ever-present Christmas cake. It is spiced and hard, cut into every
manner of device--men, women, animals, stars, hearts, etc. The
_Pfeffer Kuchen_ (pepper cakes) or some similar cakes are to be seen
everywhere at Christmas time.

The gifts are often accompanied with short verses, good, bad, or
indifferent, according to the talent of the giver, but all serve to
make the occasion merry. In some families these simple inexpensive
gifts are so carefully kept that collections may be seen of gifts
received by different members of the family since their infancy.

[Illustration: DECORATING THE CHRISTMAS TREE.]

On Christmas Eve the guests assemble early, and by six o'clock a
signal is given for the door of the mysterious room to be opened to
admit the family to the tree:

"O Hemlock tree! O Hemlock-tree! how faithful are thy branches!
Green not alone in summer time,
But in the winter's frost and rime!
O Hemlock-tree! O Hemlock-tree! how faithful are thy branches!"

It is ablaze with tiny lighted tapers and radiant with shiny tinsel
cut in pretty devices or in thread-like strips. Bright balls, gay
toys, and paper flowers help to enhance its beauty, and sometimes
scenes from sacred history are arranged with toys at the base of the
tree.

With the distribution of the gifts the fun begins; each person is
expected to kiss every other person present and help make the occasion