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mn he up al comâ€" is and PTION bopin urring Dvidea %. mot W 4»â€" ulle on OXO:C AND TS when MCC* #46) We HS 1+ 0 , & In the Middle Ages and long afterwards, processions of childâ€" ren were forbidden at Childermas, and eventuaily Henry VIHI proâ€" claimed in 1540 that all soch processions were illegal. In some Childermas or Holy Innocents‘ Day, on December 28th, is so named in Commemoration of the slaughter of infants ordered by Herod. It is supposed to be one of the unluckiest days in the calâ€" endar and in former times people were very careful not to enter into any undertaking on this day. To marry on Holy Innocents‘ was simply asking for trouble. happered hundreds of The day has a strange power to bring pecple back at least in some degree to the childâ€"like atâ€" titude towards fundamental things, the attitude of unquestâ€" foning goodâ€"will that looks for no reward, the attitude of innocency and of clear faith. One of the great boons of the Christmas seaâ€" son is this return to the attitude of childhood, even though not shirking the responmsibilities of maturity, this going back to the essential simplicity that is the esâ€" sence of all true greatness and at the basis of all lasting joy. Christmas is essentially a fest.â€" val of childhood, a completely jJoyous festival in which fairy lowe also plays its part, with the good St. Nicholas helpful to inâ€" terpret to child minds the spirit of unselfish love and goodâ€"will. But that does not mean it is only for the child in years. Childermas, Dec. 28 AX~ND RETURN TO CHILDHOOD Christmas will ever be a happy season, first because of its mesâ€" sage, eternally important to mankind, a message which brings with it a sense of joy, a sense of security and of sviritual peace. It is as a child that one first learns to love Christmas, that one first learns the beautifcl stoâ€"y of the Christ Child and one never quite loses that childâ€"like feeling for this day, so deeply a part of life does it become. It is at such a time as this with the grave issues and the serious tasks of war tending :o eliminate to a large extent from the thinking and the life of the people of any nation involved (no matter how far from the actual scence cf conflict) the comparaâ€" tively unimportant things,. that one realizes just how truly imâ€" portant to us is this festival of Christmas. There is apparent & general desire that Christmas be observed as ever. Own Festival Of Childhood en sickle cut off the mistletoo and dropped it into the folds of the white robes worn by other Druids. Two white bulls, or, upon the most important occaâ€" sions, human beings, were then sacrificed. After this the plants were dipped in water and blessed by the high priest and distributed among the peovle as a charm against witcheraft and disease. At the beginning of their year, they would go in solemn procesâ€" sion into the woods to seek the sacred plant, the discovery of which was announced with joyâ€" ous shouts. A grass altar was then erected beneath the tree and inscribed with such divine titles as they deemed most powerful. On the sixth day of the moon, the Archâ€"Druid, clad in a white rcbe (the emblem of purity) climbed the tree and with a goldâ€" AAesttradnlsayâ€" im sttfi nn ce eneet the centuries to the days of the Druids. Even beycend that, the origin of the plant dates to the time of the ancient Greeks who used it in their ceremonies. Ocâ€" easicnally, mistletoe was found growing on an oak and because the oak was the most sacred of all trees, the Druids held it with special reverence. Mistletoe, the symbol cf friendâ€" ship, joy and peace at Christmas time, and used as part of our holiday decorations, is rich in traâ€" dition and legend. The â€" custom of "kissing and becoming friends" under a spray of mistletoe tied over the doorâ€" way or suspénded from the ceilâ€" S flletoe: Sacred _ Jig, Folkâ€"Song Plant to Druids â€" In Old Quebecâ€" Christmas Time Should Be A Seasom of _ Unquestioning Goodâ€"Will, Shining Faith segan CGustom of "Kissing and Becoming Friends" Under Spray in Doorway SOLEMN CEREMONY traced back through a A Decorated Tree "~" _ Serves Two Aims As chilling snowâ€"whirls dart, But lighted windows, Christmasâ€" wreathed, Sing carols in my heart. row; Tke songless earth is black, And yet these homey squares of glow Spread joy across my track. The muffled street is wideiv Night roofs lie stiffly, as well as pieces of