HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1912-12-19, Page 7Xgt (lit vdSba444>e ea0'•
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FGl' THE HOUSE
" AND TABLE
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r8est®ewe tato aoa(7a7fWoe. asooeee
It is a pig that the jolly euatvm
of welcoming the Christmas tree
into the hairs° with great ceremony
and merrymaking hue fallen into
disuse. Our groat -great-grand-
fathers, we ere 'bOk!, set out sever -
id days before Christmas tw•i,ri,d
Old Dobbin, who kicked up his
heels, frivoleuely, flinging back
soft feathers of snow onto else sleigh
full of noisy youngsters, to hew
.down a etau•dy evergreen that was
hauled home and intd the huge
kitchen in great state. Now, alae,
we have no Old Dobbins, nor troops
of youngetere, nor forests of evtr-
reons around the corner. Su the
•ocery boy emuggles our 11nt-r.ize
Christmas tree inbo the basement,
land on Christmas eve fate- and
mother work till midnight trimming
it, while wistful Willie and lunging
Lucy peer over the balustrade un-
til sent back to bed.
Even if you prefer that the chil-
dren first behold the tree only in
all its glittering, bedizened giury,
let bhem help a little in decorating
the house, and even in fashiceing
little trinkets that will help eat in
trimming up the tree. Kindergar-
ten beads, that may be bought fur
five and ten cents a box, in all the
bright colors, when strung en lien
wire, are an effective dco.•ratiav
that little fingers may make. All
manner of tiny lanterns May be nut
off from gilt colored paper, and
nuts may be gilded and tied with
gilt cord so that they can be sus-
pended from the tree.
When one does not feel like
spending a great deal on the expen-
sive, tinsel baubles with which to
trim a tree, there are•numerous lit -
41e home-mado articles that will an-
swer every purpose. Dolls made of
tissue paper and dolls made from
cotton batting •wall delight the little
tots. The latter are tied into shape]
with red wool, and have quaint lit-
tle faces inked on. Snowy popcorn
fastened to the ends of the tree
twigs with a pin through each ker-
nel; makes the treelook as though
it were bursting into little blossoms.
In decorating the house with
wreaths and holly and other Christ-
mas greens, you will find that mas-
sing the trim will produce better
effects than scattering epraya and
bunches about aimlessly. Remove
all the small ornaments from tho
mantel (shelf, for instance, and fill
two big vases or jars with twigs
of holly. II there is a picture
above the mantel, carry a rope of
laurel about the frame, and if it is
an oval frame, or mirror, perhaps,
cross the laurel at the top and let
the ends fall to the corners of the
mantel
Bay windows adapt themselves
beautifully to graceful decoration.
One attractive manner is to hang
s wreath in the center of each win-
dow, and outline the side draper-
ies with laurel which should extend
across the top of the windows also.
Strands of laurel used to drape
beak portiere or curtains add a gala
touch. W.•eaths hung at regular
intervals from the balustrade of the
stairway by wide red ribbons will
brighten the hall wonderfully, A
simple treatment for the dining -
room is to :41,a rope of laurel about
the plate rail, carrying it up over
the doors and windows. Wreaths
of laurel hung on the walls in each
space left by the doors and windows
will add greatly to the effect.
The Christmas dinner table, af-
fords unlimited opportunity for
parrying out clever ideas, that
range from the simple pyramid of
polished fruit rising from a wreath
of greens, to the representation of
folly old Kris Kringle alighting on
a snow-covered root atter' his rein-
s toys.
teased up like a. tiny
lana with prodigious cot
whiskers and ample cotton
girth beneath a scarlet coat makes
an amusing centerpiece when seat-
ad on a little sleigh almost buried
an oaten snow, generously sprink-
led with diamond dust. Ab each
plane a cardboard sleigh filled with
green and red candles would be
pretty and the red candles might
have ah'ades cut from red cardboard
in the shape of bells.
