, holier life,
When war for evermore shall cease,
And man with man shall dwell in peace.

K. SMYTH.

Poem from The Witness, 21st December 1917
Image Top:  A card made in 1917 by the 46th (North Midland) Division showing soldiers crossing no-man’s land, illuminated by a flare or shell.

Santa Claus

Twas the eve before Christmas; “Good night” had been said,
And Annie and Willie had crept into bed.
There were tears on their pillows and tears in their eyes,
And each little bosom was heaving with sighs.
For to-night their stern father’s command had been given
That they should retire precisely at seven
Instead of eight; for they troubled him more
With questions unheard of than ever before.
He told them he thought this delusion a sin,
No such being as Santa Claus ever had been,
And he hoped after this he should never more hear
How he scrambled down chimneys with presents each year.

And this was the reason that two little heads
So restlessly tossed on their softy downy beds.
Eight, nine, and the clock on the steeple tolled ten;
Not a word had been spoken by either till then,
When Willie’s sad face from the blankets did peep,
And whispered, “Dear Annie, is you fast asleep?”
“Why, no, brother Willie,” a sweet voice replies;
“I’ve tried in vain but can’t shut my eyes
For somehow it makes me sorry because
Dear papa has said there is no Santa Claus!
Now, we know there is, and it can’t be denied,
For he came every year before mamma died;
But, then, I’ve been thinking that she used to pray,
And God would hear, everything mamma would say,
And perhaps she asked Him to send Santa Claus here
With the sack of presents he brought every year.”
“Well, why tan’t we pray dust as mamma did den,
And ask Dod to send him with presents aden?”
“I’ve been thinking so, too,” and without a word more
Four little bare feet bounded out on the floor,
And four little knees the soft carpet pressed.
And two tiny hands were clasped close to each breast.
“Now, Willie, you know we must firmly believe
That the presents we ask for we’re sure to receive,
You must wait just as still, ’till I say the Amen,
And by that you will know that your turn has come then.”
“Dear Jesus, look down on my brother and me,
And grant us the favours we are asking of Thee.
I want a wax dolly, a tea set and ring,
And an ebony work-box that shuts with a spring.
Bless papa, dear Jesus, and cause him to see
That Santa Claus loves us far better than he;
Don’t let him be fretful and angry again
At dear brother Willie and Annie, Amen.”
“Please, Desus, et Santa Thus turn down to-night
And bring us some presents before it is light,
I want he sud dive me a nice little sed
With bright shining ’unners an’ painted all 'ed,
A box full of tandy, a book and a toy,
Amen, and den, Desus, I’ll be a dood boy.”

Their prayers being ended, they raised up their heads,
And with hearts light and cheerful again sought their beds.
They were soon lost in slumber, both peaceful and deep,
And with fairies in Dreamland were roaming in sleep.

Eight, nine, and the little clock had struck ten,
Ere the father had thought of his children again.
He seems now to hear Annie’s half-suppressed sighs
And to see the big tears stand in Willie’s blue eyes.
“I was harsh with my darlings,” he mentally said,
“And should not have sent them so early to bed.
But then I was troubled, my feelings found vent
For bank stock to-day has gone down ten per cent.
But, of course, they’ve forgotten their troubles ere this,
And that I denied them the thrice-asked-for kiss;
But just to make sure I’ll steal up to their door.
For I never spoke harsh to my darlings before.”
So saying he softly ascended the stairs;
And arrived at their door to hear both of their prayers.
His Annie’s “bless papa” draws forth the big tears,
And Willie’s grave promise falls sweet on his ears.
“Strange, strange, I’d forgotten,” said he with a sigh,
“How I longed when a child to have Christmas draw nigh.
I’ll atone for my harshness,” he inwardly said,
“By answering their prayers ere I sleep in my bed.”
Then he turned to the stairs and softly went down,
Threw off velvet slippers and silk dressing gown,
Donned hat, coat, and boots, and was out in the street,
A millionaire, facing the cold driving sleet.
Nor stopped he until he had bought everything
From the box full of candy to the tiny gold ring.
Indeed, he kept adding so much to his store
That the various presents outnumbered a score.
Then homeward he turned with his holiday load,
And with Aunt Mary’s help in the nursery ’twas stored.
Miss Dolly was seated beneath a pine tree
By the side of a table spread out for her tea.
A work box well filled in the centre was laid,
And on it the ring for which Annie had prayed.
A soldier in uniform stood by a sled,
“With bright shining runners and painted all red.”
There were balls, dogs, and horses, books pleasing to see,
And birds of all colours were perched in the tree.
While Santa Claus laughing stood up on the top,
As if getting ready for more presents to drop.
And as the fond father the picture surveyed
He thought for his trouble he had amply, been paid.
And he said to himself, as he brushed off a tear,
“I’m happier to-night than I’ve been for a year.
I’ve enjoyed more true pleasure than ever before.
What care I if bank stock falls ten per cent. more.
Hereafter I’ll make it a rule, I believe,
To have Santa Claus visit us each Christmas Eve.”
So thinking he gently extinguished the light,
And tripped down the stairs to retire for the night.

