Chapter XVIII: Preface (18)

A correspondent of the _Gent. Mag._ (1795, vol. lxv. p. 110) thus describes an amusement practised on Christmas Eve at Aston Hall, down to the end of last century. As soon as supper is over a table is set in the hall. On it is placed a brown loaf, with twenty silver threepences stuck on the top of it, a tankard of ale, with pipes and tobacco, and the two oldest servants have chairs behind it to sit as judges if they please. The steward brings the servants, both men and women, by one at a time, covered with a winnow sheet, and lays their right hand on the loaf, exposing no other part of the body. The older of the two judges guesses at the person, by naming a name, then the younger judge, and lastly, the older again. If they hit upon the right name, the steward leads the person back again; but if they do not, he takes off the winnow sheet, and the person receives a threepence, makes a low obeisance to the judges, but speaks not a word. When the second servant was brought, the younger judge guessed first and third; and this they did alternately till all the money was given away. Whatever servant had not slept in the house the preceding night forfeited his right to the money. No account is given of the origin of this strange custom, but it has been practised ever since the family lived here. When the money is gone the servants have full liberty to drink, dance, sing, and go to bed when they please. Brand (_Pop. Antiq._ 1849, vol. i. p. 472), speaking of this custom, says, can it be what Aubrey, in his introduction to his _Survey of Wiltshire_, calls “Cob-loaf-stealing?”

YORKSHIRE.

There is in Yorkshire a custom, which has been by the country people more or less revived, ever since the alteration in the style and calendar, namely, of watching, on the midnight of the new and old Christmas Eve, by beehives, to determine upon the right Christmas from the humming noise which they suppose the bees will make when the birth of our Saviour took place.--_Gent. Mag._ 1811, vol. lxxxi. part. i. p. 424.

Christmas Eve in Yorkshire, says a writer in _Time’s Telescope_ (1822, p. 298), is celebrated in a peculiar manner at eight o’clock in the evening the bells greet “Old Father Christmas” with a merry peal, the children parade the streets with drums, trumpets, bells, or perhaps, in their absence, with the poker and shovel, taken from their humble cottage fire; the yule candle is lighted, and--

“High on the cheerful fire
Is blazing seen th’ enormous Christmas brand.”

Supper is served, of which one dish, from the lordly mansion to the humblest shed, is invariably furmety; yule cake, one of which is always made for each individual in the family, and other more substantial viands are also added.

At St. Cuthbert’s Church, Ackworth, a sheaf of corn was at one time suspended on Christmas Eve outside the porch, for the especial benefit of the birds.--_N. & Q. 3rd S._ vol. ii. p. 505; see _N. & Q. 3rd S._ vol. iii. p. 117.

At Dewsbury, one of the church bells is tolled as at a funeral; this is called the Devil’s Knell, the moral of which is that “the Devil died when Christ was born.” This custom was discontinued for many years, but revived by the vicar in 1828.--Timbs’ _Something for Everybody_, 1861, p. 150.

At Ripon, on Christmas Eve, the grocers send each of their customers a pound or half of currants and raisins to make a Christmas pudding. The chandlers also send large mould candles, and the coopers logs of wood, generally called _yule clogs_, which are always used on Christmas Eve; but should it be so large as not to be all burnt that night, which is frequently the case, the remains are kept till old Christmas Eve.--_Gent. Mag._ 1790, vol. lx. p. 719.

Cole in his _Historical Sketches of Scalby, Burniston, and Cloughton_ (1829, p. 45) says the village choristers belonging to Scalby assemble on Christmas Eve, and remain out the whole night singing at the principal houses.

IRELAND.

A correspondent of _N. & Q._ (_3rd S._ vol. viii. p. 495) says that, in the south-east of Ireland on Christmas Eve, people hardly go to bed at all, and the first who announces the crowing of the cock, if a male, is rewarded with a cup of tea, in which is mixed a glass of spirits; if a female, with the tea only, but as a substitute for the whisky she is saluted with half-a-dozen of kisses.

DEC. 25.] CHRISTMAS DAY.

St. Chrysostom informs us that, in the primitive times, Christmas and Epiphany were celebrated at one and the same feast (_Homil. in Diem Nativ. D. N. J. Christi_, Opera, edit. Monfaucon, tom. iii.), probably from a belief that the rising of the star in the East and the birth of Christ were simultaneous. The separation took place at the Council of Nice, A.D. 325. The Armenians, however, continued to make but one feast of the two as late as the thirteenth century. The learned have long been divided upon the precise day of the Nativity. Some have fixed it at the Passover; others, amongst whom was Archbishop Usher, at the feast of Tabernacles; and it has been observed that, if others were watching their flocks when it occurred in the field by night, it would hardly have happened in the depth of winter. Be this as it may, the 25th of December has been the day most generally fixed upon from the earliest ages of the Church. Sir Isaac Newton, in his _Commentary on the Prophecies of Daniel_ (Part I. chap. ii. p. 144), has a chapter, “Of the Times of the Birth and Passion of our Saviour,” in which he accounts for the choice of the 25th of December, the winter solstice, by showing that not only the feast of the Nativity, but most others, were originally fixed at cardinal points of the year; and that the first Christian calendar having been so arranged by mathematicians at pleasure, without any ground in tradition, the Christians afterwards took up with what they found in the calendars: so long as a fixed time of commemoration was solemnly appointed they were content.--See Baronii _Apparatus ad Annales Ecclesiasticos_, fol. Lucæ, 1740, p. 475 et seq.; Bingham’s _Antiquities of the Christian Church_, lib. xx. cap. 4; a curious tract entitled, _The Feast of Feasts_, or ‘The Celebration of the Sacred Nativity of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, grounded upon the Scriptures and confirmed by the Practice of the Christian Church in all Ages;’ see also Knight’s _English Cyclopædia_, 1859, vol. ii. p. 882.