A groat deal can be done with
crepe paper, which comes printed
with an all-over design in holly,
with St. l'icholae flying over the
now in his sleigh, with big wreaths
of holly, or sprays of poinsettia,
with red and gold. Christmas bells,
and in trany other appropriate de -
A., rely successful table that had
the holly -wreath paper draped.
about the edge so that the table
seemed to be encircled with hang -
bag wreaths, had for a coneerp'ece
n groat bunch of white carnations
with a holly wreath around the bot-
tom of the vase. At eaoh place the
plate rotted on a doily that lied
been. made by cutting out rhe
wreathe from the paper. Crepe
palet was also used for the eandle •
shades, It wens first mounted an
heavy paper, lined with red tisane
ginner, and strips about five inches
Vide lmad i:n plai is ouou>rb We foram
deers and pack
A dull
Santa
la full sheds. Red ribbon was run
through the top to hold these plaits
in place.
A iu'ctty der trimming for the
center of the table was• arranged
with the aid of a hoop suspended
from the chandelier. The hoop was
wound with tinfoil and a perfect
Shower r of silver tofell from it
6' fi Mars r ,
held by fine wires. The star mo-
tive was easily carried out in the
almond cups, the candle e�hadea,
the shape of the bread and butter,
the ealad with its stars of red •beets,
and the candies and nuts served
on plates with etar-shaped doilies.
If the children are to have a lit-
tle table to themselves on Christ -
mus Day, or if they are given a
holiday party, they aro sure to be
delighted with the following decor-
ation, Build a good-sized mound
of cotton in the center of the table
to stimulate a rugged hill, sprink-
ling it plentifully with mina. Bits
of twigs from the Christmas tree
will serve for tiny trees. Dress
small dolls in plain little scarlet
coats, set scarlet caps --formed of
two triangular pieces stitched to-
gether—rakishly on their heads,
and fasten them in grotesque posi-
tions onto little sleds, upon which
they appear to be coasting down
hill. The candles should be inclos-
ed in black matboard, and the
shades, with a little trouble may be
made from the matboard and red
tissue paper, so that they look like
old-fashioned lamp poste.
A simpler iui'ea is the use of lit-
tle red stockings for decoration.
These may be festooned about the
edge of the table and hung from a
hoop wound with laurel suspended
over the table. Little doll's stock-
ings at each place night contain
odd gifts for each child.
r-a•.u.q-«e.nasus..p.r......a••aur,•«a,«•.«•,a^a••«.q,.
EASILY i IAN PR 8 Nf 3
N a-.1 M,a.ra. a••a-1-a •«---a•.-..^wJ a •.e..«..e.
sI At a cost of ten cones each you
can make a little jewel bag, a leve-
;
ly rib�byn card case, a dainty pin-
cushion cover, a email treasure oag
of white led. for "rings and things,"
I two sets of baby cap strings, rib -
!bon talcum box cover, ribbon cover
for medicine glass or a baby's silk
beanbag. You may make them fur
practically nothing, if you happen
to have some new bits of handker-
chief linen, scraps of chamois skin,
small lengths of ribbon, some bits
of lace beading, and narrow edg-
ing, and a few hours time in which
to put them together. They will
neither look like, nor be, "10 cent"
gifts when done, for each will be a
dainty, handmade piece of needle-
work that would cost a purchaser
in the store five times the clime out-
lay
ut
lay you make for mere materials. tended. Run a narrow and dainty
To begin with the jewel bag : It hem around the edges. Divide the
is to be made out of handkerchief lace into fourths and gather on,
linen, and a piece 3 by 6 inches (or being sure to leave plenty of full- Roast Turkey
two three inch pieces), and chamois ness at the corners. This will be Mashed Potatoes Cranberries
skin equal in size will be needled. an unusually fine and sheer little String. Beans
If you already have such pieces cushion cover. Lettuce Salad
there will be nothing new for you Two nice little ring or jewel bags
to buy for the jewel case but one
and one -'fourth yards of narrow 4
cent white wash ribbon with wthich
to draw it tap.
Calls for Careful Sewing.
