Old Christmas Day

From the conversation of my elders I gathered that in their early days rural life had many pleasures despite wars without and occasional lean times within their bounds.  Indeed, the general attitude of my informants was ‘those were the days’.  A motto, often engraved on ancient sundials ran ‘I mark only sunny hours’.  \the same sentiment must have coloured the memories of those old friends as they lingered in thought on the more pleasant incidents and adventures of their youth, many of their diversions lay in observing and celebrating the various times and seasons which came as , month by month, the year slowly unfolded.  Commencing at January 6th ‘Old Christmas Day’ was kept up as a festival by many who preserved a sentimental attachment to the older system of the calendar which had been revised long before in 1752.  By that omission of eleven days from the month of September Christmas day now comes eleven days earlier than before the change was made.

More than a hundred years after the alteration I have heard old people remark with a sigh ‘ah old Christmas day is come around again’ hearing which I wondered why there should be two of these festivals.


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