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The Brussels Post, 1914-12-24, Page 3• Quaint Customs of Manly Lands 1 Once a year, as Christmas aurae round, from wreathe of inistleto -and many ekeer characteristic there looks forth the face of at old than, with snow -White hear and locks :eti11 whiter, with cheek aglow with the chceriese of res -color and eyes that glisten wise the sunshine of a merry heart. To every chill this face is famil far and welcome, because they re • cognize it as that of the mysterious visitor who're Christmas Gamble is always attended by the bringing u many presents and the eating of -candy and many other good things. Down the Chimney. Of course he is a mystery to them. Hiscoming in the night; long after the eandm)an has closed their eyes with his magic grain, is never quite understood, although explained by the chimney theory, and in snarly other ways accounting for his pre- tence in the house, when doors and windows are securely locked. And on Christmas clay the mystery is •deepened still further when he ap- pears suddenly from some closest or hallway, and while greeting them in rough but hearty voice, leaves those treasured remembrances of visit. At times all of us have worried about the history of Santa Claus and some have even gone so far as to trace it way back through •many Countries, into centuries 5'o •oke that time seems hardly to have made record of them, In fact, Santa 'Claus has been ti great rover, and he has travelled .farther and longer' than any known character in• the world's history, and always Santa -Claus has been .the sante. Long before he came with gifts to the little babe at Beth- lehem, he had been doing ebbe same ,kind of thing for babes through lone; ages of paganism. Is ib any wonder, then, that children love him for, ell man as he has always been, he has naturally understood the child heart, for the heart of old age is the heart of child, even though it beat under the scarlet fur - trimmed coat of old Santa. • An Atlelellt Saint. Kriss Kringle, as Santa Claus is popularly known, comes ,from the • middle of the fourth century, hav- ing his origin in Rome. From there he travelled into germ/my, where 'he modified certain old traditions and underwent modification him - +elf. From the woods of Germany he crossed the channel to England. In -those days he was a rather gaunt looking individual, tall, wrinkled, thin of waist, and he wore a high peaked hat with a white tassel. His costume likewise was medieval. The teem was long, coming to the tops of his boots and was rarely field in by a belt. After his arrival'in Eng- land he anpears to have improved somewhat in personal appearance, tut it was not until he had emigrat- ed to America, where he had a chance to become acquainted with himself in hie various aspects, that he developed into the familiar fig• ore now seen all over the world at .t Christmas time. Many quaint eradi:tions have fol- lowed in lois footsteps and many su- peesbitions have grown up about the Christmastide. Ch stmastide. that a C.'hristmas bride will uever o want kr home, children and hus- s band. 1.11.Ser'vla, heart In Servittn (triremes tt-lebra- s tions a cake ie provided in which a 1 silver coin is laid, When the cake 1 is cut the otos getting the Christmas coin is assured of a prosperous- year, In Germany, it is believed that boy watching the shadows thrown by the candles on the Christmas tree, nt E it may be known which emf}er of the family will be first to die, A Peace. Token. Scandinavians have a pretty Ma.tont..In a row before the { hristnias lire, Christmas night all of elle shoes of the family. are placed a•s a token that peace will reign in the house during the year. In Prussia the 1 •lief exists that isle olotheniines must be left unhune on Christmas Day, to insure good luck. Sweden has a tradition that it is unlucky to allow the candles of Christmas fire to go tut, and that it is equality unlucky to have any of the dishes unwashed on Chrisi'.m•ee eve. The ;practice of kissing under the mistletoe arose from the belief that whatever was done under the en- chanted shrub, would' never become known, as the plant 'would seal the lips of all who went under it. To bring good luck to a house on Christmas Eve, every one entering is expected to strike the Yule log Leith a piece of iron, This .custom still -prevails in rural Europe. Ie tete Azores, wheat, maize and leaves are put in water ort Christ- mas eve, and