Be sure that no way of distribut-
ing the Christmas gifts will ever
produce quite the same amount of
mirth and mystery as the time-hon-
ored method of clapping a flowing
beard onto Father or Uncle Bill,
upholstering him with all the pil-
lows in the house, smothering him
in a red suit trimmed with eider-
down and slinging over his shoul-
der a huge bag overflowing with
packages.
A snow man may also be depend-
ed upon to send the • children off
into ecstacios of glee, and add to
the general hilarity of tho occa-
sion. Make him a loose suit of
white cotton batting, and a mask
of the same. He should wear white
gloves and an old stove pipe hat
perched perilously- on his cotton
hair, and should bo sprinkled lib-
erally with diamond dust. Suggest
that he display his histrionic abili-
ties, even in so humble a role as
snowman, and hia stiff, 'awkward-
ness should insure his howling sue -
0059.
A pretty way to indicate whore
the gifts of each member of the
family may be found is to place a
card bearing'the name and greet-
ings within a wreath of holly, from
which a long satin ribbon •falls to
the pile of gifts on the table or
floor below. •
A jolly way bo distribute the pre-
sents is to have some one fish them
nue of a huge stocking that has
been made from red cambric and
trimmed with holly, and into which
all the gifts have .been put as they
were sent to the 'rouse, or as they
were finished by members of the
family. A big box covered with
crepe paper and made festive with
wreaths or holly will answer.
A clever woman surprised the
family on Christmas morning by
throwing open the library door, and
disclosing any number of little gifts
that appeared to be hanging by
slender threads from the ceiling. A
glance upward showed the same
number of red and green toy ba -
loons, clinging snugly Co the ceil-
ing and holding aloft the little
packages.
as .
On Christmas Day«
A Christmas gift, 0 Lord—
Some fiery vision,
Not drowsy promises
Of fields Elysian.
It was but now we came
Out of the jungle;
And, how can beasts contrive
Save botch and bungle'1
Since half is still the beast
And hall is human
Sorrow must follow hard
On man and woman.
Bat let Thy kindness thrill
Through hateful places;
Our wicked streets are paved
With baby faces—
For those, Thy little once,
Strew Christmas graces;
Let each ono have a toy,
Forget not any
And think upon their tears—
The sad too many!
For their sake come once more
Down to Thy Manger,
Once more drive from thy church
The money changer,
Again where all may see
Die for us, Master:
Because we 0hrinlr ten meth
From death's disaster.
Master, once more die Thottt
And show us how.
stitch serves these hems on the right b fetch; ens «;{;enrol: •:teeth•a.f a:pf,ea•it ei
side. y pulling a thread on each of the OaasW®meaea�aaroarAga►p�o�omlemMste �.«
tour sides as a.guide The soallope
Now find the exact middle of the must, of eounso,' be padded before
piece of ribbon, and fold back oath. working. An initial in the noruer iv1 lzRt OLDE
oral two and o,le-half iuehes, which will add to the gm. Those head- er": srtaeseleea�er .atraet etttette:
will leave a space mud one-half inch kerchiefs cost from t5 cents to t(2 Plum Pudding. — The same pro- ¢+r,
ENGLAND ,tt r1k
bettvoto. Whip kto loaned edges when bought in the stereo.
portions of four and suet and half along the sides uuutle .together, aid;
the pretty yard easy is dune. Place the quantity of fruit, with r.pivu, ,«;:f,«,;.�«��;• leap$-.. h•�li•a'd-',«afa•y;.a.ltl
lemon, a glass of, wine, or not, and
in it your tailing enrol with "Christ CJLR1S1'31AS DINNER.the is certain that very early as
one egg and milk, wit make au
was Greetings. Christian era n,rntgli was
Frurn a four inch square "left A Few Simple Menus Which Will bo excellent pudding if lung boiled. celebrated fn Britain, mingling fs
over" piece or handkerchief linen Found l setup. A°�?ther.—Lay a pound of beef its festivities some of the winter
and less than a yard of narrow lace Tomato Soup• Croutons soot n lumps the size of nutmegs
festival customs of the ancient for
at about 6 or 8 cents a yard, a love-' Celery lativee in a basin, half a pound of raisins, tons and the Roman invaders, foA
ly pincushion cover can be made. Roast Chicken a Large spoonfirl of fine sugar, tracts of those celebrations are
Measure about one inch in all Cranberry Sauce
around from the four edges of the potato Croquettes Spinach of flour and a glees of brandy. Tzo
linen, draw the threads and hem- Grapefruit Wafers a wet cloth, doubled and well flour.
