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The Church of Eome, the Church of England, the 

 Greek Church, all unite in celebrating the festival of 

 the birth of Christ — Dies Natalis — "Noel", as the 

 French style it. 



In England, one day was deemed insufficient ; the 

 joyful time was enlarged ; it began on Halloween and 

 ended with Candlemas Day. 



In the country parts of old France, the peasantry 

 solemnized the fete with numerous, simple lays. Some 

 of these touching carols and traditions came over, from 

 old France to New France, two and a-half centuries ago, 

 and flourish here to this day. 



That charming old traveller and graceful writer, 

 Xavier Marmier, of the French Academy, relates some 

 of the modes of keeping Christmas in the foreign lands 

 he visited, after his return from Canada in 1850. Under 

 his hospitable roof it was my privilege to be recently 

 entertained. Beginning with his native province, la 

 Franche-ComU, Mr. Marmier alludes to antique, simple 

 Christmas lays — les vieux Noels — composed by the 

 rude mountaineers and sung at night-fall. '' These were 

 followed in my youth, " says he, " by tales of super- 

 natural occurrences on Christmas Eve. " 



On that marvellous night a boulder on the moun- 

 tain brow, shaped like a pyramid, turned thrice on its 

 base during Midnight Mass, when the priest recited the 

 genealogy of the Saviour. 



On that same night domestic animals were gifted 

 with speech ; when the farmers entered their stables 

 they told them, in doleful accents, how they had been 

 cruelly used, half-starved and illtreated ; quite a 

 revelation for the masters, in some cases. 



On Christmas Eve the sands of the sea-shore, lofty 

 mountain-ridges and deep valleys opened out and 

 revealed to the starry heavens treasures concealed in 

 their depths. 



On that identical night the graves cast up the 

 departed ; the old village pastor, dead for years, awoke 



