Get the full ebook with Bonus Features for a Better Reading Experience on ebookluna.

com

Programming Arduino: Getting Started with Sketches

2nd Edition - eBook PDF

https://ebookluna.com/download/programming-arduino-getting-
started-with-sketches-tab-ebook-pdf/

OR CLICK HERE

DOWLOAD NOW

Download more ebook instantly today at https://ebookluna.com

 Instant digital products (PDF, ePub, MOBI) ready for you
Download now and discover formats that fit your needs...

Programming Arduino: Getting Started with Sketches 3rd

Edition Simon Monk - eBook PDF

https://ebookluna.com/download/programming-arduino-getting-started-
with-sketches-ebook-pdf/

ebookluna.com

Programming the Intel Galileo: Getting Started with the

Arduino - Compatible Development Board 1st Edition - eBook
PDF
https://ebookluna.com/download/programming-the-intel-galileo-getting-
started-with-the-arduino-compatible-development-board-ebook-pdf/

ebookluna.com

Programming Arduino Next Steps: Going Further with

Sketches 2nd Edition Simon Monk - eBook PDF

https://ebookluna.com/download/programming-arduino-next-steps-going-
further-with-sketches-ebook-pdf/

ebookluna.com

Programming With STM32: Getting Started With the Nucleo

Board and C/C++ - eBook PDF

https://ebookluna.com/download/programming-with-stm32-getting-started-
with-the-nucleo-board-and-c-c-ebook-pdf/

ebookluna.com
Programming the Photon: Getting Started with the Internet
of Things 1st edition - eBook PDF

https://ebookluna.com/download/programming-the-photon-getting-started-
with-the-internet-of-things-ebook-pdf/

ebookluna.com

Programming the Raspberry Pi, Third Edition: Getting

Started with Python Simon Monk - eBook PDF

https://ebookluna.com/download/programming-the-raspberry-pi-third-
edition-getting-started-with-python-ebook-pdf/

ebookluna.com

Programming the Photon: Getting Started with the Internet

of Things (Tab) 1st Edition - eBook PDF

https://ebookluna.com/download/programming-the-photon-getting-started-
with-the-internet-of-things-tab-ebook-pdf/

ebookluna.com

Hacking Electronics: Learning Electronics with Arduino and

Raspberry Pi, 2nd Edition Simon Monk - eBook PDF

https://ebookluna.com/download/hacking-electronics-learning-
electronics-with-arduino-and-raspberry-pi-2nd-edition-ebook-pdf/

ebookluna.com

(eBook PDF) Programming, Problem Solving and Abstraction

with C

https://ebookluna.com/product/ebook-pdf-programming-problem-solving-
and-abstraction-with-c/

ebookluna.com
Programming Arduino™
Getting Started with Sketches

SECOND EDITION

Simon Monk

New York Chicago San Francisco

Athens London Madrid
Mexico City Milan New Delhi
Singapore Sydney Toronto
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016938700

McGraw-Hill Education books are available at special quantity discounts to use as

premiums and sales promotions or for use in corporate training programs. To contact a
representative, please visit the Contact Us page at www.mheducation.com .

Programming Arduino™: Getting Started with Sketches, Second Edition

Copyright © 2016, 2012 by McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Printed in the United
States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no
part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or
stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the
publisher, with the exception that the program listings may be entered, stored, and executed
in a computer system, but they may not be reproduced for publication.
McGraw-Hill Education, the McGraw-Hill Education logo, TAB, and related trade dress are
trademarks or registered trademarks of McGraw-Hill Education and/or its affiliates in the
United States and other countries and may not be used without written permission. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners. McGraw-Hill Education is not
associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Arduino is a trademark of Arduino LLC.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 DOC 21 20 19 18 17 16

ISBN 978-1-25-964163-3
MHID 1-25-964163-5

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Sponsoring Editor
Michael McCabe
Editorial Supervisor
Stephen M. Smith
Production Supervisor
Pamela A. Pelton
Acquisitions Coordinator
Lauren Rogers
Project Manager
 Srishti Malasi,
Cenveo® Publisher Services
Copy Editor
Claire Splan
Proofreader
Cenveo Publisher Services
Indexer
Jack Lewis
Art Director, Cover
Jeff Weeks
Illustration
Cenveo Publisher Services
Composition
Cenveo Publisher Services

Information has been obtained by McGraw-Hill Education from sources believed to be

reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources,
McGraw-Hill Education, or others, McGraw-Hill Education does not guarantee the accuracy,
adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or
omissions or the results obtained from the use of such information.
To my boys, Stephen and Matthew, from a very proud Dad.
About the Author
Simon Monk has a bachelor’s degree in cybernetics and computer
science and a doctorate in software engineering. He has been an
active electronics hobbyist since his school days and is an
occasional author in hobby electronics magazines. Dr. Monk is also
author of some 20 books on Maker and electronics topics, especially
Arduino and Raspberry Pi. You can find out more about his books at
http://simonmonk.org . You can also follow him on Twitter, where he
is @simonmonk2.
 CONTENTS
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction

1 This Is Arduino
Microcontrollers
Development Boards
A Tour of an Arduino Board
Power Supply
Power Connections
Analog Inputs
Digital Connections
Microcontroller
Other Components
The Origins of Arduino
The Arduino Family
Uno and Leonardo
Mega and Due
The Micro and Small Arduino Boards
Yun
Lilypad
Other “Official” Boards
Arduino Clones and Variants
Conclusion
2 Getting Started
Powering Up
Installing the Software
Uploading Your First Sketch
The Arduino Application
Conclusion

3 C Language Basics
Programming
What Is a Programming Language?
Blink—Again!
Variables
Experiments in C
Numeric Variables and Arithmetic
Commands
if
for
while
Constants
Conclusion

4 Functions
What Is a Function?
Parameters
Global, Local, and Static Variables
Return Values
Other Variable Types
floats
 boolean
Other Data Types
Coding Style
Indentation
Opening Braces
Whitespace
Comments
Conclusion

5 Arrays and Strings

Arrays
Morse Code SOS Using Arrays
String Arrays
String Literals
String Variables
A Morse Code Translator
Data
Globals and Setup
The loop Function
The flashSequence Function
The flashDotOrDash Function
Putting It All Together
Conclusion

6 Input and Output

Digital Outputs
Digital Inputs
Pull-Up Resistors
 Internal Pull-Up Resistors
Debouncing
Analog Outputs
Analog Input
Conclusion

7 The Standard Arduino Library

Random Numbers
Math Functions
Bit Manipulation
Advanced I/O
Generating Tones
Feeding Shift Registers
Interrupts
Conclusion

8 Data Storage
Constants
Storing Data in Flash Memory
EEPROM
Storing an int in EEPROM
Using the AVR EEPROM Library
Storing a float in EEPROM
Storing a String in EEPROM
Clearing the Contents of EEPROM
Compression
Range Compression
Conclusion
9 Displays
Alphanumeric LCD Displays
A USB Message Board
Using the Display
Other LCD Library Functions
OLED Graphic Displays
Connecting an OLED Display
Software
Conclusion

