| 552 | CHRISTMAS | CHRISTOPHER |
always found on their knees, as in an attitude of devotion, and that after the change from old to new style they continued to do this only on the eve of old Christmas day. This was derived from a prevalent mediæval notion that an ox and an ass which were present at the nativity fell upon their knees in a suppliant posture, as appears from numerous prints and from the Latin poem of Sannazaro in the 16th century. It was an ancient tradition, alluded to by Shakespeare, that midnight spirits forsake the earth and go to their own confines at the crowing of the cock. The Christmas celebrations in England have lost their primitive boisterous character, the gambols and carols are nearly gone by, and family reunions and evergreen trimmings are nearly all that remain of the various rough merriments which used to mark the festival. The last memorable appointment of a lord of misrule was in 1627, when he had come to be denominated “a grand captaine of mischiefe.” The poems of Herrick contain many descriptions of old English Christmas celebrations.—In the United States, since the Puritans were at first stern opponents of Christmas pastimes, the day was for a long time less generally celebrated in New England than in the middle and southern states. It has been made a legal holiday in several of the states, and is usually observed by a religious service and by making presents, and not unfrequently by trimming houses and churches with evergreens, and by imitating the German custom of Christmas trees. Santa Claus (St. Nicholas), originally introduced by the Dutch settlers of New York, is the American representative of the German Knecht Rupert.
CHRISTMAS, or Noel-Fearn, Henry, an English clergyman and author, born in London in 1811, died there, March 10, 1868. He received the degree of A. M. at St. John's college, Cambridge, in 1837, entered into orders, and filled several curacies till 1841, when he became librarian and secretary of Sion college. In 1840-'48, and 1854-'8, he was editor of the “Church of England Quarterly Review;” in 1840-'43 of the “Churchman;” in 1845-'8 of the “British Churchman;” and in 1859-'60, of the “Literary Gazette.” In 1854-'9 he was professor of English history and archæology in the royal society of literature. He was also secretary of the numismatic society, and made a valuable collection of coins which were subsequently sold for a large sum. Besides editing several antiquarian works, contributing to various periodicals, and making translations from the French, German, and Portuguese, he published “Universal Mythology,” “Shores and Islands of the Mediterranean,” “Christian Politics,” “Preachers and Preaching,” “Sin, its Causes and Consequences,” “Cradle of the Twin Giants,” and “Echoes of the Universe.” He also compiled memoirs of the czar Nicholas, and of the sultan Abdul-Medjid.
CHRISTOPHE, Henri, king of Hayti, born Oct. 6, 1767, died by his own hand, Oct. 8, 1820. The accounts of his youth are conflicting; according to some he was born in the island of Grenada; others say in St. Christopher, St. Croix, or Santo Domingo. The uprising of the blacks in Santo Domingo found him a slave in that island, and he distinguished himself by activity and boldness. His bravery commended him to the notice of Toussaint l'Ouverture, who gave him a commission as brigadier general, and employed him to quell an insurrection in the northern province of the island. Successful in this, he was appointed governor of the province, and when the French under Leclerc subjugated that part of the island, he and Dessalines were declared outlaws. When Touissant was seized by the French, Christophe and Dessalines again headed an insurrection, and before the close of 1803 succeeded in driving the French from Hayti. During the brief administration of Dessalines Christophe was general-in-chief of the army, and at his death in 1806 was appointed president for life by an assembly convened at Cape Haytien. The people of the southern portion of the island, however, preferred Pétion, and soon after organized a republic of which he was appointed president. A civil war ensued between the two chiefs, which continued for 11 years. In 1811 Christophe, following the example of Napoleon, abolished the republican government, caused himself to be proclaimed king of Hayti under the title of Henri I., and organized a hereditary monarchy and nobility. He promulgated a code which, though based on the Code Napoléon, was not a servile copy, but was adapted to the wants of the people. Meantime the defection of some of his adherents roused the jealousy and cruelty which seemed inherent in his nature, and did much to alienate the affections of his people. In general, however, his measures were judicious, but the mild and pacific sway of Pétion, and his successor Boyer, was far more agreeable to the negroes than the stern rule of Christophe. The number and activity of the malcontents increased, till finally the army became infected, and even the king's body guard went over to Boyer. Irritated at this, and determined not to be made a prisoner, he shot himself. His eldest son, Ferdinand, had been sent as a hostage to France by Gen. Leclerc, and died there in a hospital. His second son, Jacques Victor Henri, was killed by the insurgents a few days after his father's death. A pension was conferred on the widow of Christophe, but the enmity of the people caused her to leave the island. She went to England, travelled in Germany and Italy, and finally took up her abode in Pisa with one of her daughters.
CHRISTOPHER, duke of Würtemberg, a Protestant prince of the 16th century, born May 12, 1515, died Dec. 28, 1568. At the time of his birth the duchy of his father Ulric was in a very unsettled condition. In a little more than four years the confederated Swabian cities expelled Ulric from his principality, transferred