As soon as the beams of the bright morning sun
Put the darkness to flight, and the stars one by one,
Four little blue eyes out of sleep opened wide,
And at the same moment the presents espied.
Then out of their beds they sprang with a bound,
And the very gifts prayed for were all of them found.
They laughed and they cried in their innocent glee,
And shouted for “Papa” to come quick and see
What presents old Santa Claus brought in the night
(Just the things they wanted), and left before light.
“And now,” added Annie, in a voice soft and low,
“You’ll believe there’s a Santa Claus, pappa, I know.”
While dear little Willie climbed up on his knee,
Determined no secret between them should be.
And told in soft whispers how Annie had said
That their dear blessed mother, so long ago dead,
Used to kneel down and pray by the side of her chair.
And that God up in heaven had answered her prayer.
“Den we dot up and prayed dust well as we tood,
And Dod answered our prayers, now wasn’t He dood?”
“I should say that He was, if He sent you all these,
And knew just what presents my children would please.
(Well, well, let him think so, the dear little elf,
’Twould be cruel to tell him I did it myself.)”

Blind fathers! Who caused your stern heart to relent,
And the hasty words spoken so soon to repent?
’Twas the Being’ Who made you steal softly upstairs,
And made you His agent to answer their prayers.

Poem: The Witness, 22nd December 1916.
Image: Santa Claus by William Holbrook Beard c1862

Christmas Hymns: Their Story – His-story

No sooner was Halloween over than Christmas goods appeared on the shelves and Christmas music began to assail our ears. But long before Wizard, Noddy Holder and the other modern classics "Carols" were the soundtrack to Christmas. This article, which was written 100 years ago, gives the background to some of those classics.

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The most popular Christmas hymns, as befits those associated with the season of universal peace and goodwill, come to us from various ages and very various authors, and are sung by Christian people of all denominations the World over.

Two of them date from the early centuries of the Church, and our English versions beginning “O come all ye faithful,” and “Of the Father’s love begotten,” are translations of grand old Latin hymns. The well-known “While shepherds watched their flocks by night” was written in the late seventeenth century, and most of the other familiar Christmas hymns in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, their authors varying from an Irish Poet Laureate and an English bishop to a well-known woman writer of hymns, and an American poet-pastor.

It is curious that no popular Christmas hymn apparently has come to us from the Middle Ages, but carols were the Church’s Christmas songs in these times, and comparatively few of them can be classed as hymns. For the most part they were more or less quaint songs of the Nativity, poor as to literary quality, in many cases were doggerel, though sometimes redeemed by the earnestness and simplicity or the real piety of their general tone. Modem carols are generally of different type, and several well-known ones are worthy of a place in any collection of hymns. Among these may be mentioned the beautiful carols beginning “Like silver lamps in a distant shrine,” and Dean Farrar's “In the fields with their flocks abiding,” with its refrain—

He sang, that first sweet Christmas,
The song that shall never cease—
Glory to God in the highest,
On earth good will and peace.

This was written when its author was an assistant master at Harrow School, and was composed expressly for the boys to sing in their chapel services at the Christmas season.

It has become familiar to people in general since Mr. John Farmer set it to music in “ Christ and His Soldiers,” the Christmas Cantata which has become so popular.

Of the Christmas hymns included in most hymnals, and sung by all Christians at the great festival, two must be regarded as first favourites, “Hark! the herald angels sing,” and “Christians Awake.” “Hark! the herald angels sing” is probably the most popular of all, and this not only in the English-speaking world, but among Christian converts in the Far East and dusky natives of Africa, for it has beer, translated into many languages and dialects, and taken by missionaries wherever they have gone.

It was in 1739 that Charles Wesley first published this particular one of his almost innumerable hymns, but like most of them it was probably written at odd times on the tablets he carried about continually for the purpose, a line or verse being added whenever it occurred to him, at any hour of the day or night. It was included in the first Methodist hymn book which appeared in 1743, and the first line was “Hark! how all the welkin rings,” while the hymn consisted of ten four-line verses. About 1766 the first line was altered into the now familiar “Hark! the herald angels sing” and the hymn shortened, and since then it has been “revised” by many editors in various hymnals, as a comparison of present editions will show.