10 Arduino Internet of Things Programming

Communicating with Web Servers
HTTP
HTML
Arduino Uno as a Web Server
Web-Controlled Arduino
Node MCU Web Server
Web-Controlled Node MCU
Calling Web Services
Arduino Uno and IFTTT
Node MCU ESP8266 Board and IFTTT
Other IoT Options
Arduino Yun
Particle Photon
Conclusion

11 C++ and Libraries

Object Orientation
 Classes and Methods
Built-In Library Example
Writing Libraries
The Header File
The Implementation File
Completing Your Library
Conclusion

Index
 PREFACE

The first edition of this book was published in November 2011 and
has been Amazon’s highest ranking book on Arduino.
At the time the book was originally written, the current Arduino
model was the Arduino 2009 and the software version was Beta018.
Almost at the time the book arrived in stores, the Arduino Uno and
version 1.0 of the Arduino software were released. Soon after, the
second printing of the book had a minor update to cover the new
board and software without formally being a second edition. This
edition brings the book fully up to date and is based on Arduino 1.6.
The Arduino Uno R3 is still considered to be the standard
Arduino board. However, many other boards, including both official
Arduino boards (like the Leonardo, Zero, 101, Due, and Yun) and
other Arduino programming language–based devices like the Photon
and Intel Edison, have also appeared.
This edition also addresses the use of Arduino in IoT (Internet of
Things) projects and the use of various types of display including
OLED and LCD.
Simon Monk
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I thank Linda for giving me the time, space, and support to write
this book and for putting up with the various messes my projects
create around the house.
Many thanks to Robert “BobKat” Logan and the many other
eagle-eyed and helpful folk who reported errata for the first edition. I
have done my best to fix what you found.
Finally, I would like to thank Michael McCabe, Srishti Malasi, and
everyone involved in the production of this book. It’s a pleasure to
work with such a great team.
 INTRODUCTION

Arduino interface boards provide a low-cost, easy-to-use

technology to create microcontroller-based projects. With a little
electronics, you can make your Arduino do all sorts of things, from
controlling lights in an art installation to managing the power on a
solar energy system.
There are many project-based books that show you how to
connect things to your Arduino, including 30 Arduino Projects for the
Evil Genius by this author. However, the focus of this book is on
programming the Arduino.
This book will explain how to make programming the Arduino
simple and enjoyable, avoiding the difficulties of uncooperative code
that so often afflict a project. You will be taken through the process of
programming the Arduino step by step, starting with the basics of the
C programming language that Arduinos use.

So, What Is Arduino?

Arduino is a small microcontroller board with a universal serial bus
(USB) plug to connect to your computer and a number of connection
sockets that can be wired to external electronics such as motors,
relays, light sensors, laser diodes, loudspeakers, microphones, and
more. They can be powered either through the USB connection from
the computer, from a 9V battery, or from a power supply. They can
be controlled from the computer or programmed by the computer
and then disconnected and allowed to work independently.
Other documents randomly have
different content
many years past the annual fund, being insufficient to purchase a
bull, the deficiency has been made good out of other charities
belonging to the parish. It was proposed some years ago by the
vicar that the 5l. a year should be laid out in buying meat, but the
poor insisted on the customary purchase of a bull being continued,
and the usage is accordingly kept up.—Edwards, Old English
Customs and Charities, 1842, p. 64.

Berkshire.
The cruel practice of bull-baiting was continued annually on St.
Thomas’s Day, in the market place of the town of Wokingham so
lately as 1821. In 1822, upon the passing of the Act against cruelty
to animals, the corporation resolved on abolishing the custom. The
alderman (as the chief magistrate is called there) went with his
officers in procession, and solemnly pulled up the bull-ring, which
had from time immemorial been fixed in the market-place. The bull-
baiting at Wokingham was regarded with no ordinary attachment by
the inhabitants; for, besides the love of sport, it was here connected
with something more solid, viz., the Christmas dinner. In 1661,
George Staverton gave by will, out of his Staines house, after the
death of his wife, 4l. to buy a bull for the use of the poor of
Wokingham parish, to be increased to 6l. after the death of his wife
and her daughter, the bull to be baited, and then cut up, “one poor’s
piece not exceeding another’s in bigness.” Great was the wrath of
the populace in 1822 at the loss, not of the beef—for the corporation
duly distributed the meat—but of the baiting. They vented their rage
for successive years in occasional breaches of the peace. They found
out, often informed by the sympathising farmer or butcher, where
the devoted animal was domiciled; proceeded at night to liberate
him from stall or meadow, and to chase him across the country with
all the noisy accompaniments imaginable. So long was this feeling
kept alive that, thirteen years afterwards, viz., in 1835, the mob
broke into the place where one of the two animals to be divided was
abiding and baited him, in defiance of the authorities, in the market-
place; one enthusiastic individual, tradition relates, actually lying on
the ground and seizing the miserable brute by the nostril with his
own teeth. This was not to be endured, and a sentence of
imprisonment in Reading Gaol cooled the ardour of the ringleaders,
and gave the coup de grâce to the sport. The bequest of Staverton
now yields an income of 20l., and has for several years been
appropriated to the purchase of two bulls. The flesh is divided and
distributed annually on St. Thomas’s Day by the alderman,
churchwardens, and overseers, to nearly every poor family (between
200 and 300), without regard to their receiving parochial relief. The
produce of the offal and hide is laid out in the purchase of shoes and
stockings for the poor women and children. The bulls’ tongues are
recognised by courtesy as the perquisites of the alderman and town
clerk.—N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. v. p. 35.

Cheshire.
The poor people go from farm to farm “a-thomasin,” and generally
carry with them a bag and a can, into which meal, flour, and corn,
are put. Begging on this day is universal in this and the neighbouring
counties.—Jour. of the Arch. Assoc. 1850, vol. v. p. 253.

Dorsetshire.
At the village of Thornton, near Sherborne, a custom prevails
amongst the tenants of the manor, of depositing five shillings in a
hole in a certain tombstone in the churchyard, which precludes the
lord of the manor from taking the tithe of hay during the year. This
must be done before twelve o’clock on St. Thomas’s Day, or the
privilege is void.—Med. Ævi Kalend. 1842, vol. i. p. 83.
There was a custom very generally practised in some parts of this
county, and which may even now be practised. A few days before
Christmas the women, children, and old men in a parish would visit
by turns the houses of their wealthier neighbours, and in return for,
and in recognition of Christmas greetings, and their general demand
of “Please give me something to keep up a Christmas,” would
receive substantial pieces or “hunks” of bread and cheese, bread
and meat, or small sums of money. The old and infirm of either sex
were generally represented by their children or grandchildren, those
only being refused the dole who did not belong to the parish.—N. &
Q. 4th S. vol. x. p. 494.

Herefordshire.
St. Thomas’s Day is called by the poor inhabitants of this county
“Mumping Day;” and the custom of going from house to house
asking for contributions, is termed going a-mumping.

Hertfordshire.
Small pyramids, says Fosbroke (Encyclopædia of Antiquities, 1840,
p. 661), formed of gilt evergreens, apples, and nuts, are carried
about at this time in Hertfordshire for presents.

