cousins, the little Icelanders, in their peat houses, on that isolated
island in the sea, where the shortest day is four hours long, and
where at Christmas time the sun does not rise above the horizon for a
week, and wonder how they are celebrating Yule-tide?

Christmas is a great day with them also, for they cling to the old
songs and customs, and could the west wind convey the sound of glad
voices across the wide expanse of water separating the island from
the mainland, Norwegian children might hear the Icelandic children
singing one of their sweet old songs.

"When I do good and think aright
At peace with man, resigned to God,
Thou look'st on me with eyes of light,
Tasting new joys in joy's abode."

In Sweden there is a general house-cleaning before Christmas;
everything must be polished, scrubbed, beaten, and made clean, and all
rubbish burned, for dirt, like sinful thoughts, cannot be tolerated
during the holy festival.

As early as the first of December each housewife starts her
preparations for the great day. Many have worked all the year making
gifts for the occasion, but now the carpets must come up and be
beaten, the paint must be cleaned, and the house set in order. The
silver which has been handed down from generation to generation,
together with that received on holidays and birthdays, has to be
cleaned and polished, so must the brasses--the tall fire-dogs, the
stately andirons, and the great kettles--all must be made to reflect
every changing ray of light.