The name given, says a correspondent of _Book of Days_, (vol. ii. p. 745) by the ancient Goths and Saxons to the festival of the winter solstice was _Jul_ or _Yule_, the latter term forming to the present day the designation in the Scottish dialect of Christmas, and preserved also in the phrase of the “yule log.” Perhaps the etymology of no term has excited greater discussions among antiquaries. Some maintain it to be derived from the Greek ουλος or ιουλος, the name of a hymn in honour of Ceres, others say it comes from the Latin _jubilum_, signifying a time of rejoicing, or from its being a festival in honour of Julius Cæsar; whilst some also explain its meaning as synonymous with _ol_ or _oel_, which in the ancient Gothic language denotes a feast, and also the favourite liquor used on such occasions whence our word _ale_. A much more probable derivation, however, of the term in question is from the Gothic _giul_ or _hiul_, the origin of the modern word _wheel_, and bearing the same significance. According to this very probable explanation, the yule festival received its name from its being the turning-point of the year, or the period at which the fiery orb of day made a revolution in his annual circuit and entered on his northern journey. A confirmation of this view is afforded by the circumstance that, in the old clog almanacs, a wheel is the device employed for marking the season of yule-tide.

The season of the Nativity is now no longer marked by that hospitality which characterized its observance among our forefathers. At present Christmas meetings are chiefly confined to family parties. The wassail-bowl, the yule-clog, and the lord of misrule, with a long train of sports and customs which formerly prevailed at this season are forgotten, even Christmas carols are nearly gone by; and the decking of churches, and occasionally of houses, with holly and other evergreens, forms now almost the only indication that this great festival is at hand.--Knight’s _English Cyclopædia_, 1859, vol. ii. p. 882.

Christmas, says Père Cyprian (quoted by Agnes Strickland, _Lives of the Queens of England_, 1865, vol. iv. pp. 320, 321), was always observed in this country, especially at the King’s palaces, with greater ceremony than in any other realm in Europe. Among other ancient ceremonies, he tells us how a branch of the Glastonbury thorn used to be brought up in procession, and presented in great pomp to the King and Queen of England on Christmas morning.

_Under the Commonwealth._--In the _Diary of John Evelyn_ (1859, vol. i. p. 297), under the date of the 25th of December, occurs the following:--

“Christmas Day. No sermon anywhere, no church being permitted to be open, so observed it at home.”

Again, under the same date in 1654 (p. 341), the statement is renewed:

“Christmas Day. No churches or public assembly. I was fain to pass the devotions of that Blessed Day with my family at home.”

Alluding to the observance of Christmas Day in 1657, the same writer says:--

“I went to London with my wife to celebrate Christmas Day, Mr. Gunning preaching in Exeter Chapel, on Micah, vii. 2. Sermon ended; as he was giving us the Holy Sacrament the chapel was surrounded with soldiers, and all the communicants and assembly surprised and kept prisoners by them, some in the house, others carried away. It fell to my share to be confined to a room in the house, where yet I was permitted to dine with the master of it, the Countess of Dorset, Lady Hatton, and some others of quality who invited me. In the afternoon came Colonel Whalley, Goffe, and others from Whitehall to examine us one by one; some they committed to the Marshal, some to prison. When I came before them they took my name and abode, examined me why, contrary to the ordinance made that none should any longer observe the superstitious time of the Nativity (as esteemed by them), I durst offend, and particularly be at Common Prayers, which they told me was but the mass in English, and particularly pray for Charles Stuart, for which we had no Scripture. I told them we did not pray for Charles Stuart, but for all Christian kings, princes, and governors. They replied, in so doing we prayed for the king of Spain too, who was their enemy and a Papist; with other frivolous and ensnaring questions and much threatening, and, finding no colour to detain me, they dismissed me with much pity of my ignorance. These were men of high flight and above ordinances, and spake spiteful things of our Lord’s Nativity. As we went up to receive the sacrament the miscreants held their muskets against us, as if they would have shot us at the altar, but yet suffering us to finish the office of communion, as perhaps not having instructions what to do in case they found us in that action; so I got home late the next day, blessed be God!”

In a tract entitled _Round about our Coal-Fire_, is the following account of the manner in which Christmas was observed in days gone by:--An English gentleman at the opening of the great day, i.e., on Christmas Day in the morning, had all his tenants and neighbours enter his hall by daybreak. The strong beer was broached, and the black-jacks went plentifully about with toast, sugar, nutmeg, and good Cheshire cheese. The hackin (the great sausage) must be boiled by daybreak, or else two young men must take the maiden (i.e., the cook) by the arms, and run her round the market-place till she is ashamed of her laziness. In Christmas holidays, the tables were all spread from the first to the last; the sirloins of beef, the minced pies, the plum-porridge, the capons, turkeys, geese, and plum-puddings, were all brought upon the board. Every one eat heartily, and was welcome, which gave rise to the proverb, “Merry in the hall when beards wag all.”--Brand, _Pop. Antiq._ 1849, vol. i. p. 531.

_Boar’s Head._--Aubrey, in a MS. dated 1678, says: “Before the last civil wars, in gentlemen’s houses at Christmas, the first diet that was brought to table was a boar’s head with a lemon in his mouth.”

_Christmas Book._--A book in which people were accustomed to keep an account of the Christmas presents they received.--Nares’ _Glossary_ (Halliwell and Wright), 1857, vol. i. p. 11.

_Bustard._--The bustard, says Timbs (_Something for Everybody_, 1861, p. 148), has almost disappeared; but within memory it might be seen in the Christmas larders of large inns.

_Christmas Candles._--Those were candles of an uncommon size, and the name has descended to the small candles which children light up at this season. Hampson (_Med. Ævi Kalend._ vol. i. p. 109), alluding to the custom, says, in some places candles are made of a particular kind, because the candle that is lighted on Christmas Day must be so large as to burn from the time of its ignition to the close of the day, otherwise it will portend evil to the family for the ensuing year. The poor were wont to present the rich with wax tapers, and yule candles are still in the north of Scotland given by merchants to their customers. At one time children at the village schools in Lancashire were required to bring each a mould candle before the _parting_ or separation for the Christmas holidays.