the way they germin- ate will indicate what crops may be expected the following year. A Choistmas spell is given as fol- lows imparts of northern Germany: Steep mistletoe berries 4•o the num- ber of nine, in a mixture of ale, vinegar and' wine; then dip them in honey, and eat on retiring what you dream you may rest sure of finding, • The Boar's head. In medieval England Christmas commenced with a great feast, in which the boar's head first appear- ed. In many of her educational in- stitutions the boar's head is still to be seen at Christmas dinners. Queen Victoria had this custom re- tained at her lash Clu'istmas dinner. The custom is a relic of the pre- Chrisbmas Druidical times, when a boar was killed at the festival of the winter solstice and sacrificed to Frey or the goddess of peace and plenty. As this period is coinci- dent with Yuletkle, the custom was retained. To Coleridge is given the d'tstine bon of introducing the Gihrisbma tree in England. At least it was ]t who first called public attention t its .beauty in a lector from Nate burg, North Germany. It was ad apted at once by .some of the lead ng families and at once ibecam popular, spreading in a single yeat hroiighout the length and brea.dtl of the land, and instantly crossing o America. The Christmas Tree. In German its identified n vthe time f s witch the aposbolie labors of St. b[•aternus, it being supposed lie le,pb under a fir tree and that a trade occurred on ehtut occasion. But the Christmas tree is really f Boman c!rigin, being traceable to he Roman Saturnalia. With all of these traditions and uperstition:s, Banta Claus is close- oonae•cted, and how this carne ay be 'bold briefly by tracing ah:p miable old gentleman through ome of his past rambles, In Italian folklore bher•e is an old omen whose nemte is Befana. Sthe a sort of wandering Jew and anti Claus combined, She was ho good fairy. who filled children's eckings with .presents. I£ the tildren had been naughty, she left ly ashes, although sometimes she turned to 'comfort the little peel- las with gifts: Tradition is that ie was ,too busy sweeping, to see e three wise mien when they pass - on their way to Jerusalem, bob reed to see thein when they came aok, The Empty r'c c fur -trimmed coat and cap with its tassel of red and the clattering reindeers and wonderful sleigh, less distinctly a feature of old-time memories than the peettliarities of hundreds of people we remember as children? Of all the characters abort whom history has so many strange and in- teresting bales to tell, can one be named whose perennial activities rival those of St. Nicholas? '1 Home=Made Curtains as a Token for the Yuletide If you are aware of the size of your friend's windows, buy net by the yard, e decorate it with darned borders in o mercerized cottons used for Hardanger - work, and give curtains for a Christ- - mas gift. Get a firm, square-meshed•net. Mea- sure the windows' and allow for hem • Mea- e - and casing at the top. Use tapestry. needles as their blunt point will not 1 catch Long skeined, heavy cottons can be had in white or ecrtuas required by tone of net. Conventional patterns for darning may. be bought Yt se aratel g or p can be Y picked out from books on this popular pular form of needlework. Choose those whose lines_arenot too intricate and call for many cuttings of the thread. When ends must be jointed, run them together for a half-inch and with a floe thread overcast on the wrong side and hide fastening under a stitch. The difficulty in darning..is to maks an even pattern. Where there is a border on bout sides and across the bottom lay the front and bottom hem and leave the other until the darning is done, that the hems may be an equal distance from the design. It is often easier to start the pattern in the corner and work in two directions. Do not finish one line entirely and then begin - on the cross lines. Use two or three needles at the same time, A mistake is then easily detected. It will be impossible to count meshes ac- curately, but do have a general idea of distance and how many, times the design moist be repeated to come out evenly+ at the corners. Where there is only a border across the bottom count- ing is simplified. Sometimes the nets are darned in colored cottons, but as the effect against the light is poor, use a heavier tone than if the work were to be 'done on an opaque surface, Those who like cross-stitch embroid- ery will rejoice in a rather new