A Righte Merrie Christmasse | Page 2

1440--Dancing at the Inns of Court--Dancing at Christmas--The Cushion Dance 155
CHAPTER XXI
Honey Fairs--Card-playing at Christmas--Throwing the Hood--Early Religious Plays--Moralities--Story of a Gray's Inn Play--The first Pantomime--Spectacular drama--George Barnwell--Story respecting this Play 162
CHAPTER XXII
Profusion of Food at Christ-tide--Old English Fare--Hospitality--Proclamations for People to spend Christ-tide at their Country Places--Roast Beef--Boar's Head--Boar's Head Carol--Custom at Queen's College, Oxon.--Brawn--Christmas Pie--Goose Pie--Plum Pudding--Plum Porridge--Anecdotes of Plum Pudding--Large one--Mince Pies--Hackin--Folk-lore--Gifts at Christ-tide--Yule Doughs--Cop-a-loaf--Snap-dragon 169
CHAPTER XXIII
The First Carol--Anglo-Norman Carol--Fifteenth-Century Carol--"The Twelve Good Joys of Mary"--Other Carols--"A Virgin most Pure"--Carol of Fifteenth Century--"A Christenmesse Carroll" 180
CHAPTER XXIV
Christmas Gifts forbidden in the City of London--Charles II. and Christmas Gifts--Christmas Tree--Asiatic Descent--Scandinavian Descent--Candles on the Tree--Early Notices of in England--Santa Claus--Krishkinkle--Curious Tenures of Land at Christmas 186
CHAPTER XXV
Christ-tide Literature--Christmas Cards--Their Origin--Lamplighter's Verses--Watchman's Verses--Christmas Pieces 194
CHAPTER XXVI
Carol for St. Stephen's Day--Boxing Day--Origin of Custom--Early examples--The Box--Bleeding Horses--Festivity on this Day--Charity at Bampton--Hunting the Wren in Ireland--Song of the Wren Boys 201
CHAPTER XXVII
St. John's Day--Legend of the Saint--Carols for the Day--Holy Innocents--Whipping Children--Boy Bishops--Ceremonies connected therewith--The King of Cockney's Unlucky Day--Anecdote thereon--Carol for the Day 207
CHAPTER XXVIII
New Year's Eve--Wassail--New Year's Eve Customs--Hogmany--The Cl[=a]vie--Other Customs--Weather Prophecy 214
CHAPTER XXIX
New Year's Day--Carol--New Year's Gifts--"Dipping"--Riding the "Stang"--Curious Tenures--God Cakes--The "Quaaltagh"--"First foot" in Scotland--Highland Customs--In Ireland--Weather Prophecies--Handsel Monday 220
CHAPTER XXX
Eve of Twelfth Day--Thirteen Fires--Tossing the Cake--Wassailing Apple-Trees--The Eve in Ireland--Twelfth Day, or Epiphany--Carol for the Day--Royal Offerings 232
CHAPTER XXXI
"The King of the Bean"--Customs on Twelfth Day--Twelfth Cakes--Twelfth Night Characters--Modern Twelfth Night--The Pastry Cook's Shops--Dethier's Lottery--The Song of the Wren--"Holly Night" at Brough--"Cutting off the Fiddler's Head" 238
CHAPTER XXXII
St. Distaff's Day--Plough Monday--Customs on the Day--Feast of the Purification 246
CHAPTER I
Date of Christ's Birth discussed--Opinions of the Fathers--The Eastern Church and Christ-tide--Error in Chronology--Roman Saturnalia--Scandinavian Yule--Duration of Christ-tide.
The day on which Jesus Christ died is plainly distinguishable, but the day of His birth is open to very much question, and, literally, is only conjectural; so that the 25th December must be taken purely as the day on which His birth is celebrated, and not as His absolute natal day. In this matter we can only follow the traditions of the Church, and tradition alone has little value.
In the second and early third centuries of our ?ra, we only know that the festivals, other than Sundays and days set apart for the remembrance of particular martyrs, were the Passover, Pentecost, and the Epiphany, the baptism or manifestation of our Lord, when came "a voice from Heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." This seems always to have been fixed for the 6th of January, and with it was incorporated the commemoration of His birth.
Titus Flavius Clemens, generally known as Clemens of Alexandria, lived exactly at this time, and was a contemporary of Origen. He speaks plainly on the subject, and shows the uncertainty, even at that early epoch of Christianity, of fixing the date:[1] "There are those who, with an over-busy curiosity, attempt to fix not only the year, but the date of our Saviour's birth, who, they say, was born in the twenty-eighth year of Augustus, on the 25th of the month Pachon," i.e. the 20th of May. And in another place he says: "Some say that He was born on the 24th or 25th of the month Pharmuthi," which would be the 19th or 20th of April.
[Footnote 1: Stromat., L. 1, pp. 407-408, ed. Oxon., 1715.]
But, perhaps, the best source of information is from the Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire ecclésiastique des six premiers Siècles, by Louis Sebastian le Nain de Tillemont, written at the very commencement of the eighteenth century,[2] and I have no hesitation in appending a portion of his fourth note, which treats "Upon the day and year of the birth of Jesus Christ."
[Footnote 2: Translated by T. Deacon in 1733-35, pp. 335-336.]
"It is thought that Jesus Christ was born in the night, because it was night when the angel declared His birth to the shepherds: in which S. Augustin says that He literally fulfilled David's words, Ante luciferum genuite.
"The tradition of the Church, says this father, is that it was upon the 25th of December. Casaubon acknowledges that we should not immediately reject it upon the pretence that it is too cold a season for cattle to be at pasture, there being a great deal of difference between these countries and Jud?a; and he assures us that, even in England, they leave the cows in the field all the year round.
"S. Chrysostom alleges several reasons to prove that Jesus Christ was really born upon the 25th of December; but they are weak enough, except that which he assures of, that it has always been the belief of the Western Churches. S. Epiphanius, who will have the day to have been the 6th of January, places it but at twelve days' distance. S. Clement of Alexandria says that,