Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, December 22, 1916, Page 9

Though the Nations Are in the Grip of War, :Effort- Will Be Made to Observe Old Christ- mas Rites—In Ger- ‘many Christmas Is the Great Day of the Yedr. The Serbian Badnyak. “Christmas Celebra- “tions in the Sultan’s ‘Domain — Russian iChristmas Eve ‘Cere- “mony—In Bulgariaand Belgium — Poles Be- lieve Christ Returns to Earth as a Little Babe on Christmas Eve. Midnight Masses — In France and Italy. Christmas in Austria. HROUGHOUT the warring coun- tries of Europe the Christmas season will necessarily ‘be but an attempt at merrymaking. The Yuletide’s approach only tends to ®Bring home more keenly to the hearts ©f the people of the war-riven lands “the hideousness of the brutal conflict #nd the mockery of “Peace on earth, ®00d will toward men.” But, reports state, all of the warring nations, with the exception of Turkey, &re striving to bring some small part at least of the usual Christmas happi- ness and good cheer to the men at the front, the unfortunates interned in prison camps and the sick and dying sufferers on their cots of pain in the hospitals. * * * In Europe the loving hearts of the women at homé are guiding their busy i bands, and the children’s little fingers, ! to form the multitude of gifts which reports state are soon to be dispatched to the different armies time for Christmas, as was done last year. { When a lull comes in the fighting the ' smen will be permitted to feast and be &s merry as they can; and each will celebrate the day, as far as possible, mccording to the customs of his own “and. ¢ _Of all the countries now at war per- haps none makes more of the Christmas festivities than does the German mna- tion. Many months in advance the German hausfrau and little madchen busily ply their needles so that each one in the family, and near friends as well, may be remembered with a hand- made gift when the great day comes, when the locked and bolted Christmas room ig at last opened and the splendid tree is seen in all the glory of myriads of tiny tapers, glistening balls, fes- toons of tinsel, gay paper cornucopias, its branches laden with toys and bon- bons, an dthe “pfefferkuchen” so dear to the children's eyes. The pfefferkuchen is a spicy cake, made in all shapes, but usually in cir- cles, figure eights, or stars with a hole in the éenter, that they may be easily fastened to the tree. These Christmas cakes are made by the German bakers in three classes, of differing quality and cos! 0 that even the poorest ‘hildren may save up a few pfennigs and purchase them. The “kringeln,” a transparent sugar candy, and the sweet almond paste i known as “lubecker marzipan” are ! both sure to be found on the German i Christmas tree, mo matter what itsg size, if the good hausfrau can manage to supply them. A figure, usually of an angel or fairy, tops the tree, and on in rmrse i small tables and chairs under the Jadened boughs are heaped up great ; piles of daintily wrapped presents | ! neatly inscribed with the name of each membder of tha family No one is forgotten, Even the German children of tender years delgght to give their paremts presents of their own making. Funny little Christmas cards painted with astonishingly brilliant _flowers and birds are popular, while the j older children copy appropriite verses in their quaintly formed writing. * w0k Christmas cards are now known and in general use the world over, but the | first one originated in London, in the § year 1845. In that year the Rev. Ed- ward Bradley, author of “Verdant Green,” had a printer make him some Roliday cards from his own design, to send to his friends. Two years later the Newcastle printer put out a num- ber of cards which sold at pence, 4 cents, each. One was recently sold in London for £250, or $1,250. While little American and English ghildren delight to hang up their stockings at bedtime near the chim- ney on Christmas eve, the boys and | girls of France, Serbla, Bulgaria and many other countries place their Shoes in 2 corner, or mear the fire, that ths - good Pere Noel, or the little Christ Child, may come and fiill them with goodies. Faiths differ, and with them the ob- servances of the Christmas celebra- tions, but all countries have their pretty legends? quaint beliefs and odd superstitions which from time imme- morial have attached themselves to the ancient festival, like the sacred mis- flétoe of the Druids to the oak. The uce of the bright holly and mi tletoe for Christmas decorations to are plain reminders of the old festival. Long before- the Christ, the Druids, with myst and the holly and mistietoe, perform- ed weird ceremonies in the forests of Britain, at which time the Yule log was burned—not in honor of the I’rince of | Peace, but of Thor, the god of