mater- ial called' mosaic canvas. It is divided into blocks by a heavy thread which, When worked gives a peculiar prosaic effect. The canvas is 68 inches wide, se,it cuts economically, Besides being adapted to cross, stitching, this canvas makes an eiYec• tive background for'buliim stitch, the lazy daisy stitch, tapestry and even satin stitch. Its soft neutral tone makes it an admirable background for colored embroideries. English Legends, • 1 In England it still generally :be- s lievecl that those who quarrel on tt Christmas Day or night will have no leek in friendship, love or pock- 0 et. This tradition followed Santa t Claus from Germany, and is trace- able through the Frankland of the s middle ages. ly It is also considered very unlucky m to allow carol singers to leave the a front of the house without being s compensated. It has also been pro- verbial that all undertakings start- w ed on Christmas Day will prove is successfel, .sore in many countries peasants and farmers sow samples th grain and wheat in their snow- sit covered fields Christmas morning, e] A. Superstition on e re Among the superstitions is Quo to of peculiar• interest �bo women. It is sl said t'.hat to launder a Clvisitnes tin present will destroy its good lode, ed Cotopled with it, is the .advice that ag to secure good luck We must save b a piece of wood from the Ohristmas fire, to •start. the Christmas fire ee next year, m Since time immemorial a belief bet has existed all through Europe that 01 a .ticit charred in the Christmas be fire and' kept under the bed will wh protect the hotuseefrodar behng'struelt hu by lightning, and the custom is be largely followed, an In Albania, food from the Christ-. or mas. supper 1s bhrown on bhe fire co' and a branch of cherry is lett there ga for luck, sna Every one is familiar with the d• saying that a green Christmas hoc makes a fat graveyard. tha Ipossibly it was inspired by a de- wh sire for- a holiday, but in England A there exists the saying.that nothing which sons 'round, pray be seb in albo motion ,between Christmas and New be Year. As it comes down from the he day of the spinning wheel its appli• alt sation will be understood, ,as Christmas Weddings the world Inci ever are regarded ass insuring fu- ohe Sure loeppinrees, and the belief is bell GE all the beautiful legends, those nnoobe•d wibh .Christmas are the oatbeautiful, and of 'all charas 's familiarly known •throughout; tristendom, Santa Claus is the sb loved of any. From the days en a tiny little worsited sock is ng Isnot!. :thee foot of the crib, bo reached for ()Mistimes morning d found filled with sugar schisms perchance hording .a brilliantly col cornucopia, filled with ea- r -coated caraway ,seeds and pper-jacks, to the uulonbunatc ay of emancipation from child- d'e fancies, no greater reality n this ,beloved Icelandic visitoro comes once a year ever existed. .alter all, is he nota reality 1 As any 5 -roar -old whet lie think ut it, and depend upon it he will a whole lob nearer the;bruth than will ever be later in life. And, er all, iet labor life is he nob just much of a reality as . many ode who are Ronal Awe the rry red lips and the jelly-like y, and the jolly laugh, and the • e1 (fIJAIN'l' CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS. A pretty eustoun is ;still observed in parts of Devonshire at Christ- mas -time. The farmer, with his family and friends, pan'bake of a meal of hot Bakes and cider :the cakes being dipped in the •cider be- fore being eaten. The whole parby then repair to the orchard, led by the farmer bearing trot cakes and cider 58 an offering to the prinoipad apple -tree, The cake de. eeeesnonioushy deposited in fork of the teres, while cider is thrown over it. During this op•sraticn the men fire off guns and pistols, and the girls sing a song asking the tree 'bo bear "barnfuls' bagfuls, and seek- fuIs," It used to be, and perhaps still is, a custom in Cheshire for farm ser- vants to engage themselves to their masters from New Year's Eve to Christmas Day, This left these the days between for jollity befitting the season, though it must often have been somewhat inconvenient for the fanner and his family. A belief : ':'1 lingers on in parts of Ctornwall that at midnight on Christmas Eve the oattle in their etalls fall down on -their knees. Pees are also said to sing in their hives at this hour, and it is be- lieved .that bread baked then will never go mouldy 1 — London An- swers. !SANTA