Isle of Man.
Formerly, it was customary for the people to go to the mountains
to catch deer and sheep for Christmas, and in the evening always to
kindle a large fire on the top of every fingan or cliff. Hence, at the
time of casting peats, every one laid aside a large one, saying:
“Faaid mooar moayney son oie’l fingan,” that is, “A large turf for
Fingan’s Eve.”—Train, History of Isle of Man, 1845, vol. ii. p. 124;
Cregeen’s Manks Dictionary, p. 67.

Nottinghamshire.
Samuel Higgs, by his will, bearing date 11th May, 1820 (as
appears from the church tablet), gave 50l. to the vicar and
churchwardens of the parish of Farnsfield, and directed that the
interest should be given every year on the 21st of December, in
equal proportions, to the poor men and women who could repeat
the Lord’s prayer, the creed, and the ten commandments, before the
vicar or other such person as he should appoint to hear them. The
interest is applied according to the donor’s orders, and the poor
persons appointed to partake of the charity continue to receive it
during their lives.—Edwards, Old English Customs and Charities,
1842, p. 209.

Oxfordshire.
At Tainton, a quarter of barley is provided annually, at the expense
of Lord Dynevor, the lord of the manor, and made into loaves called
“cobbs.” These were formerly given away in Tainton church to such
of the poor children of Burford as attended. A sermon was preached
on St. Thomas’s Day, 6s. 8d. being paid out of Lord Dynevor’s estate
to the preacher. The children, however, made so much riot and
disturbance in the church, that, about the year 1809, it was thought
better to distribute the cobbs in a stable belonging to one of the
churchwardens, which course has been pursued ever since.—
Edwards, Old English Customs and Charities, 1842, p. 25.

Staffordshire.
In many parts of this county not only the old women and widows,
but representatives from every poor family in the parish, go round
for alms. The clergyman is expected to give one shilling to each
person, and consequently the celebration of the day is attended with
no small expense. Some of the parishioners give alms in money,
others in kind. Thus, for example, some of the farmers give corn,
which the millers grind gratis. In some places the money collected is
given to the clergyman and churchwardens, who, on the Sunday
nearest to St. Thomas’s Day, distribute it at the vestry. The fund is
called St. Thomas’s Dole, and the day itself Doleing Day.—N. & Q.
2nd S. vol. iv. pp. 103, 487.
 Sussex.
A sum of 15l. was placed in the Arundel Savings-Bank in the year
1824, the interest of which is distributed on St. Thomas’s Day. It is
said that this money was found, many years since, on the person of
a beggar, who died by the road-side; and the interest of it has
always been appropriated by the parish officers for the use of the
poor.—Edwards, Old English Customs and Charities, 1842, p. 129.

Warwickshire.
In this county it is customary for the poor people to visit the farm-
houses to beg contributions of corn. This is called going a-corning.

Worcestershire.
At Harvington the following rhyme is sung:
“Wissal, wassail through the town,
If you’ve got any apples throw them down;
Up with the stocking and down with the shoe
If you’ve got no apples money will do.
The jug is white and the ale is brown,
This is the best house in the town.”
N. & Q. 1st S. vol. viii. p. 617.

Yorkshire.
Drake, in his Eboracum (1736, p. 217), gives the following account
of a custom that once existed at York on St. Thomas’s Day, which he
says he obtained from a manuscript that fell into his hands. “William
the Conqueror, in the third year of his reign (on St. Thomas’s Day),
laid siege to the city of York, but finding himself unable, either by
policy or strength, to gain it, raised the siege, which he had no
sooner done, but by accident he met with two fryers at a place
called Skelton, not far from York, and had been to seek reliefe from
their fellows and themselves against Christmas: the one having a
wallet full of victualls and a shoulder of mutton in his hand, with two
great cakes hanging about his neck; the other having bottles of ale,
with provisions, likewise of beife and mutton in his wallett. The king,
knowing their poverty and condition, thought they might be
serviceable to him towards the attaining York, wherefore (being
accompanied with Sir George Fothergill, general of the field, a
Norman born), he gave them money, and withall a promise, that if
they would lett him and his soldiers into their priory at a time
appointed, he would not only rebuild their priory, but indowe it
likewise with large revenues and ample privileges. The fryers easily
consented and the conqueror as soon sent back his army, which,
that night, according to agreement, were let into the priory by the
two fryers, by which they immediately made themselves masters of
all York; after which Sir Robert Clifford, who was governor thereof,
was so far from being blamed by the conqueror for his stout defence
made the preceding days, that he was highly esteemed and
rewarded for his valour, being created Lord Clifford and there
knighted, with the four magistrates then in office, viz., Horongate,
Talbot (who after came to be Lord Talbott), Lassells, and Erringham.
“The arms of the city of York at that time was, argent, a cross,
gules, viz., St. George’s cross. The conqueror charged the cross with
five lyons, passant gardant, or, in memory of the five worthy
captains, magistrates, who governed the city so well, that he
afterwards made Sir Robert Clifford governour thereof and the other
four to aid him in counsell; and the better to keep the city in
obedience he built two castles, and double moated them about; and
to shew the confidence and trust that he put in these old, but new
made, officers by him he offered them freely to ask whatsoever they
would of him before he went, and he would grant their request,
wherefore they (abominating the treachery of the two fryers to their
eternal infamy), desired that, on St. Thomas’s Day for ever, they
might have a fryer of the priory of St. Peter’s to ride through the city
on horseback, with his face to the horse’s tayle, and that in his hand,
instead of a bridle, he should have a rope, and in the other a
shoulder of mutton, with one cake hanging on his back and another
on his breast, with his face painted like a Jew; and the youth of the
city to ride with him, and to cry and shout “Youl, Youl,” with the
officers of the city rideing before and making proclamation, that on
this day the city was betrayed; and their request was granted them,
which custom continued till the dissolution of the said fryery; and
afterwards in imitation of the same, the young men and artizans of
the city on the aforesaid St. Thomas’s Day, used to dress up one of
their own companions like a fryer, and called him youl, which custom
continued till within this three-score years, there being many now
living which can testify the same, but upon what occasion since
discontinued I cannot learn: this being done in memory of betraying
the city by the said fryers to William the Conqueror.”

WALES.
William Rogers, by will, June 1806, gave to the minister and
churchwardens of Nevern, Pembrokeshire, and their successors,
800l., Three per Cent. Consols, to be transferred by his executors
within six months after his decease; and it was his will that the
dividends should be laid out annually, one moiety thereof in good
beef, the other moiety thereof in good barley, the same to be
distributed on every St. Thomas’s Day in each year, by the minister
and churchwardens, to and among the poor of the said parish of
Nevern.—Edwards, Old English Customs and Charities, p. 24.
Dec. 24.] CHRISTMAS EVE.

Dec. 24.] CHRISTMAS EVE.

Cheshire.
In Chester, and its neighbourhood, numerous singers parade the
streets and are hospitably entertained with meat and drink at the
various houses where they call.—See Book of Days, vol. ii. p. 736.