war. » * After twelve centuries of Christianity ) '11113121!.1%N Maxourian Poam flavor of their old pagan practices, their very word for Christmas being “Bojich,” which means “The Little God.” As in ancient times the Serbs sacrificed a pig to the sun god, 50 .Laay in every Serbian home roast pig should be the principal Christmas dish. Christmas eve is known among the Serbians as “Badnyi Dan,” or the day of the old Badnyak, who is some sort of a divinity connected with the young Bojich of Christmas day. Very 1y in “the morning "two of the family's strong young men, attended by the younger boys, make their way to the forest, where, after having crossed themselves three times, as is the usual custom among the Gréek Church fol- lowers, or afterssaying a brief prayer, they select a tree which Is t 2s the Badnyl. Before settin® out they have provided themselves with a sup- ply of grain, wheat kernels being used many times in the ceremonies which mark their queer rites. Greeting the tree with the words, iappy Badnyi d to you one of the ung men throws a handful of wheat upon it, while the other carefully plies his a Great care must be taken in chopping down the tree, for it must fall toward the east, exactly at th moment the sun god rises. The first chip that falls is carefully preserved by one of the children and brought home with the Badnyi, which is always cut into two or three pieces, the longer log being the most precious. * * ¥ On reaching the house the mother of the family comes out, bringing a small flat wheat cgke of unleavened flour called “pogackar which she breaks. on the longei Badnyi, the logs being left outside the house each side of the door. The whole day spent in making preparations for the following day, the women baking cakes shaped lke sheep, pigs and chickers, and other good things, while the men folks get a fat Dig ready for roasting. Just at sunset one of the men is given new woolen gloves, to go out and bring in the Badnya As he passes the threshold the mother of the family throws at him a handful of wheat from a bowl in which she has kept all day the chip brought her in the morning. The young man greets all present. And then, in many remote rts of the country, the father drinks a glass of wine to the health of the Badnyak, and pours wine on the log. It is considered most important thaf the great log be kept brightly burning all night. When the log is lighted, the young folks run out and fire off guns or pistols, and when the roast pig is done that fact 80 is announced to the peighborho '\ with much noise and the popping of .~ carms, The first visitor in every Serbian home on Christmas morning mus - ways be the “Polaznik.” Hegls t‘jxl‘x:j’l‘v a neighbor's son, who arrives very early armed with a slove full of wheat At his knock the door is opened .and he ‘merrily throws the grain at the company at thegfireside and Into- tire rners of the M@m, saying: “Christ is born!" To which the house mothey re- plies by throwing wheat on him, while all join in exclaiming: “He is born in- deed Taking up # heavy shovel, the Christ- mas guest yow strikes the Badnyak sharp blows, which make thée sparks fly, while hé pronounces good i ishes for each of the family, the cows, goats, horses, sheep, bees iand fields. ‘Having kissed his host, he fs his knees and kisses the end of the Baduyak, 1t always is ploced on the fire so that one end protrudes into the room, The Polaznik crosses himself . number of times and then places a smalljcoin_on the Serbian observances of Christmas- tide are still strongly marked with the | £ DA S S IR ST ST At A IETE B 114 s r the log as his Christmas gift. An amusing part of the ceremony is the custom of pulling out the. chair * G EE CH CEREMONY POLISH CHRIST Z, THE, SCENE._OF MANY CHRIS e ——— MacsTs INVIENNA. known'| CUTTING just as the Polaznik is about to seat himself by the fire, the idea being to make him fix, by sitting down hard, all the zood wishes he has just uttered. Afterward he is wrapped in a shawl and seated by the Badnyak, while the young people exchange kisses across the log. The shawl or blanket is sup- posed‘ to insure thick cream for the coming yvear, and the kisses of the shepherds and shepherdesses to secure peace and love among the sheep and other live stock. Before the principal mas day is eaten all the members of the family gather in a circle around their father with lighted tapers in their hands. Reverently bowing their heads, they listen to his fervent prayers for £o0d luck. Then all embrace and kiss one another before sitting down to the roas pig and the rest of the savory repast. At the end of the meal ail stand and drink “to the glory of God and to the glory of Christ's birth!” aft- er which special toast the Christmas ceremonies usually are brought to a close. While the sultan's