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CHRISTMAS LEGENDS By Elizabeth Palmer Tbeer l no holiday In the whole year around which so many traditions and legends cluster as Christmas. But, rKi Christmas. St. Nicholas, Santa Clnus, are happily discussed for weeks by every ehfld In Christendom, and ; while every family Is anticipating the' fhrUtmas tree, the hanging of stock- . lugs, decorations or holly and green- i y. putting a candle in the window and burning a Yulo log, few children know the origin of these customs. The smallest child knows that Christmas Is celebrated as the birth- clay of Christ. Yet there is no histori- cal record thnt Hi-comber 25 was the .1 : il date of the birth of Christ. His- torians and astronomers agree that it u .- about the time of the. winter sol- s' ici>. when the days were the shortest in the year near December 21. The early Christmas celebrations were not < uiiiinod to one day. There was re- J.ii. ing from Dec-ember IS to January )',. The latter date Is now known as Twelfth-Bleb t. It was not uutil the reign of the. Christian emperor, Constant die, in the furlh century, that the observance of Christmau became au established cus- tom, since the early Christians con- sMTixl the observance of birthdays a pagan custom. The exchange of Christmas gifts has come gradually, a iii.-uutlful.' unselfish custom in com- iii'-moratlon of the greatest gift of all time to the world the Christ Child. Th-: giving of gifts also has a religi- ous significance grounded on the act of the Persian Magi In laying gold, frankincense and myrrh before the Ha be In the mangr. A Christmas tree as part of the holi- day observance originated at the time or the conversion of the German tribes, when St. Boniface came, one Chrtstmaa Day about 1,200 years ago, upon a pagan group gathered under t!i. great "Thunder Oak," about to sacrifice a little boy to their god, Thor. All eyes were fixed upon a priest in white robes who held a groat hammer poised over the head of the child. When it was about to fall, St. Boniface Vrode up to the priest, stayed his hand, and cried out to the peoplo to i-a-e therr false worship He told them the story of the birth of the Child at Bethlehem, and felling a ,i:, -ill fir tree, gave It to them, saying: "Tako this for your Christinas tree, and each year, when the feast day ar- rives, net It up in your homos and with joy and song celebrate the birthday i.f Christ." Tho tree at first was not used as a gif-buarer, but wan purely symbolical the tree Itself of Christ's grandeur and majesty, and tin- green of Ills im- mortality. The custom of placing lights on the tr-t't is genially attributed to Martin I.uther, who, ou walking home one Christmas Eve, was filled with awe at thtj beauty of the stars. Going home he tried to divicribe It to his wife by plncing some lighted candlos In the branches of the Christmas trt-e, say- ing: "This Is like the Christmas sky." St. Nicholas of Arnieim was a minor, rich In lands and flocks mid ht.-rds. He i a me to Bethlnliem drusst.-d as a beg- gar, that he might avoid paying the ftill laxos demanded hy the officers of (aesar. As he objected to paying for a room at the Inn. he wan sl<v>plng in tbx stable !>:! tii< iimii,.--. when there came to the stable Joseph and V , the Mother of Jesus. Whim the Christ Child lay in the manger beside Mary and gifts were being offered unto Him, Nicholas, from his sleep, .joined the through curiosity. Then grip- ped by some compelling force, he Unfit by the aide of Mary, now holding hm- untie looking at those two, Mu'hm- and Mali- Dtvlut*. grliu Kline-k- it's fell from the heart of Nicholas of A i mnou. My King! My King!" h cried, Vvnr will I serve Thoo, and Thee only." A tiny hand Htrclchml out toward Nicholas as though In benediction, an.! from outside ennui tho faint echo: 'on mirth pnaoe, to men good will." fn milling In his robe .N'lcbohts drew f'.i'li a gold piece and laid it among the other gifts. Tho next morning, Instead of plead- ing poverty as he had Intrudes). Nidi- o!i. wai thn first In lhi linn of tax- ]' .is walling to make his (li'clnru linn. I'll' collectors 'MI... . .1 that inn- ilriMni'd so poorly li.nihl pay so 1 1' lily. Stralghi from tax paying, Nicholas Went to Ilin plai o of HUM'- i:liiini|i4<> whore children congroKHted. Vlili arms lllleii and donkey laden, ho fared forth In the poorer places anil lliont dlspwiisod his (fids. II,. \\ i . noun Hie center of H throng of happy elilldien. lii answer to a (|iioHtlon. lio !