_Christmas Carols._--The Christmas carol (said to be derived from _cantare_ to sing, and _rola_, an interjection of joy) is of very ancient date. Bishop Taylor observes that the ‘Gloria in Excelsis,’ the well-known hymn sung by the angels to the shepherds at our Lord’s Nativity, was the earliest Christmas carol. In the early ages of the Church bishops were accustomed to sing these sacred canticles among their clergy. The oldest printed collections in England are those of Wynkyn de Worde, 1521, and of Kele soon after. Warton, in his _History of English Poetry_, notices a licence granted in 1562 to John Tysdale for printing “Certayne goodly carowles to be songe to the glory of God;” and again, “Crestenmas carowles auctorisshed by my lord of London.” See _N. & Q. 4th S._ vol. x. p. 485. In the sixteenth century the popularity of carol-singing occasioned the publication of a duodecimo volume, published in 1642, entitled, “Psalmes or Songs of Sion, turned into the language, and set to the tunes of a strange land. By W(illiam) S(layter), intended for Christmas carols, and fitted to divers of the most noted and common but solemne tunes, everywhere in this land familiarly used and knowne.”--See _Athenæum_, December 20th, 1856; Sandy’s _Christmas Carols_, 1833.

_Decorations._--Tradition, says Phillips in his _Sylva Florifera_ (1823, vol. i. p. 281), asserts that the first Christian church in Britain was built of boughs, and that this plan was adopted as more likely to attract the notice of the people because the heathens built their temples in that manner, probably to imitate the temples of Saturn which were always under the oak. The great feast of Saturn was held in December, and as the oaks of this country were then without leaves, the priests obliged the people to bring in boughs and sprigs of evergreens; and Christians, on the 20th of the same month, did likewise, from whence originated the present custom of placing holly and other evergreens in our churches and houses to show the arrival of the feast of Christmas. The name of holly is a corruption of the word _holy_, as Dr. Turner, our earliest writer on plants, calls it _Holy_ and _Holy tree_. It has a great variety of names in Germany, amongst which is _Christdorn_; in Danish it is also called _Christorn_; and in Swedish _Christtorn_, amongst other appellations.

A correspondent of _Book of Days_, speaking of this custom (vol. ii., p. 753), says the decking of churches, houses, and shops with evergreens at Christmas springs from a period far anterior to the revelation of Christianity, and seems proximately to be derived from the custom prevalent during the Saturnalia of the inhabitants of Rome, ornamenting their temples and dwellings with green boughs.

The favourite plants for church decoration at Christmas are holly, bay, rosemary, and laurel. Ivy is rather objectionable, from its associations, having anciently been sacred to Bacchus. Cypress seems inappropriate from its funereal relations. One plant, in special, is excluded--the mistletoe. Ibid. p. 753.

_Game Pies._--These were formerly made at the season of Christmas. In the books of the Salters’ Company, London, is the following--

“Receipt. Fit to make a moost choyce paaste of gamys to be eten at ye Feste of Chrystmasse” (17th Richard II A.D. 1394). A pie so made by the company’s cook in 1836 was found excellent. It consisted of a pheasant, hare, and a capon; two partridges, two pigeons, and two rabbits; all boned and put into paste in the shape of a bird, with the livers and hearts, two mutton kidneys, forced meats, and egg-balls, seasoning, spice, catsup and pickled mushrooms, filled up with gravy made from the various bones.--See Timbs’ _Something for Everybody_, 1861, p. 148.

_Mince Pies._--These were popular under the name of “mutton pies” so early as 1596: _Book of Days_, vol. ii. p. 755. They were also known as Shred and Christmas pies. Thus, in Sheppard’s _Epigrams_ (1651, p. 121), we find the following:--

“No matter for plomb-porridge or _Shrid_ pies;” and Herrick, alluding to the custom of setting a watch upon the pies the night before Christmas, says:

“Come guard this night the Christmas pie,
That the thief, though ne’er so sly,
With his flesh-hooks don’t come nigh,
To catch it.”

Brand (_Pop. Antiq._ 1849, vol. i. p. 527), quoting from an old tract, printed about the time of Elizabeth, or James I., says they were also called _Minched_ pies.

Selden, in his _Table Talk_, tells us that mince pies were baked in a coffin-shaped crust, intended to represent the cratch or manger wherein the infant Jesus was laid. This statement may be regarded, however, as improbable, as in old English cookery books the crust of a pie is generally called “the coffin.”

Minced pies, says Timbs (_Something for Everybody_, 1861, p. 149), were derived from the paste images and sweetmeats given to the Fathers of the Vatican at Rome on Christmas Eve. Eating minced pies at Christmas was formerly a test of orthodoxy against recusants.

_Mistletoe._--At what period mistletoe came to be recognised as a Christmas evergreen, is not by any means certain. We have Christmas carols in praise of holly and ivy of even earlier date than the fifteenth century, but allusion to mistletoe can scarcely be found for two centuries later, or before the time of Herrick. Coles, too, in his _Knowledge of Plants_, 1656, says of mistletoe, “it is carried many miles to set up in houses about Christmas-time, when it is adorned with a white glistening berry.” In the tract, _Round about our Coal-Fire_, published early in the last century, we are told the rooms were embowered with holly, ivy, cypress, bays, laurel, and mistletoe. Brand (_Pop. Antiq._, 1849, vol. i. p. 523) thinks that mistletoe was never put in churches among evergreens but by mistake or ignorance; for, says he, it was the heathenish, or profane plant, as having been of such distinction in the pagan rites of druidism, and it had its place therefore assigned it in kitchens, where it was hung in great state.--See Timbs’ _Things Not Generally Known_, 1856, pp. 159-160.