subjects In Con- stantinople, the great Osmanli capital, are mostly Moslems, Christmas day there is observed by many celebrations. The Greek Catholics, Roman Catholics and Armenians, as well as other na- tionalities, ali celebrate in their own way the feast of the nativity. As the Mohammedans honor Jesus and the Ko- meal of Christ- | Mary, His mother, the day is one whose observance is looked upen by the Turks in a more tolerant spirit than any other | Christian holiday Christmas - in Constantinople to the Greek boys of the city is as full of noise and firecrackers and the shooting of pistols as was our own observ- ance of the Fourth of July before the safe and sane method of celelrating the day came in vogue. After seryices the Greek Church congregation gxchange ipresents of fruit and flowers fgom home to home and the poor are rememtcred - the gift of a good dinner. * g * % In Russia, as In Greece, Bulgaria, Ser- bla and other countries in which the | people &till cling to the old Jullan cal- endar, Christmas now comes thirteen days after ours, for December 25 by the Gregorian calendar is only December 12 by the old style of reckoning. To make the discrepancy less confusing, the Orthodox Greek Church countries usually give both dates. Thus St. Nich- olas’ day Is written December 6-19. “Kolenda” is the Russian Christmas eve celebration. The peasants. go in bands and serenade the rich nobles, their masters. The whole company, young men and old, scramble in the snow for the coins tossed them from the windows. Later they enjoy a gay masquerade in which the whole coun- tryside takes part, both sexes dress up in absurd costumes supposed to rep- resent aniimals/ the idea being to com- memorate the’ fact that Christ was born in a stable among the humblest of the animal Russian children peep out into the dark snowy might on Christmas eve to catch a glimpse of poor old Babouska, whose sad story every little Muscovite 1s sure to know. The legend tells that one night, when cold and weary, she met a grand procession headed by the three kiugs in white robes and golden crowns; who told her “The CHrist is born, Come thou with us and worship them.” But Babouska was cold and eager to get home. All night she heard the Babe (;\n,hund next morning she athered together a bag of toys Barted out to.find Him. But search. as she may, she never finds the holy Babe, and as she goes stumbling through the suow in her vain search she dropagu ran even maintains the sinless birth of | 10US SERBIAN-CHRISTMAS CUSTONS, ATREETOR THE BADNYAERS toy on the doorstep of every poor fam- ily. The Bulgarian peasants, the Germans and others all share the legend that animals are conscious when Christmas eve comes round. Many of the coun- try folks really believe that at mi night the sheep awake and march in procession, and the cattle kneel in their stalls, while by a holy miracle all the beasts are ab! to converse together. |But a mortal sin for 2 man to at- tempt to overhear them; a sin pupish- {able with sudden death. * In Belgium there are Christmas serv- ices in the churches; but the children laek the joy of a tree and the presents and good things which usually accom- pany the day. Bands of beggars often %0 about on Christmas eve singing and asking alms, or bread, from door to door, but the custom is not encouraged. Many little Belgian boys and girls look under their pillows for the engels- koek on Christmas morning, believing that the angel Gabriel himself will have placed the angeP cake there. Among the Poles it is commonly be- lleved that every Christmas eve Christ again returns to earth as a little babe, and on the holy night other biblical occurrences are thought to take place. The pure in heart are sald to be able to see St. Jacol's ladder and the angels descending to earth to scatter their gifts of peace and love. in TItaly, France and other Roman Catholic countries the midnight mass on the night before Christmas is one of the most impressive services of the vear. The altars are made beautiful with myrlads of glowing tapers and fragrant with the perfume of flowers and burning incense. The custom is common on the night of the nativity to have a miniature representation of the Holy Babe in the manger. The creche is often quite complete, not only hav- ing the figure of the infant, but also dolls dressed to represent the Virgin Mother and St. Joseph, and little crude- 1y_shaped animals. In France and Italy thers is a pretty custom. It consists of giving special welcome to the first babe left on Christmas morning at the door of the foundling homes. A handsome cradle and fine soft linens are made ready, and the poor little waif is taken in and given a ceremonious welcome in the name of the Christ Child. * * * In Russia, a few days before Christ- mas, the peasants prepare