mastide, for the
victorious soldiers who brought it about spent their Christmas in the
French capital, and during the festival arranged for the
re-establishment of the German Empire. So it happens, that while
referring to the crowning of the first German Emperor of the Roman
Empire, on Christmas Day, 800, we are able to record that more than a
thousand years afterwards the unification of the German Empire and the
creation of its first Emperor also occurred at Christmastide, under
the influence of the German triumphs over the French in the war of
1870. The imposing event was resolved upon by the German Princes on
December 18, 1870, the preliminaries were completed during the
Christmas festival, and on January 18, 1871, in the Galerie des Glaces
of the chateau of Versailles, William, King of Prussia, was crowned
and proclaimed first Emperor of the new German Empire.

Now, going back again over a millennium, we come to

CHRISTMAS IN THE TIME OF ALFRED THE GREAT.

During the reign of Alfred the Great a law was passed with relation to
holidays, by virtue of which the twelve days after the Nativity of our
Saviour were set apart for the celebration of the Christmas festival.
Some writers are of opinion that, but for Alfred's strict observance
of the "full twelve holy days," he would not have been defeated by the
Danes in the year 878. It was just after Twelfth-night that the Danish
host came suddenly--"bestole," as the old Chronicle says--to
Chippenham. Then "they rode through the West Saxons' land, and there
sat down, and mickle of the folk over sea they drove, and of others
the most deal they rode over; all but the King Alfred; he with a
little band hardly fared after the woods and on the moor-fastnesses."
But whether or not Alfred's preparations for the battle just referred
to were hindered by his enjoyment of the festivities of Christmastide
with his subjects, it is quite certain that the King won the hearts of
his people by the great interest he took in their welfare. This good
king--whose intimacy with his people we delight to associate with the
homely incident of the burning of a cottager's cakes--kept the
Christmas festival quite as heartily as any of the early English
kings, but not so boisterously as some of them. Of the many beautiful
stories told about him, one might very well belong to Christmastide.
It is said that, wishing to know what the Danes were about, and how
strong they were, King Alfred one day set