Democratic Watdgom
Bellefonte, Pa., Dec. 25, 1896.
Christmas in Bethlehem.
How the City of Christ's Nativity Observes Its An-
niversary.
inere are always more or less pomp
and display in Bethlehem at Christmas
time. Christmas night is a night of
watching, and few people go to bed un-
til the gray streaks of dawn are show-
ing in the east. Sweetmeats and hard
boiled eggs are the refreshments, and
there are bonfires, illuminations and
fireworks. There isa procession of many
pilgrims, headed by the French consul
surrounded by eight guards. On the
way they are joined by the sheik of
Bethlehem and prominent people of the
sity. Every one turns out—men, wom-
en and children—to see and greet the
procession with cheers. There are gor-
~—geous Roman Catholic ceremonials which
last until midnight, when a long proces-
gion carrying lighted candles goes to the
Grotto of the Nativity. There are a cross
bearer, monks, churchmen, the bishop
of Jerusalem and laymen. The bishop
carries in his hands a cradle, containing
a waxen image of the infant Christ, all,
of course, bedecked with gold embroid-
ery and silken clothing, which he de-
posits in the marble manger, repeating
the words, ‘‘And here they laid it in a
manger because there was no place for
them at the inn.’’ The services fre-
quently last until 2 o'clock.
Many of the people of Bethlehem
gain a livelihood by selling to tourists
beads, carved mother of pearl shells,
small tables, crucifixes, cuff buttons
made of olive wood und cards on which
are arranged and pressed the flowers of
the neighborhood. These are sold in
great quantities, as every tourist is anx-
ious to bring away a souvenir of Bethle-
hem. It was once customary for the vis-
itors to the tomb of Christ to bring
away a more lasting memorial of their
visit than the wooden or shell orna-
ments, and this was no more or less
than to have crosses, stars and mono-
grams marked upon their bedies with
ganpowder.—New York Herald.
Tough on the Turkey.
Landlady—Are you ill, Mr. Middle-
age? You do not seem to be enjoying
your Christraas turkey with Mr. Young-
blood?
Mr. Middleage—No, not ill. But I'm
not so muscular as I was once.
We love and bless the hands we press
When the Christmas log is burning.
Christmas in Brittany.
The Aged Women Rerniembered by the Country Folk
at Midnight Mass.
In Britanny, in France, a curious
custom in almsgiving is of very old ori-
gin. When the country folk go to the
midnight, mass, .the opening mass, of
Christmas day, they all carry lanterns
to light them on their way. Upon their
arrival at the church they give their lan-
terns over to the poor old women of the
parish, who are gathered in a crowd out-
side the church awaiting them.
The worshipers enter the sacred
building and then attend to the devo-
tions, which the church teaches should
be of especial fervor at this holy season.
But when the mass is ended, and they
are dismissed with the benediction, they
come forth to find the patient old wom-
AA
18
SIGWaviag Sem oursias pny cnurvn
bearing the lanterns. The lanterns are
given back to their owners, and as each
takes his own he exchanges for it a
piece of money. The value of the piece
varies, but the alms are always consid-
erable, and they stand as an exponent of
that charity which the church teaches
to its children. The old women go home
in happiness, their hearts lightered by
the weight of silver that lies above
them, but the givers go home yet more
happy in the consciousness of welldo-
ing.—Exchange.
The Yuletide Log.
Christmas eve is the time to put the
“Yule log on the fire. In old times it was
the custom to bring it into the house
with great ceremony and merriment.
The Yule log was always lighted with
the brand of the last year’s lbg, which
was carefully preserved for this pur-
pose. The burning of the log had the
effect of purifying the house of evil
spirits. It must be lighted, therefore,
with clean hands.
With the Yule log went the Christmas
candles, which were lighted at the same
time and placed, wreathed with ever-
green, in the most conspicuous portion
of the room. In Catholic times the can-
dles were often of three branches, sig-
nifying the Trinity.—Exchange.
The Blossoming Thorn Tree.
At Glastonbury, in south England,
there is a thorn tree which is believed
to blossom on Christmas day, and then
agair. about Easter.
The Kneeling Cattle.
In many parts of Germany it is be-
lieved that oxen fall on their knees in
the stalls at the moment of Christ's na-
tivity.
Christmas Menu.
It May Be Indicated by Quotations Rather Than
Names of Dishes.
~cu wad M@on0 cards ve TWO nouy
leaves, joined at the points on the upper
side and arranged to stand up in front
of each plate. Paint both outer surfaces
the color of the leaves and write the
menu inside. This should be indicated
by quotations rather than by the names
of the dishes themselves. For instance:
¢ An oyster may be crossed in love."
