Christmas: Its Origin And Associations
W. F. (William Francis) Dawson
15 chapters
6 hour read
Selected Chapters
15 chapters
DEPICTING, BY PEN AND PENCIL,
DEPICTING, BY PEN AND PENCIL,
      At home, at sea, in many distant lands,       This Kingly Feast without a rival stands!...
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PREFACE.
PREFACE.
In the third quarter of the nineteenth century, it fell to my lot to write an article on Christmas, its customs and festivities. And, although I sought in vain for a chronological account of the festival, I discovered many interesting details of its observances dispersed in the works of various authors; and, while I found that some of its greater celebrations marked important epochs in our national history, I saw, also, that the successive celebrations of Christmas during nineteen centuries were
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THE ORIGIN AND ASSOCIATIONS OF CHRISTMAS.
THE ORIGIN AND ASSOCIATIONS OF CHRISTMAS.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But when he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived i
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THE EARLIER CELEBRATIONS OF THE FESTIVAL.
THE EARLIER CELEBRATIONS OF THE FESTIVAL.
The Angels' Song has been called the first Christmas Carol, and the shepherds who heard this heavenly song of peace and goodwill, and went "with haste" to the birthplace at Bethlehem, where they "found Mary, and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger," certainly took part in the first celebration of the Nativity. And the Wise Men, who came afterwards with presents from the East, being led to Bethlehem by the appearance of the miraculous star, may also be regarded as taking part in the first cele
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EARLY CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS IN BRITAIN.
EARLY CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS IN BRITAIN.
It is recorded that there were "saints in Cæsar's household," and we have also the best authority for saying there were converts among Roman soldiers. Cornelius, a Roman centurion, "was a just man and one that feared God," and other Roman converts are referred to in Scripture as having been found among the officers of the Roman Empire. And although it is not known who first preached the Gospel in Britain, it seems almost certain that Christianity entered with the Roman invasion in A.D. 43. As in
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CHRISTMAS, FROM THE NORMAN CONQUEST TO MAGNA CHARTA.
CHRISTMAS, FROM THE NORMAN CONQUEST TO MAGNA CHARTA.
Now we come to the Lord Macaulay says "the polite luxury of the Normans presented a striking contrast to the coarse voracity and drunkenness of their Saxon and Danish neighbours." And certainly the above example of a royal dinner scene (from a manuscript of the fourteenth century) gives an idea of stately ceremony which is not found in any manuscripts previous to the coming over of the Normans. They "loved to display their magnificence, not in huge piles of food and hogsheads of strong drink, bu
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CHRISTMAS, FROM MAGNA CHARTA TO THE END OF THE WARS OF THE ROSES.
CHRISTMAS, FROM MAGNA CHARTA TO THE END OF THE WARS OF THE ROSES.
Soon after the disaster which overtook John's army at the Wash the King ended his wretched career by death. He died on October 18, 1216, in the castle of Newark on the Trent, and the old chroniclers describe him as dying in an extremity of agony and remorse. sometimes called "Henry of Winchester," came to the throne in troublous times, before he was ten years of age. The tyranny of his father had alienated every class of his subjects, and the barons who had obtained Magna Charta from King John h
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CHRISTMAS UNDER HENRY VII. AND HENRY VIII.
CHRISTMAS UNDER HENRY VII. AND HENRY VIII.
Was the son of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, son of Owen Tudor, a Welsh gentleman who had married the widow of Henry V. His mother, Margaret, was a great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt by Catherine Swynford. In early life Henry was under the protection of Henry VI.; but after the battle of Tewkesbury he was taken by his uncle, Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, to Brittany for safety. Edward IV. made several unsuccessful attempts to get him into his power, and Richard III. also sent spies into Br
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CHRISTMAS UNDER EDWARD VI., MARY, AND ELIZABETH.
CHRISTMAS UNDER EDWARD VI., MARY, AND ELIZABETH.
During the short reign of the youthful monarch Edward the Sixth (1547-1553), the splendour of the Royal Christmases somewhat abated, though they were still continued; and the King being much grieved at the condemnation of the Duke of Somerset, his uncle and Protector, it was thought expedient to divert his mind by additional pastimes at the Christmas festival, 1551-2. "It was devised," says Holinshed, "that the feast of Christ's nativitie, commonlie called Christmasse, then at hand, should be so
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CHRISTMAS UNDER JAMES I.
CHRISTMAS UNDER JAMES I.
The Court entertainments of Christmastide in the reign of James the First consisted chiefly of the magnificent masques of Ben Jonson and others, who, by their training in the preceding reign, had acquired a mastery of the dramatic art. The company to which Shakespeare belonged (that of Lord Chamberlain's players) became the King's players on the accession of James, and several of Shakespeare's plays were produced at Court. But very early in this reign plays gave place to the more costly and elab
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CHRISTMAS UNDER CHARLES I. AND THE COMMONWEALTH.
CHRISTMAS UNDER CHARLES I. AND THE COMMONWEALTH.
was the second son of James I. and of Anne, daughter of Frederick III., King of Denmark, and he came to the throne on the death of his father in March 1625. As Prince Charles he had taken part in the Court entertainments of Christmastide, and had particularly distinguished himself in Ben Jonson's masque, "The Vision of Delight." These magnificent Christmas masques were continued after Charles's accession to the throne until the troubles of his reign stopped them. Gifford [69] mentions that Jonso
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CHRISTMAS FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE DEATH OF GEORGE II.
CHRISTMAS FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE DEATH OF GEORGE II.
under Charles II., sometimes styled the "Merry Monarch," was an occasion of great rejoicing, and the spirit in which the so-long-fugitive Prince, who once eluded his pursuers by hiding in an oak, was now welcomed as "Charles our King" by "the roaring, ranting" portion of the populace is set forth in the following ballad, written for the first Christmas after the Restoration, printed in London, the same year, and now copied from a collection of illustrated broadsides preserved in the Library of t
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MODERN CHRISTMASES AT HOME.
MODERN CHRISTMASES AT HOME.
  came to the throne on the death of his grandfather, George II. (October 25, 1760), and the first Christmas of his reign "was a high festival at Court, when his Majesty, preceded by heralds, pursuivants, &c., went with their usual state to the Chapel Royal, and heard a sermon preached by his Grace the Archbishop of York; and it being a collar day, the Knights of the Garter, Thistle and Bath, appeared in the collars of their respective orders. After the sermon was over, his Majesty, Prin
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MODERN CHRISTMASES ABROAD.
MODERN CHRISTMASES ABROAD.
"The bluejackets are generally better hands than the red-coats at improvising a jollification—Jack, at any rate, does not take his pleasures sadly. The gallant bands that have from time to time gone forth to a bloodless campaign in the icy north, have always managed to keep their Christmas right joyously. Certainly they could not complain of uncongenial skies or unseasonable temperatures; while, so far as snow and ice are necessary to thorough enjoyment, the supply in the Arctic regions is on a
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CONCLUDING CAROL SERVICE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
CONCLUDING CAROL SERVICE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Now, returning from the celebrations of Christmas in distant parts of the world, we conclude our historic account of the great Christian festival by recording the pleasure with which we attended the at a fine old English cathedral—the recently restored and beautiful cathedral at Lichfield, whose triple spires are seen and well known by travellers on the Trent valley portion of the London and North Western main line of railway which links London with the North. Christmas carols have been sung at
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