Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 304, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 December 1912 — ORIGIN IN PAGAN RITES [ARTICLE]

ORIGIN IN PAGAN RITES

Many Old Christmas Customs Have Been Handed Down From Ancient Times. ; It la interesting to note that many •f tiie Christmas customs which hare endeared themselves to the people scattered all over the world have their origin In many cases among thcpe- ancient men and women who worshiped strange gods before they heard the message of peace brought to them by the early Christian fath-

ers. The holly, the mistletoe, the wassail bowl, the Tule log, and the Christmas tree are remnants of old customs that have become amalgamated and modified into the usage of modern civilization. The Druids of Great Britain, whom the Romans discovered there when they conquered the Celts, were a priesthood ruling the people by crufel witchcraft They worshiped the oak, the mistletoe, and the holly. Their altars on their feast days were decorated with the branches of white and red berries.

When the early Christian fathers came over to Britain they found that it was easier to amalgamate the feast days of the pagans with their own customs and teachings than it was to eradicate them from the minds of the people who, like all men and women, loved their recreation days, The Christian missionaries merely changed the name of the feast of thq winter solstice to that of Christmas* and so the people paid tribute in the old way to th# new God, which, to their simple minds, was quite compel ible.—National Monthly.