Cornwall.
On Christmas Eve, in former days, says Hunt (Romances of the
West of England, 1871, p. 349), the small people, or the spiggans,
would meet at the bottom of the deepest mines, and have a
midnight mass. In this county the yule log is called “the mock.”

Derbyshire.
In some parts the village choir meet in the church on Christmas
Eve, and there wait until midnight, when they proceed from house to
house, invariably accompanied by a small keg of ale, singing
“Christians awake;” and during the Christmas season they again visit
the principal houses in the place, and having played and sung for
the evening, and partaken of the Christmas cheer, are presented
with a sum of money.—Jour. of the Arch. Assoc. 1852, vol. vii. p.
208.

Devonshire.
The ashton faggot is burned in Devonshire on Christmas Eve. The
faggot is composed entirely of ash timber, and the separate sticks or
branches are securely bound together with ash bands. The faggot is
made as large as can conveniently be burned in the fire-place, or
rather upon the floor, grates not being in use. A numerous company
is generally assembled to spend the evening in games and
amusements, the diversions being heightened when the faggot
blazes on the hearth, as a quart of cyder is considered due and is
called for and served upon the bursting of every hoop or band round
the faggot. The timber being green and elastic, each band generally
bursts open with a smart report when the individual stick or hoop
has been partially burned through.—N. &. Q. 1st S. vol. iv. p. 309.
In one or two localities, it is still customary for the farmer with his
family and friends, after partaking together of hot cakes and cider
(the cake being dipped in the liquor previous to being eaten), to
proceed to the orchard, one of the party bearing hot cake and cider
as an offering to the principal apple-tree. The cake is formally
deposited on the fork of the tree, and the cider thrown over the
latter.[88]—See Book of Days, vol. ii. p. 736.
[88] In some places this custom is observed on New Year’s Eve.
A superstitious notion prevails in the western parts of Devonshire
that, at twelve o’clock at night on Christmas Eve, the oxen in their
stalls are always found on their knees, as in an attitude of devotion,
and that since the alteration of the style they continue to do this
only on the eve of Old Christmas Day.—Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol.
i. p. 473.
It appears, from a statement of charities in an old book, that John
Martyn, by will, 28th of November, 1729, gave to the churchwardens
and overseers of the poor of the parish of St. Mary Major, Exeter,
twenty pounds, to be put out at interest, and the profits thereof to
be laid out every Christmas Eve in twenty pieces of beef, to be
distributed to twenty poor people of the parish, such as had no relief
on that day, for ever.—Old English Customs and Charities, 1842, p. 4.
 Gloucestershire.
It appears by the benefaction table in the church of Ruardean,
that the Rev. Mr. Anthony Sterry, vicar of Lidney, gave by deed, in
the fortieth year of Queen Elizabeth, five shillings per annum,
payable out of an estate called the Glasp, in this parish, for ringing a
peal on Christmas Eve, about midnight, for two hours, in
commemoration of the Nativity.—Old English Customs and Charities,
1842, p. 6.

Hampshire.
In the neighbourhood of the New Forest the following lines are
sung on the wassailing of the trees:
“Apples and pears with right good corn,
Come in plenty to every one;
Eat and drink good cake and hot ale,
Give earth to drink and she’ll not fail.”
Christmas in the Olden Time, London, 1839.

Herefordshire.
In the Gent. Mag. (vol. xc. pt. i. p. 33) is the following account of
a custom that formerly existed at Tretyre on Christmas Eve. The
writer says:—They make a cake, poke a stick through it, fasten it
upon the horn of an ox, and say certain words, begging a good crop
of corn for the master. The men and boys attending the oxen, range
themselves around. If the ox throws the cake behind, it belongs to
the men, if before, to the boys. They take with them a wooden
bottle of cyder and drink it, repeating the charm before mentioned.
 Kent.
Hasted (History of Kent, vol. iii. p. 380) says there was a singular
custom used of long time by the fishermen of Folkestone. They
chose eight of their largest and best whitings out of every boat when
they came home from the fishery and sold them apart from the rest,
and out of the money arising from them they made a feast every
Christmas Eve which they called a “Rumbald.” The master of each
boat provided this feast for his own company. These whitings, which
are of a very large size, and are sold all round the country as far as
Canterbury, are called Rumbald whitings. This custom (which is now
left off, though many of the inhabitants still meet jovially on
Christmas Eve, and call it Rumbald Night) might have been anciently
instituted in honour of St. Rumbald, and at first designed as an
offering to him for his protection during the fishery.[89]
[89] Cole, in his History and Antiquities of Filey (1828, p. 143), gives the
following account of a custom that existed in his time in connection
with the herring fishery at that place. He says, during the time the
boats are on the herring fishery the junior part of the inhabitants seize
all the unemployed waggons and carts they can find and drag them
down the streets to the cliff tops; then leaving them to be owned and
taken away by their respective proprietors on the following morning;
this is carried into effect about the third Saturday night after the boats
have sailed from Filey, under a superstitious notion that it drives the
herrings into the nets. Previously to the fishermen setting out upon
their expedition they send a piece of sea-beef on shore from each boat
to such of their friends at the public houses as they wish “weel beea;”
this occasions “a bit of a supper,” at which those who are going away
and those who stay enjoy good cheer, heightened by mutual good-will.
The Sunday preceding their departure is called Boat Sunday, when all
their friends from the neighbouring villages attend to bid them
farewell.

Isle of Man.
Waldron, in his Description of the Isle of Man (1859, p. 125) says
that on Christmas Eve every one leaves off work, and rambles about
till the bells begin to ring at midnight. Lord Teignmouth (Sketches of
the Coast of Scotland and the Isle of Man, vol. ii. p. 264) states that
they then all flock to the churches, bearing the largest candle they
can procure. The churches are decorated with holly, and the service,
in commemoration of the birth of our Saviour is called Oiel Verry.—
See Train’s History of the Isle of Man, 1845, vol. ii. p. 127.

Norfolk.
In some parts of Norfolk libations of spiced ale used to be
sprinkled on orchards and meadows.—Book of Days, vol. ii. p. 736.

Northamptonshire.
On Christmas Eve, 1815, says Cole (History of Ecton, 1825), the
musicians of Ecton, accompanied by the vocalists of the church,
revived the custom of going round the village at midnight and
singing a carol at the principal houses.

Nottinghamshire.
At Nottingham, on Christmas Eve, as well as in many other of the
villages, it is customary to toast apples on a string until they drop
into a bowl of hot spiced ale, which is placed to receive them; this,
from the softness of the beverage is called “lamb’s-wool.”

Oxfordshire.
Pointer, in his Oxoniensis Academia (1749, p. 20), says that, at
Merton College, Oxford, the fellows meet together in the Hall on
Christmas Eve and other solemn times to sing a psalm and drink a
grace-cup to one another (called Poculum Charitatis), wishing one
another help and happiness. These grace-cups they drink to one
another every day after dinner and supper, wishing one another
peace and good neighbourhood.
 Sussex.
At Chailey, the following doggerel is sung at the wassailing of the
apple trees:
“Stand fast root, bear well top,
Pray the God send us a good howling crop.
Every twig, apples big,
Every bough, apples enow.
Hats full, caps full,
Full quarters, sacks full.”[90]
N. & Q. 1st S. vol. v. p. 293.
[90] See Eve of Epiphany, p. 21.

