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I we trace the origin of our modâ€" ern Christmas we find that from time immemorial it was celebrated Lwlth religious worship and . social gayety of all kinds, just as it is now ; and that many of the festive pracâ€" tices, the beautifal customs which ‘vharacterize the occasion, are derivâ€" ed from age long antedating the comâ€" "ng of the Redeemer, and from peoâ€" wples wlw knew naught of the true In "ye ~lden time" the holidays were ushered in on Christmas eve, and until Twelfth Night, known faâ€" millarly as the day of the Magi or Little Christmas, nothing was done, pothing was thought, save fun, revâ€" elry and feasting, while the watchâ€" word to all was eat, driak and make geerry. The Worship of the Sun. + Among all the pagan races of antiâ€" quity there seems to have been a uniâ€" versal tendency to worship the sun at this season, just as there was at ‘the chango of the other seasons, he was regarded by them as the giver of light and life, and the visible maniâ€" festation of a supreme Deity, and when the shortest day of the gloomy ‘winter had passed, and he began his return course, bringing warmth and ‘the reanimation of all that was "dead, there was general rejoicing everywhere. The Christian Festival. ‘ The dedication of the 25th of Deâ€" cember for â€" commemorating the birth of Christ dates back to the fmurth century. Previously it had been the most movable of the church feast days, and confounded by some with the Epiphany ; by others with the feast of Tabernacles, held in Sepâ€" \tember, while more of the Christians celebrated the event in March, about the time of the Passover, and still more as late as April or May. The ‘arctnal date of the Nativity could not be learned with any degreo of accurâ€" acy, as the evidence regarding it was ‘traditional and likewise conflicting and confused, so, after a conference ‘nf the theologians of the East and West, for the sake of aniformity, it was thought best to settle upon one particular day, and after all, it was the event, not the date of its occurâ€" rence, which was celebrated. . This agreement was the result of an inâ€" quiry brought about by the earnest solicitations of St. Cyril, of Jerusaâ€" lem, to Julins I, who granteod an erder for an investigation to be made concerning the right day. The ehief grounds for the final decision was the information obtained from the tables of the censors in the archives sf Rome. The Sathroalia. : The Romans worshipped the sun upder one of the characters attriâ€" buted to Saturn, father of the gods, nd the feast was called "Saturâ€" :-Jh." Historians and antiquarâ€" ians seem unable to discover the oriâ€" Igin of this festival, but the Romans derived it from the Grecians, as they ldid many other of their customs, and Ht is not improbable that it was inâ€" lstituted in some rude period of anâ€" Rtiquity and by other races previous ‘to its advent into Greece. * A Thus the Christians from a very early period observed the Christmas festival at this especial time of the year, which made it coincident with the one held by the ancients at the winter solstice in honor of the sun, and from this it is easy to see how the heathen and Christian obserâ€" vances became inseparably mingled. It was the favorite recreation of ‘taganism and was marked by a uniâ€" versal license and merryâ€"making. Blaves were for the time being free anpd recognized as the equals of their masters, with whom they were perâ€" mitted to dine as guests, to conâ€" Â¥erse with, and what was perhaps more relished by.this miserable class, #o tel} their imprious owners of their faults to their face, treat them as menials and punish them for the misâ€" demeanors of which they might be my. as they themselves were punâ€" for similar offences. No one was All the city was in the wildest sommotion ; business was suspended, and none were at work but the cooks and confectioners who prepared the s‘v:‘eoua feasts ; lavuses were gayly orated with laurel and evergréens, and presents passed between parâ€" ents and friends after the same fashâ€" lon customary toâ€"day, while the chilâ€" dren invoked Saturn, as they now do the good old Santa Clause,. Games and amusements of all sorts were Indulged in by the citizens; music and dancing was heard and seen on every hami, and the very air rang with shouts ami laughter, and the flowing bowl was a part of the Satâ€" arnalia, as it now reigns in a myriad of different forms in the festivities oi Christmas, am\ glasses of every size were ready for aii to drink as efterp and as much as they lked. allowed to be angry, and ne who was rtnponandmadelpowtol,llho ved his comfort, would be the first #o laugh. _ € 2 ninne CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS: The Seandinavian Festival. the bleak nortb, where the reRrrrELrEkLL i k Oe d ue C for centuries it flourished, and up until only a few years ago! the Xmas candle was to be seen in almost every home, or at least in those of Catholic families, and was looked upon as a necessary accessory to the furâ€" nishings of Christmastide, The Mistlctoe Bough. In the lapse of time many of these beautiful customs have lost much of thâ€"ir traditional intersst and primitive popularity,; but thore is one, however, which has never declined in pu lic favor, and seems destined to retain its hold upon the affections of the prople â€"th> hanging up of the mistletoe, thit pure, wovw:~berriml p!a.nt. u.b:)ut ht L9 Audie Adnecda, dR sc ndo db iffpbayinint w tntiinh, sidtranents? Seevaiet T which so many plcasant memories clusâ€" ter. This custom is not a Christian institution ; indeed, th»> mistleto> has been excluded from church decoration on account of its pagan associations, and we derive it from our anclent ho & T Saneet mt tecocâ€" e c e ce t 4 # 4@ s e 4.4 © o 4 3 | t | hy 'a')‘ l ' ' Oh, the dance waxed mad and merry With the light heels overhead, Hinds across and down the middle Went the gayly measured tread, While "Away with Melancholy" Rqueaked the fiddles, and the air Bwept a stir of revel o‘er us As we sat beneath the satair. Oh, the sweet and subtle magic That at work within the heart Drew us tenderly together, He!ld us, tremulous, apart! Why, we thought our lips were touebe Ing Just for lJoveâ€"we did not know _ | It was all because above us p Huug a bough of mistletor. Sing a song of Christmas! Pockets full of &old ; Plums and cakes for stockings, More than they can hoid, Pudding in the great pot, Turkey on the spit, Merry {faces round the firg«= ; _ RBorrow? Not a bit! _ & Christmas Greeting. S calp + # #» Floaning um Wolfenden @tart« ward, filled with . ’n\'iu added rich xperiences. Whs h Embankment t the stars we kthere was no dhad obtained v ts s sn and aubtl gquired a new m 1t with re sham, he w hard, indeed. felt even the dhad obtained wha: mm turn of and subtle lu gquired a new sen: = It with regar sham, he was Rhard, Indeed. For felt even the me thrilling. 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The gir even at Wolfenden. ; B0t wholly : of that sort ly not par do ao w Wolfendar to h oL L e I J A THRH 4 ING carpetisi the COum t cH The Wa (KH a litt] the m that t ng" H A dot