a{»i)lzv?;s-;e-r; ed to branches, all lend color and relish. be used in pine cones after they have been expnded by placing near the heat. Strings of cranberries, popâ€" corn and raisins used as garlands, raw peanuts, bread or cake crumbs and peanut butter. STRINGS OF CRANBERRIES Brightly painted halves of English walnut shells, seooped clean, fastened to a string or wire and filled with a combination of two or more of the above inâ€" gredients also make pretty deâ€" corations. The same filling may also serve as a~source of food for the birds. Decorations which cover both these points may be made by scooping out a drying half orange and then fillâ€" ing it with melted suet to which have been added sugar or honey and one or more of the following ingredients: _ sunflower seeds, millet, hemp, coarse cornmeal, oatmeal, chopped nuts, chopped In _ decorating the outdoor Christmas tree â€" for holiday festivities, _ homeâ€"lovers might consider combining artistry with usefulness by having the tree Christmas Windows But in the village homes no presents are given Christmas Day. That‘s reserved for New Year‘s. And all the gifts are useful â€" a new fur cap forvéw husband, a coat for the wife, Her suits for the sons and dresséwitp| the daughters. : ENDS WITH EPIPHANinate The farmer‘s holiday end nd a round of visiting and Pm gatherings on the Feast of the Epiphany. After that it‘s back to work â€" time to start threshing grain sheaves stacked in the barns since the autumn. REVELRY AFTER MASS The revelry starts after Mass, once the farm folk have returned to their homes and piled wood high in shiny black stoves. There‘s the dancing and singing, "little glassfuls and good things to eat from laden kitchen tables. Every resident of every parâ€" ish turns out for the Mass with its blazing candles, the Christâ€" mas hymns and the sermon of the cure, in the little stone church that is the hub of rural Frenckâ€" Canadian life. Though the period is one of gaiety in the remote, snowâ€"bound villges, always it starts with solâ€" emn celebration of midnight Mass in the parish church Christâ€" first week of the new, when winter has brought a lull in his hard work of squeezing a living from the soil. They‘ve dusted off the fiddle and rolled back the parlor rug in Frenchâ€"Canadian homes in the back concessions, for it‘s the seaâ€" son of jig and folkâ€"song. The Quebec farmer‘s merryâ€" making season by tradition is the last week of the old year and tne Te * »Ailleg Th _»* cavert ces o g en ® pestie taotal PR ’t Mse s .;A‘A,,'P-f‘.‘fl; $ta M aco n e en e If Set Outdoors at Holiday Timeâ€"Lends Air of Gay Fesâ€" tivity and Provides Food Source for Birds â€"Alan Creighton, in "The Cruicible". This is By ‘Tradition The French â€" Canadian Farmer‘s Merryâ€"making Season is widely es o fi,,,;_ _ mss Â¥ W w on little hoofâ€" * . _ As I drew in my he turning around, ~~ ‘Down the chimney came with a bo ~â€" He was dressed all _ Several h have a v* mMmemorie~ $*~~ hizh e friends. Saint Nicholas too. And then in a twinkling I heard on the roof The prancing and pawing of each little hoofâ€" * As I drew in my head and was turning around, Down the chimney St. Nicholas ___ came with a bound. ner and Blitzen! To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall! Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!" : As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, When they meet with an obâ€" stacle mount to the sky, So up to the housetop the coursâ€" ers they flew, Withl_a sleigh full of toys and should appear But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer, With a little old driver so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be Saint Nick. More rapid than eagles his coursâ€" ers they came, And he whistled and shouted and called them by name. «‘Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Pranser! and Vixen! On, Comet! on, Cupid, on, Donâ€" ‘ITwas the night before Christâ€" mas when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there. The children were nestled all sung in their beds, While visions of sugarplums dancâ€" ed through their heads, Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap Had just settled our brains for a long winter‘s nap; When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters and throw up the sash. The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow Gave the lustre of midday to obâ€" jects below, When‘ what to my wondering eyes ‘T was The Night