_Lord of Misrule._--His office was to preside over the festivities of Christmas, and his duties consisted in directing the various revels of the season. In some great families, and occasionally at Court, he was also called the _Abbot of Misrule_, corresponding with the French _Abbé de Liesse_, a word which implies merriment. Stow, in his _Survey of London_, alluding to this whimsical custom says:--“In the feast of Christmas there was in the king’s house, wheresoever he lodged, a Lord of Misrule, or master of merry disports, and the like, had ye in the house of every nobleman of honour, or good worship, were he spiritual or temporal. The Mayor of London, and either of the sheriffs, had their several lords of misrule, ever contending, without quarrel or offence, who should make the rarest pastime to delight the beholders, these lords beginning their rule at Allhallowed Eve, continued the same till the morrow after the Feast of the Purification, commonly called Candlemas Day, in which space there were fine and subtle disguisings, masks, and mummeries, with playing at cards for counters, nayles, and points, in every house, more for pastimes than for game.”

Leland (_Collectanea de Rebus Anglicis_, 1770, vol. iii., Append. p. 256), speaking of the year 4 Henry VII., 1489, says:--“This Christmas I saw no disguisings, and but right few playes; but there was an Abbot of Misrule that made much sport, and did right well his office.” It appears that large sums of money were expended by this king upon these masquerades and sports, as the following extracts from his “Privy Purse Expenses” will show:--

“Dec. 24 (1491). To Ringley, Lorde of Mysrewle, upon a preste, 5_l._

“Oct. 24 (1492). To Ringley, Abbot of Mysreule, 5_l._

“Jan. 2 (1494). For playing of the Mourice daunce, 2_l._

“Jan. 15 (1494). To Walter Alwyn, in full payment for the disguising made at Christenmas, 14_l._ 3_s._ 4_d._

“March 3 (1490). To Jacques Haulte, in full payment for the disguising at Christenmas, 32_l._ 18_s._ 6½_d._

“Jan. 2 (1503). To the Abbot of Misrule, in rewarde, 6_1._ 13_s._ 4_d._

“Feb. 12 (1503). To Lewis Adams, that made disguysings, 10_l._”

The Lord or Abbot of Misrule at Court, says Hampson, (_Med. Ævi Kalend._ vol. i. p. 117) was usually a writer of interludes and plays, and the office was not unfrequently held by a poet of some reputation. Such, for example, was George Ferrers, “in whose pastimes Edward the Sixth,” we are told by Warton, “had great delight.” There can be no doubt, however, that scandalous abuses often resulted from the exuberant licence assumed by the lord of misrule and his satellites, and consequently we find their proceedings denounced in no measured terms by Prynne, and other zealous puritans.--See _Book of Days_, vol. ii. p. 742.

Stubbes, a morose puritan in the days of Elizabeth, denominates the lord of misrule “a grand captaine of mischiefe,” and has preserved a minute description of all his wild doings in the country, of which the following is a summary. He says that the lord of misrule on being selected, takes twenty to sixty others, “lyke hymself,” to act as his guard, who are decorated with ribbands and scarfs and bells on their legs. Thus, all things set in order, they have their hobby-horses, their dragons, and other antiques, together with the gaudie pipers and thunderyng drummers, and strike up the devill’s dance withal. So they march to the church, invading it, even though service be performing, with such a confused noyse that no man can hear his own voice. Then they adjourn to the churchyard, where booths are set up, and the rest of the day spent in dancing and drinking. The followers of “My Lord” go about to collect money for this, giving in return “badges and cognizances” to wear in the hat: and do not scruple to insult, or even duck, such as will not contribute. But, adds Stubbes, another sort of fantasticall fooles are well pleased to bring all sorts of food and drink to furnish out the feast.--See Disraeli, _Curiosities of Literature_, 1858, vol. ii. p. 262; and Strutt’s _Sports and Pastimes of the People of England_, p. 254.

_Mummers._--These were amusements derived from the Saturnalia, and so called from the Danish _Mumme_, or Dutch _Momme_, disguise in a mask. Christmas was the grand scene of mumming, and some mummers were disguised like bears, others like unicorns, bringing presents. Those who could not procure masks rubbed their faces with soot, or painted them. In the Christmas mummeries the chief aim was to surprise by the oddity of the masques and singularity and splendour of the dresses. Everything was out of nature and propriety. They were often attended with an exhibition of gorgeous machinery.--Fosbroke’s _Encylopædia of Antiquities_, 1840, p. 669; see Strutt’s _Sports and Pastimes_, 1801, pp. 124, 189, 190; also _N. & Q. 2nd S._ vol. x. pp. 464, 465, vol. xi. p. 271, vol. xii. p. 407; _3rd S._ vol. i. p. 66, vol. iv. p. 486.

_Pantomime._--The Christmas pantomime or harlequinade is, in its present shape, essentially a British entertainment, and was first introduced into this country by a dancing master of Shrewsbury named Weaver in 1702. One of his pantomimes, entitled _The Loves of Mars and Venus_, met with great success. The arrival, in the year 1717, in London of a troupe of French pantomimists with performing dogs, gave an impetus to this kind of drama, which was further developed in 1758 by the arrival of the Grimaldi family, the head of which was a posture-master and dentist. Under the auspices of this family the art of producing pantomimes was greatly cultivated, and the entertainment much relished. Joseph Grimaldi, the son of the dentist, was clever at inventing tricks and devising machinery, and _Mother Goose_, and others of his harlequinades, had an extended run. At that time the wit of the clown was the great feature, but, by-and-by, as good clowns became scarce, other adjuncts were supplied, such as panoramas or dioramic views; and now the chief reliance of the manager is on scenic effects, large sums of money being lavished on the _mise en scène_. This is particularly the case as regards the transformation scene--i.e., the scene where the characters are changed into clown, harlequin, &c., as much as 1000_l._ being frequently spent on this one effort. In London alone a sum of 40,000_l._ is annually expended at Christmas time on pantomimes. The _King of the Peacocks_, a pantomime produced at the London Lyceum Theatre during the management of Madame Vestris, cost upwards of £3000. Even provincial theatres, such as those of Manchester or Edinburgh, consider it right to go to considerable expense in the production of their Christmas pantomime.--Chambers’ _Encyclopædia_, 1874, vol. vii. p. 237; see Disraeli’s _Curiosities of Literature_, 1858, pp. 116-130; _N. & Q. 4th S._ vol. v. pp. 193-95.

