Speaker 1: Christmas games, snap Dragon. Some interesting particulars relative to the
indoor diversions of our ancestors at Christmas occur in the
following passage, quoted by Brand from a tract entitled round
about our Coal Fire or Christmas Entertainments, which was published
in the early part of the last century, the time
of the year being cold and frosty. The diversions are
within doors, either in exercise or by the fireside. Dancing
is one of the chief exercises, or else there is
a match at blind man's buff or puss in the corner.
The next game is questions and commands, when the commander
may oblige his subjects to answer any lawful question, and
may make the same obey him instantly under the penalty
of being smutted, having his face blackened, or paying such
forfeit as may be laid on the aggressor. Most of
the other diversions are cards and dice. From the above
we gather that the sports on Christmas evenings one hundred
and fifty years ago were not greatly dissimilar to those
in vogue at the present day. The names of almost
all the pastimes then mentioned must be familiar to every reader.
Who has probably also participated in them himself at some
period of his life. Let us only add charades, that
favorite amusement of modern drawing rooms, and of these only
the name, not the sport itself, was unknown to our ancestors.
Together with the higher spirit of refinement and delicacy, and
we shall discover little difference between the juvenile pastimes of
a Christmas party in the reign of Queen Victoria and
a similar assemblage in the reign of Queen Anne or
the first Georges favor at Christmas sport, very generally played
on Christmas Eve, has been handed down to us from
time immemorial under the name of snap dragon. To our
English readers, this amusement is perfectly familiar, but it is
almost unknown in Scotland, and it seems therefore desirable here
to give a description of the pastime. A quantity of
raisins are deposited in a large dish or bowl. The
broader and shallower this is the better, and brandy or
some other spirit is poured over the fruit and ignited.
The bystanders now endeavor by turns to grasp a raisin
by plunging their hands through the flames and As this
is somewhat of an arduous feat, requiring both courage and
rapidity of action, a considerable amount of laughter and merriment
is evoked at the expense of the unsuccessful competitors. As
an appropriate accompaniment, we introduce here the song of snap Dragon.
Here he comes with flaming bold Don't he mean to
take his toll? Snip snap dragon. Take care you don't
take too much. Be not greedy in your clutch. Snip
snap dragon. With his blue and lapping tongue, many of
you will be stung. Snip snap Dragon, for he snaps
at all that comes snatching at his feast of plums.
Snip snap Dragon. But old Christmas makes him come, though
he looks so fee far fun Snip snap Dragon. Don't
he fear? And but be bold? Out he goes. His
flames are cold. Snip snap Dragon. Whilst the sport of
snap Dragon is going on, it is usual to extinguish
all the lights in the room, so that the lurid
glare from the flaming spirits may exercise to its full
its weird like effect. There seems little doubt that in
this amusement we retain a trace of the fiery ordeal
of the Middle Ages, and also of the druidical fire
worship of a still remoter epoch. A curious reference to
it occurs in the quaint old play of Lingua, quoted
by mister Sands in his work on Christmas. Memory. Oh,
I remember this dish well. It was first invented by
Pluto to entertain Proserpine with all fantastes. I think not
so memory, For when Hercules killed the flaming dragon of
Hesperia with the apples of that orchard, he made this
fiery meat in memory, whereof he named it snap Dragon.
Snap Dragon to personify him has a poor relation or
country cousin who bears the name of flap dragon. This
is a favorite amusement among the common people in the
western counties of England, and consists in placing a lighted
candle in a can of ale or cider and drinking
up the contents of the vessel. This act entails, of course,
considerable risk of having the face singed, and herein lies
the essence of the sport, which may be averred to
be a somewhat more arduous proceeding in these days of
mustoches and long whiskers than it was in the time
of our close shaved grandfathers. End of Christmas Games, snap
Dragon