â€"_â€" Before Christmas And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed . . . And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Naâ€" zareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem (because he was of the house and lineage ofâ€" David). to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; beâ€" cause there was no room for them in the inn. was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot. imagine Farmer Geroge‘s favorâ€" ite dish appealing to the modern palate, for it was compounded of boiled beef or mutton, brown bread, raisins, currants, prunes, mace, and gingerbread. Plum porridge had the place of honor at the Yuletide banquet of George III. One can hardly The original plum â€" pudding was known as "plum porridge." lt was always the first course at the Christmas dinner, drove out of sig‘ht,m lt "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night." team gave a whistle, K And away they all flew like the down of a thistle; But I heard him exclaim ere he ney.herosei â€" _ " _ "! He sprang to his sleigh, to his turned with a jerk. And laying his finger aside of his nose And giving a nod, up the chimâ€" And his clothes were all tarnishâ€" ed with ashes and soot. A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, And he looked like a pedlar just opening his pack; His eyes â€" how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry! His cheeks were like roses; his nose like a cherry! His droil little mouth was drawn up in a bow, And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow; The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath; He kad a broad face and a little round belly, That shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly. He was chubby , and plump, a right jolly old elf. And I laughed when I saw him in spite of myself; A wink of his eye and a twist of his head Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread; He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work And filled all the stockings, then Plum Porridge The Christ Child wings are carved off, cutting widely to keep the shape of the wings. If the bird is fairly large the breast should be carvâ€" ed; otherwise it should be sepâ€" Here the advice is to insert the fork firmly in the breast of the bird, and downwards between the body and thigh. Turn outâ€" wards to sever the legs. Keep the fork in the breast while the ly with a fork and then the legs severed and carved should be Carving the turkey is quite an easy matter, says a chef in givâ€" ing explicit instructions on the proper procedure, if one goes about it the right way, especiâ€" ally a very large turkey, for the breast suffices for a number of persons when carefully carved. When this is not sufficient, the tops of the wings, holding it firmâ€" Two big problems face paterâ€" familias at this time: How to scrape up enough money to get a turkey.or a goose for the Christâ€" mas dinner and how to go about carving the festive bird so that all "minority"‘ claims are satisâ€" fied and without any embarrasâ€" sing incident due to awkward manipulation of the carving inâ€" struments. SMALLER BIRD, GREATER Christmas Turkey: How to Carve It (15th Zentury "Nativity" by Francesco di Pietra Santa, Rome) "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is bern this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." of the Lord came upcn them, and the glory of the Lord shone round a}!:out them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, "Glory to CGod in the highest, and on carth peace, toward men." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising Gcd and saying, All Minority Claims In the Family Must Be Satisfiedâ€" Here Are Some Pointers of slice of lemon studded with cloves. In a tea kettle, pour boiling water over the tea leaves and stand for 5 minutes. Then â€"pour the hot strong tea into glasses and stir with cinâ€" Six teaspoons black tea leaves, 6 cups boiling water, 6 slices lemon, 8 teaspoons whole cloves, 6 sticks of cinnamon, Bring grape juice and water to boil. Beat egg yolks well and add sugar .and nutmeg. Beat egg whites to a froth and stir into eggâ€"yolk mixture. Hold boiling grapejuice and â€" water high above bow! and pour ‘slowâ€" ly into eggs, stirring constantly. Pour this mixture from one pitcher to another until thorâ€" oughly mixed. Serve hot or cold. One pint grape juice, 1 pint water, 6 egg yolks, % pound sugar, 1/3 teaspoon grated nutâ€" meg, 6 egg