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Speaker 1: Myths and legends of Christmas dight by Bertha f Herrick

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lo now is comer joyful feast. Let every man be jolly,

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Each room with ivy leaves is dressed, and every post

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with holly. Now all their neighbour's Jimmy smoke and Christmas

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blocks are burning their rovens. They with baked milk choke,

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and all their spits are turning. The celebration of Christmas,

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which was considered by the Puritans to be adolatrous, has

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for many centuries been so universal that it may prove

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of interest to contrast the rites, ceremonies, and quaint beliefs

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of foreign lands with those of matter of fact, America.

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Many curious customs live on in tradition, but it is

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surprising to find what singular superstitions still exists among credulous classes,

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even in the light of the twentieth century. In certain

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parts of the England, the peasantry formerly asserted that on

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the anniversary of the Nativity, oxen knelt in their stalls

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at midnight, the supposed hour of cross Berth, while in

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other localities these were said to sing in their hives

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and subterranean bells to ring a merry Peal. According to

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legends of ancient Britain, cocks crew lustily all night on

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December twenty fourth to scare away witches and evil spirits,

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and in Bavaria some of the countrymen made frequent and

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apparently aimless trips in their sledges to cause the hemp

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to grow thick and tall. In many lands there is

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still expressed the beautiful sentiment that the gates of Heaven

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stead wide open on Christmas Eve, and that he whose

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soltakes flight during its hallied hours arrived straightway at the

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Throne of Grace. A time honored custom in Norway and

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Sweden is that of fastening a sheaf of wheat to

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a long pole on the barn or top house for

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the Widesburs holiday year, and in Holland, the young men

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of the towns sometimes bear a large silver star through

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the snowy streets, collecting alms from pedestrians for the helpless

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or the aged sick. Russia has no Santa Claus or

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Christmas Tree, although the festival is celebrated by church services

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and by ceremonies similar to those of Allohin in some

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of the villages in Wales, a Christmas pudding is boiled

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for each of the disciples, the exception of Judas, and

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in rural districts of Scotland, bread baked on Christmas Eve

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is said to indefinitely retain its freshness. The Fatherland is

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the home of the Christmas Tree, which is thought to

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be symbolical of the Tree of the Knowledge of good

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and evil in the Garden of Eden, and candles were

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first choosed to tip the power of Christianity over the

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darkness of Paganism, being sometimes arranged in a triangular form

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to represent the Trinity. Pines and firs being unattainable in

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the tropical islands of the Pacific, the White residents sometimes

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cut down a fruit tree, such as an orange or graava,

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or actually manufacturer a tree from wood, covering the bare,

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stiff boughs with clinging vines or evergreen. In the Holy

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Land at this season, the place of greatest interest is

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naturally the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem, erected on

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the supposed location where Crust was born. It is said

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to be the oldest Christian church in existence, having been

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built more than fifteen centuries ago by the Empress Elena,

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mother of Constantine. Repairs were made later by Edward the

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fourth of England, but it is now again fast falling

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into decay. The roof was originally composed of cetdar of Lebanon,

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and the walls were studded with precious jewels, while numerous

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lamps of silver and gold were suspended from the rafters.

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The Greeks, Latins and Armenians now claim joined possession of

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the structure and jealously guard its sacred precincts. Immediately beneath

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the navel, the cathedral is a commodious marble chamber constructed

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over the spot where the far famed table was said

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to have stood, and reached by a flight of stone

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steps worn smoothed by the tread and kisses of multitudes

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of worshippers. The manger is represented by a marble slab,

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a couple of feet in height, decorated with tinsel and

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blue satin, and marked at the head with a chiseled

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star bearing above its the inscription in Latin here was

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Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary. The foot are

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several altars on which incense is kept burning and from

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which mass is conducted, while a score of hanging lamps

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shed a fitful light over the apartment. Many theories have

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been advanced as to the explanation of the mysterious star

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in the east which guided the wandering shepherds, but it

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is now thought to have been Venus. At the height

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of the splendor, the only Christians decorated their churches with

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evergreens out of respect to the passage of scripture in Isaiah.

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The glory of Lebanon should come unto thee, the fir tree,

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the pine tree, and the box together to beautify the

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place of my sanctuary. And the Pagans believe them to

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be omens of good, as the spirits of the woods

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remained in their branches. Holly is known in Germany and

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Scandinavia as Christ's thorn, and is emblematic everywhere of cheerfulness, forgiveness,

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peace on earth, and goodwill to men. The oak, mistletoe

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or missile was held in high veneration by the ancient Druids, who,

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regarding its parasitic character as a miracle and its over

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green nature as a symbol of immortality, were shipped in

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their temples and used it as a panacea for the

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physical ailments of their followers. When the moon was six

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days old. The bunches were ceremoniously cut with a golden

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sickle by the chief priest of the order, and received

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with care into the spotless robes of one of the company,

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for if they fell to then unholy ground, their virtues

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were considered lost. Then crowned with oak leaves, and singing

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songs of thanksgiving, they bore the branches in solemn procession

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to the altars, where to white ocksen were sacrificed to

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the gods. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe dates

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back to the days of Scandinavian mythsthology, when the god

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of Darkness shot his rival, the immortal Apoll of the North,

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with an arrow made from its boughs, but the supposed

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victim being miraculously restored to life. The mistletoe was given

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into the keeping of the Goddess of Affection as a

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symbol of love and not of death. To those who

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passed beneath it. A berry was required to be picked

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with every kiss and presented to the maiden as a

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sign of good fortune, the privilege seizing while all the

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berries were gathered. One of the most beautiful legends of

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the Black Forest in Germany is that of the origin

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of the chrysanthemum or christ flower. On a dark, stormy

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Christmas Eve, a poor charcoal burner was wending its way

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homeward through the deep snow drifts under the pine trees,

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with a loaf of coarse black bread and the peas

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of goat's milk cheese as contributions to the holy they cheer. Suddenly,

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during a brief lull in the tempest, he heard a

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low wailing cry, and, searching patiently, at length, discovered a

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benumbed and half clad child, but little more than an

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infantine ears or sighs wrapping him. Snugling his cloak, he

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hurried onward toward the Hummel cottage, from which rays of

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light streamed cheerfully through the uncurtained windows. The good house.