_Plum-Porridge._--This, says Misson, was a “sort of soup with plumbs, which is not at all inferior to the pye.” Dr. Rimbault says, was not this the same as _plum-pudding_? Pudding was formerly used in the sense of stuffing or force-meat, as we now say black-puddings. Porridge, on the other hand, was used in the sense of our pudding. Thus Shakspeare talks of “porridge after meat,” meaning _pudding_ after meat.--_N. & Q. 2nd S._ vol. xii. p. 489.

_Snapdragon._--A very favourite pastime at this season. Although so prevalent in England, it is almost unknown in Scotland.--See _Book of Days_, vol. ii. p. 738.

A writer in the _Pantalogia_ (1813, vol. x.) thus describes this sport:--It is a kind of play, in which brandy is set on fire, and raisins thrown into it, which those who are unused to the sport are afraid to take out, but which may be safely snatched by a quick motion and put blazing into the mouth, which being closed, the fire is at once extinguished. A correspondent of _N. & Q._ (_2nd S._ vol. vii. p. 277) suggests as a derivation the German _schnapps_, spirit, and _drache_, dragon, and that it is equivalent to spirit-fire. The game has also been called _flap-_ and _slap-dragon_ at different times. Shakspeare, for example, in the second part of _Henry IV._ act ii. sc. 4, makes Falstaff answer:

“And drinks off candles’ ends for _flap-dragons_.”

And in _Love’s Labours Lost_, act v. sc. 1:

“Thou art easier swallowed than a _flap-dragon_.”

See also the _Tatler_, No. 85.

_Christmas Sports._--Among the various games and sports of an olden Christmas, says Dr. Rimbault, were card-playing, chess, and draughts, jack-pudding in the hall; fiddlers and musicians, who were regaled with a black-jack of beer and a Christmas pie; also singing the wassail, scrambling for nuts, cakes, and apples; dancing round standards decorated with evergreens in the streets; the famous old hobby-horse, hunting owls and squirrels, the fool plough, hot cockles, and the game of hoodman-blind.--_N. & Q. 2nd S._ vol. xii. p. 489.

_Christmas Tree._--Various suggestions have been made as to the origin of the Christmas tree. Mr. Timbs, in his _Something for Everybody_ (1861, p. 127), suggests its being traceable to the ancient Egyptians and their palm-tree, which produces a branch every month, and therefore held to be emblematical of the year. The Germans may be said to claim it as peculiar to themselves, as being indicative of their attachment to Christianity; they identify it with the apostolic labours of St. Maternus, one of the earliest, if not the very first, of the preachers of the Gospel among them. They have a legend of his sleeping under a fir-tree, and of a miracle that occurred on that occasion. Mr. MacCabe (_N. & Q. 3rd S._ vol. viii. p. 489), however, thinks the Christmas tree is traceable to the Roman Saturnalia, and was not improbably first imported into Germany with the conquering legions of Drusus. The Christmas tree, such as we now see it, with its pendent toys and mannikins, is distinctly portrayed in a single line of Virgil (Georg. ii. 389):

“Oscilla ex alta suspendunt mollia pinu.”

Consult Smith’s _Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities_ (1849, 2nd ed. p. 846, in verb. “oscillum”), where there is given an engraving “from an ancient gem (Maffei, Gem. Ant. iii. 64) representing a tree with four oscilla hung upon its branches.” Any one looking into that valuable work will see at once that it is an exact picture of a Christmas tree.

A correspondent of _Book of Days_ (vol. ii. p. 787) says, within the last twenty years, and apparently since the marriage of Queen Victoria with Prince Albert, previous to which time it was almost unknown in this country, the Christmas tree has been introduced into England with the greatest success.

_The Vessel-Cup._--There is a very pretty custom, now nearly obsolete, of bearing the “vessel,” or, more properly the wassail-cup, at Christmas. This consists of a box containing two dolls, dressed up to represent the Virgin and the Infant Christ, decorated with ribbons and surrounded by flowers and apples; the box has usually a glass lid, is covered over by a white napkin, and carried from door to door on the arms of a woman; on the top, or in the box, a china bason is placed, and the bearer on reaching a house, uncovered the box and sung the carol known as the “Seven Joys of the Virgin.”

The carrying of the “vessel-cup” is a fortuitous speculation, as it is considered so unlucky to send any one away unrequited, that few can be found whose temerity is so great as to deter them from giving some halfpence to the singer.

In Yorkshire, formerly, only one image used to be carried about--that of the Saviour, which was placed in a box surrounded by evergreens, and such flowers as could be procured at the season. The party to whose house the figure was carried were at liberty to take from the decorations of the image a leaf or a flower, which was carefully preserved and regarded as a sovereign remedy for the toothache.--_Jour. of Arch. Assoc._ 1853, vol. viii. p. 38; _Book of Days_, 1864, vol. ii. p. 725; Brand, _Pop. Antiq._ vol. i. p. 454.

_Turkey._--The turkey has graced the Christmas table from the date of its introduction into England, about the year 1524. Tusser mentions the bird as forming part of the Christmas fare in 1587:

“Beefe, mutton, and porke, shred pies of the best;
Pig, veale, goose, and capon, and turkie well drest.”

