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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 1913)
TTTE SUNDAY OHEGOXIAy, rORTLAXP, DECEMBER 21. 1913. ; - 7 TV SO now la come our JoyfuUest feaat; Let every man be Jolly. Each room with Hry leaves is dreat And every Pt with holly. Though aome cnurla t our mirth re pine. Round your forebeada garlands twine; Drown Borrow In a cup of wine. And let us all be merry. Now, all our nelghbora chimneys smoke And Christmas blocks are burning;! Their ovens with baked meats choke And ail their spits are turning. Without the door let sorrow lie. And If for cold It hap to die. We'll bury it in a Christmas pis And evermore be merry. (From an early 17th century poem.) Ola Tina Waits. It is not clearly known whether the term "waits," associated wtih Christ mas, denoted originally musical Instru ments, a particular kind of music or the persona who played under apeclal circumstances. At one time the nam "waits" wss given to minstrels at tached to the King's court, whose duty it was to guard the streets at night and proclaim the hour. A regular com pany of waits waa established at Ex eter as early as the year 1400 and In t relation to the duties and emoluments of such personages In the reign of Ed ward IV, Rymer says: "A wayte that Blghtelye from Mychelmas to Bhrove Thoresdaye pipethe the watche wlthen this courte fower tymes. in the eom re nyghtes tymes; and make the ban gay te at every chembere dore and of fyce as well for feare of pyekeres and plllers. The eateth in the halle with mynstriellea and tketh lyverye st night a loffe. and for somere nyghtes 1J can dles plche, a bushel of coles, and for wintere nyghtes half a loafe of bread, a galone of ale. iiij candles plche and a bushel of coles. This statement shows that the wait at court was a kind of page, paid part ly in money and partly in board wage, When the waits became town must- ( elans instead of court pagea they were ' aometimes civic servants, employed as watchmen to call the hour at night aometimes serenaders or nocturnal minstrels who looked for a living from private liberality. Christmas Feasts. Vanv itnHniiB fpnnta irnM In (VmnAA- j tlon with the celebration of Christ mas in early days. Thua, the asa on which Balaam rode In the "Reims Mya tery" won for the feast the title "Fes tum Asinoruro,' tho Feast of the Asses. As It was celebrated in France, accord ing to William Bone, it consisted almost entirely of dramatic show. On one oc casion the clergy walked on Christmas day in procession, habited to represent the prophets and other eharaotsra. "Moses appeared in an alb and cope, with a long beard and a rod. David had a green vestment. Balaam, with an Im mense pair of spurs, rode on a wooden ass which inclosed a speaker. . There were also six Jews and alx Gentiles Among other characters the poet Vir gil was Introduced, singing monkish rhymes, as a Gentile prophet and a translator of the ethylene oracles. They thua moved in procession through the body of the church chanting verslcles and conversing on the nativity and kingdom of Christ till they came into the choir. This service, as performed In the ca thedral at Rouen, commenced with a procession in which the clergy repre sented the prophets of the Old Testa ment who foretold the birth of Christ; then followed Balaam mounted on tn ass, Zachariaa, Elisabeth, John the Bap. list. toe tuoyi. crynree. Virgil, Nebuchadnezzar and the three musicians in the furnace After the procession entered the ea therirul several groups of persons per formed the parts of Jews and Gentiles, to whom the choristers addressed speeches; afterward they called on the prophets, one by one, who came for ward successively and delivered a passage relative to the Messiah. The other characters aavancea o ucuupy their proper situations and reply to the questions of the choristers. They performed the miracle 01 tne furnace; Nebuchadnezzar spoke, the Sibyl ap peared and then an anthem waa sung, whUh concluded the ceremony. "The Xlta-sal of an Archbishop on Sens" Indicates that during sucn a service the animal Itself, clad with nrecious Driestly ornaments, waa sol emnly conducted to the middle of the choir, during wnlcn procession a nymn In praise of the ass was sung, ending with: "Amen. bray, most honored Ass, Sated now with grain and grass; Amen repeat, amen reply. And disregard antiquity. Hex va! hex va! hex va! hex! The service lasted the whole of a night and part of the next day, and formed altogether the strangest, most ridiculous medley of whatever was usually sung at church festivals. When the choristers were thirsty wine was served in the evening, on a platform before the church lit by an enormous lantern, the grand chanter of Sens led a Jolly band in perform ing broadly Indecorous Interludes, At respective divisions of the service the ass waa applied wtih drink and prov ender. If you will go to the crossroads between 11 and 13 on Christmas night you win hear what moat concerns you In the coming year. If on Christmas eve you make a lit tle heap of salt on the table, and It melts over night, you will die the next year; If. In the morning, it remains undiminished, you will live. If a shirt be spun, woven and sewed by a pure, chaste maiden on Christ mas day it will be proof against lead or steel. If you are born at sermon