CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



Christmas carols are amongst the oldest of Eng- 

 lish songs. A collection of them was printed by 

 Wynkyn de Worde in 1521. 



The religious service of Christmas-day receives 

 but a small share of attention from old writers. 

 In fact, the day was chiefly distinguished by the 

 popular festivities. Its grand feature was a feast, 

 of great abundance, and at which a few particular 

 dishes regularly appeared, above all, plum-por- 

 ridge and mince-pie. In every great hall, whether 

 of a man of rank or of a great corporation, there 

 was a boar's head ushered in by minstrelsy. It 

 was customary for the rich and noble to treat 

 their humble dependents, and to meet with them 

 on terms of equality, as considering that all men 

 are regarded alike by the religion of him whose 

 natal-day they are celebrating. A sort of license 

 prevailed. A branch of the mistletoe being hung 

 up in the hall, or over the doorway, the. youths 

 were understood to have a right to kiss any maiden 

 whom they could inveigle under it. It was also 

 customary to elect a person as Lord of Misrule, 

 who went about taking the lead in every kind of 

 extravagant sport and merriment which the wit of 

 man could devise. The election and functions of 

 this personage were perhaps the most singular 

 part of the festival. According to Stow, ' at the 

 feast of Christmas there was in the king's house, 

 wherever 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 wor- 

 ship, 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 All-hallond 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 disguis- 

 ings, masks, and mummeries, with playing at 

 Cards for Counters, Nayles, and Points in every 

 House, more for pastimes than for gaine.' 



The management of the plays usually acted at 

 Christmas in the halls of colleges and law societies 

 fell to the care of the Lord of Misrule. The 

 particular functionary elected in the inns of court 

 in London, after exercising all the duties and 

 going through the parade of royalty for a fortnight, 

 at an expense of a couple of thousand pounds, 

 was knighted at Whitehall by the real sovereign 

 of the land. 



In Scotland, before the Reformation, the relig- 

 ious houses had a similar officer for the Christmas 

 revels, called the Abbot of Unreason, whose par- 

 ticular functions are graphically portrayed by Scott 

 in his novel of The Abbot. The custom was sup- 

 pressed by statute in 1555. 



26. St Stephen's Day, observed as a festival of 

 the Church of England. There was formerly 

 a widely prevalent dogma that it was good to 

 bleed horses about this time of the year, and St 

 Stephen's Day was that chosen by most people for 

 the purpose. On this day, also, blessings were 

 implored upon pastures. 



27. St John the Evangelists Day, observed as 

 a festival by the Church of England. Because 

 John drank poison, without dying in conse- 



464 



quence, it was supposed that those who put 

 their trust in him were safe from all injury fror 

 that cause. 



28. Childermas, or Holy Innocent^ Day, ob- 

 served by the Church of Rome with masses for 

 the children killed by Herod. It was considered 

 unlucky to marry, or to begin any work, on Chil- 

 dermas-day. The learned Gregory says : ' It hath 

 been a custom, and yet is elsewhere, to whip up 

 the children upon Innocents' Day morning, tha 

 the memory of Herod's murder might stick tr 

 closer, and in a moderate proportion to act ove 

 the " crueltie again in kinde." ' 



31. The last day of the year is called in Scotland 

 Hogmanay, a word which has fruitlessly exercised 

 the wits of the etymologists. The Scottish people, 

 overlooking Christmas in obedience to the behests 

 of their religious teachers, have transferred the 

 merriment of the season to Hogmanay and New- 

 year's Day, which they accordingly abandon to 

 all kinds of festivity. Handsel Monday, or the 

 first Monday of the year, is also an occasion of 

 festivity. On the evening of Hogmanay, there 

 are merry-makings, which are always prolonged 

 to twelve o'clock, which has no sooner struck than 

 all start up excitedly, and wish each other a happy 

 new year. Small venturous parties take a kettle 

 with hot ale posset, called ' a het pint,' or, more 

 commonly, a bottle of whisky, and go to the houses 

 of their friends, to wish them a happy new year. 

 Whoever comes first, is called in that house ' the 

 First Foot,' and it is deemed necessary on such 

 occasions to offer the inmates both a piece of cake 

 and a sip from the kettle or the bottle, otherwise 

 they would not be lucky throughout the year. 

 This is called 'First-footing? Next day, all 

 people go about among all other people's houses ; 

 presents are given amongst relations ; and dinner- 

 parties close the evening. Formerly, the first 

 Monday of the year was also much observed as 

 a festive-day, and time for giving presents, from 

 which latter circumstance it was called Handsel 

 Monday. The Handsel Monday, old style, is still, 

 in some rural districts, the chief feast-day of the 

 season. In Scotland, message-boys, postmen, 

 dustmen, &c. expect and receive a small douceur 

 on Handsel Monday from the householders in- 

 cluded in their daily rounds. On the evenings 

 of Christmas, Hogmanay, New-year's Day, and 

 Handsel Monday, parties of young men and boys 

 went about disguised in old shirts and paper 

 vizards, singing at the various houses for a small 

 guerdon. These guizarts, as they were calk " 

 also acted a rustic kind of drama in which 

 adventures of two rival knights and the feats 

 a doctor were conspicuous. Almost everywhe 

 in Scotland the festive and frolicsome observanc 

 of the New-year tide have very much declined. 



Natural History. December is the darkest 

 not the coldest month of the year : the gener 

 average temperature is 40 degrees. The decidt 

 ous trees are now completely stripped of theii 

 foliage, and the ground often shews a snov 

 covering, although it is rarely that there is muc 

 strong ice in December. Amidst the gener 

 desolation, the pines and other evergreens for 

 an agreeable resting-place for the eye. The re 

 also continues to blow during this month. 