‘‘Beautiful soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen,
Who to such daintics would not stoop?
Boup of the evening—beautiful soup!’
“Canst thou catch any flshes there?”
*‘Some wish a pinion, some prefer a leg;
Some for a merry thought, or side bong, beg.”
“My more having is a sauce to make me
hunger moere.”’
“No man's pie i3 freed from his embitious
finger.”’
‘““How fresh you arc and green in this old
world!”
*‘Cheese is indeed a pecvish elf,
Digesting all:things but itself.”
“Coffee, which makes tho politician wise.”
‘‘Sublime tobacco, which from east to west
Cheers the tar's labor or the Turkman's rest.”
“I will show myself highly fed.”
“All's well that ends well.” :
—New York Herald.
Austrian Gastronomy.
The gastronomical taste of Austria
differs very materially from that of
Germany. Fried carp, little sausages,
noodles and cakes flavored with pears
compose the ordinary menu of the mid-
dle class Viennese, but on Christmas
day roast turkey, or, in the absence of :
that, goose, with potatces, is the simple
feast on the Austrian’s table. The tur-
key is dressed with apples and German
vermicelli mixed with honey and poppy
seeds. Poppy seeds are also baked in the
bread and so arranged as to form a cross
when the bread is cut. The dessert is of
hasty pudding, in which is mixed alm-
onds in addition to the usual cream,
sugar and butter. This is then run off
into little tarts, which are served indi- |
vidually to the diners.—New York
World.
Telling the Bees.
In Devonshire, England, a messenger |
is sent from tho house of the farmer to
tell the bees that Christmas day has
come, and they are supposed to greet the
glad tidings with a joyful hum.
OLD CHRISTMAS SPORTS.
Some Ancient English Ways of Making Merry at
This Season.
In the olden times Christmastide was
essentially the season of sports, and few
relics of the olden days are recurred to
with more zest by our fathers than the
mirthful games and the goodly frolics
which were wont to usher in the days
of ‘‘merrie Christmas.’’ At the present
day, while Christmas parties and merry-
makings are still formed to render the
dark season of December more enliven-
ing and cheerful, yet the sports of
Christmas are very different now from
what they were 100 years or more ago.
True it is that hoodman blind, snap-
dragon and hunt the slipper still
survive to a greater or less extent, but
the good old English merrymakings,
like the good old English melodies, ap-
pear to be banished from our doors, and
nothing is left of them but tradition.
Christmas was in its best estate in
the days of the good Queen Bess, and it
is a pleasant reflection to think what
‘high jinks’’ Shakespeare, Ben Jonson
and the rest of that right merry crew
must have indulged in. Then was the
time when the boar’s head was brought
to the tuble amid the blare of trumpets
and the beating of drums, while the
whole company sang peans in its
praise. The brown October ale flowed
without stint, the fire blazed and crac-
kled with the Yule log, while the Lord
of Misrule, without whom Christmas
would be as nothing, put in practice all
the arts of which he was the master,
when the games lasted for a full month
and every one was made happy for a
twelvemonth.
Only fancy ‘‘the worshipful master
Shakespeare’’ enacting the part of the
Lord of Misrule at the court of Eliza-
beth, while the queen and Leicester and
Essex and Southampton and Pembroke
and Raleigh and that ‘“‘ponderous sink
of learning,’’ Bacon, and the whole
bevy of beauties took part in the revel-
ries. Ah, those were brave times!
What we call Christmas sports. now
were in England of very ancient origin,
and the Druids celebrated during the
winter solstice the rites in honor of
Thor, one of the Scandinavian deities,
and some few of the customs by which
the festivities attendant upon Christmas
in later days were characterized may be
traced to the established ceremonies in
honor of that heathen deity. Thus the
practice of adorning the house with mis-
tletoe has been derived from the use of
that plant in the Druidical ceremonies,
and other customs which obtained in
England but a few years since are ref-
crable to the same origin.—Boston
Herald. :
EHEOIL.LIDAY
Fumiture Suggestions.
FROM...
NAGINEYXY’S.
Anything in our line would make
and acceptable Christmas present to
any one of yours friends and Remem-
ber that if you intend making pur-
chases after the Holidays we will still
be in business at the old stand.
Some seasonable suggestions are :
Morris Chairs,
Side Boards,
Dining Chairs,
Onyx Tables,
Blacking Cases, Toilet Trees,
Medicine Cabinets.
Rockers,
Tables,
Ladies’ Desks,
Carpet Sweepers,
A CARPET SWEEPER IS JUST THE
THING FOR YOUR MOTHER OR
YOUR WIFE.