“Christians Awake” has an interesting personal story, for it was written by a father for his favourite little daughter, in fulfilment of a promise to write something specially for her as a Christmas gift. The manuscript, which is still to be seen in the library of Cheetham Hospital, Manchester, is headed “Christmas Day for Dolly,” “Dolly” being Dorothy Byrom, who found it on her plate at breakfast on Christmas morning, 1745, to her very great delight and pride.

John Byrom, who came of a Manchester family, wrote many other hymns, mostly for the boys of Cheetham’s Hospital School, but “Christians Awake” is the only one that has become really well known. It was published first in the “Manchester Mercury” as a Christmas carol, and attracted the attention of John Wainwright, organist of the Parish Church, who set the verses to the beautiful and popular tune ever since associated with them.

It is said that on the following Christmas Eve Mr. Wainwright took his choir to Mr. Byrom’s house out at Kersal, and there, in the darkness of the winter night, they sang outside his door “Dolly’s” treasured hymn. The author was delighted with the music, which he heard for the first time under these striking conditions, and the friendship begun that night between the two men lasted for the remainder of their lives.

“While shepherds watched their flocks by night,” without which no Christmas carol service would be complete, was written by Nahum Tate, an Irishman who became Poet Laureate of England in the seventeenth century. He collaborated with his friend, Dr. Nicholas Brady, in producing a new metrical version of the Psalms, and several of the compositions in this book still find their place in most hymn books — e.g., “As pants the hart for cooling streams,” and “Through all the changing scenes of life,”

“While shepherds watched” was first published in Tate & Brady’s Psalter of the year 1702, but it has been proved to be the work of the Poet Laureate alone. For at least a century and a half it has been the favourite hymn of the “Waits” at their midnight carol-singings, and there is no sign of any waning of popularity.

Regarding another popular favourite, “O, come all ye faithful,” the ancient Latin Adeste Fideles, it is interesting to note that translations have been published in the language of nearly all countries where missions are established. Canon Oakley’s version, printed first in 1852, has been used for most of these, and the translators have generally kept to the original metre, so that the hymn may be and is sung to the same tune in all parts of the world.

Two Epiphany hymns are frequently sung at Christmas, and are especially appropriate, while their beauty of thought and expression has won for them an abiding place among favourite hymns. “As with gladness men of old,” which has been described as “one of the finest compositions of its kind in our language,” was written by Mr. Wm. Chatteron Dix, who only died in 1900. The inspiration came to him one evening some years before his death, when he was recovering slowly from a serious illness, and asking for pencil and paper he wrote down the verses which had been gradually growing into form in his mind. Published first in a little hymn book of limited circulation, “As with gladness” attracted more and more attention, and now may be found in most collections.

“Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,” the other beautiful Epiphany hymn sung frequently at Christmas, competes with the same author’s “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty,” in general esteem. It was written by Bishop Heber, and was first published in a weekly paper called the “Christian Observer” in 1811. The manuscript, in the bishop’s small, clear handwriting, is still preserved in the British Museum, forming a leaf or so of two ordinary exercise books belonging to his children, in which he scribbled various compositions, the back of the pages being used for problems of Euclid.

Another favourite Christmas hymn is printed among the children's hymns in most collections, but “Once in royal David’s City” is beloved by old and young alike. It was written by Mrs. Alexander, wife of the well known Primate of Ireland, and together with her “There is a green hill far away” tells the essentials of the Christian story in a way which cannot fail to make an appeal to everybody who can appreciate winsome simplicity.

A less well-known Christmas hymn, but one of great beauty, is “Angels from the realms of glory,” which is now to be found in most English and American collections. It was written by James Montgomery, author of many hymns of high poetic and religious quality, and published first in the Christmas Eve, number of a Sheffield paper, the “Iris,” in 1816. Another Christmas hymn which is growing in popularity in England and America is “It came upon the midnight clear,” a beautiful composition. It was written in 1849 by an American pastor, Edmund Hamilton Sears, published first in a religious magazine, then in American hymnals, and now is to be found in several British collections.

In our day Christmas music includes not only many of the most popular Christmas hymns, and, at special services as well as at home gatherings, some of the old favourite carols, but often selections from Handel’s most famous oratorio, the “Messiah,” which, of course, is equally appropriate at Christmas and Easter, and is received enthusiastically at both seasons. Mendelssohn’s “Hymn of Praise” also is becoming increasingly popular at Christmas, and “The Holy Family,” an English version of “L’enfance du Christ,” by Berlioz, is sometimes given. English musicians, including Purcell, Goss, Elvey, and others have also composed special music for the Christmas festival, but at the services in the churches it is the Christmas hymns, in which the congregation can join and sing their own tributes to the Babe of Bethlehem, that are most truly popular, and of these no one grows weary.


