342 
and less, untilthe 11th or 12th of Febru- 
ary; after which, until the 26th or 27th 
of March, the advantage will be in favour 
of lengthening mornings in a daily im- 
proving state, and continue from thence; 
but less and less, until the 15th or 16th 
of April, after which it becomes again 
favourable for the extension of the even- 
ings, but in a much smaller proportion, 
till abeut the 15ch or 16th of June. Hav- 
ing once more changed sides, the advan- 
tace continues to be for the morning 
until the beginning of September; after 
which it turns for the evening, when the 
mornings are again shortened, not only 
by the daily variation of ascensional dif- 
ference, but by the daily variation of the 
equaticn of time, which is wholly in fa- 
vour of the evenings until about the 25th 
of December. i 
And now having led my readers to the 
winter solstice, from whence I set out, I 
might here close my letter. But it may 
not be improper, before I conclude, just 
to observe, that the progress of light 
from the sun to our earth, 1s known to 
take up a space of seven minutes and a 
half; and therefore as the sun’s centre 
will be actually risen seven minutes and 
a half before we can.receive his rays, 
consequently his semi-diurnal arc from 
his rising to noon, will be diminished by 
that interval, and the other semi-diurnal 
arc from noon to his setting will be 
lengthened by the same interval. Butif 
any one should be disposed to assert that 
the sun will have passed the true meri- 
dian by such intervals before we can re- 
ceive his meridian rays, and consequently 
that the central rays of the setting sun 
will not reach us until he has actually 
descended below our horizon by the same 
space of time, thereby making the effect 
regularly equal, I shail not. presume to 
dispute it. Leaving this to astronomers 
to determine, if it has not been already 
determined, whose facilities and local 
means render them best competent. to 
decide on a matter of so much import- 
ance to the true principles of science, I 
need only say that I have just mentioned 
this, as it may aiford an argument to ac- 
count for lengthened evenings in general, 
though not to any particular part of the 
year. Your's, &c. 
No. 11, Sidney-street, 
City-road, London. 
EE 
To the Ediior of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
F the following answer to the query of 
& B.A.p.438, vol. xxii. is not superseded 
by amore satisfactory one, fron some other 
OBRSERVATOR. 
. 
i 
On the Origin of plactng Holly in Churches. 
[Nov. ly 
of your numerous correspondents, I shall, 
be glad to see it in the next number of 
your useful miscellany. 
The great Newton, in his Dissertations 
on Prophecy, says, ‘‘ Gregory Nyssen 
tells us, that after the persecution of the 
Emperor Decius, Gregory, bishop of Ne- 
ocesarea, in Pontus, instituted, that festi- 
val days should be celebrated to them 
who had contended for the faith, that is, 
to the martyrs.” And Nyssen adds this 
reason for the institution, viz. ‘ When 
he (Gregory) observed that the simple 
and unskilful multitudes by reason of cor- 
poreal delights remained in the error of 
idols; that the principal thing might be 
corrected among them, namely, that in- 
stead of this vain worship, they might 
turn their eyes upon God, he permitted, 
that, at the memories of the holy martyrs, 
they might make merry, delight them- 
selves, and be dissolved into joy. The 
heathens were delighted with the festi- 
vals of their gods, and unwilling to part 
with those delights; and therefore Gre- 
gory to facilitate their conversion, insti- 
tuted annual festivals to saints and mar- 
tyrs.” Hence it came to pass, that for 
exploding the festivals of the heathens, 
the principal festivals of the Christians 
succeeded in their room; as the keeping 
of Christmas with ivy, and feasting in 
the room of the Bacchanalia and Satur- 
nalia: the celebrating of May-day with 
flowers, in the room of the Floralia; and 
the keeping of festivals to the Virgin 
Mary, John the Baptist, and divers of the 
apostles, in the room of the solemnities 
used at the entrance of the sun into the 
signs of the Zodiac in the old Julian ca- 
lendar. ‘The church (says an ingenious 
writer) hath only christened these heathen 
festivals with the name of some saints; 
and as December was a dead time of 
the year, when the heathens had their 
Saturnalia, and gave loose. to recreation, 
the Christians honeured the season with. 
the name of their Saviour.” 
Here then your correspondent may 
discover the honourable origin of Christ- 
mas, and by consulting Kennet or any 
other writer on Roman Antiquities, may 
also discover how the Bacchanalia were 
observed, the gross licentiousness of that 
festival, and the reason of “ placing sprigs 
of ivy, &c.in our churches at Christmas ;” 
a season of more dissolute pleasure and 
criminal indulgence than any other in the 
whole year, as if Christ was become the 
minister of sin! 
_ITtis remarkable that although several 
other superstitious customs of a heathen, 
or popish origin are declining in this pro- 
testant , 
