s Fires in Germany--Winter Visitors in the Low
Countries and Germany--St. Martin as Gift-bringer--St.
Martin's Rod.

CHAPTER VIII
ST. CLEMENT TO ST. THOMAS 209

St. Clement's Day Quests and Processions--St. Catherine's Day
as Spinsters' Festival--St. Andrew's Eve Auguries--The
_Kloepfelnaechte_--St. Nicholas's Day, the Saint as
Gift-bringer, and his Attendants--Election of the Boy
Bishop--St. Nicholas's Day at Bari--St. Lucia's Day in Sweden,
Sicily, and Central Europe--St. Thomas's Day as School
Festival--Its Uncanny Eve--"Going a-Thomassin'."

CHAPTER IX
CHRISTMAS EVE AND THE TWELVE DAYS 227

Christkind, Santa Klaus, and Knecht Ruprecht--Talking Animals
and other Wonders of Christmas Eve--Scandinavian Beliefs about
Trolls and the Return of the Dead--Traditional Christmas Songs
in Eastern Europe--The Twelve Days, their Christian Origin and
Pagan Superstitions--The Raging Host--Hints of Supernatural
Visitors in England--The German _Frauen_--The Greek
_Kallikantzaroi_.

CHAPTER X
THE YULE LOG 249

The Log as Centre of the Domestic Christmas--Customs of the
Southern Slavs--The _Polaznik_--Origin of the Yule
Log--Probable Connection with Vegetation-cults or
Ancestor-worship--The _Souche de Noel_ in France--Italian and
German Christmas Logs--English Customs--The Yule Candle in
England and Scandinavia. |10|

CHAPTER XI
THE CHRISTMAS-TREE, DECORATIONS, AND GIFTS 261

The Christmas-tree a German Creation--Charm of the German
Christmas--Early Christmas-trees--The Christmas
Pyramid--Spread of the Tree in Modern Germany and other
Countries--Origin of the Christmas-tree--Beliefs about
Flowering Trees at Christmas--Evergreens at the
Kalends--Non-German Parallels to the Christmas-tree--Christmas
Decorations connected with Ancient Kalends Customs--Sacredness
of Holly and Mistletoe--Floors strewn with Straw--Christmas
and New Year Gifts, their Connection with the Roman _Strenae_
and St. Nicholas--Present-giving in Various
Countries--Christmas Cards.

CHAPTER XII
CHRISTMAS FEASTING AND SACRIFICIAL SURVIVALS 281

Prominence of Eating in the English Christmas--The Boar's
Head, the Goose, and