time on Christmas morning you can see spirits. If you burn elder on Christmas eve you will have revealed to you all the witches and the sorcerers of the neighborhood. If you eat a raw egg on unnsimas morning., fasting, you can carry heavy weights. ' It is unlucky to carry anything forth from the house on Christmas morning until something has been brought lnto , . If the fire burna brightly on Christ mas morninir it betokens prosperity; if it smoulders, adversity. . Bralaalna; t Christmas. When did Christmas begin? So old a festival is It. so intimately have we ben associated with it from earliest childhood, so completely do Its asso ciations and activities and spirit per vade the world that it seems aa if it must be as old as the very earth Itself. Of course, we know thst it ia an anniversary of the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth, and that It is not nearly so old as that event, for in the early days of the Christian Church there was no such celebration. The very word Christmas, is of comparatively late origin. The word is first used in luJS. its form then being Chrlstes Wactse. the mass of the Christ. Origen. an early father of the church, said that in the Scriptures it was the sinners alone, not the saints, who celebrated tljeir birthdays. Another early writer referred to the fact that the birthdays of the pagan gods were kept by the people. The very first evidence of a feast having been held In honor of the birth of Christ was In J t',1 atSsJ' CJ U it it ...... ' 1 " " "' mi Baaataex BKii5fSSf r ill mmmm -immmmmj I feM - ' - ; - -. I ; cMlCS C4-gTTtrJgrnr--7r--5S Prawiv Trederick' Kulz. 1 L 1 " 'r"",r rj Egypt about the year S00. Clement of Alexandria said: "Certain Egyp tian theologians over curiously assign. not tha vear alone, but the day 01 Christ's birth, placing it on May 25." Another date assigned to the event was March 21. because on that day the materlul sun was created. The double commemoration of tho Epiphany and the Nativity became popular partly because the apparition of the shepherds was considered as one of the manifestations of Christ's rlory. Because -of the increase of merry making King Canute gave order about 1110 that there should be fasting In stead of fessting from Christmas to Epiphany. At various times both civil and ecclesiastical authorities con demned vsrious forms of celebration, many of them because they had been carried to excess. In England in 1644 all Christmas observance was forbidden by Parliament. The day was to be a fast, a market day, and the shops mere compelled to be open. Worse than all, plum puddings and mince pies were condemned aa heathenish. Lovers of Christmas resisted the measure and at Canterbury and some other places there was bloodshed. After the Restoration all of the lovers of old Christmas customs revived them to the full and the Dissenters contented themselves with dubbing Tuletlde Foolttde. Ia Peyya' Days. In Pepya Diary there la an interest ing account of the way that Christmas was spent In 1662: "Had a pleasant walk to Whitehall, where I Intended to have received com munion with the family, but I came s little too late. So I walked up Into the bouse and spent my time looking over pictures, particularly the ships in King Henry the Eighth's Voyage to Bullaen. marking the great difference between those built then and now. By and by. down to the chapel again, where Bishop r 1 . HHAaAl.u1 An th, vAni. nf the angels, 'Glory to Ood on high, on earth peace and gooa win towara men. ,u thought he made but a poor sermon, but long, and reprehending the com mon Jollity of the court for the true Joy that shall and ought to be on those days Particularized concerning their excess in plays and gaming, saying that he whoso office it is to keep the gamesters in order and within bounds serves but for a second in a duel, meaning the groome porter. Upon which It waa worth observing how far they are come from taking the reprehensions of a bishop seriously, that they all laugh In the chapel when he reflected on their ill actions and courses. He did much press us to Joy In these public days of Joy and hospi tality. But one that stood by whispered in my ears that the bishop do not spend one groate to the poor himself. The sermon done, a good anthem followed with vialls, and the King came down to receive the sacrament," lEFORE the Puritans condemned plum puddings and mince pies as heathenish and passed lawi prohi -iitimr Christmas merriment on the same grounds Christmas in England was a sorgeous season, richly .ln.?.-?.,!l t,h . h itatelv ceremonies of the church, the palace and the baronial hall, riotous some times even to the point of excess in its cruder forms of revelry. , ' lt The ceremony of the Yule log, which is generally agreed by authorities to be traceable to the pagan rites whn were performed "at that season of the year before the coming or Christianity was "'he'e" most JoT-ous of the ceremonies observed on Christmas Eve In mediaeval times. From the time : that ha huge block left the woods until it burnt in glory on the hearth, the log was the center of the Christmas activi ties When it made Its triumphal progress from the woods each wayfarer raised his hat as " passed It was believed that its flame would burn out old wrongs and heartburnings, and the wassail bowl which bubbled Ir i the heat that It sent forth, waa quaffed to the wiping out of ancient scores and an mt,e,; Gentle and simple joined in these ceremonies with equal ardor, and when the noble log had hurned itsell : out itrcharred remains were put where they could be carefully preserved until another year aince it was a t i?m Tbelief of those who gathered at the Christmas hearth that, the new Yule log must each season i be lighted at the remnant of the old one, in order that the happiest results might follow the seasonal fY"e Otheuperstitiona also attached to the Yule log with equal firmness.