Text: The Witness, 8th December 1916
Image: Evening Carolers by Thomas Kinkaid, 1991.

Christmas Conundrums

What does a stone become in water? Wet.

What is it that can kick without feet? A gun.

How can one best get along in the world? Walk.

When is a goat nearly dead? When it is all butt.

What is always behind time? The back of a watch.

Why is thought like the sea? It is a notion (an ocean).

What kind of vice do even bad people dislike? Ad-vice.

What do we often catch, but never see? A passing remark.

When has a man four hands? When he doubles his fists.

Why is a bootblack like the sun? Because he shines for all.

When is a cook like a barber? When she dresses hare (hair).

Why is a noisy man like a candle? Because he is often put out.

Why is sneezing like a waterfall? Because it is a catar(rh) act.

Why is a grain of wheat like an acorn? Because it is "a corn."

When is a lamp-post a lamp-lighter? When the lamp is taken off.

Why is necessity like a stupid lawyer? Because it knows no law.

When is water most liable to escape? Whew it's only half tide.

Why has a kiss two s's? Because it takes two to complete the spell.

When is an artist a dangerous person? When his designs are bad.

Why is a cracker like death? Because it is a debt o' natur' (detonator).

Why is a sovereign gained like a guinea? Because it is one pound won.

What is the least valuable thing a man can have in his pocket? A hole.

Why is your nose like V in civility? Because it is between two eyes.

What flower becomes liquid when you take off its head? The pink (ink).

What is that which is invisible, yet never out of sight? The letter "s."

Why is an obliging man like an old story? Because he is affable (a fable).

Which king, known to the Prophet Samuel, would prevent speech? A-gag.

Why is ploughed ground like a riotous mob? Because it is arable (a rabble).

Why is a dead dog like a shipwreck? Because it is a bark (barque) lost.

Why is a tight shoe like a hot summer? Because it makes the corn grow.

Why has a greedy man a short memory? Because he is always for-getting.

Why are well-darned stockings like dead men? Because they are men-ded.

Long and lank – thin and tail – spits fire and kills all. What is it? A gun.

What is it we often tell others to do and can't do ourselves? Stop a minute.

What county in Ireland reminds you of a candle nearly burnt out? Wick-low.

Why is a punctual man like the letter "m"? Because it is always in time.

What kind of field is older than you are? One that is pasturage (past your age).

Why is the letter P like the most cruel Roman? Because it to near O (Nero).

When did the cock crow so that all the world heard it? When it was in the Ark.

What four letters spell the Russian Ambassador's title? X L N C (Excellency).

Why is a wise man like a nail? Because his head prevents him from going to far.

What fruit may Noah be supposed to have chiefly laid up in the Ark? Pears (pairs).

What is the most difficult train to catch? All about the same, if the train gets the start.

What creatures took money into the Ark? The duck took a bill, and the skunk a (s)cent.

Why is attar of roses like a letter from Australia? Because it is sent (scent) from afar.

Why is a selfish man like the letter P? Because he is the first to pay and the last in help.

Why is a cat catching its tail like a good housekeeper? Because it makes both ends meet.

What to the most remarkable animal in the world? The pig, because it is first killed, then cured.

What grows less tired the more it works? A carriage wheel grows less tyred the more it works.

Why is a horse a curious feeder? Because he eats best when he has not a bit in his mouth.

Why is a loaf which has fallen overboard like a lobster? Because it is bread (bred) in the sea.

How is it Dutch people come into the world ready dressed? Because they are born in Holland.

There is a word of five letters from which two can be taken, and only one left. What is it? Stone.

Why should not the number 283 be mentioned in polite society? Because it is two (too) gross.

Why are people born deaf always good? Because they have never erred (heard) in their lives.

What is that which, while we feel but cannot see, which is easily swallowed, but never eaten? Flattery.

What is that which, while it belongs entirely to yourself, is used more by others than you? Your name.

Why is a doctor out of temper like a woman out of temper? Because he has lost his patients (patience).

What is the difference between a fowl with two wings and a fowl with only one? Merely a matter of a pinion.

Why are blacksmiths the most discontented of mechanics? Because they are always on the strike for more pay.

Why as a young lady looking at a sign-post like a letter with a wrong address? Because she is miss-directed.

Why is it probable that Charles I. consented to be executed? Because they "axed" him whether he would or not.

