(Irish child enters, singing.)
Oh, there’s nothing half so sweet
In any land on earth
As Christmas time in Ireland far away!
Hans: Christmas time in Ireland!
Irish child: Yes, Christmas Day is a day of feasting and merriment. Where did you get that pretty tree?
Hans: It’s our Christmas tree. Don’t you have one?
Irish child: No; I never saw one before.
Hans: Doesn’t St. Nicholas come to you? Don’t you get presents?
Irish child (shaking her head thoughtfully): No.
Hans: Then how can you have a merry Christmas?
Irish child: No; we don’t get gifts at home. We give them to the poor. On Christmas Eve we light the great yule log in the fireplace. Then, while it roars and crackles on the hearth, we sit around and hear the tale that we love so well, of the shepherds who watched their flock by night, and of the Christ Child in the manger. Before we go to bed we put the great candle decked with ribbons in the window so that our welcome may shine out for the Christ Child, should he wander that way. On Christmas morning, of course, we all go to church, and then we come home to the best dinner, and all the young people dance and make merry far into the night.