celebration of Christmas begins more than a week before the day. In the
evenings, a party of men and women go together to the house of some
friend--a different house being visited each evening. When they arrive,
they knock on the door and begin to sing, and when those in the house
ask, "Who is there?" they reply, "The Virgin Mary and St. Joseph seek
lodgings in your house." At first the inmates of the house refuse to let
them in. This is done to carry out the Bible story of Joseph and Mary
being unable to find lodgings in Bethlehem. But in a little while the
door is opened and the visitors are heartily welcomed. As soon as they
enter, they kneel and repeat a short prayer; and when the devotional
exercises are concluded, the rest of the evening is spent in
merrymaking.

On Christmas eve the people of the village gather together in some large
room or hall and give a solemn little play, commemorating the birthday
of the Saviour. One end of the room is used as a stage, and this is
fitted up to represent the stable and the manger; and the characters in
the sacred story of Bethlehem--Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the wise
men, and the angels--are represented in the tableaux, and with a
genuine, reverential spirit. Even the poorer people of the town take
part in these Christmas plays.


=AMONG THE SHAKERS=

The Shakers observe Christmas by a dinner at which the men and women
both sit down at the same table. This custom of theirs is the thing that
serves to make Christmas different from any other day among the Shakers.
During all the rest of the year the men and women eat their meals at
separate tables.