n St. Nicholas's Day, indeed, we
find a feast that closely resembles Martinmas, and seems to be the same
folk-festival transferred to a later date. Again, as regards England we
|174| must remember the difference between its climate and that of
Central Europe. Mid-November would here not be a date beyond which
pasturing was impossible, and thus the slaughter and feast held then by
Angles and Saxons in their old German home would tend to be delayed.{32}

Christmas, as will be gathered from the foregoing, cannot on its pagan
side be separated from the folk-feasts of November and December. The
meaning of the term will therefore here be so extended as to cover the
whole period between All Saints' Day and Epiphany. That this is not too
violent a proceeding will be seen later on.

For the purposes of this book it seems best to treat the winter festivals
calendarially, so to speak: to start at the beginning of November, and
show them in procession, suggesting, as far as may be, the probable
origins of the customs observed. Thus we may avoid the dismemberment
caused by taking out certain practices from various festivals and
grouping them under their probable origins, a method which would,
moreover, be perilous in view of the very conjectural nature of the
theories offered.

* * * * *

Before we pass to our procession of festivals, something must be said
about the general nature and _rationale_ of the customs associated with
them. For convenience these customs may be divided into three groups:--

I. _Sacrificial or Sacramental Practices._
II. _Customs connected with the Cult of the Dead and the Family Hearth._
III. _Omens and Charms for the New Year._

Though these three classes overlap and it is sometimes difficult to place
a given practice exclusively in one of them, they will form a useful
framework for a brief account of the primitive ritual which survives at
the winter festivals.

I. SACRIFICIAL AND SACRAMENTAL PRACTICES.

To most people, probably, the word "sacrifice" suggests an offering,
something presented to a divinity in order to obtain his favour. Such
seems to have been the meaning generally given to |175| sacrificial
rites in Europe when Christianity came into conflict with paganism. It
is, however, held by many scholars that the original purpose of sacrifice
was sacramental--the partaking by the worshipper of the divine life,
conceived of as present in the victim, rat