Amongst the very pleasant and harmless customs which have been handed down
to us from the idolatrous rites and superstitions of the ancient Saxons,
Scandinavians, etc., are those connected with our Christmas festivities.
The whole observance and connections form a strange mixture of Christian
and heathen ceremonies, illustrative of the unwillingness with which a
people abandon pagan rites to the adoption of those more consistent with
the spirit of a Christianized and enlightened faith.
Now, little folks and big, I am not going to ridicule or deny your right
to Christmas and St. Nicholas enjoyments; I will merely hint at their
origin, for your own benefit. The day brings more happiness--and folks--to
the homes and firesides of the people of the _whole world_ than any other
holiday we celebrate.[6] Thanksgiving, you know, is mostly a New England
custom. The 25th of December is just as good as any other day on which to
have a good time. Ancient people used to celebrate the first and sixth
of January. The first three months of the year are named after heathen
gods.
The _name_ of the day we celebrate is derived from a Christian source: the
rest from pagan. A good feeling was always engendered amongst the most
ancient people at the commencement of the lengthening of days in winter,
and the approach of a new year. The hanging up of the mistletoe, with the
ceremony of gathering it, the kindling of the Yule log, and giving of
presents, we trace to the Druids, who were the priests, doctors, and
judges of the ancient Celts, Gauls, Britons, and Germans. Our modern
stoves and furnaces have shut out the pleasant old log fires, and the
candles only remain. The gifts originated in the giving away of pieces of
the mistletoe by the grizzly old priests.
Who St. Nicholas was, is only conjectured, _not known_, any more than who
St. Patrick was. It makes no difference where he sprang from; he is a
good, jolly, benevolent fellow, who brings lots of presents, and, with the
little folks, we are bound to defend him.
It is supposed that the original St. Nicholas lived in Lycia, in Asia
Minor, during the fourth century, and was early adopted as a saint of the
Catholic church, and also by the Russians and ancient Germans, Celts, and
others.
"He has ever been regarded as a very charitable personage, and as the
particular guardian of children. Great stories are told of his charity and
benevolence. One of these, and that, perhaps, which attaches him to the
peculiar festivities of Christmas, is to the effect that a certain
nobleman had three lovely daughters, but was so reduced to poverty that he
was unable to give them a marriage portion, as was the indispensable
custom, and was about to give them over to a life of shame. St. Nicholas
was aware of this, and determined in a secret way to assist the nobleman.
"He wended his way towards the nobleman's house, thinking how he could
best do this, when he espied an open window, into which he threw a purse
of gold, which dropped at the nobleman's feet, and he was enabled to give
his daughter a marriage portion. This was repeated upon the second
daughter and the third daughter; but the nobleman, being upon the watch,
detected his generous benefactor, and thus the affair was made public.
From this rose the custom upon St. Nicholas Day, December 6, for parents
and friends to secretly put little presents into the stockings of the
children. Doubtless this custom, so near the festivities of Christmas,
gradually approximated to that day, and become identical with Christmas
festivities throughout the world. St. Nicholas is often represented
bearing three purses, or golden balls, and these form the pawn-broker's
well-known sign, which is traced to this source as its origin--not, we
should judge, from their resemblance to the charity of St. Nicholas, but
emblematic of his lending in time of need."