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Muta sat before the fire with her little ones, anxiously

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awaiting her husband's return, and when the poor frozen wave

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was placed upon her knee, her heart overflowed with compassion,

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and before long he was comfortably warmed and fed. While

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the children vied with each other in displaying the attractions

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of the pretty fir tree with its tiny colored tapers

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and papered ornaments. All at once a mist appeared, enveloping

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the timid stranger. A halo formed around his brow, and

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two silvery wings sprang magically from his shoulders, gradually rising

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higher and higher. He finally disappeared from sight, his hands

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hat spread in benediction, while the terror stricken family fell

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upon their knees, crossing themselves and murmuring in awestruck's whispers

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the Holy Christ Child. The next morning, the father found

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on the bleak, called spotward the child ad the lane

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a lovely blossom of dazzling white, which he bore reverently

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homeward and named the Chrysanthemum, or flower of Christ. In

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each succeeding festival season, some starved and neglectic orphan was

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bidden to his frugal board in memory of the time

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when he entertained an angel unawares. In merry England, Christmas

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was the chief event of the entire year, and sometimes

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celebrate for nearly a month. The tables of the wealthy

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litterally groaned with plenty, but the poor, with other gates,

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were not forgotten for all Christmas account for to keep

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up in house it scorn to be guilty of starving

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and mouse. During the reign of Elizabeth. The boar's head

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was the favorite holiday dish, and was served with mustard,

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then a rare and costly condiment, and decorated with bay

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leaves and with rosemary, which was said to strengthen the memory,

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to clear the brain, and to stimulate affection. Boys were

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originally sacrificed to the Scandinavian gods of peas and plenty,

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and many oaths were composed in their honor. That remarkable

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compound known as west Sail was compounded of warm ale

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or wine, sweetened with sugar and flavored with spices, and

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bearing upon its surface floating bits of toast and roasted

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crabs and apples. The huge bowl gaily the created with ribbons,

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was passed from hand to hand around the table, each

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guest taking a portion of its content is a sign

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of joviality and good fellowship. But the triumph of the

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pastry cook sart was the rare minced pie, the use

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of which is of great antiquity. The shape was formerly

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a narrow oblong representing the celebrated mange or a bath lamb,

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and the fruits and spices of which it was composed

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were a symbolic of those that the wise men of

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the Orient brought as offerings to their new born king,

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while the partake of such a pie was considered a

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proof that the Ita was a Christian and not a Jew.

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All sorts of games were immensely popular with the English,

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whether king or serf, aristocrat or poper, merchant or apprentice,

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a Christmas gamboled off a could cheer the poor man's

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hearth through hot year. Everyone has heard of the matchless

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Lord of Misrule, also known as the abbotow Unreason and

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master of married dispots, who attended by his more court

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king's gesture and grotesquely masked revelers, visited the castles of

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laws and princes to entertained them with strange antics and

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a prairie's merriment. His reign lasted until twelfth Night, during

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which period he was treated as became a genuine monarch,

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being feted and feasted with all his train, and having

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absolute authority over individuals and state affairs. The great event

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of the evening after the holiday feast was the bringing

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in of the famous Yule log, which was often the

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entire route of the tree. Much ceremony and rejoicing attending

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this performance, as it was considered lucky to help pull

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the rope. It was lighted by a person with freshly

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washed hands with a brand saved from the last year's fire,

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and was never allowed to be extinguished, as the witches

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would then come down the chimney. The presence of a

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barefootage or crossied individual, or of a woman with flat

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feet was thought to foretell misfortune for the comingue. The

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games of nap Dragon and hot Cockles are supposed to

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be relics either of the ordeal by fire or of

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the days of the ancient fire worshippers. The former consists

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of snatching raisin from the bowl of burning brandy or alcohol,

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and the latter of taking frantic bites at a red

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apple revolving rapidly upon a pivot in alternation with a

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lighted taper. Christmas carols are commemorative of the Angel's song

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to the shepherds on the plains of Bethlem and are

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seldom heard in America save by the surplused choirs of

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the episcopal churches. The English waits or serenaders, who sang

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under the squire's windows in hopes of receiving a Christmas

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box unconsciously add the touch of romance and pictureque ness

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to the association of the season. For upon the frost

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evening air arose such strain as a awake glad heart,

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arise and sing, it is the birthday of thy King

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or God dressed. You marry, gentlemen, that nothing you dismay

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for Jesus Christ, our Savior, was born upon this day.

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Most of the old time favorites are too well known

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for repetition. The mere mention of their names recalls the

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scent of evergreens, the peeling of the organ, the tinkle

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of slight bells, and the music of the Christmas chimes. Hark,

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the herald angels sing while shepherds watch their flocks by night.

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Gloria in Excelsis, and many others embody the very spirit

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of the season, and will live till times she'll cease

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to be sing the song of great Joy that the

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angels began singing, of glory to God and of good

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will to man, while joining in chorus. The heavens bend

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over us. The dark night is ending and dawn has begun.

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And of myths and legends of Christmas Tide by Bertha F.

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Herrick