stitch with flue thread No. 200. Then Cheesy Crackers Coffee' over the basin. Put it into a
pot of water that boils veryfast g
again draw threads one-half inch h d
in around all edges and again hem- Baked Young G<xase and move it about dor some min- 1 f
stitch. The corners will truss. This Baked Bananas utes. Boil five or six hours.
will leave a space in the middle of Moiled Onions Mashed Potatoes Another, Light. — Mix grated
about one and one-half inches, in y bread, suet, and seeded raisins,
Celer and Apple SaladChristendom to be universally cele-
whiehyou can embroider the inti- 1 fear ounces each, with two well
Plum Pudding brated with every mark of rejoice.
se
al of the friend fur whom it is in- Wafers Cheese Coffee Candy beaten eggs, three or four spoon ing. On the adoption of a new eye•
taps of milk and a little salt. Bud
four hours. A spoonful of brandy,
sugar and nutmeg, in melted but-
ter, may be served as sauce. Anglican churches retained the co -
English Plum Pudding.
. —Mix toleration of Christmas and other
suet, raisins, and currants, one festivals which Calvinists rejected
pound each, four ounces of crumbs
PUDDINGS
three eggs, a spoonful and a half still seen in some of the Christmas
customs of modern times.
The ancient Goths and Saxons
called their festival Yule. Through-
out
hroe h-
out the middle ages and down to
the reformation the festival o •
Christmas ingrafted on the pagan
rites of Yule continued throughout
Cream of Celery Soup
Celery Olives
As the bag is so small and the
Christmas Pudding
of white kid can be made for only Coffee Nuta Raisins Candies
tho price of a 4 cent No, 1 yard of
ribbon with which to draw it up, if Oyster Soup Wafers
you have a discarded pair of cream Celery Olives
elbow length kid gloves just home Baked Turkey, Giblet Sauce
from the cleaners. Measure down Cranberry Sauce
Sweet and White Potatoes
Creamed Onions
Tomato Jelly on Lettuce Leaves
French Dressing
Suet Pudding Cider Sauce
Coffee Nuts Raisins
seven inches from the tops of the
materials so fine the stitches must
gloves. From this point cut dia.gon-
' be daintily put in. French.fell the ally up and out to the sides, form -
pieces of linen together around ing a deep V shaped end. This will
three sides and run a hem at the be the (bottom of the bag. Around
top wide enough to carry a number the top cut openings at regular in-
tervals through which to run the
ribboneach way for drawing the
bag open or shut. Tie the ends of
the ribbon together in pretty bows,
and with embroidery silk to match
the ribbon in color buttonhole
around the top and bottom pointed
edges as a decorative finish. Any
one will be glad to receive such a
dainty and useful gift.
one ribbon. Make the hem only
one-fourth that width. if beading
and lace are to be sewed on as a
finish cut the chamois a little smal-
ler, so that it will fit inside the lin-
en bag easily. With white emoroid-
ery silk carefully buttonhole three
sides of the chamois together and
finish the tap tdge all around in
like manner. About half an inch
below this buttonholed edge of the
chamois skin clip little interstices
through which to ran the opposite
rows of narrow ribbon for drawing
it up, tying a small bow at each side
as a finish.
The top of the linen bag may be
simply finished by sewing on an
edge of narrow lace, running a row
of .white silk feather stitching over
the hem through which the wash
ribbon is run in opposite directions,
the ends being either tied in small
bows or left long to go around the
neck. Or, a more festive appear-
ance may be obtained by running
the ribbon through lace beading,
edged in lace, sewed around the
top of the hem. Instead of the fea-
ther stitching, if you prefer, em-
broider the initials or monogram
daintily in white silk on the center
of the jewel bag. This will give it
an individual touch.
