CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS BRING JOY, COLOR

Christmas customs bring joy, gaiety, color and fragrance into our homes. Have you ever wondered how some of our traditions began or how the holiday is observed in other countries?

Decorated Christmas trees, bringing fresh evergreen scents into our homes is fairly recent in the centuries celebrating the birth of the Christ Child.

December 25 is a relatively "new" date to celebrate Christmas. It wasn't until the year 440 that December 25 became the official date of Christmas. Before that time it was celebrated on December 26, May 20 and March 28.

Bringing branches of evergreens into homes to frighten away evil spirits during the short, dark days of December was practiced in northern European countries in pre-Christian days. Trees that held their needles through the cold winters symbolized the earth's fertility and eternal life.

The yule log is a European Christmas tradition that has become less widespread in modern times. The large log is said to be lit on Christmas Eve and must burn for at least 12 hours to bring good luck. Ashes of the Yule log are scattered around fruit trees or in the garden to ensure a good harvest.

Fresh flowers and blooming plants are used to decorate homes in the Southern Hemisphere where Christmas falls in summer. In Argentina, rosebuds and jasmine decorate the homes and festive tables at holiday time.

Children in Central and South America run through the streets carrying noisemakers made from gourds, made by placing a few small stones into the dried gourd which is attached to a wooden handle to make a festive rattle.

In Labrador, turnips especially saved from the harvest, are cut in half and candles are stuck into them. These traditional gifts are presented to the children.

While our children carefully prepare plates of cookies and milk for Santa on his visit, the youngsters in Belgium leave carrots and water for Santa's horse.

In Brazil a Christmas feast of pork, roasted over a pit fire, is eaten outside under trees or trellises.

In Rumania roast pig is the center of the meal at the holiday table. It is served with turta, a cake made of layers of thin dough, shaped to form leaves and symbolic of the infant Jesus' swaddling clothes.

In Mexico colorful customs add to the festive atmosphere of the holiday season. Most popular is the tradition of the pinata, an earthenware bowl decorated to resemble animals and filled with fruit, candy, nuts and coins. This pinata is strung up and the children gather around it as one youngster is blindfolded and given a stick to swing at the pinata. When one of the children breaks it, the contents spill out to delight all of the small guests.

Christmas Day in Australia, where ferns, foliage and colorful flowers are the primary holiday decorations, is likely to be scorching hot. Just about everyone celebrates the day with a picnic supper at the beach or in the country since it is the middle of summer vacation.

England is rich in yule traditions, from singing carols and London's Christmas pantomimes to plum pudding, mince pies and that Christmas kissing bunch of mistletoe.

On Christmas Eve in France many people go to their favorite cafe and sit up all night to welcome in Christmas in a social gathering called reveillon. Christmas is not quite as popular in France as it is in other European countries, and it is truly for children, with adults preferring various activities on New Year's Day.

In Denmark even the birds are remembered at Christmastime. Traditionally a small sheaf of corn is placed in a tree, so the birds can enjoy the holiday, also.

These customs have been compiled from several books that make good reading for anyone interested in traditions and their origins.

Customs may vary from country to country, yet they all have one common denominator--a joyfulness of heart, in celebration of that most wonderful of seasons--CHRISTMAS.