CLAUS KIDDIES 1)o lout' Duty Now. These caro some of bhe unfortunate little ones whom St, Nielmarts may have to paws over unless your do yottt' part span, es Seek(' gee the Trouble% Tramp—Your dog jest bit a piece of flesh outer me leg, mum- Woman—Glad you you mentioned it. I was just going to,Eaesithitn, ORIGIN OF PLUM PUDDING. Queen Anne . Gave .a Prize for the Recipe. • The exact origin of the English plum pudding is so obscure 1t is difficult to obtain auy information other than an occasional note in records covering the early part of the eighteenth century. It is supposed to have been in use many years before this, but the first mention of •'pudding made from flower and raisins" is Pound under the date of 1711. Under the same date we find an old book of recipes written by the chef who had charge of the kitchen for Ting Charles II, James II„ and Queen Anne, He writes; "Pudding is a Dish very difficult to be described, because of the several Sorts there are of It; Plower, Milk, Eggs, Butter, Sugar, Suet, Marrow, Raisins, etc„ etc., are the most common Ingredients of a Pudding. They bake them In an Oven, they boil them with Meat, they make them fifty several 'Ways; Blessed be he that invented Pudding for it Is a Manna that hits all Sorts of People; a Manna better than that of the Wilder, lass because the People are never weary of it. Ah, what an excellent Thing is an English Pudding." In the latter part of the same year Queen Anne offered a prize of hyo guineas for tate best plum pudding recipe and out of 500 answers she awarded the prize e to the one sending the following: One pound of raisins, one pound of suet chopped fine, three-quarters pound of stale bread crumbs, one- quarter pound of brown sugar, one- quarter pound of flour, one pound of currants, one-half of nutmeg grated, five eggs, one-half pint of brandy, one. half pound of minced candied orange peel. Clean, wash, and dry the cur- rants, stone the raisins, mix all dry ingredients well together. Beat the eggs, adcl to them the brandy, then pour them over the dry ingredients and thoroughly mix. Pack into greas- ed small kettles or molds (this will snake about six pounds) and boil six hours at rho time of making and six hours when wanted for use, Serve with hard or brandy sauce. The number of answers the queen received proves that such a dish was fairly Well known throughout Rngland at that time. As such news did not travel as fast then as with the modern system, it is safe to estimate that the plum pudding was served in England at least 160 year's pevious, But even with a 200 year old recipe before us we find it as a whole much the sante as those in use today. The slight changes found in the modern recipes are due in some respects to the high cost of the ingredients, These Changes were made in order that all classes may enjoy their iinglish plums pudding which Christmas has assign- ed to the Christmas dinner, and it is appropriate •as the decorations and gifts themselves. So with the coining of the holly and mistletoe conies the thought or the filum pudding, which must be prepared ahead of time and allowed to "mellow," The padding is usually prepared and baked from a week to two weeks be- fore Christmas and this is out of the way before the real preparations for the Christmas dinner begin, In Beg - land in many instances the pudding is baked a year ahead and hung from the ceiling along with the ham, bacon and popcorn, where itis kept dry and out of the way. There is no danger•of tt spoiling if tlto top is covered with a clean paper nuoistefied with brandy. If you would be lucky the coining year you and. ail your family tnuet stir the mixture in tbo'precess of making This is an old custom and is: observed even today among. Certain classes, t..-__.. Brood over your 'troubles if you want to hatch snore. t9a•+ '1s,n '5 s a e HOME-MADE CANDIES (i W 4"4✓W'W.'as'E►'1!!