CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 32, 14 December 1945, Page 16 (Supplement)

CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS

ORIGIN OF THE CUSTOM The custom of giving presents was a feature of the Romans during the Winter festival the Saturnalia. The early Christians made presents to their children on Christinas morning, under the pretence that they were the gift of the Christ Child. There is no country in the civilised world that has not in some form or another the custom of giving presents either at Christmas or around the Christmas season and this age- ' 9 old custom can be traced to the (lawn of history. MAN IN THE MOON A pretty' German legend, in connection with Ch'. v istmas giving Is the: following: One Christies Eve long, long ago, a peasant set out to" steal some cabbages from a neighbour's garden. As be tilled his basket, the Christ Child appeared on a white hor.se and said to him: "Because thou hast stolen on the "holy night of giving, sbou slialt sit in the moon with thy basket of cabbage," which the peasant did immediately and'is doing to this day. VARIOUS NAMES FOR CHRISTMAS The French call tlie holiday Noel 1 or Nowel. The Scotch use the name Yule, and the Scandinavian Jule. tide. The. Welsh call Christmas Nadolig and the Italians call it II Natale \ ' while the Germans call it Weihnachten. In Polish the term Bozc Narodzenie is used, meaning "God's Nativity." The Bohemians and the Croatians say Bozic and the Slovaks Vianoctj. In Spanish, the word Navidad, meaning "Nativity" j.s used. CHRISTMAS CAROLS The practice of singing Christmas carols appears to be almost as; old as the celebration of the day itself. In the first days of the. Church the bishops sang carols on Christmas Day. They recall the songs sung by the angel at the birth of Christ. QUARRELS There is an old saying that if you quarrel or are cross on, Christmas. Day, things will go wrong the whole coming year. CHRISTMAS ISLAND Christmas Island, in the Pacific Ocean is .so named because Captain Cook landed there Christmas- Day J 777.