F. E. NAGINEY,
| > BELLEFONTE, PA.
Reynold’s Bank Building.
41-50
41-46
E
ERAALALLLACHAAAAARER' ALARA RACAACAL AERA ACARRACAALRRCHACACAAPALAAALLRAAR ARAL AAA PASARREASERARERLRAMARG ROAR DARA AACA RA 2
SILVER TRINKETS,
UMBRELLAS,
———THEY ARE AT YOUR SERVICE.
No need to perplex your head about that. Our
store contains a hundred suggestions in
WALKING STICKS,
POCKET BOOKS, Ete. Ete.
—_———
F. C. RICHARD’S SONS,
High St.
==
JEWELRY,
WATCHES
Jewelry.
CLOCKS,
BELLEFONTE, PA
Montgomery & Co.
Montgomery & Co.
bills So Many and
ait to aid you in deciding just ‘
what to give, we quote a
few articles which make most
useful and acceptable presents,
50 Good.
SUITS AND OVERCOATS, in both ready to wear ond
made to order.
HATS,
in all the leading styles.
UNDERWEAR.
HOSIERY.
KID GLOVES.
HANDKERCHIEFS, in Linen or Silk.
NECKWEAR, in Four-in-Hand, Puff, Scarfs Ascots, Tecks
and
String Ties.
HOUSE COATS.
SMOKING JACKETS.
UMBRELLAS, for Ladies and Men.
CANES.
SWEATERS, with large sailor collar for Boy’s and Men.
SHIRTS, in fancy colors and white.
COLLARS.
CUFFS
SATCHELS.
TRUNKS.
iiSimas Economy's Easy Here
MAO INNV GOMER YY & CO.
‘Bellefonte.
CHRISTMAS GIVING.
i
The Poor Were Not Forgotten In the Lays of Tong |
Ago.
inere 1s on ancient custom for the
rector of Piddie inten, in Dorsetshire,
to ive away on old Christmas day, the |
6ih cf Janaary, aunually, a pound of
bread, a pint of ale and a mince pie to
every poor person in the parish, and this
distribution is regularly made by the |
rector to upward of 300 poor persons.
At Stafford there is an old charity for
providing poor people with plums for .
their Christmas puddings, and a kind
hearted man at Burnham left a sum
sufiicient to provide the inmates of the
poorhouse of the parish with a Christ-
mas dinner, followed by a proper supply
of ale, tobacco and snuff.
At Prince Risborough, in Bucking-
bamshire, there was a very singular
Christmas usage. Up to about 1813 a
bull, a bour, a sack of wheat and a sack
of malt were given away to the poor by
the lord of the manor at about 6 o’clock
every Christmas morning. This practice
was then discontinued, and for about
five or six years beef and mutton were
distributed in place of the above articles.
Mr. Grubb—fit name for the dispenser
of what Rittmaster Dugald Dalgetty
would call ‘‘the provend’’—of the par-
sonage house, the then lord of the man-
or, whose father first stopped the above
customary distribution, produced to the
commissioners of charities a case which
his father had laid before-a justice, rel-
ative to this custom, with a view of ob- |
taining the opinion of counsel as to |
whether it could be sustained as a cus-
tom at common law, and whether he
should be subject to legal process if ho
omitted to make the distribution.
It appears from the document that ;
the custom had then prevailed for a
considerable number of years; that it
was mentioned in the local histories, !
but that its origin was lost in obscurity. |
The practice, while it lasted, seems to
have been productive of much intoxica- |
tion and riot. The poor are said to lrave |
paraded the town during the whole
night preceding the distribution with
an incessant-clamor, effectually banish-
ing all repose. On the following morn-
ing they marched in.crowds to Mr.
Grubb’s house, and these assemblies of-
ten comprised many strangers as well as
parishioners. On tha doors being opened
they all rushed to the feast prepared for
them with so little decorum and for-
bearance that often in their zeal for
priority they inflicted wounds on ono
another with their knives. The whole
remaining portion of Christmas day, it
is stated; was spent by many of them in
the public houses. The justice before
whom the matter was heard was of the
opinion that this custom was not sus-
tainable as a common law right, and,
the charity commissioners reported that
they had received no sufficient evidence
that tho custom could be considered as
a charitable donation the continuance
of which could be enforced. —Selected.
Alsatian Cookexy.
Stewed Hare With Noodles One of the Traditional
Dishes. : 7
Alsace still preserves her traditions
of cookery, and every Christmastide the
! traditional dishes appear on the table—
sauerkraut, surrounded by little white
sausages and crowned by a piece of
smoked bacon ; stewed hare, withnoodles,
, and roast goose stuffed with chestnuts.