><'. "I inn N'lelinlas of Anneciii " -Hull, Ht. Nicholas," hurst upon the ah .Mclioliix, anil I serve my King." he I I'eil. 1 K-^ar"" aski-il a curlom iiiniher. "Nay. not Cai-mir. but th new limn King of l,d\ii." Am) cumo the llrt Ui MiholuH at (.'liiiMiiiHsllde. 'I'lie Ssnla dims thai all Ciiniullau ctillilron know anil who travelled Into othei lands ilnrliiK the past contnry id only IDA i..u old. Hn Is the lies- ceml.inl of iho R ..... I St. Nicholas, who .Win thu Klft-benroi' for tlin Hill*- Dutch chil'irtMi orlglniilly. and was borrowed 111 turn liy the llellans, |.'ren.-h. Spun- 1st and KngllHh as tho pntron saint at Chrlstmai. Hill St. Nicholas was not tho Jolly old follow wo know, with but a (lUiiiiifl Rt-'iulMnii who tn*v--l- pd (u state, on a white home and with a black servant. It was the poum '"Twas the Night Before Christmas" that gave Canadian children Uio Santa Claus we know to- day. This famous poem, which has been printed and reprinted the world over with every recurring Christmas, has become one. ut the most familiar and bent-loved poems In the language. It was written by Clement Clarke Mooro for his two daughters, anil first read to them on the evening of De- cember 23, 1822. A year later it was published In the Troy (N.Y.) Sentinel, and has since become Immortal. Mooro was born July 5, 1779, in a big white houso above the Hudson, then situated In a mburh known as Chelsea, now in the neighborhood of Greenwich Village. There Irt spent his childhood, married, and raised a large family of children. All around the neighborhood were scattered the farms of the descendants of the early Dutch settlers, and as a boy young Moore became familiar with the le- gend of St. Nicholas, which he trans- formed Into the American Santa i '.n He called tho poem the "Visit of St. Nicholas." but Its lovers changed it to " 'Twas the Night Before Christ- mas." In this p., ,1,1 Santa Claus was for the first time introduced to tho child- ren of America with the form and the features and the characteristics by which he Is known to-day. Here for the first time they were told exactly how he looked and what kind of a chap he was: "His eyes how they twinkled; his dimples, how merry! Ills cheeks were like roses, liU nose like a cherry! lilu droll little in. i!, in wai drawn up like a bow And the bean] of his chin WAS as white as the snow. SMI. i- then .'. i -, child has been able to picture in his mind the Jolly old fellow who comes clattering over the roof with his sight tiny reindeer, scat- tering joy uud gladness and gifts. Though the author of the poem gave his life to hooks and learning and lit- erary work, he Is remembered only by the lines which gave us Santa Claus. It U told that once upon a time St. | Nicholas wanted to help a poor but proud nobleman, and climbing to the roof of the man's home dropped some coins down the chimney. The coins happened to light In the mail's stock- ings, which he had hun< by the fire- place to dry. The gift was considered by the nobleman to be of superna- tural origin, anil, naturally, other* took up the oustom of hanging stock- Ings by the llrwplaof. Krom this, sup- posedly, developed the tradition that Santa Claus comi-s down the chimney to bring his gifts to the inmate* of the house. Molly hits li'n popular for decora- tions slnco the time of the Druids. It Is regarded as lh special tw of the fairies, but there Is a superstition that It Is unlucky to take holly Into the house hefnrn Christmas. The cradles of li ili. in chlMrtMi are of I on doc-orated with holly to ward off evil. The faces of babies In India tind Persia are sometimes washed in a lli|uld In which holly hark has IXMMI souk.vl. as a .- i: in .i.-.i... wicked spirits. The use of holly at Christinas Is thought to bring good luck to the houso In which It Is .!.! The mi ii. LI.