•'+S �.9►•V&R:'4F9•'t'Y 0 ('Meant itis Fudge. --Piave in a sae -tome. me. two cup; of grttnnlat.ed near, two-thirds imp of good milk, awl one taMcspo.nt of butter. Boil mei) it will fern' a soft ball„ ]tetween How to Pack Your Xmas Boxes There is tithing—mere disappoint - the linger when dropped into (•rias lug than t„ receive a gay '1:^hristtn 5 1501'T. Jtt i ave fr,ui tlrc lire and package, decked with holiday tags mid ane of vtutilla and int„ Nip of shopped nut meats. Beat up until tvcamy, thin poor into huttercd tuts and when slight'y cool Ina k uli' into squares. tropic Fudge.. --Plana in a sauce - !:art iwo cups of maple sugar, one- he)f cup of cream and eat' -half sup cif milk. Pail until a soft hall is formed alien dropped Into cold wa- fer. ilenifive 'front. fire and sad a'ie cup of ebopp:d lint meats ; stir until helico snake sure tete safe travel- ling of even the most fragile articles, Many persons make the mt5teke of not usutg enough packing. lire:y article should be so tightly wedged into place that it caanuot be budg- ed. Another serious mistake is the packing of heavy articles on top of lighter ones. The :best way to do is to pack any heavy article like cane - ed fruit, for instance—when .that is sent as a Christmas gift—securely in a 'box by itself. But when and bright, ribbons and sprigs of holly, and to open it expectantly to find its contents broken, The peck- ing; of the Christmas box is really as important as the making or chaos - in, of the gifts drat fill it. There- fore, it behooves every sender of Christmas gifts to pack ahem .care- fully. A dont outsidebox, plenty of tissue paper and excelsior, and pa- eremite- and pair into buttered tens and marl( off Mk squares. 'Lhe nut meat; need not he added unless de- :tJeed.. A very goose substitute. fur meeie sugar is made by using brown sugar and a few drops of maple 1111tcming. ('hocoJtttt' Fudge,.—Make the same as meant nut fudge Only adding in aul'litl,tt Cour ounces of grated choc- olate to the other ingredients, and the nuts mut be omitted if you wish a pain chocolate fudge, J"s'itil Caramels., -.-Moisten two cups of brown sugar with a little 'heavy rand light things are nixed vinegar or lemon juice, and a heap I extra care in heavy things must be ing teaspoon of butter, and cook put at the bottam of the box, the until it makes a firm ball when lighter things at the t.p, Then the dropped into cold water; add one- words ''This Sed: Up" must be half cup each of chopped dates. painted on the top of the box in raisins, figs, (atrial and candied big, staring letters that ' will be peel. Beat well and roll out into surely seen. a sheet, an inch thick, then cut into So much for general clireetiens. email squares and wrap in paraffin When you pack your C'hream s box paper. go about it in this way : Vanilla Caramels.—Place in a First wrap each article in tissue saucepan one cup of golden corn paper, label it with. the name of the syrup, one cup of light brown sit- sender and of the persau for whom gar and a cup of good milk. Stir it is intended, and tie ;t wit!r rib until mixed, s Boil until waren drop- bons or culored cord. Then put a ped into cold water it will form a layer of excelsior in the bottom of soft ball between tee fingers, lie- the box—if it is a big one ti hold move from 'fire and add a table- mauy gifes—and .place 'he heavier spoon of vanilla, and one cup of articles on it, filling in the chinks English walnut meats, although it between them with more excelsior will be very gond without the nuts. or wads of tissue paper. Then put Pour into a buttered pan about ae a thick layer of excelsior over theta inch thick, and when slightly cool and then, put in more gifts. mark off into small squares. When Put an extra, thick layer at tee nearly cool cut into squares, top of the hos, soil nail a sound ('hocolale ('armnels.—Pitt in a cover securely user all, The box saucepan two cups of granulated su- should be fairly bulging with ex - gar, one-half pint of cream and one- celsitor, half cup of milk and one-fourth of. For smaller packages it is essen- grated unsweetened chocolate, stir tial to put some waterproof wrap - constantly until the mixture forms ping abolet the gift. Of course the a. soft ball when dropped into cold smaller packages are not generally water. Pour into greased pans. sent in wooden boxes, but heavy first flavoring it with vanilla; cut cardboard well reinforced with lay - into inch squares. ars of newspaper inside, is quite Peanut Nougat. — Place in a safe, It would take a gond deal of rain to penetrate cardboard and pasteboard and the paper hn which the package is wrapped. But it , would take only a spr iak'i tg seller -dame t5thtd uut{1 Duo ttencatll a'i 17,1 ping of a psekage strapped to a posiman'•s back, saucepan a half cup of water, two cups of granulated sugar and one tablespoon of lemon juice. Boil un - t1 ' spins a thread or snakes a hard bSIT between the fingers when drop- ped into cold water. Pour this over a cup of peanuts from which the, skins have been removed and halv- ed. Spread smoothly and hark in- to squares. Hazel Nut Toffee.