Why is a rude fishmonger likely to get more business than a civil one? Because his sells fish, and gives sauce with it.

If all the letters in the alphabet were to run a race which letter would be sure to be the first in starting? The letter S.

What is the difference between a cabinet-maker and a crockery dealer? One makes tea-sets, the other makes set-tees.

What is that which a lady never had, and never can have, and yet she has it in her power to present to another? A wife.

Why is coal the most contradictory thing known to commerce? Because, when bought, instead of going to the buyer it goes to the cellar.

Why should an ill-fitting pair of trousers remind you of two French ports? Because they may be too long and too loose (Toulon and Toulouse).

What force or strength cannot get through, I, with a gentle touch, can do; and many in the street would stand, were I not as a friend at hand? A key.

Who can drink the most coffee on an empty stomach, a large man or a small man? Neither, for after the first swallow, the stomach is no longer empty.



From The Witness, 3rd December 1915

The Lore of Christmas

EXTENDING into the mists of antiquity far behind Christianity, lie the beginnings of religion, a natural movement of the human spirit towards the Divine: far behind every Festival of the Christian year, woven into the historical circumstance of each, lie similar occasions when men rejoiced and worshipped. Thus our great Festivals are native to humanity from ever there was man, and the Christian celebrates them as purified in the baptism of Christian thought and sentiment. So it is with Christmas, the supreme occasion when we set aside all that forbids the mingling of joy with worship.

The name “Christmas” sets the tone of the occasion, for Christmas is The Christ Mass or Feast, a Holiday in His honour. We shall find as we look at the customs of the Festival that this idea of holiday for His sake is either the origin of each custom or has submerged within itself earlier and pre-Christian elements.

Christmas without its decorations would be foreign to sentiment. Taking pride of place is our use of Holly, Mistletoe and the Christmas Tree. Seasonable significance attaches to each.

HOLLY, by tradition The Holy Tree. In pre-Christian Roman times Holly was used in the Saturnalia. Many a god and goddess was believed to lurk in the groves and woods of the Ancient World, and, being humanly imagined, was thought to feel the rigours of the winter. Evergreens were therefore brought indoor to home and Temple at Saturnalia in the belief that god and goddess, sheltering in the foliage, would thus come to sojourn under a human roof-tree until the burgeoning of Spring. In this old custom lies the origin of our use of sprays and festoons of greenery at Christmas. Later a Christian significance attaches to the use. The Crown of Thorns was claimed to have been Holly, and it was the blood shed at Calvary which dyed the berry scarlet. Thus the Holly, symbolically, linked the Birth with the Atoning Death.

Alongside this lies the old Legend that the ROBIN in compassion sought to peck the torturing thorns from Christ’s brow and so became stained in his breast with the evidence of Nature’s care for her Noblest Son.

Similarly the use of THE MISTLETOE is pre-Christian and Druidic. The Ancient Celt held the Oak sacred and believed that when the oak tree slept in winter, its spirit came to reside in the Mistletoe which was parasitic to the oak and evergreen. To gather and hang it indoors meant the importing to a household of the mighty spirit of the oak and with it, good fortune. Here no subsequent Christian legend grew up; we retain a simple usage of the childhood of our race.

THE CHRISTMAS TREE is to the British people a newcomer. Its introduction is usually ascribed to Prince Albert who set one up at Windsor in 1841; but as a matter of history Princess Lieven actually forestalled him by several years, and so can claim the authorship of a gracious custom.

The use of the Tree is therefore of Teutonic origin and an old German Legend gives it grace. A forester and his family were seated before the fire one wild winter night when a knock came to the door. Answering, the forester was surprised to see a child cold, tired, and hungry. The child was brought in, fed and put to sleep in the bed of Hans, the son of the house who slept that night on the floor. In the morning the forester awoke to the music of some celestial choir, as it were at his door. Looking at his little guest he saw His face dazzling in its brightness. It was the Christ-child Himself. Departing, He took a bough of Norway spruce and planting it firmly in the ground. He thanked the forester and told him that “the Tree” would always bring him abundance in the depth of winter.

The decorating of the Tree is also Teutonic, and in Germany, when lighted up, the Tree is
always placed in the window. The custom of placing a decorated and illuminated Tree in a town street or city square is also part of the tradition, as is the placing of a Silver Star at the top — the Star of Bethlehem. Owing to the deep religious significance of the custom only presents which bring joy and pleasure are hung on the Tree. Utilitarian gifts are grouped at the foot, as in the days of yore.

“And now the fir tree . . .
 Acclaimed, by eager blue-eyed girls and boys,
 Bursts into tinsel fruit and glittering toys.
 And turns into a pyramid of light”.
                      (Eugene Lee-Hamilton).