_Waits._--Musicians who play by night for two or three weeks before Christmas, terminating their performances generally on Christmas Eve. It is uncertain, says a correspondent of _Book of Days_ (vol ii. p. 742), whether the term _Waits_ denoted originally musical instruments, a particular kind of music, or the persons who played under certain special circumstances. There is evidence in support of all these views. At one time the name of waits was given to minstrels attached to the king’s court, whose duty it was to guard the streets at night and proclaim the hour, something in the same manner as the watchmen were wont to do in London before the establishment of the metropolitan police. Down to the year 1820, perhaps later, says the same writer (p. 743), the waits had a certain degree of official recognition in the cities of London and Westminster. In London, the post was purchased; in Westminster, it was an appointment under the control of the high constable and the court of burgesses. A police inquiry about Christmas time in that year brought the matter in a singular way under public notice. Mr. Clay had been the official leader of the waits for Westminster, and, on his death, Mr. Monro obtained the post. Having employed a number of persons in different parts of the city and liberties of Westminster to serenade the inhabitants, trusting to their liberality at Christmas as a remuneration, he was surprised to find that other persons were, unauthorized, assuming the right of playing at night, and making applications to the inhabitants for Christmas boxes. Sir R. Baker, the police magistrate, promised to aid Mr. Munro in the assertion of his claims, and the result, in several cases, showed that there really was this “vested right” to charm the ears of the citizens with nocturnal music. At present, however, there is nothing to prevent any number of such itinerant minstrels from plying their midnight calling. See two interesting articles on the subject by Mr. Chappell in _N. & Q. 3rd S._ vol. vi. pp. 489, 509.

_Yule-clog or Yule-log._--This was generally lighted on Christmas Eve, and was, says Soane, as large as the hearth would admit of, or the means of the rejoicers could supply; and, in some of the northern counties of England, so long as the log lasted, the servants were entitled to ale at their meals. At one time custom prescribed that it should be lighted with a brand of the last year’s block, which had been carefully put by and preserved for that purpose, as we find it recorded by Herrick:

“Come bring with a noise,
My merrie, merrie boys,
The Christmas log to the firing;
While my good dame, she
Bids ye all be free,
And drink to your heart’s desiring.

With the last year’s brand
Light the new block, and
For good success in his spending,
On your psalteries play
That sweet luck may
Come while the log is a tiending.”[91]

[91] To _Teend_ is to kindle, or to _burn_, from the Anglo-Saxon
_Tendan_ to set on fire.

It is also requisite that the maidens who blow a fire, should come to the task with clean hands:

“Wash your hands, or else the fire
Will not tiend to your desire;
Unwash’d hands, ye maidens, know,
Dead the fire though ye blow.”

BERKSHIRE.

At Cumnor the parishioners, who paid vicarial tithes, claimed a custom of being entertained at the vicarage, on the afternoon of Christmas Day, with four bushels of malt brewed into ale and beer, two bushels of wheat made into bread, and half a hundred weight of cheese. The remainder was given to the poor the next morning after divine service.--Lysons’ _Magna Britannia_, 1813, vol. i. pt. ii. p. 271.

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.

By the will of John Popple, dated the 12th of March, 1830, 4_l._ yearly is to be paid unto the vicar, churchwardens, and overseers of the poor of the parish of Burnham, to provide for the poor people who should be residing in the poorhouse, a dinner, with a proper quantity of good ale and likewise with tobacco and snuff.--_Old English Customs and Charities_, 1842, p. 4.

Up to about 1813, a bull and boar, a sack of wheat, and a sack of malt were given away to the poor by the lord of the manor of Prince’s Risborough about six o’clock every Christmas morning. This practice was then discontinued, and for about five or six years after the discontinuance, beef and mutton were distributed to the poor about Christmas in lieu of the above articles.--_Ibid._ p. 66.

The following extract is taken from the _Gent. Mag._ (1753, vol. xxiii. p. 49):--At Quainton, above two thousand people went, with lanterns and candles, to view a blackthorn in that neighbourhood, and which was remembered to be a slip from the famous Glastonbury thorn, and that it always budded on the 24th, was full blown the next day, and went all off at night. The people finding no appearance of a bud, it was agreed by all that December 25th (New Style) could not be the right Christmas Day, and accordingly refused going to church, and treating their friends on that day as usual. At length the affair became so serious, that the ministers of the neighbouring villages, in order to appease them, thought it prudent to give notice that the _Old_ Christmas Day should be kept holy as before.

This famous hawthorn was supposed to be sprung from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea, who having fixed it in the ground with his own hand on Christmas Day, it took root immediately, put forth leaves, and the next day was covered with milk-white blossoms.[92]--See Hearne’s _History and Antiquities of Glastonbury_, 1722.

[92] Collinson, in his _History of Somersetshire_ (1791), alludes to
the miraculous walnut-tree, which grew in the Abbey churchyard of
Glastonbury, and never budded forth before the feast of St. Barnabas,
viz., 11th June, and on that very day shot forth leaves, and
flourished.

CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

At Clare Hall, in Cambridge, a collar of brawn is always provided for the Fellows’ table on Christmas Day, which comes up every day during the twelve days and then makes another and last appearance on Candlemas Day. A sprig of ivy with berries is stuck in the centre of the top; the berries are first dipped in flour, probably to represent the hoar frost.--_Time’s Telescope_, 1863, p. 338.

CORNWALL.

Hitchins, in his _History of Cornwall_ (1824, vol. i. p. 718), gives the following account of the Christmas plays, which at one time were performed in this county at Christmas. He says, the lads who engage in these theatrical representations appear fantastically dressed, decorated with ribbons and painted paper, with wooden swords, and all the equipage necessary to support the several characters they assume. To entertain their auditors, they learn to repeat a barbarous jargon, in the form of a drama, which has been handed down from distant generations. War and love are the general topics, and St. George and the Dragon are always the most prominent characters. Interludes, expostulations, debate, battle, and death, are sure to find a place among the mimicry; but a physician who is always at hand immediately restores the dead to life. It is generally understood that these Christmas plays derived their origin from the ancient crusades, and hence the feats of chivalry and the romantic extravagance of knight-errantry that are still preserved in all the varied pretensions and exploits.--See _Every Day Book_, 1827, vol. ii. p. 122.