Warwickshire.
A correspondent of the Gent. Mag. (1795, vol. lxv. p. 110) thus
describes an amusement practised on Christmas Eve at Aston Hall,
down to the end of last century. As soon as supper is over a table is
set in the hall. On it is placed a brown loaf, with twenty silver
threepences stuck on the top of it, a tankard of ale, with pipes and
tobacco, and the two oldest servants have chairs behind it to sit as
judges if they please. The steward brings the servants, both men
and women, by one at a time, covered with a winnow sheet, and
lays their right hand on the loaf, exposing no other part of the body.
The older of the two judges guesses at the person, by naming a
name, then the younger judge, and lastly, the older again. If they hit
upon the right name, the steward leads the person back again; but if
they do not, he takes off the winnow sheet, and the person receives
a threepence, makes a low obeisance to the judges, but speaks not
a word. When the second servant was brought, the younger judge
guessed first and third; and this they did alternately till all the
money was given away. Whatever servant had not slept in the house
the preceding night forfeited his right to the money. No account is
given of the origin of this strange custom, but it has been practised
ever since the family lived here. When the money is gone the
servants have full liberty to drink, dance, sing, and go to bed when
they please. Brand (Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 472), speaking of this
custom, says, can it be what Aubrey, in his introduction to his Survey
of Wiltshire, calls “Cob-loaf-stealing?”

Yorkshire.
There is in Yorkshire a custom, which has been by the country
people more or less revived, ever since the alteration in the style and
calendar, namely, of watching, on the midnight of the new and old
Christmas Eve, by beehives, to determine upon the right Christmas
from the humming noise which they suppose the bees will make
when the birth of our Saviour took place.—Gent. Mag. 1811, vol.
lxxxi. part. i. p. 424.
Christmas Eve in Yorkshire, says a writer in Time’s Telescope
(1822, p. 298), is celebrated in a peculiar manner at eight o’clock in
the evening the bells greet “Old Father Christmas” with a merry peal,
the children parade the streets with drums, trumpets, bells, or
perhaps, in their absence, with the poker and shovel, taken from
their humble cottage fire; the yule candle is lighted, and—
“High on the cheerful fire
Is blazing seen th’ enormous Christmas brand.”

Supper is served, of which one dish, from the lordly mansion to

the humblest shed, is invariably furmety; yule cake, one of which is
always made for each individual in the family, and other more
substantial viands are also added.
At St. Cuthbert’s Church, Ackworth, a sheaf of corn was at one
time suspended on Christmas Eve outside the porch, for the especial
benefit of the birds.—N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. ii. p. 505; see N. & Q. 3rd S.
vol. iii. p. 117.
At Dewsbury, one of the church bells is tolled as at a funeral; this
is called the Devil’s Knell, the moral of which is that “the Devil died
when Christ was born.” This custom was discontinued for many
years, but revived by the vicar in 1828.—Timbs’ Something for
Everybody, 1861, p. 150.
At Ripon, on Christmas Eve, the grocers send each of their
customers a pound or half of currants and raisins to make a
Christmas pudding. The chandlers also send large mould candles,
and the coopers logs of wood, generally called yule clogs, which are
always used on Christmas Eve; but should it be so large as not to be
all burnt that night, which is frequently the case, the remains are
kept till old Christmas Eve.—Gent. Mag. 1790, vol. lx. p. 719.
Cole in his Historical Sketches of Scalby, Burniston, and Cloughton
(1829, p. 45) says the village choristers belonging to Scalby
assemble on Christmas Eve, and remain out the whole night singing
at the principal houses.

IRELAND.
A correspondent of N. & Q. (3rd S. vol. viii. p. 495) says that, in
the south-east of Ireland on Christmas Eve, people hardly go to bed
at all, and the first who announces the crowing of the cock, if a
male, is rewarded with a cup of tea, in which is mixed a glass of
spirits; if a female, with the tea only, but as a substitute for the
whisky she is saluted with half-a-dozen of kisses.
Dec. 25.] CHRISTMAS DAY.

Dec. 25.] CHRISTMAS DAY.