THE CHRISTMAS CARD is a modern custom, and the traditional picture with its white winter scene, its waits and its stage-coach or Santa Claus owes much to the marriage of the sentiments of Washington Irving in America to those of Charles Dickens here, Christmas, of course, in the British Isles, generally coincides with a mild spell of weather, but the conceit is pleasing.

Last century schoolboys were made to write and decorate an essay before they left Grammar School or Public School for the Christmas holiday. These essays were taken home as evidence of progress — a pleasing variation to the usual school report which could not fail at times to be condemnatory of ill-spent time during term. Proud parents displayed the fruits of youthful genius on the mantelpiece for all to see, and later an eager father decided to be a genius himself and sent the proof of his abilities round his friends. So arose the private greeting card with its seasonable appearance and message. Those who maintain the tradition in its happy freshness still make their own cards. Here commercialism is the foe of the Christmas spirit as elsewhere.

Christmas is a FEAST, Hence the association of a rich table with the occasion. In Britain at first a BOAR’S HEAD and the BARON of BEEF: our forefathers were doughty trenchermen. The Boar’s Head had an apple or a lemon in its mouth and its ears were decorated with sprigs of Rosemary.

“The Boar’s Head, in hand bear I,
 Bedecked with bay and rosemary:
 And I pray you, my masters, be merry.
         I bear the Boar’s Head,
         Rendering praise to the Lord”.

As a later gift from America came the TURKEY, now universally the Christmas Dish.

THE PLUM PUDDING, originally Frumenty, a stewed wheat dish. As ingredients were added it became Plum Porridge and so Plum Pudding. Traditionally it was beef or mutton broth thickened with brown bread, raisins, currants, prunes (the “plums”), spices and ginger-bread.

THE MINCE PIE was originally a real pie of chopped hare, pheasant, capon or partridge. Later it became a sweetmeat of raisins, orange, sugar and spices. By tradition each pie eaten in silence brings happiness for one month in the New Year, but nobody has ever solved the problem of the schoolboy who ate seventeen in silence and then wondered how many he might be allowed that day twelvemonths.

Bringing in the YULE LOG, the wood for the Christmas evening fire, was itself a ceremony involving singing, dancing and general hilarity. By custom the Log was not burnt out but a portion saved to light the Log of the next Christmas.

MUMMING AND WASSAILING. In mediaeval times young men dressed up and visited the houses of town and countryside, acting, singing, and dancing. Healths were drunk and good cheer abounded. The custom, now all but dead, is the remnant of the ancient Yule Festival in honour of ODIN, the Yule Father. This custom brought into our Christmas customs a Norse strand.

To the mediaeval period also belongs the PANTOMIME, originally a Play in Dumb Show. Eater, singing and the use of masks were introduced as well as the Ballet. Later still it became the special Christmas Variety Entertainment built up loosely around a Fairy Tale.

THE CAROL goes back to the period when in the mediaeval Church singing and dancing were part of the Festival. With the disappearance of dancing from the Church the Carol came to signify a merry song suggestive of joy and with the lilt of dancing in its notes — a happy song to celebrate the Nativity. The Carol proper dates to the disciples of St. Francis of Assisi (12th Century) and spread from Italy. Its value as a vehicle for the collection of alms fixed it firmly among the customs of the European Christmas.

BOXING DAY. Almsgiving at Christmas found its climax in the opening of the alms boxes after the Christmas Day Service. The distribution however, was reserved for St. Stephen’s Day, which thus became known as Boxing Day. The day had, however, another significance. It was for apprentices and servants a holiday from morning to night and The WREN BOY and many another traditional figure toured from house to house, singing, acting, dancing and seeking alms. It is interesting to us that both the whole holiday for servants and the early morning visit of The Wren Boy are features of the St. Stephen’s Day of Connacht and other parts of Ireland.

And so to SANTA CLAUS. St. Nicholas was the Patron Saint of Russia, of children, sailors and travellers. In the Dutch, San Nicholas: if you say it quickly enough often enough you will learn how the name slurred into the affectionate Santa Claus.

In Myra in ancient Lycia there lived a poor man with his three daughters. They were without fine clothes and had little to eat, but like all girls, they used to dream of their future. For them the dreams were about happy marriage and comfortable homes. None however would marry them who had no dowry.