whites. Place spices in a bag and add to cider with sugar and salt. Bring slowly to boiling point. Cool. Remove spice bag. Just beâ€" fore serving, reheat until very hot. Serve with piece of lemon peel in each glass. MULLED GRAPE JUICE Drinks that warm the heart and take the chill off the night belong to the Christmas season. Try these simple and satisfying beverages to the tune of tradiâ€" tional Chrismas carols. HOT CIDER PUNCH (Serves 12) Two pieces stick cinnamon, 1 tablespson whole cloves, 4 galâ€" lon sweet cider, %& cup sugar, %4 teaspoon salt, lemon peel. Use 6 glasses. In bottom of To obtain the delicate dark meat around the side bones, the thigh joint sockets should be rcâ€" moved, while the bones on either side are cut off. Carve the forcemeat acrcss in thin slices and cut the apron across if the bird is stuffed. arated from the back by cutting the ribs. The breast should be cut across into halves, and the legs should be cut lengthwise. Then turn the bird right over and dislocate the back with a knife. CY 224 Wassail Bowl Hot Spicy Drinks Belong in the Holiday Season SPICED TEA will ous night, The Christmas of the year! They watch in reverence and awe The miracle draw near. The Child Divine is born againâ€"â€"â€" His love is over allâ€" It rests in benediction on The cattle in the stall! Now comes once more the gloriâ€" come thereâ€" They heard His first faint callâ€" Oh, proud am I to tend for Him The cattle in the stall! For since of old a stable knew That wondrous Baby‘s birth, Methinks He loves the cattle best Of all the beasts of earth. The» kind eyes gave Him welâ€" The cleanly crackle of the straw Beneath the shifted hoo{; The woven chorus of content That drones from wall to wallâ€" Because I love for His dear sake The cattle in the stall. I love the knotted dark along ‘_1_‘pe hgaw'y roughâ€"beamed root, broom As evening shadows fall In common tasks I tend for Him The caitle in the stall. I hold no place of high import, Where roars the thronging martâ€" One of the little ones on earth I do my humble part. With fork and pail and stable Wassil bowl, so named from the Saxon "waes hael" (lit. "be in health," aceording to our "to your health"), carried by the children singing carols, owes its origin to the custom of drinking the health of friends in the spiced wine drunk at Christmas time in mediaeval days. It was a spiced and sweetened drink served in huge bowls with roasted apples floating in it. HOLLY AND BERRIES Holly with its thorns and bloodâ€" red berries its thought to syimâ€" bolize the crown cf thorns worn by the Saviour; another belief is that the use of holly comes from the pagans. beame the patron of little childâ€" ren, merchants, sailors, travelers, thieves, pawnbrokers and maiden ladies. The gifts that this kindiy soul brings find their origin in a legend about him which tells how he gave dowries to thrse daughters of a poor tradesman, whence grew the custom of hangâ€" ing up the stockings of little children on the Eve of St. Nickâ€" olas on December 5, the custom later being transferred to Christâ€" mas. The exchange of gifts beâ€" tween persons arises from the gifts of the Three Wise Men. CHRISTMAS TREE STORY The Christmas Tree, decorated with its glittering tinsel and shining lights, is a more recent addition to the stock of tradition, probably â€" originating in â€" Gerâ€" many. Santa Claus, for example, the deity of the child snd the symâ€" bo! of the adult, bears the nam» he does in Canada because this is the British version of the Dutch Saint Nicholas. The origâ€" inal Saint Nicholas was Bishop of Smyrna during the Diocletian persecutions and after his death has had its own native cusioms and has added those of other countries as well as subtracting and modifying until the complex ritual of our traditional Christâ€" mas has grown up, perhaps with less religicus observance than could be wished, but with a holiâ€" noss of a sort in the universal happiness and fecling of goodâ€" wiil. TORKUNIV The growth of Christmas traâ€" dition and legend has never ceasâ€" ed since the Fifth Century, when the birth of Christ was first gonâ€" erally celebrated. Each nation Legends From Fifth Century Cattle in the Stall â€"Nina Moore Jamieson. Many Traditions of This Seaâ€" son Are Traceable Back to the Time of the Romans SANTA CLAUS PS NA Signaseng ons Mempel y3 0 Emt â€" CY h+ ... ecp y s v&:fi; nB ne e h+ 4 2 ie ues fp h ho ioi ies nome it 5‘ K Gfi i 9e p Â¥4% h ult riel L y o w;m ic