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

Liturgical Plays--The Drama becomes
Laicized--Characteristics of the Popular Drama--The Nativity in the
English Miracle Cycles--Christmas Mysteries in France--Later French
Survivals of Christmas Drama--German Christmas Plays--Mediaeval
Italian Plays and Pageants--Spanish Nativity Plays--Modern Survivals
in Various Countries--The Star Singers, &c.
POSTSCRIPT 155

PART II--PAGAN SURVIVALS

CHAPTER VI

PRE-CHRISTIAN WINTER FESTIVALS 159
The Church and Superstition--Nature of Pagan Survivals--Racial
Origins--Roman 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 Klöpfelnächte--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
Noël 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 Dürer.]
|13|

ILLUSTRATIONS
THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI (DETAIL) Frontispiece Gentile
da Fabriano. (Florence: Accademia)
MADONNA AND CHILD 13 Albert Dürer
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. (Musée

Condé, 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