In the same town lived Nicholas, wealthy and generous of spirit. He had discovered the joy of causing pleasure in the hearts of others, and was happiest if he did good by stealth. One night, from outside their open window, he discovered the plight of the three girls, and the very next night he lightly tossed three purses of gold into the room at their feet and slipped away. Three purses of gold! The meaning was clear, there was one for each, and before long each girl had realised her dream and was happy. Nicholas continued his habit, especially in gifts for children, and the dark days of winter were his happiest. In due course he was found out, and his name speedily became a legend. The Church canonised him, with perhaps more wisdom than in other cases, and so he lives for ever as St. Nicholas — evidence to us of the blessing of the Church on kindness done by stealth.

His sleigh, built, of course, in Fairy Land so as to travel through the air, and his reindeer are a Nordic idea and the final beautifying with legendary detail of the central custom of Christmas.

Christmas was not always celebrated on 25th December, but in the earliest times was twelve days later. The 6th of January is still called “Little Christmas”, and in many a part of Ireland you will still find it kept with lighted candles in the window for welcome and a door on the latch all night to let the Christ-Child in. A countryside so lighted is a blessed sight on “Twelfth Night” in parts of Connacht and Munster.

Behind all the richness of legend and custom lies the single impulse of joy and worship:— “Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men.”

A HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL

G.

Reprinted from the Presbyterian Herald December 1949


 
 

The Christmas Fairy

Have you heard of the Christmas fairy, sweet,

Who keeps the home so bright and neat?

Who enters the room of boys and girls,

And finds lost marbles or smooths out curls.

Who mends the rent in a girlie's frock –

Or darns the hole in a tomboy’s sock?

     If you don’t believe it is true, I say,

     You may search and find her this very day,

          In your home.

You must not look for a maiden fair,

With starry eyes and golden hair;

Her hair may be threaded with silver grey,

But one glance of her eyes drives care away.

And the touch of her hand is so soft and light

When it smooths out a place for your head at night.

     If you know of someone just like this,

     My Yuletide fairy you cannot miss –

          It's "Mother."





Poem: The Witness, 11th December 1914.
Image: Christmas Angel by Karen Tarlton.

The Unknown Helper

Grateful to host and hostess, too,
On both your heartfelt thanks bestow,
But don't forget, whate'er you do.
The girl who hung the mistletoe.

Acclaim the half successful trick,
The good old game be shown, or show;
But let your heart to thank be quick –
The girl who hung the mistletoe.

No more the entertaining guest
Your gratitude should feel and know,
Than the unknown, the unconfessed –
The girl who hung the mistletoe.

Applaud the useful vocalist,
The raconteur's delightful flow,
But treasure, when you've cooed and kissed,
The girl who hung the mistletoe.





Poem: The Witness, 11th December 1914.
Image: Mistletoe by Debra Hall.

Yuletide "Whys."

In the first place, why is Christmas celebrated on December 25th? The precise day of the year on which Christ was born, nobody knows, and it must be remembered that nineteen hundred years ago the year was not calculated as it is now, in any case.

It is not even known what section of the Christian Church first looked upon this particular date as the one associated with the Birth of the founder of our religion. About the middle of the fourth century, Pope Julius issued an instruction that the proper day of the year should be ascertained, and the inquiry was undertaken by St. Cyril. He found that the festival was celebrated on varying dates by the several sections of the Church – January, March, April, May, and September – though the churches, in the West of Europe seem to have agreed on December 25th. That was sufficient for the Pope, and since his day Christmas has always been celebrated on the day to which we all look forward with such pleasure every year.

WHY MISTLETOE?

Thus having seen why we celebrate Yuletide on December 25th, let us examine the whys and wherefores of some of the festival's hoary associations. Those of us who are young enough have, say, a passing interest in the mistletoe, and the opportunities it connotes. Why is kissing under the mistletoe customary, or – shall we say? – permissible? It's an old idea, and for its origin we go back to the time of our Scandinavian forefathers. They built big "Jule" or "Yule" fires as a method of honouring the god Thor, a deity who was supposed to be the better pleased the higher the flames from the bonfires rose to the skies. And the tree whose sap was somewhat exhausted, the trees which were driest, were these on which the mistletoe, had battened, so to speak, and thus it cams to be believed that by this process the god – who had caused the mistletoe to grow on the trees – ensured big fires in his own honour.

Gathering Mistletoe

Under the branches of a tree on which the mistletoe grew the men dropped their weapons; they took home bunches of the shrub and hung them over their doorposts, and it was the custom that even if an enemy passed: into the house beneath that mistletoe he became for the time being a friend. From that it became usage to greet people who came under the mistletoe with a kiss in token of friendship, and – well, you know very well the manner in which the sentiment is manifested in this year of grace.

Incidentally it may be mentioned that the reason why mistletoe is never used in the decoration of our churches is that it was used by the Druids as a religious symbol in their rites at the sacrificial altars.