Card Case Quickly Made.
Then Mare is a lovely ribbon card
case which any one oan make for
10 cents or less in ten minutes by
the clock. Twelve inches of some
pretty flowered ribbon at a quarter
a yard will be all that is needed.
Carefully blind stitch a small hero
-at each end of the ribbon and using
embroidery silk to match some
bright color in the ribbon, feather
Bean Bags Easily Made.
Children delight in bean bags,
and two 5 cent 'balls of mercerized
crochet cotton will crochet an en-
tire bean bag. Bright red pleases
children, or alternate stripes of red
and black make a .pretty bag when
Oyster Cocktail
Consomme Montmorency
Pulled Bread
Olives Celery Salted Pecans
Roast Goose Chestnut Stuffing
Frozen Cider Punch
Baked Stuffed Potatoes
Glazed Onions
Grape Fruit Salad.
English Plum Pudding Hard Sauce
Wafers Cream Cheese Cafe Noir
Grapefruit
Fish Cutlets Cream Sauce
Baked Goose Gooseberry Sauce
Before sewing. Hominy Croquettes Sprouts
crocheted together.
g. Apple Salad in Apple Shells Wafers
it up line the bag with strong cam- Plum Pudding Indian Sauce
brie, silk, or eatin in corresponding Cheese Croquettes Coffee Bon Bons
colors to give it added strengeh as
well as to prevent the beans from
coning through.
If a sixth gift must be provided,
and one has the necessary time to cores from large apples and fill up
spare, one of the new scalloped with mince meat, adding a little
edged handkerchiefs oan be made water and sugar. Bake slowly un -
for 15 or 20 cents from one-fourth til the apples are tender. These
yard of handkerchief linen, accord-' should be served hot, and may
ing to the quality. Out of this one -
have a ' htables
fourth yard two handkerchiefs may poonful of meringue,
be cut. It is not necessary to pay,' browned quickly in the oven, plea -
even to have the scallops stamped, ed on the top and sprinkled lightly
for a ten cent piece may be used for I with chopped nuts.
the outer edge of the scallops and Candy pries.—Fill with nuts the
a five cent pisco for the inner. apples from which the cores have
A little Russian "kopec" is bet- been removed. Dip in a syrup of
ter, if you have it, for the outer 5ugar and water which has been
edge,and the ten cent piece for boiled until it is crisp, fasten on
the inner, making the scallops smal- skewers and let harden. The chil-
ler in size. Any one can mark off dren will be delighted with these
the scallops with a pencil, but first simple, wholesome sweets.
be sure that the handkerchief isI Peanut hisses.—Shell a half pint
cut absolutely straight, or the re- of peanuts, removing the brown
suit will be bad. This can bo done skins, and chop or roll rather fine.
Beat the whites of four eggs to a
stiff froth, but not dry. Add care-
fully two cups of granulated sugar,
stir in the nuts and drop by tea-
spoonfuls on oiled paper. Bake in
moderate oven until a golden
brown.
Ch000lato Caramel Walnuts.
Beat the white of one egg slightly,
and add three tablespoonfuls of
maple or caramel syrup, one table-
spoonful of water, about two
squares of chocolate, melted over
hot water, one teaspoonful of va-
n•i is extract, and sifted confection-
er's sugar, as needed. Work with
a silver plated knife and knead un-
til thoroughly mixed, ,then break
off small pieces and roll them into
balls, flattening them into patties
and setting a half of an English
walnut on top of each.
Paneelia—Put four cups of brown
sugar, one cup of milk and two
ounces' of butter over the fire and
stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Boil until the mixture forms a soft
ball when dropped into cold water.
Add one-half pint of pecan nuts,
and stir until it begins to thicken.
Then turn quickly into a shallow
greased pan, and when cold ant in
ogitaves. 4.
CHRISTMAS CANDIES.