—Melt ane -half NOVEL GIFT IN NAPERY. A gift for a friend who likes im- cu•p of butter in a sauce pan, add promptu entertainment of an informal 1 nature, as oyster roast or chafing dish one cup of molasses, one cup of suppers, is a centrepiece and table brown sugar and one tablespoon of mats or ordinary tea toweling, vinegar, Boil until it creeks brit- Get the nlcest.quality of blue and tle when dropped into cold water, white barred tea toweling. A yard and stir in a half cup ofchoppedhazel flue -eighths of tht 1S -in, wide toweling n will ma lie 1� la . to p s nab p nine incl t meatsles and a t ablee. ru, n of va- nilla. Pour into a buttered square: If the squares a the toweling Pan seem too small tor the centrepiece use and cut into squares when nearly a yard of something else as an oblong cold, runner.' Sunshine Drops.—Place two cups The edges of the toweling may be of granulated sugar in a saucepan finished in several ways. The cheapest and add one-half cup of golden corn method is to buttonho]e a ]toe around syrap, a half ems of water, and one- heal ytas and tits ands of d, Pag heavily in four strands It darning fourth teaspoon of cream -of -tartar. cotton and buttonhole with heavy ' Boil until it makes a firm .ball when mercerized cotton the shade of the dropped into cold water. In the bar in the toweling. meantime whip ll)) the whites of two , quicker finish is to bind in mercer - eggs very stiff. Just before remov_ ized cotton braid to match the bar. Mg the syrup from the fire add one A'Iubt sure that this Js ;lh slreof. If in cup of English w•alnnt meats and a water, set tine color n;fh 10 stat salt water. This binding may be stitched teaspoon of vanilla, Pour over the by machine, but is more effective if beaten whites and beau up nnlil • applied with a fine briar stitching in foamy and light. Drop from spoor) white cotton. on greased plates or paper', For aithird finish, bury half-inch seal, searetl 1 t tiues,_-ptocuro sone - tonedtrimming in dal -alarm on a white large prunes and let stance in cold boughtmategUlteese che jilytuiiyint ierand water over night, Drain and wipe yardd l still cheaper by the piece, Turn tip dry, then remove �1•on:'s soil fill the edge of toweling en right sidle and sew cavity sluts formed with dotes and scalloping on top of it. Mitre the cornets, baste carefully and sew on by machine, using dark blue thread and a rather large stitch. If machine sewing is despised, one can apply the trimming by a shahs -stitch in dark bine. Across corner of the doily and at both ends of the runner centrepiece Work initials in cross-stitch in dark blue or fu two tones of blue. COAT HANGERS FOR XMAS., A novel kind of coat hanger well within • the skill of little fingers to make is of noble in gay color. Thread a coarse needle with the raphia and buttonhole the entire fraanewcrlc of a wire coat hanger in shoes a way that the purl comes on the inside of the opening of the ends. Over the pool( lett the buttonhole stitches so close that the metal is covered. To 1111 in the openings, thread a ,needle with a dii'feront color of raplila and eat -stitch through the buttbnitole stitches until the apace is 'omeletIf you want the coat hanger swseet scented, make little bags, from three inch ribbon folded across, the'edges overcast and ;tete ends turnedto a Otto casing. Use' baby ribbon ter a thaw• strhlg and 1111 eaoh bag with cotton Meekly ,aprixtkled with satohet. a bag from oath end of the hanger, You never rale tubi. Ar g oundleas. tumor generally, cn Sessa the serous ground, nutmeats dropped fine, Coat the 'outside of the prunes with powdered Sugar, A CHRISTMAS SONG. Hail, Redeemer, Saviour, Friend, Who didst stoop our woes to end, Who a little child became Born to Poverty and shame: Gladly we acclaim the morn When thou wast of virgin born. Angel lips did Thee proclaim, And announce Thy royal name To 'the sh.epinerds in .the field Keeping welch their flocks to shield; Angel chains saner in the sky: glory be to God on high, Mon Thy glorious etar did eco As it beckoned them to Thee, Humbly ,followed thee its light Till beheld the wondre,t.s sigt1t, God in mortal flesh ;iisplayeel• And in lowly manger laid, Hail! Thou helper 3� of the weak,. Come lodt, er'rineeman to seek, Joyful voioes now we raise In a song of holy praise; Hail again bhe happy more, When :Thou, Christ, our nope, wast horn.