Churches are not trimmed nor are they made attractive with flowers, songs, or in any special way, but the people go to listen with devotion to the telling of the old, old story of Christ's birthday and of the first Holy Night at Bethlehem. The day before Christmas all are busy trimming up their homes and preparing for the great day. Usually the mother of the household trims the tree, not admitting any other member of the curious and expectant family into the room. Tables are provided for holding the gifts, as every one in the family is expected to make a gift to every other member, and it is surprising to note the interest taken in these simple gifts--often a soap-rose, an artificial flower, knitted lace, even sausages, cheese, or butter--and with each and all the ever-present Christmas cake. It is spiced and hard, cut into every manner of device--men, women, animals, stars, hearts, etc. The _Pfeffer Kuchen_ (pepper cakes) or some similar cakes are to be seen everywhere at Christmas time. The gifts are often accompanied with short verses, good, bad, or indifferent, according to the talent of the giver, but all serve to make the occasion merry. In some families these simple inexpensive gifts are so carefully kept that collections may be seen of gifts received by different members of the family since their infancy. [Illustration: DECORATING THE CHRISTMAS TREE.] On Christmas Eve the guests assemble early, and by six o'clock a signal is given for the door of the mysterious room to be opened to admit the family to the tree: "O Hemlock tree! O Hemlock-tree! how faithful are thy branches! Green not alone in summer time, But in the winter's frost and rime! O Hemlock-tree! O Hemlock-tree! how faithful are thy branches!" It is ablaze with tiny lighted tapers and radiant with shiny tinsel cut in pretty devices or in thread-like strips. Bright balls, gay toys, and paper flowers help to enhance its beauty, and sometimes scenes from sacred history are arranged with toys at the base of the tree. With the distribution of the gifts the fun begins; each person is expected to kiss every other person present and help make the occasion a merry one. Holy Night, or, as the Germans term it, _Weihnacht_--the Night of Dedication--is the time of family reunions, fun, and frolic. Not alone in homes, hospitals, prisons, barracks, and elsewhere is the pretty betinseled tree to be seen on Christmas, but in burying-grounds, on the resting-places of the dead, stand these fresh green trees in evidence of keeping the loved one's memory green.