St. Chrysostom informs us that, in the primitive times, Christmas
and Epiphany were celebrated at one and the same feast (Homil. in
Diem Nativ. D. N. J. Christi, Opera, edit. Monfaucon, tom. iii.),
probably from a belief that the rising of the star in the East and the
birth of Christ were simultaneous. The separation took place at the
Council of Nice, A.D. 325. The Armenians, however, continued to
make but one feast of the two as late as the thirteenth century. The
learned have long been divided upon the precise day of the Nativity.
Some have fixed it at the Passover; others, amongst whom was
Archbishop Usher, at the feast of Tabernacles; and it has been
observed that, if others were watching their flocks when it occurred
in the field by night, it would hardly have happened in the depth of
winter. Be this as it may, the 25th of December has been the day
most generally fixed upon from the earliest ages of the Church. Sir
Isaac Newton, in his Commentary on the Prophecies of Daniel (Part
I. chap. ii. p. 144), has a chapter, “Of the Times of the Birth and
Passion of our Saviour,” in which he accounts for the choice of the
25th of December, the winter solstice, by showing that not only the
feast of the Nativity, but most others, were originally fixed at
cardinal points of the year; and that the first Christian calendar
having been so arranged by mathematicians at pleasure, without
any ground in tradition, the Christians afterwards took up with what
they found in the calendars: so long as a fixed time of
commemoration was solemnly appointed they were content.—See
Baronii Apparatus ad Annales Ecclesiasticos, fol. Lucæ, 1740, p. 475
et seq.; Bingham’s Antiquities of the Christian Church, lib. xx. cap. 4;
a curious tract entitled, The Feast of Feasts, or ‘The Celebration of
the Sacred Nativity of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
grounded upon the Scriptures and confirmed by the Practice of the
Christian Church in all Ages;’ see also Knight’s English Cyclopædia,
1859, vol. ii. p. 882.
 The name given, says a correspondent of Book of Days, (vol. ii. p.
745) by the ancient Goths and Saxons to the festival of the winter
solstice was Jul or Yule, the latter term forming to the present day
the designation in the Scottish dialect of Christmas, and preserved
also in the phrase of the “yule log.” Perhaps the etymology of no
term has excited greater discussions among antiquaries. Some
maintain it to be derived from the Greek ουλος or ιουλος, the name
of a hymn in honour of Ceres, others say it comes from the Latin
jubilum, signifying a time of rejoicing, or from its being a festival in
honour of Julius Cæsar; whilst some also explain its meaning as
synonymous with ol or oel, which in the ancient Gothic language
denotes a feast, and also the favourite liquor used on such occasions
whence our word ale. A much more probable derivation, however, of
the term in question is from the Gothic giul or hiul, the origin of the
modern word wheel, and bearing the same significance. According
to this very probable explanation, the yule festival received its name
from its being the turning-point of the year, or the period at which
the fiery orb of day made a revolution in his annual circuit and
entered on his northern journey. A confirmation of this view is
afforded by the circumstance that, in the old clog almanacs, a wheel
is the device employed for marking the season of yule-tide.
The season of the Nativity is now no longer marked by that
hospitality which characterized its observance among our
forefathers. At present Christmas meetings are chiefly confined to
family parties. The wassail-bowl, the yule-clog, and the lord of
misrule, with a long train of sports and customs which formerly
prevailed at this season are forgotten, even Christmas carols are
nearly gone by; and the decking of churches, and occasionally of
houses, with holly and other evergreens, forms now almost the only
indication that this great festival is at hand.—Knight’s English
Cyclopædia, 1859, vol. ii. p. 882.
Christmas, says Père Cyprian (quoted by Agnes Strickland, Lives of
the Queens of England, 1865, vol. iv. pp. 320, 321), was always
observed in this country, especially at the King’s palaces, with
greater ceremony than in any other realm in Europe. Among other
ancient ceremonies, he tells us how a branch of the Glastonbury
thorn used to be brought up in procession, and presented in great
pomp to the King and Queen of England on Christmas morning.
Under the Commonwealth.—In the Diary of John Evelyn (1859,
vol. i. p. 297), under the date of the 25th of December, occurs the
following:—
“Christmas Day. No sermon anywhere, no church being permitted
to be open, so observed it at home.”
Again, under the same date in 1654 (p. 341), the statement is
renewed:
“Christmas Day. No churches or public assembly. I was fain to pass
the devotions of that Blessed Day with my family at home.”
Alluding to the observance of Christmas Day in 1657, the same
writer says:—
“I went to London with my wife to celebrate Christmas Day, Mr.
Gunning preaching in Exeter Chapel, on Micah, vii. 2. Sermon ended;
as he was giving us the Holy Sacrament the chapel was surrounded
with soldiers, and all the communicants and assembly surprised and
kept prisoners by them, some in the house, others carried away. It
fell to my share to be confined to a room in the house, where yet I
was permitted to dine with the master of it, the Countess of Dorset,
Lady Hatton, and some others of quality who invited me. In the
afternoon came Colonel Whalley, Goffe, and others from Whitehall to
examine us one by one; some they committed to the Marshal, some
to prison. When I came before them they took my name and abode,
examined me why, contrary to the ordinance made that none should
any longer observe the superstitious time of the Nativity (as
esteemed by them), I durst offend, and particularly be at Common
Prayers, which they told me was but the mass in English, and
particularly pray for Charles Stuart, for which we had no Scripture. I
told them we did not pray for Charles Stuart, but for all Christian
kings, princes, and governors. They replied, in so doing we prayed
for the king of Spain too, who was their enemy and a Papist; with
other frivolous and ensnaring questions and much threatening, and,
finding no colour to detain me, they dismissed me with much pity of
my ignorance. These were men of high flight and above ordinances,
and spake spiteful things of our Lord’s Nativity. As we went up to
receive the sacrament the miscreants held their muskets against us,
as if they would have shot us at the altar, but yet suffering us to
finish the office of communion, as perhaps not having instructions
what to do in case they found us in that action; so I got home late
the next day, blessed be God!”
In a tract entitled Round about our Coal-Fire, is the following
account of the manner in which Christmas was observed in days
gone by:—An English gentleman at the opening of the great day, i.e.,
on Christmas Day in the morning, had all his tenants and neighbours
enter his hall by daybreak. The strong beer was broached, and the
black-jacks went plentifully about with toast, sugar, nutmeg, and
good Cheshire cheese. The hackin (the great sausage) must be
boiled by daybreak, or else two young men must take the maiden
(i.e., the cook) by the arms, and run her round the market-place till
she is ashamed of her laziness. In Christmas holidays, the tables
were all spread from the first to the last; the sirloins of beef, the
minced pies, the plum-porridge, the capons, turkeys, geese, and
plum-puddings, were all brought upon the board. Every one eat
heartily, and was welcome, which gave rise to the proverb, “Merry in
the hall when beards wag all.”—Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p.
531.
Boar’s Head.—Aubrey, in a MS. dated 1678, says: “Before the last
civil wars, in gentlemen’s houses at Christmas, the first diet that was
brought to table was a boar’s head with a lemon in his mouth.”
Christmas Book.—A book in which people were accustomed to
keep an account of the Christmas presents they received.—Nares’
Glossary (Halliwell and Wright), 1857, vol. i. p. 11.
Bustard.—The bustard, says Timbs (Something for Everybody,
1861, p. 148), has almost disappeared; but within memory it might
be seen in the Christmas larders of large inns.
Christmas Candles.—Those were candles of an uncommon size,
and the name has descended to the small candles which children
light up at this season. Hampson (Med. Ævi Kalend. vol. i. p. 109),
alluding to the custom, says, in some places candles are made of a
particular kind, because the candle that is lighted on Christmas Day
must be so large as to burn from the time of its ignition to the close
of the day, otherwise it will portend evil to the family for the ensuing
year. The poor were wont to present the rich with wax tapers, and
yule candles are still in the north of Scotland given by merchants to
their customers. At one time children at the village schools in
Lancashire were required to bring each a mould candle before the
parting or separation for the Christmas holidays.
Christmas Carols.—The Christmas carol (said to be derived from
cantare to sing, and rola, an interjection of joy) is of very ancient
date. Bishop Taylor observes that the ‘Gloria in Excelsis,’ the well-
known hymn sung by the angels to the shepherds at our Lord’s
Nativity, was the earliest Christmas carol. In the early ages of the
Church bishops were accustomed to sing these sacred canticles
among their clergy. The oldest printed collections in England are
those of Wynkyn de Worde, 1521, and of Kele soon after. Warton, in
his History of English Poetry, notices a licence granted in 1562 to
John Tysdale for printing “Certayne goodly carowles to be songe to
the glory of God;” and again, “Crestenmas carowles auctorisshed by
my lord of London.” See N. & Q. 4th S. vol. x. p. 485. In the
sixteenth century the popularity of carol-singing occasioned the
publication of a duodecimo volume, published in 1642, entitled,
“Psalmes or Songs of Sion, turned into the language, and set to the
tunes of a strange land. By W(illiam) S(layter), intended for
Christmas carols, and fitted to divers of the most noted and common
but solemne tunes, everywhere in this land familiarly used and
knowne.”—See Athenæum, December 20th, 1856; Sandy’s Christmas
Carols, 1833.
Decorations.—Tradition, says Phillips in his Sylva Florifera (1823,
vol. i. p. 281), asserts that the first Christian church in Britain was
built of boughs, and that this plan was adopted as more likely to
attract the notice of the people because the heathens built their
temples in that manner, probably to imitate the temples of Saturn
which were always under the oak. The great feast of Saturn was
held in December, and as the oaks of this country were then without
leaves, the priests obliged the people to bring in boughs and sprigs
of evergreens; and Christians, on the 20th of the same month, did
likewise, from whence originated the present custom of placing holly
and other evergreens in our churches and houses to show the arrival
of the feast of Christmas. The name of holly is a corruption of the
word holy, as Dr. Turner, our earliest writer on plants, calls it Holy
and Holy tree. It has a great variety of names in Germany, amongst
which is Christdorn; in Danish it is also called Christorn; and in
Swedish Christtorn, amongst other appellations.
A correspondent of Book of Days, speaking of this custom (vol. ii.,
p. 753), says the decking of churches, houses, and shops with
evergreens at Christmas springs from a period far anterior to the
revelation of Christianity, and seems proximately to be derived from
the custom prevalent during the Saturnalia of the inhabitants of
Rome, ornamenting their temples and dwellings with green boughs.
The favourite plants for church decoration at Christmas are holly,
bay, rosemary, and laurel. Ivy is rather objectionable, from its
associations, having anciently been sacred to Bacchus. Cypress
seems inappropriate from its funereal relations. One plant, in special,
is excluded—the mistletoe. Ibid. p. 753.
Game Pies.—These were formerly made at the season of
Christmas. In the books of the Salters’ Company, London, is the
following—
“Receipt. Fit to make a moost choyce paaste of gamys to be eten
at ye Feste of Chrystmasse” (17th Richard II A.D. 1394). A pie so
made by the company’s cook in 1836 was found excellent. It
consisted of a pheasant, hare, and a capon; two partridges, two
pigeons, and two rabbits; all boned and put into paste in the shape
of a bird, with the livers and hearts, two mutton kidneys, forced
meats, and egg-balls, seasoning, spice, catsup and pickled
mushrooms, filled up with gravy made from the various bones.—See
Timbs’ Something for Everybody, 1861, p. 148.
Mince Pies.—These were popular under the name of “mutton pies”
so early as 1596: Book of Days, vol. ii. p. 755. They were also
known as Shred and Christmas pies. Thus, in Sheppard’s Epigrams
(1651, p. 121), we find the following:—
“No matter for plomb-porridge or Shrid pies;” and Herrick, alluding
to the custom of setting a watch upon the pies the night before
Christmas, says:
 “Come guard this night the Christmas pie,
That the thief, though ne’er so sly,
With his flesh-hooks don’t come nigh,
To catch it.”