- It was thought that the house whUh possessed this charred bit of log was safe from fire for another year. A still more curious belief waa that wnch limited the hospitality of the festal hall while the log was burning to those who c ame with f ee t shod Shou d a barefooted person enter the hall on that night after the Yule log had begun to burn he was Tant to receive anything but a warm welcome from the other revellers, for his coming was regarded as Tn in omen likely to bring disaster in aome dim shape, none the lesa dread because of its vagueness. WhCthe great lo cast ao warm an illumination from the hearth a candle of monstrous size also shed its Hght on the Chrfstmas Eve gathering. The Christmas, or Yule, candle burned for twelve nights, and was P,anhw.f.?obamo,UKrtaM feature of the season', festivities In the year 1400 says ,n ancient chronicler Hen" IV.. holding his Christmas at Eltham, was visited by twelve Aldermen and their sons as mummer, and these august personages had great thanks from His Majesty for their performances - historian set. forth the fact that a conspiracy to murder the K ng waa oJganized under -the gui.e of a Twelfth Night mumming. The plot was discovered only a few hours Tefore It was to have been put into execution. Henry VIIL issued an edict against mumming because of the crime? committed under its cloak, but even this edict failed to lessen participation In this form of ChTne8mumme7s appeared in different sorts of costumes and took part in all manner of performances. Some of Xm merely indulged in generally riotous behavior, with no definite acting of any aort. (Copyright by the N. Y. Herald Co. All rights reserved.) Santa.Ciaus and Little Eillie Continued From Page 6.) Billee's papa went out of the house together. 'Christmas morning dawned and Lit tle Billee awoke from wonderful dreams of rich gifts and of extraordi nary adventures with his new-found friend, to find the reality quite aa splen did as the dream things. Later, what was his delight when a small boy not much older than himself a pale, thin, but playful little fellow arrived at the house to spend the day with him, : wi, htm xl lAttAr from Santa Claus himself! This was what the let ter said: "Dear Little Billee: "You must not tell anybody except your papa and mamma, but the little boy who brings you this letter is my little boy and I am going to let you have him for a playfellow for Christ mas day. Treat him kindly for his papa's sake, and if you think his papa is worth loving, tell him so. Do not forget me. Little Billee. I shall see you often in the future, but I doubt if . Boa ni. T am not en in tr to re turn to Twenty-third street again, but shall continue my wr& m mo jauu v Yule, in the Palace of Good Will, whose v..,tfMi it-indnwa look out upon ' the homes of all good children. ''Good-bye, iittie rwuee. aiii in Hap piest of happy1 Chrlstmases to you and all of yours, affectionately, . "SANTA CLAUS." When Little Billeee's mamma read . , - . v;M that nhrifltmiDi mornin? a Lais w ' , ' , stray little tear ran down her cheek and fell upon x-illib xjiuci? a auu. Why. what 'are you crying for, mamma?" he asked. "With happiness, my dear little son," nln mother answered. "I waa afraid yesterday that I might have lost my little boy forever, but now " "You have an extra one thrown In for Christmas, havn't you?" aaid Lit tle Billee, taking his new playmate oy the hand. The visitor smiled back at him with a smile ao sweet that any body might have guessed that he was the aon of Santa Claus. As for the latter, Little Billee nas not aeen him again; but down at hia father's bank there is a new messenger. named John, who has a voice ao like Santa Claus' voice that wnenever .Lai tie Billee goes down there in the motor to ride home at night with his papa, he runs Into the bank and has a long talk with him. Just for the pleasure of pretending that it is Santa Claus ne is talking to. Indeed, the voice la so like that once a sudden and strange idea flashed acroia Little Biliee'e mma. "Have you ever been on Tewnty third street, John?" he asked. "Twentv-thlrd street?1 Tepllea tne messenger, scratching his head as if it very much puzzled. "What's that!" "Why, it's a street,- said utile oiuee rather vaguely. "Well, to tell. you the trutn, uuiee.