for the quaint ceremony known as “bride choosing.” All the marriageable young folks try their fortune by sitting be- fore little piles of grain. Just at mid- night a hungry cock is brought in, and the pile of grain which he first eats designates the one who will be first jmarried, and the second the next, and so on until he will eat nb more. The bride choosing occurs annually | on Christmas eve, at which time all the unmarried girls gather at the house i‘cf the elder of the village, where they sit in a demure row, with their heads carefully covered by whi veils. The swains in search of a bride are then called in, and make their selection without seeing the face of the girl But, being a daughter of E the Rus- sian maiden wears a particular dress, or has a bit of ribbon on her shoe, or other sign, by which her lover may know her and make no mistake. The uncovering of the bride seems to be merely a -copy of the Mohammedan idea. After having been chosen, the bride®o-be loses no time in hurrying Bussiat CereMony OF e VEILE, p WorMzN AND Tur. ARDENT SWAWNS ON CHRISTMAS Eve. 5 ON CHRISTMAS LVE N her lover to her own home, where her father takes charge of the regular betrothal. In Italy, in the Val al Rose, Italian highlands, for centuries there has been the quaint and pretty custom, at Christmas, of making votive offerings at the shrines of the Redeemer of fruit and flowers, by the peasants, each arbed in the picturesque dress of his §Wn aistrict. In upper Lombardy, par- ticularly, musicians visit the shrines and, accompanied by little children drefsed as angels, make a tour of the villages and towns, collecting alms, which are distributed later to the poor as gifis from the Christ Child. - A * * In times of peace In Austria-Hungary the mention of Christmas brings an an- ticipatory light of welcome to the eyes of patriclan and peasant allke. It is an occasion for joy and sprightly com- memoration in that Cathollc country. It is a timé for carnivals, public cele- brations, innumerable masses, musicals and wine partles. s But in war time it is vastly different. Puyblic functions are discontinued by tacit agreement, public dancing is pro- hibited and the people of the middle classes devote their holiday to modest home pleasures and the solace of church worship. Only the very rich, who have not really. felt the pinch of war, usher in the birthday of our Sa- vior with the former joviality common to the dual monarchy. Picture the home of a wealthy Vien- nese family on Christmas eve. Bright lights are burning In every room. In the alr s the aroma of cooking fowl. Gay volces ring back and forth through spacious halls. Guests are arriving, sweeping layers of fine snow from their great fur coats and shouting greetings to their friends. It is Christmas eve and every one must be happy. In one room stands a giant pine tree, its highest branch bending over at the ceiling, the better to display a gorgeous creation of “Kristkindchen,” or Santa Claus, as we know the patron saint of children. Upon all the other limbs of the tree, weighing them down almost fo the point. of breaking, are good things of every description—cookies, candies molded into odd shapes, tightly wrapped bundles that hint of mysteri- ous contents, etc. Under the ‘tree are viled many miore gifts, carefully wrap- ped to decelve inquisitive eyes while arousing curiosity. - A servant In livery artnounces the feast. Guests in evening dress form a stately procession and gather about the table, quivering undef its burden of boiled turkey, baked game, mountains of mashed white potatoes, other vege- tables, costly wines of every descrip- tion—and a_few slices of war bread. Jokes are passed and puns exchanged anent the war bread, which is barely tasted and passed by for whiter and more edible cakes baked attractively. The host rises and pronounces his blessing over bowed heads, ending with a prayer for the success of Austrian arms and the long life of the emperor. Always do they mention the revered Franz Josef in tones of love and loy- alty. The feast is on. In due time, when appetites are ap- peased and the last after-dinner speak- er has expressed the thoughts then foremost in his mind, the children, who have eaten their Christmas eve dinner in the nursery, are called forthiand gather around the great tree for their songs and dances, while the tallest man in the assemblage stretches for the gifts and bestows them with a) ropriate greetings upon the persons or whom they are intended. Ere the last gift has been removed from the tres the clock has struck midnight and sleepy, happy chlldren are sent to bed with their nurses, to arise for early mass in Maximiilan Platz. The older folks, reaching the acme of joy, retire to the largest room in the home and dance well on into the morning hours, many