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Article OLDEN HOLIDAY CUSTOMS. ← Page 3 of 11 →
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Olden Holiday Customs.
It is proposed to restrict the present paper to the consideration of customs known in our own country as attached to public , or prominent occasions , occasionally giving illustrations by reference to those of other nations . And they will be found to form , in the aggregate , a living chapter in the history of the middle ages ; and one whose influence was retained in many
cases to a very late period . To begin with the new year , then , its opening is marked by usages of considerable antiquity . The Romans were accustomed to present NCAV Year ' s gifts to the senators , which gave rise in course of time to much abuse , ancl Avas abolished by various decrees . The practice of presentations among relatives and friends has been continued uninterruptedly from early ages , and has existed anions , the most distinct races of mankind .
Naogeorgus , an old Roman poet , writes thus on the subject : — " The next to this is new year ' s day , whereon to every friend , They costly presents in do bring , and new year ' s gifts do send . Then gifts the husband gives his wife , and father eke the child ; And master on his man bestows the like with favour mild . And good beginning of the year they wish , and wish again , According to the ancient guise of heathen people vain . "
The modern Jews , however , so far deviate from this " ancient guise" as to wish one another a happy new year on the first day of the Jewish month Tisri . In Elizabeth's reign New Year's gifts were much in vogue . In old records frequent mention is made of gloves as favourite presentsat that clay articles of no inconsiderable luxury and
, costliness . To their then consequence we no doubt owe the custom of presenting gloves at marriage and funeral ceremonies . The other commodities used for the same purpose we may conjecture to resemble those recounted by Autolycus , in the "Winter ' s Tale : "
" Lawn as white as driven snow , Cypress black as e ' er was crow ; Gloves as sweet as damask roses , Masks for faces and for noses ; Bugle bracelet , necklace amber , Perfumes for a lady ' s chamber . "
A singular custom exists in Yorkshire upon New Year ' s Eve , called Hagman Heigh . The bagman , or woodcutter , accompanied by rabble , goes from house to house begging alms and reciting barbarous verses . At Christmas time , wood was chiefly used as fuel for heating ovens , which accounts for the usage . In Yorkshire the term " hagg" still signifies " a wood . " To remote antiquity , also , ive must look for the origin of the succeeding customs of Twelfth-day . The Greeks and Romans
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Olden Holiday Customs.
It is proposed to restrict the present paper to the consideration of customs known in our own country as attached to public , or prominent occasions , occasionally giving illustrations by reference to those of other nations . And they will be found to form , in the aggregate , a living chapter in the history of the middle ages ; and one whose influence was retained in many
cases to a very late period . To begin with the new year , then , its opening is marked by usages of considerable antiquity . The Romans were accustomed to present NCAV Year ' s gifts to the senators , which gave rise in course of time to much abuse , ancl Avas abolished by various decrees . The practice of presentations among relatives and friends has been continued uninterruptedly from early ages , and has existed anions , the most distinct races of mankind .
Naogeorgus , an old Roman poet , writes thus on the subject : — " The next to this is new year ' s day , whereon to every friend , They costly presents in do bring , and new year ' s gifts do send . Then gifts the husband gives his wife , and father eke the child ; And master on his man bestows the like with favour mild . And good beginning of the year they wish , and wish again , According to the ancient guise of heathen people vain . "
The modern Jews , however , so far deviate from this " ancient guise" as to wish one another a happy new year on the first day of the Jewish month Tisri . In Elizabeth's reign New Year's gifts were much in vogue . In old records frequent mention is made of gloves as favourite presentsat that clay articles of no inconsiderable luxury and
, costliness . To their then consequence we no doubt owe the custom of presenting gloves at marriage and funeral ceremonies . The other commodities used for the same purpose we may conjecture to resemble those recounted by Autolycus , in the "Winter ' s Tale : "
" Lawn as white as driven snow , Cypress black as e ' er was crow ; Gloves as sweet as damask roses , Masks for faces and for noses ; Bugle bracelet , necklace amber , Perfumes for a lady ' s chamber . "
A singular custom exists in Yorkshire upon New Year ' s Eve , called Hagman Heigh . The bagman , or woodcutter , accompanied by rabble , goes from house to house begging alms and reciting barbarous verses . At Christmas time , wood was chiefly used as fuel for heating ovens , which accounts for the usage . In Yorkshire the term " hagg" still signifies " a wood . " To remote antiquity , also , ive must look for the origin of the succeeding customs of Twelfth-day . The Greeks and Romans