WHY SANTA CLAUS?

Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra

Then there is the question of good old Santa Claus, who seems nowadays to be almost a better known as Father Christmas, and more or less caricatured as such by the disguised individuals who masquerade at the Christmas grottos and other scenic arrangements at the big shops. "Santa Claus" may be taken as another way of saying "Saint Nicholas," for that very popular bishop of Myra, some sixteen hundred years ago, seems to have been the original of the gentleman who comes with cartloads of god things for the younger generation every Yuletide. The legend runs that the good bishop once climbed the roof of a house and dropped down the chimney a gift for an old gentleman who would have been greatly annoyed if he thought other people knew of his dire poverty. But the gift fell into the stocking which had been hung up to dry, and it was used as part of the dowry for the old gentleman's daughter. Thereafter, when a daughter of almost any house was about to marry, she hung up her stocking to see what gifts might fall therein from the skies. That is why we look for gifts in our stockings at Christmas; and some verisimilitude is given to the narrative by the fact that the anniversary of the saint's death, December 6th, is honoured in several countries – the close approximation of the two dates having further connected St. Nicholas with Christmas.

As to the whys and wherefores of the practice of giving presents at Christmas time there are several explanations. Probably we give them just out of some such feeling as impels us to make presents at Easter, on birthdays, and on sundry other occasions. Devout persons, however, prefer to associate their practice of giving presents with the story that the Magi from the East brought with them gifts to the lowly birthplace of our Lord at Bethlehem.

WHY PLUM PUDDINGS?

Mention of the gifts of the Wise Men brings to mind a reason for the association of plum puddings and mince pies with Yuletide. Formerly the contents of these toothsome affairs symbolised the offerings of the Magi, and this idea dates back to the very early days of the Christian Church. The meat, fruits and spices, which are the usual ingredients, were once upon a time known as "hacking," from the hacking or chopping, to which they were subjected before they were subjected before they were finally incorporated into the finished article and cooked, but in this country this somewhat barbarous name for our time-honoured plum pudding was changed shortly after the Restoration to that by which we now know it,

Plum pudding is a peculiarly English dish in these times, for, whatever other people did in bygone ages, they can no longer make plum puddings as we like them in Britain. Indeed, there is a story told of a Frenchman who, wishing to please an English visitor at Yuletide, instructed his cook to make a plum pudding according to the recipe which had been sent from this country. When that pudding came to the table it had to be brought in a soup tureen. The directions had been followed with close attention, but unfortunately the recipe did not state that when the ingredients had been duly cut up and mixed together they should be placed in a cloth!

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

THE CHRISTMAS BEEF.

Beef is a characteristically British item of the Christmas festival. The reason must be sought for in those old pagan festivals from which we have obtained so many of the traditions and observances of Christmas time. It is, of course, well-known that the Druids set great store by the mistletoe, and we have already referred to its place in their sacred rites. Well, when the Druids gathered the mistletoe every winter it was their wont to sacrifice a couple of bulls. The special connection of beef with Christmas has been handed down, from those remote times, but, of course, not one person in a million who enjoys his Christmas dinner has ever associated his slice of sirloin with the gathering of the mistletoe. On the other hand, he may have some knowledge of how the loin of beef came to be knighted by a Stuart King, who enjoyed a hunting dinner so much one day that
     Quoth he "It is a noble dish!
      Ay, noble made by me!
By kingly right I dub thee knight
      Sir Loin henceforward be."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

THE ORIGIN OF THE CAROL.

Caroling in the Town centre

These are days when a great deal of attention is paid to the singing of carols. They were always popular, and a Christmas number without some sentimental picture of the old-time waits would indeed be regarded as an arid and uninteresting production. Since time immemorial, bands of singers have raised their voices in carols at this time of the year. But of late [1914], as the practice of singing all round the parishes has been less and less observed, an attempt has been made on the other hand to put the matter on a truer musical basis, and several of our ablest musicians and composers have taken the old carols in hand, have rescued them from old documents or revived them before they have passed from the ken of the few people to whom they have been transmitted from past generations orally, have given them more up-to-date settings, and thus enriched the resources of choirs and congregations everywhere. Thus at Christmas we are so frequently charmed not only by strangely sweet old melodies, but by the quaint verses which so strikingly illustrate the ideas of our pious forefathers.

Carol-singing found its way into Christian observance from the saturnalias of pagan peoples, and in various forms has been, as we all know, a continued practice until to-day. The older carols of this country have a great deal in common with folk-song, and, as perusal of a representative collection will show, they contain much in the way of old legend.


These articles appeared in The Witness of 11th December 1914.