But the favorite dish is the famous
| kugelhopf and anisseed bread, which
are made after the following fashion:
Four pounds of flour, a pound of fresh
butter, a pint of milk, half a pound of
raising, 6 ounces of yeast, 3 eggs, 2 ta-
blespoodtuls of rum, 2 tablespoonfuls of
sugar, a pinch of salt and a few almonds.
Heat the milk and the yeast. Mix the
yeast with a third of the milk without
frothing it, add enough flour to form a
ball of light paste that will not stick to
the fingers. Let this remain for half an
hour until its size is increased by half
through fermentation. The proper point
can be ascertained by putting the finger
into the paste, when it should take its
original form. Then put the rest of the
milk, with the butter, sugar and rum,
into the dish. Place it in an earthern
pot and work it till it will no longer
stick either to thc pot or, to the fingers.
Then add the 2 eggs and the raisins,
{ working all together, and put it in a
hot furnace for an hour.
i Kugelhopf is generally caten cold. —
i Exchangs.
i Knecl:it Rupert.
Santa Claus was
| America by the Dutch of Holland. He
}3 the American representative of the
| Kerman Knecht Rupert.
: dmg A al
A Christmas Lyric.
| Christmus coniin—don’t you fret—
Carve dt possum fine!
Gwine ter get ter glory yet—
Carve dat possum fine!
Ob, believers,
Sco de bright light shine!
De fife en drum
Bay Christmus come—
Ho carve dat possum fine!
Christmus comin crost de hill—
Carve dat possum fine!
De cider foam, en de ’lasses spill—
Curve cat possum fine!
Oh, believers,
Sue de bright light shine!
De fife en drum
Say Christmus come—
So carve dat possum fine!
—Atlanta Constitution.
Celebration of Christmas.
The celebration of Christmas is said
i the church historians to have been
ormally instituted by Pope Telesphorn
who died A. D. 188. iid
Old Timo Mince Pies.
Christmas mince pies in the seven-
teenth ud eighteenth centuries were
mari 1 a coffin shaped orust, to rep-
rescil tLe manger.
introduced into
SWISS CHRISTMAS DINNER.
Roast Goose Occupies the Place of Honor. Geneva
Fritters the National Dish.
in this beautirul country, where the
laws and the customs vary in every can-
ton, the mistress of the kitchen has a
wide variety of German, Italian and
French cooking to select from. - But on
Christmas day, although all these styles
may be united on one table, there is an
invariable although unwritten law that
roast goose shall be the chief dish. The
dessert is a marvelous mixture of Swiss
confectioneries, comprehending every-
thing from litfle cocoanut cakes to elab-
orate structures of flour and sugar inter-
spersed with all sorts of nuts and small
fruits.
But between the opening goose and
the closing patisserie is introduced the
really national Christmas dish called
the G-ueva fritters. Theso fritters are
made after the following recipe:
Put into a saucepan a dozen pears cut
into quarters and the cores taken out,
with enough water to cover them. Let
them stew till they are quite tender,
when the water will have evaporated.
Put them into a colander and crush
them with a wooden spoon. Add half
their weight of sugar, a little lemon
‘and a pinch of powdered cinnamon.
Put the saucepan on the fire for eight
or ten minutes and then let it cool.
Take two handfuls of raisins, seed them
and put them on the fire with enough
water to soften them, then add them to
| the above, with a little glass of rum or
kirsch.
Take a thin flour paste for a dozen
pears of moderate size and make them
into a roll about the circumference of
. a dollar, cover half the surface of the
! paste with marmalade and cut the frit-
© ters into convenient sizes. Serve with
the yolks of eggs, after cooking them
| before a hot fire and powdering them
, with sugar.—New York World.
Hungary's Christmas Feast.
Goulasch is the national dish of Hun-
| gary and consists of meat cut into small
. pieces and cooked with onions, toma-
toes and the powerful paprika, a species
of pepper peculiar to the country. This
dish is naturally the most attractive in
' the Christmas dinner, and with it are
fried cabbage, fish soup, farina cakes
and cakes made from the poppy seeds.
Dividing the honors with the goulasch
there will be found upon the table a
roast pig invariably decorated with
roses between its teeth, This meal is
eaten as an evening dinner before mid-
night mass, and when the worshipers
return from their church after midnight
the table is set with cold pork, bonbons
and corn brandy as a drink.— Exchange.
“What’s In a Namo?”
The Swiss name for mistletoe is don-
nerbesen—thunder besom-—and, when
suspended from tho rafters, is believed
to proteet the hcuse from fire.