- |* a pnrasllo which grows not only on oaks, but 1* found on pcc-an, hickory, locust, osagft, sas- safras, persimmon, ash, ami various fruit trees, notably apple, cherry and pear trees. But it prefers the oak t'"i<<. mid tin- superstitious and mys- torlous Iniiiil .. tint priests of itn pn- Kiins of tho I'., n i h Isles and the lands ou tlin Houtli Hide of the KnKllsli Chun- nnl. got the idea that tho inUtlelo was tlio soul of llm oak and that. HS It had lost its filling*. It wa* au Im- mortal thing and was a symbol of uviTlastlng life. \Vonilrful |iowc>rs and pi-opt- 1 ties wr Hllrlbutoil to ilu> inlstlti) t i, uncl when iniMMi.ni passed, tint early Christians clung to many of the pagan Ideas about the plant. There was good luck in tnisiletoe, so ut Christ- Royalty at Abyssinian Coronation Ban on Love Birds And Parrots Lifted Duke of Gloucester as be appeared at recent coronation of Ras Tafarl Abyssinian throne (left) and Karl of Alrlle (right) In procession to throne. at Addis Ababa, with heir apparent to mas our northern ancestors would haug a branch of mistletoe orer the front door as a sign nf good luck and welcome. People entering/ under It exchanged kisses with the host and his family, and in this way kissing and the mistletoe became associated. The Scandinavians uaed to kindle great flres in honor of their god, Thor. lu some parts of old England, bring- ing In the Yule log was the principal ceremony of Christmas Kve. The custom was for the serfs to bring in a load of wood with them when they came for the Christmas feast, which was to last as long as it took to "burn away a wet wheel" a section of green wood. Naturally the "wet wheel' would not be a thin slice, but a log. lu later times the cere- mony was attached to the bringing in of the log. It was drawn Into the ha41 by the servants and each member of the family In turn, sitting down on the log. sang a Yule song and drank a glass or ale. The log was then cast into the MI-.- with prayers for tho safe- ty of the house and the happiness of Its Inmates until next Yuletlde. Part of the Yulw log was preserved to light tint log of next year. The Ynlo log was nearly always an ash log. because a legend avers that It was before an ah fire that the Holy Ralie was first washed and dressed liy Ills mother. HUH another legend Is responsible for (he custom of placing a thick, lighted cundlu lu thu window Christ- mas Kve, which Is supposed to be lighted at dusk and to remain through tho night : "On every Christmas Kve the llttlw Chrlst-Chllil wanders all over the world, bearing on His shoulders a Iniinllo of evergreens. Through city streets and country roads, up and down hills, to tho proudest castle and lowliest hovel, through cold and storm and sleet and ice, the Holy Child travels to be welcomed or rejected at tho door at which He pleads for suc- cor. Those who would wulcome Him mill long for His coming, sat a lighted cHintlu In Hi.- window to guide Him on His way." British Woman Flier Reaches Osaka, Japan Osaka. Japan lion. Mrs. Victor llructt, Hrltish motorist and aviator, arrived hero on Nov. L'lst. after lone flight from London, t which she left. September L'5. She wuji wetoouioil by Japanese anil Hrltish residents aud was given a liiinciuot. Newnpaper.s hore lauded hnr doggo*! High! Acros two contin- ents 19 Japan, commenting that she was Hi- first woman to attempt thn iliingei'oiis Journey. Commodore Says "Goodbye" and reindeer .m.i boll, ' Slr ^ l ' 1111 "' Hostron (ri^Mi. nuteil coiuinoiluro of Cmmrd Hoot, )Ve ' llll( > - l>' 4< ' citticer, Cupt. Itlssetl. ,>n liriilgo nf |-,.-.,-i. .... ; i no n't' 1 :- l'i yea i scrvlnv liliU i -. o 1 hn H'llr-; Festive Dishes For Holidays When December appears on the calendar, everyone thinks of some- thing good to eat. Winter's Invigorat- ing air produces hearty appetites. The spirit of hospitality whlyh always Is stimulated by the approach of tha winter holidays gives every woman the desire to entertain her friends. New recipes are born and chrlsle-n- ed every day in Canadian households. It is this adventuring with food com- binations that makes for progress in cooking. Without experiments In kitchens, cookery would he in a fixed state. No variety would b found in meals. What are some of the recently born dishes? Well, here are a few crea- tions that have been tried with much success: Cranberry Pudding 'i cup fat, 1 cup sugnr, '_ cup milk. l\t cups cranberries. 2 eggs, 3'j cups flour, 4 tspn. baking powder, 'i tsps, salt. Cream fat. add sugar aud sift the rest of tho dry ingredients with the flour. II-- 1; eggs and add to first mixture. Add thu dry Ingredient!) al- ternately with the milk. Stir lu ber- ries. Pour in buttered molds, cover, aud steam three hours for a Uirge mold and one hour for small ones. Nut Bread 2 5-S cup* flour, 4 tups, baking pow- der, 1 tsp. suit, 5-8 cup sugar. l' cups milk. 3 eggs, I cup nut meats, 4 tbs. flour. Sift 2 5 S cups flour, baking powder, anil salt. Add sugar, milk. and eggs slightly beaten and the broken nut HUM is which have been thoroughly mixed with the four table- spoonfuls Hour. Hake iu a slow oven for 15 minutes; then Increase the heat and IM!,. i in n moderate over one hour. Apple Salad Mix together 1 cup shredded cabbage.. 