CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 15 The Origin and Purpose of Festivals--Ideas suggested by Christmas--Pagan and Christian Elements--The Names of the Festival--Foundation of the Feast of the Nativity--Its Relation to the Epiphany--December 25 and the _Natalis Invicti_--The Kalends of January--Yule and Teutonic Festivals--The Church and Pagan Survivals--Two Conflicting Types of Festival--Their Interaction--Plan of the Book. PART I--THE CHRISTIAN FEAST CHAPTER II CHRISTMAS POETRY (I) 29 Ancient Latin Hymns, their Dogmatic, Theological Character--Humanizing Influence of Franciscanism--Jacopone da Todi's Vernacular Verse--German Catholic Poetry--Mediaeval English Carols. CHAPTER III CHRISTMAS POETRY (II) 53 The French _Noel_--Latin Hymnody in Eighteenth-century France--Spanish Christmas Verse--Traditional Carols of Many Countries--Christmas Poetry in Protestant Germany--Post-Reformation Verse in England--Modern English Carols. |8| CHAPTER IV CHRISTMAS IN LITURGY AND POPULAR DEVOTION 87 Advent and Christmas Offices of the Roman Church--The Three Masses of Christmas, their Origin and their Celebration in Rome--The Midnight Mass in Many Lands--Protestant Survivals of the Night Services--Christmas in the Greek Church--The Eastern Epiphany and the Blessing of the Waters--The _Presepio_ or Crib, its Supposed Institution by St. Francis--Early Traces of the Crib--The Crib in Germany, Tyrol, &c.--Cradle-rocking in Mediaeval Germany--Christmas Minstrels in Italy and Sicily--The _Presepio_ in Italy--Ceremonies with the _Culla_ and the _Bambino_ in Rome--Christmas in Italian London--The Spanish Christmas--Possible Survivals of the Crib in England. CHAPTER V CHRISTMAS DRAMA 119 Origins of the Mediaeval Drama--Dramatic Tendencies in the Liturgy--Latin Liturgical Plays--The Drama becomes Laicized--Characteristics of the Popular Drama--The Nativity in the English Miracle Cycles--Christmas Mysteries in France--Later French Survivals of Christmas Drama--German Christmas Plays--Mediaeval Italian Plays and Pageants--Spanish Nativity Plays--Modern Survivals in Various Countries--The Star Singers, &c. POSTSCRIPT 155 PART II--PAGAN SURVIVALS CHAPTER VI PRE-CHRISTIAN WINTER FESTIVALS 159