proceeding di- rectly from the feast to masses in progress. Thus is Christmas eve cele- brated among the rich of Austria- Hungary, even in wartime—a joyous round of feasting, drinking, gift dis- pensing and dancing. * * ¥ It is a long cry from the rich to the poor, and as the visitor wades through the snow across stubble flelds toward a faint lamp glow in the home of a Hungarian peasant he feels the con- trast keenly. At a crossroads stands a wayside shrine. Snow nas fallen upon the tiny roof, but the shmine is un- touched. Kneeling in a half circle be- fore it in the snok arée a dozen or more peasants, mostly women and_ children. None of them are wearing their vari- colored, gaudy hulida¥ dresses, and in their faces is a lock of worryand grief. They are praying diligently, and now and then one ral her arms and voice in an outburst of pleading that strikes a sympathetic chord among the othefd who respond in unison: “Oh, God, give us peace!” Finally they rise and leave, singly and in groups, retiring to their homes with bowed heads, the children stum- bling through the snow with faces toc sober for little ones on Christmas sve— a snowy Christmas eve, when Sants Claus can travel best. ‘A mother and two children ente: their home, consisting of two rooms, one for cooking and eating, the other for sleeping. In one corner of the bed- room stands a spruce tree decorated with cheap bits of dyed rags, home- made paper dolls and an occasional glass ball. There are some shapeles: Cookies, a present or two wrapped in coarse brown paper, and over all hangs the Madonna of the Tear. The Kkitchen table 15 set for a supper of veal, coffce and war bread, of which the little family partake in silence. Af the conclusion of the meal the mother, with a slight shrug of her shoulders and a cast of her hands, motions th “hildren to the bedroom, while she lingers to gaze dry-eved upon a faded photograph of her husband in his first Military uniform. At last she riser and silently removes the presents from the tree, standing by while her chil- dren’s black eves sparkle and their tiny tongues prattle over the cheap gifts. Tt is not vet 10 o'clock when the time has come for bed. The little family Kneel before the tree in the uncertain light of the lamp and the motheris enrmest voice pleads softly and clearly in the silence of the shabby home: “Oh. God, we pray you to care for our father and husband, and protect fim from the bullets of the enemy that he may return to us agalin. For we need him. Amen.” —_— Condition of the Indians and Aleuts of Alaska —_— ‘Aleuts are children of nature and dependents of the nation in @ condition gives concern fes whose¢ aid The THE indians of Alaska and the way, and their to the government authorit duty 1t is to protect them and to them in the ways Of Drogress. home of the Thlinget Indians is in southern Alaska, from Yaskutat ta Ketchikan, and, while their ancestors were like the Aleuts, they are today vastly different in looks, language and habit. The Aleuts live on the islands in southwestern Alaska, along the coas of the Alaska peninsula, and as faf north as the Pribilof Islands and Bris- tol bay. E. Lester James, then deputy commissioner of fisheries, in & report of Alaska Investigations, sald thal nothing in Alaska interested him more or appealed to him more than the In- dtans and the Aleuts, from the faet that their lives, surrounded by condl- tions new and distasteful to them, are being made more unfortunate each day. The white man, he said, has come inte thelr territory? in many cases ;x:zrl;:- ir prior and just:rights. The lands the white man settles,‘and has had, it is charged, more to do with the undoing and ruination of the Indian and the Aleut than all other causes put together, and where saloons are Dot to be found liquor reaches them in the guise of pay and bribes. 'The Indians and the Aleuts were at one — time physically and mentally Strong, but the influences that have Surrounded them for the past ffty Years have lowered their standard, un- #1*n many cases and in many locall- ties they are on a very low plane. Be- cause of the easy living which these people made for unnumbered genera- fions before the coming of strangers among them, it is said that they have how become as a class independent, Tazy and unreliable. The white man, 3 is charged, has done little to encourage their uplift, and is largely to blame for the demoralized condition of mind and body of the native. Last season there were about 4,00 Indians and Aleuts employed in the canning and fishing Industry of Alaska, That is about one-third of the .total number of natives living on the coast of Alaska, or about one-eighth of the entire number in the whole, territory, but with those natives who at times are willing to work there are inany labor troubles.