Apple a la ltlode.—Remove the
TWO NAUGHTY DOGS.
Tack one day put down his plate. But he looked still more and more
"Pudding'e hot,"
he said, Ill As he sat upon the floor;
wait. And his doggies, Spot and Pup,
Here's toy pretty picture -book —. Gobbled all his peeler ng upl
I'll lhove time Tar .jurat one look,"
flow to Do It.
"I want to surprise you this
Christmas," said he.
"Well," replied she, "you can;
by baying me exactly what if toll
you I want."
Tho Lesser Evil.
"1!forcy, do ereu allow your hus-
band to entoko 1..m the house 1"
"Well, if I didn't let him smoke,
he'd fume, and that would be a
good deal worse,"
Sure of It.
I'm sure there is a Santa Claus,
My mind no doubting fills,
I know he is real because
1 have to pay his bilis.'
tem of faith by most of the north-
ern nations of Europe in the six-
teenth century the Lutheran and
of ;bread, two tablespoonfuls of
sugar, one ditto of grated lemon
peel, half a nutmeg, a small blade
of mace, a teaspoonful of ginger,
and six well beaten eggs. Boil it
five hours.
Black Cap Pudding.—Rub three
tablespoonfuls of flour, smooth by
degrees into a pint of milk, strain
it and simmer it over the fire un -
absolutely, denouncing the observ-
ance of all such days except Sun-
day, as superstitious and unscrip-
tural.
Alfred Set Twelve Days.
During the reign of Alfred the
Great a law was passed in relation
to holidave, by virtue of which the
twelve days after the Nativity of
our Saviour were sot apart for the
til it thickens; stir in two ounces celebration of the Christmas festi-
of butter; when cool add the yolks val. Some writers are of the opin-
ed four eggs beaten and strained ion that but for Alfred's strict ob-
and hall a pound of currants, wash- servants of the "full twelve holy
ed and picked. Put the batter into days" he would not have been de -
a cloth well buttered, tie at tight,
and plunge it into boiling water,
keep it, in motion for about five min-
utes that it may be well mixed.
Suet Pudding.—Shred a pound
of sunt, mix with a pound and a
quarter of flour, two eggs beaten
separately, a little salt, and as lit-
tle milk as will make it. Boil it
four hours. It eats well next day,
cut in slices and broiled. The out-
ward fat of loins or necks of mut-
ton, finely shred, makes a more
delicate pudding than suet, and
both are Ear better for the purpose
than butter, which causes the pud-
ding to be black and close.
Pudding Ilints.—All boiled pud-
dings should be put on in boiling
water, which must not be allowed
to stop simmering, and the pudding
must always he covered with the
water ; if requisite the saucepan
should be kept filled up. To pre-
vent a pudding boiled in a cloth
from sticking to the bottom of the
saucepan place a small plate or
saucer underneath it; if a mold is
used this precaution is not neces-
sary, but care must be taken to
keep the pudding well covered with
water. For dishing a boiled pud-
ding as soon es it comes out of the
pot, dip it into a basin of cold
water, end the cloth will then not
adhere to it. Great expedition is
necessary in sending puddings to
table, as, by standing, they quickly
become heavy, batter puddings par-
ticularly. For' baked or boiled pud-
dings the molds, cups, or basins
should be always buttered before
the mixture is put in them, and they
should be put into the saucepan di-
rectly they are filled.
Baking Puddings.—Try setting
pudding pan in double meat roast-
er with just a little water in bot-
tom; cover and bake. It -bakes per-
fectly and does not stick to pan.
Graham Pudding.—One and a
quarter cupfuls of graham flour, "In ,the hall, the serf and vassal
one-fourth cupful of white flour, Held, that night, their Christmas
one -hall cupful of molasses, one wassail;
egg, one cupful of raisins, one-half Many a carol, old and saintly,
cupful of sour milk, one teaspoonful Sang the mistrels and the waits."
soda, salt and spices to taste.
Steam two hours, serve with pud-
ding sauce.