- said John, "I've heard tell of Twenty- third street, and they say lt la a very beautiful and Interesting spot. But, you know, I don't get much chance to travel. I've been too busy all my life to go abroad." "Abroad! roared Little Billee, grin ning at John's utterly absurd mistake. "Why, Twenty-third street ain't abroad! It's uptown near oh, near Twenty-second street." "Really," returned John, evldenly tremendously surprised. "Well, well, well! Who'd have thought that! Well If that's the case, some time when 1 get a week off I'll have to go and spend my vacation there!" From which Little Billee concluded that his suspicion that John might be Santa Claus in disguise waa entirely without foundation in fact. (Copyright, 1913.) "Plain Lnck Says Ance (Continued From Page .) like it, she says, but they are. getting used to it now. ' Evan the English cousins, who live near London and who reflect her father's prejudices againsi me siage. are being won over. Last Summer she spent three weeks with them. "So you see," she concluded, "that thore'a nothing to know about me. I'm the despair of the press agent. He comes and asks me in a desperate sor: of way if I can't think of something th it he can use to advertise me. And I think and I think," she laughed, "and there's nothing I can recall. "There'a not even a romantic atory of my struggles for recognition. I never had any hard times in my life. If I had been poor as a church mouse and entirely dependent on my own re sources to And a position, I'm afraid I shouldn't even have landed in the chorus. "My story rather bears out the old negro saying, Them as has gits. But it's more than that. I am not con ceited enough to claim anything for myself. I haven't worked for success as other girls have worked for It. I haven't perhaps deserved It so easily. Just the same I've had my dreams come true because I've always been lucky. "I waa born in April," she replied to my question. "Maybe a lucky star doea reign then. It must be an Indulgent birthday saint at least. One who por tions out luck. Thinks Dreams Come True. "But I rather think," she grew se rious, her dark curls bobbing about her sensitive, high-bred face, "that there Is something in dreaming a dream nt.Titlw .nri hnlrilnsr to one thought and saying nothing about lt. The dream I have dreamed from those far-off days when I parroted Shakespeare at my dignified father's knee was that I'd go on me stage ana uo wnut x am uoms now. I am one of the people who think that what 1 1 one's own will come . . V. .. fr T t Vl Q t nlftlirA AM ThA saying Is, and life supplied the other essenuais. "That's all any one has to do, I truly believe," she said. "I didn't have to worry about It coming true. I kept on dreaming lt, and suddenly when I least expected It, appeared the man who was ."-I A TAA W.har anri milnlc as A a iiiciiu vi . uvu " , wink all the dream was transferred to life as a reality and I zounu myseii rehearsing. "It never came as a strange experi ence to me. Acting seemed to be what I was meant to do. I think I had been on the stage so many years in my mind that the real footllghta seemed no more material facts than my dream footlights had seemed. Wants to Slntr In Concert. "Ye, I know," 8he eaid, "that there are those who claim that such an ex perience is only carried forward from another life. Maybe In some former incarnation I waa an actress. I'm not - 1 . T havA nn r Anl 1 Afttf On BUIO OU. " " - - of it," she laughed, 'but I do feel that life, in tne last analysis, is mensu m. crystallization of one's favorite dream. "And I haven't reached my real am bition yet," aha confessed. "I want to be a concert singer. A lleder singer that is one, you know, who sings love songs. I have a hope of one day doing that singing love songs, aa I hear those love songs sung in my dreams. "Of course I believe it is coming true," she said. "I am not conceited enough to believe very much in my self, but I 'have the most fixed and abounding faith in my luck." May she never lose it the luck of laughing Ann Swlnburnel Country Schools. (Atchison Globe.) One of the present educational fade is a great concern for the welfare ... .v. - ,..... .hnnl From tha f USB made you would be led to believe they are institutions of educational crime and the teachers are a lot of incompe tents. While there are alwaya excep tions ,the general rule is that, after a .1.114 Vam ananf A fV VCRfH in a COUtl - try achool and then enters a city school. he is a few laps aneaa in xne worn mt really amounts to something. Of course v. .. t.A .hi. in dance ana ao a no ma. uwb - good many other things that do not Im prove his mental sirengin or mat " ultimately assist in his making a llv inr. hut he has the foundation laid sol idly for receiving a good education. And it is also tne general ruie uiai, n eountry scnooiieacner seio unnwv - .1... ..hnnl bHa mAkAfl ffOnd. Re in a L J Aw.vw.. - " , . --- quirements of a country schoolteacher are greater tnan tor a cny kuouiw er. In order to pass the county exam ination she must dig. If ahe doea not dig she fails, and failure means a can cellation of her certificate. Whoever heard of a city schoolteacher failing In examinations? Returning to the coun try achool boy and girl, their mind, are on that race. They get the necessary . . .T.rplflA cnin? to enrt from I ftmguiu ' T, , kchool and doing chores aa well aa real W4)Xk at Dome. Al hjbml. nioicua tending picture shows, attending par ties, or sparking, they are at home go ing to bed at reasonable hours and get ting up in the mornings rested and equipped for a day's work. Really, there are other things that are more entitled to sympathy than the country schools, and it is hoped the faddists will not destroy the great part they play in making good men and women.
