XMAS SUPERSTITIONS AND 'XMAS CUSTOMS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 62, 27 December 1907, Page 3

XMAS SUPERSTITIONS AND 'XMAS CUSTOMS.

Throughout the world there \s a superstition which giyes to domestic animals an instinctive knowledge qf and reyererjce for Christmas. Horses and cattie in the German Alps aye believed to possess the ' gift of speech upon Christmas Eve, but to play eavesdropper upon them means death before the New Year. According to an Alpine legend a doubting servant once hid in his master's barnloft upon a Christmas Eve to prove to his neighbours ithat they were fools to believe such trash. Upon the stroke of twelve he heard a farm horse say " We shall have hard work to do this day week." " Yes," replied the mate, " the farmer servant is heavy and the way to the church-yard is long and steep." Upon New Year's Day the servant was buried. Rural Russia iet apart the eve before Ghi:istmks fd£ a public pageant. &t s'un'set young and old, forming in procession, march to the homes of local dignitaries serenade In feturi} for this honour- they ejcpept

money. Then follows a masquerade, in which the men imitate cows, pigs, and goats. Upon the appearance of the evening star a supper is spread. It is a sacred feast. The blessed wafer is divided and a small portion is given to each person present, beginning with the patriarch and ending with the children. None dare refuse this rite. At the conclusion of the supper the nobleman of the neighbourhood invites the peasants to behold a gigantic tree, prepared in their honour, and decked with trivial gifts, which at the end of the evening's gaieties are distributed among those present. Christmas celebrations in Peru possess peculiar features. Lima is in the centre of the merrymaking. Gala day costumes are donned, and during the day before Christmas the streets present the appearance of one gigantic fair. Donkeys laden with fruits, evergreen boughs, and liquor swarm the streets. Ice stalls are prepared, where the perspiring merrymakers sit, after too lively exercises, for it is often very warm at Peru, on December 25. Jests and practical jokes reign supreme. 'Masked parties with guitars and mandolins, parade the streets. For the time being all restraint and order are thrown aside. The scene changes at midnight. Chimes from the Cathedral bell summon all citizens to Mass. Houses are deserted, while the churches are crowded with kneeling worshippers. Priests and monks appear, and holy Mass is observed. A second Mass is celebrated at 9 o'clock on Christmas morning. This over, feasts and sport become the order of the day. In Norway and Sweden every mem- j ber of a household must bathe on the day before Christmas. Upon the eve the Bible is read in every Christian home and prayers are said. There is little public celebration. In many villages a candle is placed in the window of each house to guide Kristine, the Northern Santa Claus, upon his way. A pan of meal and a sheaf of wheat upon a pole are placed before each door as offerings to the birds. In Suabia a maiden who wishes to know the appearance of her prospective husband draws a stick at haphazard from aheap of wood on Christmas Eve. As the stick proves long or short, straight or crooked, so shajl the husband be. His occupation can be foretold by dropping hot lead into cold water. As the lead forms an imaginary plane, df- last, or pair of scissors, so he shall be a carpenter, a cobbler, or a tailor. * Countrymen in Poland assert that upon Christmas night the heavens open and the scene of Jacob's ladder is re-enacted- _ To the saints alone, however it is visible. In Austria and parts of Northern Germany food is prepared with greatest delicacy on Christmas Eve and placed upon the tables, in order that the Virgin Mary and the Angel in passing during the night may not be compelled to fast. Austrian peasants also think that wicked men, transformed into wolves, are permitted to prowl the streets and commit depreciations on Christmas night without molestation. Among the 184 general holidays on the calendar of Gregorian Armenians two are especially prominent—Christmas and Easter. Both of these festivals, are extended over three days and both come 12 days after our celebration of the same festivals, owing to difference between the Greek calendar which they reckon by and the Roman- Although their Christmas celebration varies from ours, the preliminaries arg qujte a§ engrossing as those antedating our Christmas or Thanksgiving. In the home the women are unusually busy. All the washing and cleaning is done the week before. The house is made immaculate, the brass or silver trays and spoons brightened until they shine like mirrors, and the hoarded jars of precious sweetmeats with the summer's sunshine and roses, fragrance still prisoned in their translucent depths, are brought from under lock and key.

Then comes the concoction of the luscious sweets for which the Armenian housewives are deservedly famous, and which they consider too important to be entrusted to the unskilful care of servants. The whole house is filled with the commingled perfumes of honey and sesame, fruits and flowers, and the small boy can scarce possess his youthful soul and appetite in patience. Then, all thjngs being in readiness, the whole family go to the piil}lic bath —the father and gV-own boys one day, the women and phildren the next —and with spotless house, immaculate Jirien, and shining countenances they await the holiday. On Christmas evening the father buys a dojsen candles such as are used in the Gregorian churches. These are about the thickness of a lead pencil, but a little longer, and are fastened about the edges of the dining-table, held in position by their own wax. The family now gather together, the father in the place of honour, the divan, with the table set in front of him, while the family group themselves about it, seated on rugs. The candles are lighted, and the Christmas speech made by the father, who times his remarks with the burning of the candles. In til is avUiitai speech the story of Christ's birth and childhood is told, with great emphasis laid upon his filial obedience, as a salutary lesson for the children, whose mouths water for the coming feast, but whose eyes, watch anxiously for the out of the candles. Wheu the' last taper is ana the last W>raj ppintecl, all fall to —albeit very decorously—upofl the lugcjoys viands.