Christmas Pudding.—One pound
of finely chopped beef suet, one
pound of good currants, one pound
of seeded raisins, one pound light
brown sugar, ono -half pound flour,
three-fourths pounds stale bread
crumbs, one pound mixed candied
peal chopped fine, eight eggs, a
wine -glass of milk or brandy, ten
ounces of chopped almonds, two tea-
spoonfuls of mixed spices. Mix
suet, currants, raising, sugar, our,
and bread crumbs together; add the
well beaten eggs with milk or
brandy, then the spice and al-
monds; let stand twelve hours, then
place in a well greased meld and
steam eight hours. Or it may be
divided in snfallor puddings and
cooked in proportion. This pudding
will keep for a •whole ,year and int
improves witheage. A good brandy
sauce to eat witib it is the follow-
ing: Half cupful of fresh butter,
two eupfuls of powdered sugar, one
wine glasseof brandy, one teaapoon-
ful of mixed cinnamon and mace.
Warm butler slightly, work in
sugar, and when light add spice
and brandy, beat hard, shape in a
mold, and set in a cool place until
needed.
feated by the Danes in 878, for it
is charged that his enjoyment of the
festivities of Christmas hindered
him from preparing for the battle.
We find that in 961 King Edgar
celebrated the Christmas festival
with .great splendor at York, and
in 1013 Ethelred kept his Christmas
with the brave citizens of London
who had defended the capital with
a siege and stoutly resisted Swegen,
the tyrant king of the Danes.
Edward the Confessor, it is not-
ed, celebrated the first Christmas
festival of his coronation with groat
rejoicing, and in 1066 on Christ-
mas day, William the Conqueror
was crowned King of England at
Westminster. The Norman kings
and nobles who now became rulers
of England, displayed their taste
for 'magnificence in the most re-
markable manner at their corona-
tions, tournaments and their eels•
brations of Christmas, Easter and
Whitsuntide.
Minstrels Made Merry.
At the Christmas feast minstrels
played on varioue musical instru-
ments during dinner, and sang or
told tales afterwards, both in the
hall and in the chamber to which
the king and his nobles retireedfor
amusement, Thus it is written of
a court minstrel:
"Before the King he set him down,
And took his harp of merry sound;
And, as he full well can,
Many merry notes he began."
In 1067 the Conqueror kept as
gran.d Christmas in London, her.-
ing invited a number of the Saxon
chiefs to participate, and also
caused a proclamation to be read in
all the churches declaring it to be
his will that "all the citizens of
London should enjoy their national
laws as in the days of King Ed-
ward."
The Usual Result.
"What do you want for _Christ-
mas this year, Mint" asked hire
wife.
"I don't know," he replied.
"All right," she saki. "I'll got
you eotrtetlung Tar tho house."
Puritans Barred Gayety.
Thus for a long time all the suc-
ceeding rulers observed with great
ceremony the coming of Christmas,
until in 1644 when an ordinance
was pissed decreeing ,that Christ-
mss day should bo observed as a.
feast instead of a festival; and that
the workaday world should not
cease from its labors. Preaching
in churches was proscribed, the
hanging of Christmas greens pro-
hibited. Instead of the churches
which had formerly welcomed
Christmas from every church tower.
the crier passed along the silent
streets of the town, ringing in a
monotone, "No Christmas 1 No
Christmas 1" The people received
what they regarded as an infringe-
ment of their ancient rights with
sullen disapproval, "and no publ,io
act," says Macaulay, "seems to
have irritated the common people
more,"
The joy with which the restores.
tion of Charles was received was
due, no doubt, to the uneomprom-
isingstrictness of the extreme
Puritans. With the "mert'ie mon-
arch" there came back all old cue -
toms, and it was at a Chrietrnae
feast thathe knighted a loin of
beef, giving the world the highly
prized sirloin,
In no eottntry to -day is Christ-
alas observed with more joyous eoe
le'bration than in England, with itb
Christmas carols, its Christmas de-
corations, its plum pudding, and
its many e'tstosns. ' hieh have been
handed down Nu' a very early
period.