1 cup apple, cut iti strips, 1% cup eai-h ratslu.s and nutmmits and tnitltclent salad dressing to moisten Serve In . .iiii.-i. .- shells or In red apples, hol- lowed out to make up Oaruish with finely cut strips of apple with red skin left on. Baked Oysters Heat 1 egg, and add one cup oysters and their liquid. 2-3 cup cracker crumbs, '* teaspoon salt and a little pepper, nutter a pie plate and turn mixture Into this. Sprinkle with 1-3 cup cracker crumbs, dot with butter and bake until crumbs tire crisp and brown. Serve hot with cranberry sauce. Celery and olives also make a pleasing accompaniment for this fes- tive illsb. Stuffed Fruits Vso dried prunes, apricots, flgs, or dates. Steam 15 minutes Make an Incision In each piece of fruit with a .sharp pointed paring knife. Stuff I with fondant nut) cover with a nut i meat. Hull In stiKur. If not to be i eaten immediately wrap in oiled paper | aud pack In iln- Tho fruits improve ' In flavor if allowed to stand u few | weeks. Pineapple fondant Is fine to UM- in stiiltlnn these fruits. Pineapple Fondant - cup* sugar. \ cup water. I Ihs. cttishcil pineapple. I'lit sii.isiir itiul water In pan and stir until dissolved. Cook in 2 Si! degriM's . without stir- ring. kt\pliiK sides of pan washed tlovui with a soft cloth moistened in cool water anil tied over the tines of a silver lork. Add crushed pint-tip- ple, drnined from the nynip und cook to 240 lifts. V.. which Is just beyond the soft ball stage. Turn on H platter wet with cold wuter When cool, work with u -pitiil.i nr Knil'e. USB this fonilaiil ns the centers for lion- h:nis, roll I. in pieces In nuts or .SIMM | In dried fi-.ills. It 1* almost c*scnl f -il i l.i employ a c-iudy th.-iuunnettM- In .\v:''. !' '' ' ' ' Wiit lc - M-: vodj , ':i r (I !'-.'!' '\ " . ;'-:-ii v. .- . 'i ;he | pi;!,) ': ,'. i iv -if.' Ml, ls-a lie crt for those who must resist the tempta- tion of pies and puddings If you are planning on serving wild fowl, be sure to make the dressing rich In fat to relieve the natural dry- ness of the meat. While the cranberry season Is on, don't neglect to can some sauce and j make some jelly for other occasions. This acid berry combines well with summer menus. Christmas isn't Christmas unless there's candy for the kiddles. The grown-ups too, come in for their share. Perhaps if It Is homemade, it will be a bit more inviting and unusual. You can make up any of the following re- cipes now aud they will be just right for the 26th if wrapped in wax paper. Coffee Fondant :< cupg sugar, 1 cup water. 1 tbs. white corn syrup. 3 ozs. coffee, pul- verized. Tie coffee loosely In cheese- cloth, aud cook with fondant to JU1-'.. without Htirrlng, but wiping the sides of the saucepan Pour onto cold plat- ter, and when lukewarm, beat with butter paddle. Then knead well. Mold Into shape with butternuts, or press Into a buttered tin. frost with boiled frosting and sprinkle with nuts, then cut Into squares. Baked Fudge 2 eggs, 1 cup sugar, ' cup flour, 1-3 cup butter. 4 squares chocolate, 'j cup nut meats, 1 tsp. vanilla. Break nut meats into pieces and crisp In oven. Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler, add sugar and eggs beaten light, then Hour mixed with nuts. Add vanilla. Pour Into greased tin ' inch thick and bake at 350 . until a toothpick comes clean. Do not have the oven hot as you would for cookies, since the fudge must be soft, not crisp. Cut Into squares with sharp knlfo while warm. Divinity udge 2 cups sugar, 'j cup white corn syrup, '/4 cup water, 1-8 tsp. salt, ',i tbs. vinegar. Cook to 260 I-', without stirring, but wiping sides of saucepan to prevent crystallization. Pour hot syrup slowly into s'lffly beaten .vhttes of two eggs. Sit In a low rhair. pour with left hand, and beat with right hand, using large bowl and wire whip. Add 'i teaspoonful each lemon und almond extract. When quite thick, drop by spoonfuls on heavily waxed paper, and serve. If to bo kept, poor Into square buttered tin. mark Into squares. Maple Fudge 1 Ib. maple sugar (2'ji cups), \ water, 1 tbs. light corn syrup. % thin cream, 23 cup nut meats. Let maple, sugar and liquids stand to- gether until sugar Is