Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan | Page 2

Festivals of the Saturnalia and Kalends--Was there a Teutonic Midwinter Festival?--The Teutonic, Celtic, and Slav New Year--Customs attracted to Christmas or January 1-- The Winter Cycle of Festivals--Rationale of Festival Ritual: (a) Sacrifice and Sacrament, (b) The Cult of the Dead, (c) Omens and Charms for the New Year--Compromise in the Later Middle Ages--The Puritans and Christmas--Decay of Old Traditions. |9|
CHAPTER VII
ALL HALLOW TIDE TO MARTINMAS 187
All Saints' and All Souls' Days, their Relation to a New Year Festival--All Souls' Eve and Tendance of the Departed--Soul Cakes in England and on the Continent--Pagan Parallels of All Souls'--Hallowe'en Charms and Omens--Hallowe'en Fires--Guy Fawkes Day--"Old Hob," the Schimmelreiter, and other Animal Masks--Martinmas and its Slaughter--Martinmas Drinking--St. Martin's Fires in Germany--Winter Visitors in the Low Countries and Germany--St. Martin as Gift-bringer--St. Martin's Rod.
CHAPTER VIII
ST. CLEMENT TO ST. THOMAS 209
St. Clement's Day Quests and Processions--St. Catherine's Day as Spinsters' Festival--St. Andrew's Eve Auguries--The Kl?pfeln?chte--St. Nicholas's Day, the Saint as Gift-bringer, and his Attendants--Election of the Boy Bishop--St. Nicholas's Day at Bari--St. Lucia's Day in Sweden, Sicily, and Central Europe--St. Thomas's Day as School Festival--Its Uncanny Eve--"Going a-Thomassin'."
CHAPTER IX
CHRISTMAS EVE AND THE TWELVE DAYS 227
Christkind, Santa Klaus, and Knecht Ruprecht--Talking Animals and other Wonders of Christmas Eve--Scandinavian Beliefs about Trolls and the Return of the Dead--Traditional Christmas Songs in Eastern Europe--The Twelve Days, their Christian Origin and Pagan Superstitions--The Raging Host--Hints of Supernatural Visitors in England--The German Frauen--The Greek Kallikantzaroi.
CHAPTER X
THE YULE LOG 249
The Log as Centre of the Domestic Christmas--Customs of the Southern Slavs--The Polaznik--Origin of the Yule Log--Probable Connection with Vegetation-cults or Ancestor-worship--The Souche de No?l in France--Italian and German Christmas Logs--English Customs--The Yule Candle in England and Scandinavia. |10|
CHAPTER XI
THE CHRISTMAS-TREE, DECORATIONS, AND GIFTS 261
The Christmas-tree a German Creation--Charm of the German Christmas--Early Christmas-trees--The Christmas Pyramid--Spread of the Tree in Modern Germany and other Countries--Origin of the Christmas-tree--Beliefs about Flowering Trees at Christmas--Evergreens at the Kalends--Non-German Parallels to the Christmas-tree--Christmas Decorations connected with Ancient Kalends Customs--Sacredness of Holly and Mistletoe--Floors strewn with Straw--Christmas and New Year Gifts, their Connection with the Roman Strenae and St. Nicholas--Present-giving in Various Countries--Christmas Cards.
CHAPTER XII
CHRISTMAS FEASTING AND SACRIFICIAL SURVIVALS 281
Prominence of Eating in the English Christmas--The Boar's Head, the Goose, and other Christmas Fare--Frumenty, Sowens, Yule Cakes, and the Wassail Bowl--Continental Christmas Dishes, their Possible Origins--French and German Cakes--The Animals' Christmas Feast--Cakes in Eastern Europe--Relics of Animal Sacrifice--Hunting the Wren--Various Games of Sacrificial Origin.
CHAPTER XIII
MASKING, THE MUMMERS' PLAY, THE FEAST OF FOOLS, AND THE BOY BISHOP 295
English Court Masking--"The Lord of Misrule"--The Mummers' Play, the Sword-Dance, and the Morris Dance--Origin of St. George and other Characters--Mumming in Eastern Europe--The Feast of Fools, its History and Suppression--The Boy Bishop, his Functions and Sermons--Modern Survivals of the Boy Bishop.
CHAPTER XIV
ST. STEPHEN'S, ST. JOHN'S, AND HOLY INNOCENTS' DAYS 309
Horse Customs of St. Stephen's Day--The Swedish St. Stephen--St. John's Wine--Childermas and its Beatings. |11|
CHAPTER XV
NEW YEAR'S DAY 319
Principle of New Year Customs--The New Year in France, Germany, the United States, and Eastern Europe--"First-footing" in Great Britain--Scottish New Year Practices--Highland Fumigation and "Breast-strip" Customs--Hogmanay and Aguillanneuf--New Year Processions in Macedonia, Roumania, Greece, and Rome--Methods of Augury--Sundry New Year Charms.
CHAPTER XVI
EPIPHANY TO CANDLEMAS 335
The Twelfth Cake and the "King of the Bean"--French Twelfth Night Customs--St. Basil's Cake in Macedonia--Epiphany and the Expulsion of Evils--The Befana in Italy--The Magi as Present-bringers--Greek Epiphany Customs--Wassailing Fruit-trees--Herefordshire and Irish Twelfth Night Practices--The "Haxey Hood" and Christmas Football--St. Knut's Day in Sweden--Rock Day--Plough Monday--Candlemas, its Ecclesiastical and Folk Ceremonies--Farewells to Christmas.
CONCLUSION 357
NOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 361
INDEX 389
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[Illustration: MADONNA AND CHILD. By Albrecht D��rer.]
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ILLUSTRATIONS
THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI (DETAIL) Frontispiece Gentile da Fabriano. (Florence: Accademia)
MADONNA AND CHILD 13 Albert D��rer
MADONNA ENTHRONED WITH SAINTS AND ANGELS 31 Pesellino. (Empoli Gallery)
JACOPONE IN ECSTASY BEFORE THE VIRGIN 40 From "Laude di Frate Jacopone da Todi" (Florence, 1490)
THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS 55 By Fouquet. (Mus��e Cond��, Chantilly)
THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT: THE REST BY THE WAY 70 Master of the Seven Sorrows of Mary. (Also attributed to Joachim Patinir.) (Vienna: Imperial Gallery)
SINGING "VOM HIMMEL HOCH" FROM A CHURCH TOWER AT CHRISTMAS 71 By Ludwig Richter
THE NATIVITY 89 From Add. MS. 32454 in the British Museum. (French, 15th Century)
A NEAPOLITAN PRESEPIO 108
CALABRIAN SHEPHERDS PLAYING IN ROME AT CHRISTMAS 112 After an Etching by D. Allan. From Hone's "Every-day Book" (London, 1826)
ST. FRANCIS INSTITUTES THE PRESEPIO AT GRECCIO 114 By Giotto. (Upper Church of St. Francis, Assisi)
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THE BAMBINO OF ARA COELI 115
THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS 121 From Broadside No. 305 in the Collection of the Society of Antiquaries at Burlington House
THE SHEPHERDS OF BETHLEHEM 140 From "Le grant Kalendrier & compost des Bergiers" (N. le Rouge, Troyes, 1529)
THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI 154 Masaccio. (Berlin: Kaiser Friedrich Museum)
NEW YEAR MUMMERS IN MANCHURIA 161 An Asiatic example of animal masks
CHRISTMAS EVE IN DEVONSHIRE--THE MUMMERS COMING IN 229
THE GERMAN CHRISTMAS-TREE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 263 From