It was customary at one time in Cornwall on the last Thursday that was one clear week before Christmas Day, which was anciently called _jeu-nhydn_, or White Thursday, for the tinners to claim a holiday, because, according to tradition, on this day black tin or ore was first melted or turned into white tin or metal in these parts.--Hitchins, _History of Cornwall_, 1824, vol. i. p. 725.

CUMBERLAND.

In this county, and in all the great towns in the North of England, about a week before Christmas, what are called _Honey-Fairs_ are held, in which dancing forms the leading amusement.--_Time’s Telescope_, 1824, p. 297.

DERBYSHIRE.

Christmas festivities are well observed in Derbyshire; mummers or guisers go from house to house, and perform a play of St. George. They are dressed up in character and decorated with ribbands, tinsel, and other finery, and on being admitted into the house commence their performance by St. George announcing himself by beginning his oration:

“I am St. George, the noble champion bold,
And with my glittering sword
I’ve won three crowns of gold;
It’s I who fought the fiery dragon,
And brought it to the slaughter;
And so I won fair Sabra,
The king of Egypt’s daughter.
--Seven have I won, but married none,
And bear my glory all alone,
--With _my_ Sword in my hand,
Who dare against me stand?
I swear I’ll cut him down
With my victorious brand.”

A champion is soon found in the person of Slasher, who accepts the challenge. St. George then replies in a neat speech, when they sing, shake hands, and fight with their wooden swords, and Slasher is slain. The King then enters, saying:--“I am the King of England, the greatest man alive,” and after walking round the dead body, calls for, “Sir Guy, one of the chiefest men in the world’s wonder,” who shows his wonderful courage and prowess in calling for a doctor. The doctor, on making his appearance, gives a long and quaint account of his birth, parentage, education, and travels, whilst perambulating around the fallen Slasher, and ends his oration by saying:

“Here take a little out of my bottle,
And put it down thy throttle.”

The dead man is thus cured, and having received the advice of, “Rise, Jack, and fight again, the play is ended.”--_Jour. of the Arch. Assoc._ 1852, vol. vii. p. 206.

DORSETSHIRE.

It appears that in some parts of this county the mummers still go round at Christmas-tide, performing a species of play.--See _N. & Q. 5th S._ vol. ii. p. 505.

ESSEX.

On Christmas day at Hornchurch the lessee of the tithes, which belong to New College, Oxford, supplies, says Hone, (_Every Day Book_, 1827, vol. ii. p. 1649), a boar’s head dressed and garnished with bayleaves, &c. In the afternoon it is carried in procession into the mill-field adjoining the churchyard, where it is wrestled for and afterwards feasted upon at one of the public-houses by the rustic conqueror and his friends with all the merriment peculiar to the season.

The following appeared in the _Daily News_ of January 5th, 1852:--By ancient charter or usage in Hornchurch a boar’s head is wrestled for in a field adjoining the church, a boar, the property of the parish, having been slaughtered for the purpose. The boar’s head, elevated on a pole and decorated with ribbons, was brought into the ring where the competitors entered, and the prize was awarded.--See Morant, _History of Essex_, 1768, vol. i. p. 74.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE.

It was formerly the custom of the city of Gloucester to present to the Sovereign at Christmas a lamprey-pie with a raised crust. The custom is of great antiquity, and as Henry I., of lamprey-loving celebrity, frequently held his Court during Christmas at Gloucester, it may have originated in his time. In 1530 the Prior of Lanthony at Gloucester sent “cheese, carp, and baked lampreys” to Henry VIII. at Windsor, for which the bearer received twenty shillings.--Tighe and Davis, _Annals of Windsor_, p. 562.

During the Commonwealth it appears from the following entry in the corporation minutes that the pie was sent to the members for the city:--

“_Item._--Paid to Thomas Suffield, cook, for lamprey-pies sent to our Parliament men, £08 00_s._ 00_d._”

In 1752 it appears to have been the custom to present a lamprey-pie to the Prince of Wales, as appears by Mr. Jesse’s book, _George Selwyn and his Contemporaries_ (vol. i. p. 153), where is printed the following letter from Mr. Alderman Harris to George Selwyn, then M.P. for Gloucester:--

“_Gloucester, 15th January, 1752._

“SIR,--At the request of Mr. Mayor, whose extraordinary hurry of
business will not afford him leisure to direct himself, I am desired
to acquaint you that by the Gloucester waggon this week is sent the
usual present of a lamprey-pie from this Corporation to His Royal
Highness the Prince of Wales. It is directed to you; and I am further
to request the favour of you to have the same presented with the
compliments of this body, as your late worthy father used to do.

“Sir, your most obedient humble servant,

“GAB. HARRIS.

“P.S.--The waggoner’s inn is the King’s Head, in the Old
Change.”[93]--_N. & Q. 2nd S._ vol. ix. p. 184.

[93] Another correspondent of _N. & Q._ (_2nd S._ vol. ix. p. 185)
says that it was formerly the custom to send to the King the first
lamprey caught in the river at the commencement of the season; it was
stewed, that being the best way of cooking this fish.

HEREFORDSHIRE.

In this county, and also in Worcestershire, it is considered very unlucky for new shoes or tanned leather to be received into the house during the Christmas week or on New Year’s Day.--See _N. & Q. 5th S._ vol. iii. p. 7.

KENT.

