ments conspired to modify the ancient druidical
festival. After the Romans withdrew their armies from the island at the
commencement of the fifth century, other invaders took their place.
Saxons, Jutes, Angles, and Normans occupied large tracts of the country;
but as these were mostly all sun-worshippers, their festivals and
ceremonies would, for the most part, coincide with the native usages,
and whatever peculiarities they might bring with them in the matter of
formulas, would take root in the localities where they were settled, and
eventually the indigenous and introduced formulas would coalesce.
Another element which materially influenced and, _vice versa_, was
materially influenced by Pagan formulae, was Christianity. Introduced
into Rome at a very early period, it was for a long time opposed as
subversive of the established religion of the empire. Now, during the
festival of the Saturnalia, the Romans decorated their houses, both
inside and out, with evergreens, the Christian converts refraining from
this were easily discovered and set upon by the people, were brought
before the judges and condemned, in many cases, to death, for their
infidelity to the national gods. But as a result of this severity the
Christians learned to be politic, and during the Saturnalia, hung
evergreens round their houses, while they kept festival within doors in
commemoration of the birth of Christ. This Christian festival, with its
heathen attachments, soon spread throughout the Roman empire, and thus
became introduced into Britain also. It appears however, that the day on
which this feast was kept differed in different localities, until
towards the middle of the fourth century Julius I., Bishop of Rome,
appointed the 25th December as the festival day for the whole Church, an
edict which was universally obeyed. As was to be expected, many of the
ceremonies and superstitious beliefs emanating from the Saturnalia were
merged in the customs of the Christian feast, and do still survive in
modified forms till the present day. In many of our Christmas customs we
can thus perceive the influence of the self-preservation policy of the
early Roman Christians, and in the survival of many other pagan customs
in this and other of our festivals, we can trace the influence of
another policy, the worldly-wise policy of the Roman Church.

At the close of the sixth century, Pope Gregory sent St. Augustine, or
Austin, to this country as a missionary, and b