The next morning the father found, on the bleak, cold spot where the child had lain, a lovely blossom of dazzling white, which he bore reverently homeward and named the chrysanthemum, or "flower of Christ," and each succeeding festival season some starved and neglected orphan was bidden to his frugal board in memory of the time when he entertained "an angel unawares." In "Merrie England" Christmas was the chief event of the entire year, and was sometimes celebrated for nearly a month. The tables of the wealthy literally groaned with plenty, but the poor without their gates were not forgotten, for-- "Old Christmas had come for to keep open house, He'd scorn to be guilty of starving a mouse." During the reign of Elizabeth the boar's head was the favorite holiday dish, and was served with mustard (then a rare and costly condiment), and decorated with bay-leaves and with rosemary, which was said to strengthen the memory, to clear the brain and to stimulate affection. Boars were originally sacrificed to the Scandinavian gods of peace and plenty, and many odes were composed in their honor. That remarkable compound known as "wassail" was composed of warm ale or wine, sweetened with sugar and flavored with spices, and bearing upon its surface floating bits of toast and roasted crabs and apples. The huge bowl, gaily decorated with ribbons, was passed from hand to hand around the table, each guest taking a portion of its contents, as a sign of joviality and good-fellowship. But the triumph of the pastry cook's art was "the rare minced pie," the use of which is of great antiquity. The shape was formerly a narrow oblong, representing the celebrated manger at Bethlehem, and the fruits and spices of which it was composed were symbolic of those that the wise men of the Orient brought as offerings to their new-born King, while to partake of such a pie was considered a proof that the eater was a Christian and not a Jew. All sorts of games were immensely popular with the English, whether king or serf, aristocrat or pauper, merchant or apprentice. "A Christmas gambol oft could cheer The poor man's heart thro' half the year." Every one has heard of the matchless "Lord of Misrule" (also known as the "Abbot of Unreason" and the "Master of Merry Disports"), who, attended by his mock court, king's jester and grotesquely masked revelers, visited the castles of lords and princes to entertain them with strange antics and uproarious merriment. His reign lasted until Twelfth Night, during which period he was treated as became a genuine monarch, being feted and feasted, with all his train, and having absolute authority over individuals and state affairs.