At one time the festivities of Christmas were commenced at Ramsgate by a curious musical procession. The following account is taken from Busby’s _Concert Room and Orchestra Anecdotes_ (1825, vol. i. p. 73):--

A party of young people procure the head of a dead horse, which is affixed to a pole about four feet in length, a string is tied to the lower jaw, a horsecloth is then attached to the whole, under which one of the party gets, and by frequently pulling the string keeps up a loud snapping noise, and is accompanied by the rest of the party grotesquely habited and ringing hand-bells. They thus proceed from house to house, sounding their bells and singing carols and songs. They are commonly gratified with beer and cake, or perhaps with money. This is provincially called a _hodening_; and the figure above described a “hoden,” or wooden horse.

This curious ceremony is also observed in the Isle of Thanet on Christmas Eve, and is supposed to be an ancient relic of a festival ordained to commemorate our Saxon ancestors’ landing in that island.

LANCASHIRE.

The following description of primitive manners in the houses of the gentry at Christmas is extracted by Baines (_Hist. of Lancashire_, vol. iii. p. 294) from a family manuscript of the Cunliffes, of Wycoller, in Lancashire, and refers to an age antecedent to the wars of the Parliament:--“At Wycoller-Hall the family usually kept open house the twelve days at Christmas. Their entertainment was a large hall of curious ashler wood, a long table, plenty of _furmerty_, like new milk, in a morning, made of husked wheat boiled, roasted beef with fat goose and a pudding, with plenty of good beer for dinner. A roundabout fire-place, surrounded with stone benches, where the young folks sat and cracked nuts, and diverted themselves; and in this manner the sons and daughters got matching without going much from home.”--See _Med. Ævi Kalend._ vol. i. p. 91.

ISLE OF MAN.

Train, in his _History of the Isle of Man_ (1845, vol. ii. p. 127), says:--The Christmas festival is introduced by young persons perambulating the various towns and villages in the evenings, fantastically dressed, and armed with swords, calling as they proceed, “Who wants to see the White Boys act?” When their services are engaged they, like the Scotch _guisards_ or _Quhite boys of Yule_, perform a rude drama, in which St. George, Prince Valentine, King of Egypt, Sambo, and the Doctor are the _dramatis personæ_.

It was customary in the Isle of Man for every family that could afford it to have a brewing called _Jough-ny-nollick_, i.e., Christmas drink, prepared for the festivities of the season. On such occasions one brewing-kettle generally served a whole neighbourhood, which gave rise to the monk’s proverb, “To go about like a brewing-pan.”--_Ibid._ p. 127.

MIDDLESEX.

Malcolm, in his _Anecdotes of the Manners and Customs of London_ (1811, p. 259), speaking of Christmas Day, says:--“It was a day of grand difference in the judgment of some, and in the City of London some opened their shops, but to stop mutinying they were shut up again; yet do very few understand what the difference is that is now embraced in the judgments of those who desire the reformation from Popish innovation, but to give such further satisfaction herein, it is the opinion of these that it is a day wherein it is very fit for the people of God to congregate in the church to hear the Word of God preached, but not a holiday or such a day as is of absolute necessity to be kept holy; it is a day wherein it is no sin for a man to follow his calling, and he must not by a Popish innovation adore the day.”

_Inns of Court._--There were anciently great doings in the halls of the Inns of Court at Christmas. At the Inner Temple early in the morning the gentlemen of the Inn went to church, and after the service they repaired into the hall to breakfast with brawn, mustard, and malmsey. At the first course at dinner was “served in, a fair and large _Bore’s head_ upon a silver platter, with minstralsye.”--Dugdale’s _Orig. Jurid._

A correspondent of _N. & Q._ (_5th S._ vol. ii. p. 507), alluding to the time-honoured custom of the Boar’s Head Feast at St. John’s Gate, Clerkenwell, says the boar’s head is still served up at Queen’s College, Oxford (see p. 477), but I do not think it can be more enjoyable than the Christmas custom used to be at Clerkenwell, with the hall strewn with rushes, the gigantic yule-log drawn in by the sons of the host (the late proprietor), with the accompanying announcement, by bugles, and the bringing in of the boar’s head, the “cook dressed all in white,” singing the good old carol (printed by Wynkyn, de Worde, 1521), copies of which being in the hands of the guests, who joined in the chorus, rendering the whole scene so pleasant as never to be forgotten. The loving cup was never omitted, and of course wassail was duly brought in, “y^{e} Lorde of Mysrewle doing his duty ‘passing well.’” The following is an exact copy of the carol:

“CAROLL AT YE BRYNGYNE IN YE BORE’S HEED.

_Caput apri differo
Reddens laudem Domino._

The bore’s heed in hande bringe I,
With garlens gay and rosemarie,
I pray you all synge merrilie,
_Qui estis in convivio_.

The bore’s heed I understande,
Is the chefe servyce in this lande,
Loke wherever it be fonde,
_Servite cum cantico_.

Be gladde lordes, both more and lesse,
For this hath ordeyned our stewarde
To chere you all this Christmasse,
The bore’s heed with mustarde.”

Subjoined is a copy of the invitation the late host and his predecessor used to issue, which is a curious production:

“We’ll passe aboute y^{e} lovynge cuppe,
And sende ye wassaile rounde;
With myrthe and songes of chyvalrie,
These goodlye Halles shall sounde.

[Here is an illustration of the north side of the Gate.]

“Samuel Wickens, ye Grande Mayester of ye Priorye of Sainte John, Greetinge welle hys ryght trustye and welle beloved friends, dothe herebye summon them to hys councill to be holden in y^{e} Greate Halle of y^{e} Priorye, aforesaide, on y^{e} ninthe daye of Ianuarie, anno Domini, one thousande eighte hundrede and seventie-three, to adjudycate on y^{e} qualitie of hys viandes: that is to saye, roaste beefe and plumbe puddynge, and with a cordialle greetinge in y^{e} wassaile boule and y^{e} lovynge cuppe, perpetuate to alle tyme and to tyme oute of mynde a ryghte goodlye and lastynge fellowshipe. Ye Boare’s heade will be broughte into ye halle, and y^{e} chante will be sange, at sixe of the clocke, at which tyme y^{e} Feast will begine.”

NORFOLK.