dissolved, cook to 236 l-\, a soft ball, stirring to ke>p the maple sugar from curdling the milk. Set saucepan Into basin of cold water, and when hiKewnrm. beat until creamy, add nuts. Heat Jnat ns long an possible, then turn Into oiled tin and cut into squaii . Dominion Decides Danger From Psittacosis is Thing of the Past Ottawa Love birds may now h imported into Canada. So also may parrots, parrakeets, cockatoos, mx. saws, lories and lorikeets. The b5 placed on their importation, somo months ago has been removed. Love birds, as might be expected from their name, gotnetimes make people 8ick. The same Is the case with parrots and the other pets men- tioned above. They are subject to a disease termed psittacosis and the? are likely to give it to humans. The mortality is very high among humans who contract it. Some time ago a number of cas.- were reported from Europe, official* of the Agricultural Department be- came alarmed and put a ban on bird* subject to such au ailment. S:n--.j that, however, the disease seems to have disappeared. A circular inform lug customs collectors of the removaf of the ban went forward recently. Tornado Ravaged Village Rebuilds 24 Were Killed fn Oklahoma Suburb, and Over 1 00 Injured Oklahoma City Residents of th storm wrecked village of Bethany near here have started to rebuild their crushed homes and bury their dead. For the first time since a cyclone struck the village at noon NOT. 20, killing 24. Injuring more than 100 and wrecking 100 homes and business es- tablishments, order was restored In the settlement of 2,000 Inhabitants. Rehabilitation was started with al- most every charitable organization in the state lending aid. Doctors, treating injured In Oklaho- ma City hospitals, announced eight more of the Injured may die. More than 40 still are being treated. Fun- arol arrangements had not been com- pleted except for the four Camel Creek students who were kjlled when the little rural school was destroyed by the wind. They will be buried ai their school bouse. Damage done to the little village, reach 1600,000 officials agreed. H^re Now- Keep Your Health A Few Hints on How to Be Healthy Though Hiber- nating Not by bread alone doth man live but by a well-balancd diet he may best protect himself against the rig- ors of winter. The rules of right eating, a recent New York State department of health radio broadcast tells, are compara lively simple. Dally diet should b* constructed around the so-called pro- tective foods, pure milk, fruits, and especially green leafy vegetables. If these necessary aud compara- tively Inexpensive foodd* forn\ th basis of diet natural appetite will likely take rare of other bodily needs Every child should drluk one quart, every adult at leaat one pint of pure milk the nearly-perfect food every day. Krttlts such as oranges, lemoiia, berries, peaches, apples, and green vegetables as lettuce, spinach, celery, cabbage kale, beet greens and tur- nip greens rf ood. Eggs, cereals, meats and fish help, but the protective foods do actually protect aatnst the chills and Ills of winter. Cod liver oil U a protector, being rich ia vitamin D, the summer sunshine vitamin. and vitamin A which is L'ouiul in butter and milk. Quake in Albania Takes 30 Lives Vienna -A Government despatch from Tirana reported that violent earthquake on Nov. 21st had 'insi-il 30 deaths I* the Albanian dls'-lct of Va'ona. The liespati-h nddod that great num- bers were Injured in the i-ollapse ol numerous houses, with heavy material losses Iu Jlpss:\plik. Palase, Terkoei .iiid Derml. Tho pntiro population of Telgac was mailfl homoa-s-i. Tli,} Valona district of Albania is a mountainous region In the So'ithero iw. of the country along the A-.lrlatlc Soa. It la directly across the Strait of Otranto from the heel of the Ital- ian boot. flying Ships Are Big Hope of Aviation Toronto. The future of aviation lines not lie in llghter-thau-alr craft Captain Stafford Kusk told memben of the Canadian Progress Club al tholr recont luurhcon here. Rather, hu said. It lies In ships i;k the great Commit plane, the DO-X. Captain Luk endeavored to In* prea* th afoty of flying. Aviation, he declared, It past tho day of M- iK-rimentatlon. / "A .'piirkliiiK rolltalro will usually catch your sweetie's aye." There are two ways of euillug a dl pute- -discussion and force; the Utter is simply that of brut* beast; th* for- mer Is proper to beings Rifted with reason. Clcoro.