The house was hung with holly to keep out the fairies, and a boy, whipped with a branch of it, may be assured he will live a year for every drop of blood he loses. This scratching and assurance were bestowed by boys on one another, and was considered a good joke. Cheese was an important part of the refreshments, and was known as the Christmas cheese (_Càise Calluinn_). A slice, cut off at this feast, or a piece of the rind (_cùl na mulchaig_), if preserved and with a hole made through it, has strange virtues. It was called _laomachan_, and a person losing his way during the ensuing year, in a mist or otherwise, has only to look through the hole and he will see his way clearly. By scrambling to the top of the house, and looking through it down the _fàr-lus_ (the hole in the roof that served in olden times for chimney and window), a person can ascertain the name of his or her future husband or wife. It will prove to be the same as that of the first person seen, or heard named. A piece of _laomachan_ is also valuable for putting under one’s pillow to sleep over. In this style the villagers, men and boys, went from house to house, preceded in many cases by a piper, and drowning the animosities of the past year in hilarity and merriment. CHRISTMAS RHYMES (_Rann Calluinn_). In general the rhymes used, when seeking admittance, varied but little in different districts. Sometimes an ingenious person made a rhyme suitable to the place and people, and containing allusions to incidents and character that increased the prevailing fun. The following is one of the most common of the class: “I have come here first To renew the Hogmanay; I need not tell about it, It was kept in my grandfather’s time. The Calluinn Breast-stripe is in my pocket, A goodly mist comes from it; The goodman will get it first, And shove its nose into the fire upon the hearth. It will go sunwise round the children, And particularly the wife will get it; ’Tis his own wife best deserves it, Hand to distribute the Christmas cakes. Rise down, young wife, And young wife who hast earned praise; Rise (and come) down, as you were wont, And bring down our _Calluinn_ to us. The cheese, that has the smooth face, And butter eye has not blinked; But if you have not that beside you, Bread and flesh will suffice. There is water in my shoes, And my fingers are cut, There is in beside the fire, What will cure my complaint, And if you have room to move, Rise and bring down the glass.”