Brand (Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 527), quoting from an old tract,
printed about the time of Elizabeth, or James I., says they were also
called Minched pies.
Selden, in his Table Talk, tells us that mince pies were baked in a
coffin-shaped crust, intended to represent the cratch or manger
wherein the infant Jesus was laid. This statement may be regarded,
however, as improbable, as in old English cookery books the crust of
a pie is generally called “the coffin.”
Minced pies, says Timbs (Something for Everybody, 1861, p. 149),
were derived from the paste images and sweetmeats given to the
Fathers of the Vatican at Rome on Christmas Eve. Eating minced pies
at Christmas was formerly a test of orthodoxy against recusants.
Mistletoe.—At what period mistletoe came to be recognised as a
Christmas evergreen, is not by any means certain. We have
Christmas carols in praise of holly and ivy of even earlier date than
the fifteenth century, but allusion to mistletoe can scarcely be found
for two centuries later, or before the time of Herrick. Coles, too, in
his Knowledge of Plants, 1656, says of mistletoe, “it is carried many
miles to set up in houses about Christmas-time, when it is adorned
with a white glistening berry.” In the tract, Round about our Coal-
Fire, published early in the last century, we are told the rooms were
embowered with holly, ivy, cypress, bays, laurel, and mistletoe.
Brand (Pop. Antiq., 1849, vol. i. p. 523) thinks that mistletoe was
never put in churches among evergreens but by mistake or
ignorance; for, says he, it was the heathenish, or profane plant, as
having been of such distinction in the pagan rites of druidism, and it
had its place therefore assigned it in kitchens, where it was hung in
great state.—See Timbs’ Things Not Generally Known, 1856, pp.
159-160.
Lord of Misrule.—His office was to preside over the festivities of
Christmas, and his duties consisted in directing the various revels of
the season. In some great families, and occasionally at Court, he
was also called the Abbot of Misrule, corresponding with the French
Abbé de Liesse, a word which implies merriment. Stow, in his Survey
of London, alluding to this whimsical custom says:—“In the feast of
Christmas there was in the king’s house, wheresoever he lodged, a
Lord of Misrule, or master of merry disports, and the like, had ye in
the house of every nobleman of honour, or good worship, were he
spiritual or temporal. The Mayor of London, and either of the
sheriffs, had their several lords of misrule, ever contending, without
quarrel or offence, who should make the rarest pastime to delight
the beholders, these lords beginning their rule at Allhallowed Eve,
continued the same till the morrow after the Feast of the
Purification, commonly called Candlemas Day, in which space there
were fine and subtle disguisings, masks, and mummeries, with
playing at cards for counters, nayles, and points, in every house,
more for pastimes than for game.”
Leland (Collectanea de Rebus Anglicis, 1770, vol. iii., Append. p.
256), speaking of the year 4 Henry VII., 1489, says:—“This
Christmas I saw no disguisings, and but right few playes; but there
was an Abbot of Misrule that made much sport, and did right well his
office.” It appears that large sums of money were expended by this
king upon these masquerades and sports, as the following extracts
from his “Privy Purse Expenses” will show:—
“Dec. 24 (1491). To Ringley, Lorde of Mysrewle, upon a preste, 5l.
“Oct. 24 (1492). To Ringley, Abbot of Mysreule, 5l.
“Jan. 2 (1494). For playing of the Mourice daunce, 2l.
“Jan. 15 (1494). To Walter Alwyn, in full payment for the
disguising made at Christenmas, 14l. 3s. 4d.
“March 3 (1490). To Jacques Haulte, in full payment for the
disguising at Christenmas, 32l. 18s. 61⁄2d.
“Jan. 2 (1503). To the Abbot of Misrule, in rewarde, 61. 13s. 4d.
“Feb. 12 (1503). To Lewis Adams, that made disguysings, 10l.”
The Lord or Abbot of Misrule at Court, says Hampson, (Med. Ævi
Kalend. vol. i. p. 117) was usually a writer of interludes and plays,
and the office was not unfrequently held by a poet of some
reputation. Such, for example, was George Ferrers, “in whose
pastimes Edward the Sixth,” we are told by Warton, “had great
delight.” There can be no doubt, however, that scandalous abuses
often resulted from the exuberant licence assumed by the lord of
misrule and his satellites, and consequently we find their
proceedings denounced in no measured terms by Prynne, and other
zealous puritans.—See Book of Days, vol. ii. p. 742.
Stubbes, a morose puritan in the days of Elizabeth, denominates
the lord of misrule “a grand captaine of mischiefe,” and has
preserved a minute description of all his wild doings in the country,
of which the following is a summary. He says that the lord of misrule
on being selected, takes twenty to sixty others, “lyke hymself,” to act
as his guard, who are decorated with ribbands and scarfs and bells
on their legs. Thus, all things set in order, they have their hobby-
horses, their dragons, and other antiques, together with the gaudie
pipers and thunderyng drummers, and strike up the devill’s dance
withal. So they march to the church, invading it, even though service
be performing, with such a confused noyse that no man can hear his
own voice. Then they adjourn to the churchyard, where booths are
set up, and the rest of the day spent in dancing and drinking. The
followers of “My Lord” go about to collect money for this, giving in
return “badges and cognizances” to wear in the hat: and do not
scruple to insult, or even duck, such as will not contribute. But, adds
Stubbes, another sort of fantasticall fooles are well pleased to bring
all sorts of food and drink to furnish out the feast.—See Disraeli,
Curiosities of Literature, 1858, vol. ii. p. 262; and Strutt’s Sports and
Pastimes of the People of England, p. 254.
Mummers.—These were amusements derived from the Saturnalia,
and so called from the Danish Mumme, or Dutch Momme, disguise in
a mask. Christmas was the grand scene of mumming, and some
mummers were disguised like bears, others like unicorns, bringing
presents. Those who could not procure masks rubbed their faces
with soot, or painted them. In the Christmas mummeries the chief
aim was to surprise by the oddity of the masques and singularity and
splendour of the dresses. Everything was out of nature and
propriety. They were often attended with an exhibition of gorgeous
machinery.—Fosbroke’s Encylopædia of Antiquities, 1840, p. 669;
see Strutt’s Sports and Pastimes, 1801, pp. 124, 189, 190; also N. &
Q. 2nd S. vol. x. pp. 464, 465, vol. xi. p. 271, vol. xii. p. 407; 3rd S.
vol. i. p. 66, vol. iv. p. 486.
Pantomime.—The Christmas pantomime or harlequinade is, in its
present shape, essentially a British entertainment, and was first
introduced into this country by a dancing master of Shrewsbury
named Weaver in 1702. One of his pantomimes, entitled The Loves
of Mars and Venus, met with great success. The arrival, in the year
1717, in London of a troupe of French pantomimists with performing
dogs, gave an impetus to this kind of drama, which was further
developed in 1758 by the arrival of the Grimaldi family, the head of
which was a posture-master and dentist. Under the auspices of this
family the art of producing pantomimes was greatly cultivated, and
the entertainment much relished. Joseph Grimaldi, the son of the
dentist, was clever at inventing tricks and devising machinery, and
Mother Goose, and others of his harlequinades, had an extended
run. At that time the wit of the clown was the great feature, but, by-
and-by, as good clowns became scarce, other adjuncts were
supplied, such as panoramas or dioramic views; and now the chief
reliance of the manager is on scenic effects, large sums of money
being lavished on the mise en scène. This is particularly the case as
regards the transformation scene—i.e., the scene where the
characters are changed into clown, harlequin, &c., as much as 1000l.
being frequently spent on this one effort. In London alone a sum of
40,000l. is annually expended at Christmas time on pantomimes.
The King of the Peacocks, a pantomime produced at the London
Lyceum Theatre during the management of Madame Vestris, cost
upwards of £3000. Even provincial theatres, such as those of
Manchester or Edinburgh, consider it right to go to considerable
expense in the production of their Christmas pantomime.—
Chambers’ Encyclopædia, 1874, vol. vii. p. 237; see Disraeli’s
Curiosities of Literature, 1858, pp. 116-130; N. & Q. 4th S. vol. v. pp.
193-95.
Plum-Porridge.—This, says Misson, was a “sort of soup with
plumbs, which is not at all inferior to the pye.” Dr. Rimbault says,
was not this the same as plum-pudding? Pudding was formerly used
in the sense of stuffing or force-meat, as we now say black-
puddings. Porridge, on the other hand, was used in the sense of our
pudding. Thus Shakspeare talks of “porridge after meat,” meaning
pudding after meat.—N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. xii. p. 489.
Snapdragon.—A very favourite pastime at this season. Although so
prevalent in England, it is almost unknown in Scotland.—See Book of
Days, vol. ii. p. 738.
A writer in the Pantalogia (1813, vol. x.) thus describes this sport:
—It is a kind of play, in which brandy is set on fire, and raisins
thrown into it, which those who are unused to the sport are afraid to
take out, but which may be safely snatched by a quick motion and
put blazing into the mouth, which being closed, the fire is at once
extinguished. A correspondent of N. & Q. (2nd S. vol. vii. p. 277)
suggests as a derivation the German schnapps, spirit, and drache,
dragon, and that it is equivalent to spirit-fire. The game has also
been called flap- and slap-dragon at different times. Shakspeare, for
example, in the second part of Henry IV. act ii. sc. 4, makes Falstaff
answer:
“And drinks off candles’ ends for flap-dragons.”

