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A I
E ARE told that the German
surrounds his Christmas
with more of an element o
mysticism than does he of
any other nation It is
probably a survival of the
far back days when his
painted ancestors celebrated
their mysterious rites at
Christmas under their dark
groves of forest oaks In nearly every district
of the fatherland there still remains the quaint
est and queerest of Christmas customs whose
origin is lost in the hoariest antiquity They
have all in the process of time assumed a
Christian character more or less burlesqued
liut the folk lorists will tell you that they date
from the days of Wotan and Freya
The peasants of Silesia the woodmen of the
Black Forest and the hillsmen of Bavaria
Happily know nothing of the origin of the queer
pranks they play at Christmas they only
Know that they have been handed down by
Iheir fathers and that they in turn -will hand
down the immemorial customs to their chil
dren
Iu Germany the old custom of mumming is
still kept up From house to house these
mummers go The shepherds especially are
entertaining They are the comic men of the
troupe who in a half grotesque and half seri
ous way represent the events of the nativity
There was a famous company of Christmas
mummers a couple of years ago in Bavaria
with a magnificent looking first shepherd who
never wearied of poking fun at the minister
of finance
After -these roving -villagers have recited
their farago of nonsense or it may be their
lines of surpassing beauty before a persons
house they are generally rewarded for their
pains with gifts of lard bacon and eggs
But with all the mysticism and ultra senti
mental ways of regarding Christmas the Ger
man never forgets it is eminently a season of
good cheer Pork in every form and beer
usually take the place of roast beef turkey
and stronger drinks Then they also have the
boars head with a lemon impaled between its
grinning tusks Of course this delicacy dates
back to Wotans day Tradition says Wotan
was fond of the boars head but it is not easy
to see where the lemon comes in as the god
was certainly not familiar with this tart fruit
In Brandenburg and the Uckermark any pigs
head will do the stock of boars heads would
not hold out and round this animals head
are garnishings of sausage and green cab
bage
Silesia is a province which has especially
earned a reputation for succulent dishes Some
of the most renowned of German gastronomi
cal authorities have lent additional luster to
the place by being born there At Christinas
time the dish most in request among the Sile
sians is a smoked pigs head with baked fruit
packed in it and also generously spread over
the whole dish This dainty rejoices in the
name of Himmelsreich the kingdom of
heaven
In North Germany the pigs head is not as
prominent as in the south Here there is more
miscellaneods Christmas eating hearty enough
but altogether in variance with American
tastes Cakes of all sizes and shapes are also
baked and eaten and some of these have a
toughness of gutta percha and a hardness of
granite These cukes take the form of Knecht
Ruprecht or Xikolaus angels and other
Christmas novelties Some of these are
flavored with honey some with pepper but
all are of such consistency that no ordinary
grown up person could enjoy a surfeit of
them and survive the feast Only children
seem to be able to eat these konigbucken
and live
Thuringia boasts of another curious
Christmas delicacy which only the initiated
can truly appreciate this is boiled suet dump
lings and herrings One cannot be blamed for
asking why this mixture Was the herring
also favored by Wotan
The herring as a Christmas dainty is also
favored throughout Saxony but there takes
the form of a salad and is eaten with smoked
pork and a delicate kind of sauerkraut in
which caraway seeds are prominent The
Saxony peasants Christmas table is invariably
decked with these dishes on Christmas eve
and remains thus spread out during the night
His idea in doing this is that angels possibly
weary of nectar and ambrosia may condescend
to visit his humble abode while he sleeps and
regale themselves with Saxon smoked beef
and herring salad
It is interesting to watch the transformation
of a German village at Christmas from its
usually treeless appearance into a town laid
in a forest of firs Wagon loads of these resin
scented trees are sent from the hills of Thurin
gia the Hartz and Silesia and are put up in
even rows in the streets and squares of the
town There is nothing like it in any other
country For a fortnight before the great
feast these long avenues of Tannen are
crowded with eager purchasers men women
and children of all ages and of every station
in life The great desire of each is to get a
symmetrical tree and as few trees are liter
ally perfect in shape it is the business of the
cree merchant to supply branches and ihus
give the tree the desired roundness
It is the tree that is the attraction of every
German home from the kaisers palace down to
the humblest peasants hut and around it
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the Germans best and kindliest thoughts cen
ter The tree is not for the German simply
a convenient cluster of mere boughs on which
to stick candles and hang presents It stands
for the most sacred and most dread of all
trees the one once erected on Mount Calvary
and has thus become the sign and seal of his
Christian faith
A Christmas Decoration
When the children have tired of even their
new possessions and how soon the new be
comes old and it is too early fox the sandman
to pay his nightly visit try this simple amuse
ment Suspend a wreath of holly or ever
green from a doorway and give to each child
an equal quantity of nuts paper wrapped can
dles or favors that will stand handling then
see who can throw the most articles through
the wreath into a basket placed to catch them
Give a simple reward to add zest to the game
In the same manner the game of twos is
conducted Take a large napkin or piece of
stout paper Place a lot of nuts or hard can
dies in the center Let a child take hold of
each corner and give three vigorous tosses
singing
Goodies goodies dance my Christmas goodies
Up they go down they go dance my Chris
mas goodies
Then there will be a lively scrimmage to see
who can recover the most
These little devices will make a jolly ending
to the happiest day in the year for the chil
dren Put them to bed with pretty songs ring
ing in their ears
Everywhere everywhere Christmas to-night-
Christmas where snow peaks stand solemn anc
white
Christmas where the cornfields He sunny and
bright
Everywhere everywhere Christmas to night
TO CURE A COUGH
iiW1
Or Break a Cold In 24 Hours
Mix two ounces of Glycerine nnd a
hnif miTiPA nf Vimln Oil of Pino com
pound pure with a half pint of Straight
Whisky Shake well and take a tea
spoonful every four hours
The genuine Virgin Oil of Pine com
pound pure Is prepared only by The
Leach Chemical Co Cincinnati Ohio
and Is put up only In half ounce vials
each vial securely sealed In a round
wooden case to insure Its freshnosa
and purity
CONSTITUTIONAL OBJECTION
Mrs Thrifty Well If youre thirsty
Ill give you a glass of water to
drink
Weary Willy I dare not touch
water mum Ive got an Iron consti
tution and it might rust It
Why Joyner Left Home
Are you ready to receive the obli
gations asked the most upright su
preme hocus pocus of the Order of
Hoot Owls
T am said the candidate firmly
Then take a sip Of this prussic
acid place your right hand In this pot
of boiling lead rest your left hand
upon this revolving buzz saw close
your eyes and repeat after me
Early next morning shreds or Joy
ners clothing wore found upon the
bushes and trees all along the road to
Pottsville 30 miles distant and at
Scrabbletown G9 miles away he wa3
reported still headed west Judge
The juryman who toward the end
of a very long trial wished to know
what the terms plaintiff and de
fendant signified is not alone in his
ignorance A writer in the Philadel
phia Press tells of a man whose coat
had been stolen lie had charged a
suspicious looking individual with the
theft
You say this man stole your coat
said the magistrate Do I understand
that you prefer charges against him
Well no your honor replied the
plaintiff I prefer the coat if its all
the same to you Youths Compan
ion
A Natural Cause
I think said the smart child re
flectively that Hungary must be the
most human like or all the nations
Why so my child asked the fond
papa
Because the smart child answered
it s governed by its Diet
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ONLY ONE JSKOniO UINI3fK
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He who thinks only of himself hasnt
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Lewis Single Binder straight 5c Many
Finokers priier them to 10c cipirs Your
dealer or I vis Factory PeCTfta 111
Women are almost as absurd as
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