lighted, it is the custom to have it brought into the room by the
oldest and youngest members of the family. The oldest member is
expected to pour three libations of wine upon the log while voicing an
invocation in behalf of wealth, health, and general good-fortune for
the household, after which the youngest member, be he a few days or a
few months old, drinks to the newly lighted fire,--the emblem of the
new light of another year. Each member present follows the example
set by the youngest, and drinks to the new light.

Yule-tide in France begins on St. Barbar's Day, December fourth, when
it is customary to plant grain in little dishes of earth for this
saint's use as a means of informing her devotees what manner of crops
to expect during the forthcoming year. If the grain comes up and is
flourishing at Christmas, the crops will be abundant. Each dish of
fresh, green grain is used for a centerpiece on the dinner-table.

For several days previous to Christmas, children go into the woods and
fields to gather laurel, holly, bright berries, and pretty lichens
with which to build the _crèche_, their tribute in commemoration of
the birth of Christ. It is a representation of the Holy Manger, which
the little folks build on a table in the corner of the living-room.
With bits of stones they form a hill, partly covering the rocky
surface with green and sometimes sprinkling it with flour to produce
the effect of snow. On and about the hill they arrange tiny figures of
men and beasts, and above the summit they suspend a bright star, a
white dove, or a gilded figure of Jehovah.

[Illustration: A CHRISTMAS TREE IN PARIS.]

After the ceremony of lighting the Yule-log on Christmas Eve, the