And in Love’s Labours Lost, act v. sc. 1:

“Thou art easier swallowed than a flap-dragon.”

See also the Tatler, No. 85.

Christmas Sports.—Among the various games and sports of an
olden Christmas, says Dr. Rimbault, were card-playing, chess, and
draughts, jack-pudding in the hall; fiddlers and musicians, who were
regaled with a black-jack of beer and a Christmas pie; also singing
the wassail, scrambling for nuts, cakes, and apples; dancing round
standards decorated with evergreens in the streets; the famous old
hobby-horse, hunting owls and squirrels, the fool plough, hot
cockles, and the game of hoodman-blind.—N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. xii. p.
489.
Christmas Tree.
—Various suggestions have been made as to the origin of the
Christmas tree. Mr. Timbs, in his Something for Everybody (1861, p.
127), suggests its being traceable to the ancient Egyptians and their
palm-tree, which produces a branch every month, and therefore held
to be emblematical of the year. The Germans may be said to claim it
as peculiar to themselves, as being indicative of their attachment to
Christianity; they identify it with the apostolic labours of St.
Maternus, one of the earliest, if not the very first, of the preachers
of the Gospel among them. They have a legend of his sleeping
under a fir-tree, and of a miracle that occurred on that occasion. Mr.
MacCabe (N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. viii. p. 489), however, thinks the
Christmas tree is traceable to the Roman Saturnalia, and was not
improbably first imported into Germany with the conquering legions
of Drusus. The Christmas tree, such as we now see it, with its
pendent toys and mannikins, is distinctly portrayed in a single line of
Virgil (Georg. ii. 389):
“Oscilla ex alta suspendunt mollia pinu.”

Consult Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1849,

2nd ed. p. 846, in verb. “oscillum”), where there is given an
engraving “from an ancient gem (Maffei, Gem. Ant. iii. 64)
representing a tree with four oscilla hung upon its branches.” Any
one looking into that valuable work will see at once that it is an
exact picture of a Christmas tree.
A correspondent of Book of Days (vol. ii. p. 787) says, within the
last twenty years, and apparently since the marriage of Queen
Victoria with Prince Albert, previous to which time it was almost
unknown in this country, the Christmas tree has been introduced
into England with the greatest success.
The Vessel-Cup.—There is a very pretty custom, now nearly
obsolete, of bearing the “vessel,” or, more properly the wassail-cup,
at Christmas. This consists of a box containing two dolls, dressed up
to represent the Virgin and the Infant Christ, decorated with ribbons
and surrounded by flowers and apples; the box has usually a glass
lid, is covered over by a white napkin, and carried from door to door