CHRISTMAS IN AMERICA. 17

some fifty in number, and the poles were long pine bars. These
poles were tied two each to two chairs; and the rods, after they
had been wicked, were laid upon them at short distances apart.

“Wicking the candle-rods” is a phrase of which few people
to-day know the meaning. Every country-store in old times
contained a large supply of balls of cotton candle-wick. This
wick was to be cut, put upon the candle-rods, twisted, and tal-
lowed or waxed, so as to be convenient for dipping.

How many times have I seen my grandmother, on the long
November evenings, wicking her candle-rods! She used to do
the work, sitting in her easy chair before the great open fire.
One side of the fire-place was usually hung with strings of
dried or partly dried apples, and the other with strings of red
peppers. Over the fireplace were a gun and the almanac;
and on the hearth there were usually, in the evening, a few
sweet apples roasting, and at one end of it was the dog, and
at the other the cat.

Dipping candles would seem a comical sight to-day. My
grandmother used to sit over a great iron kettle of melted tallow,
and patiently dip the wicks on the rods into it, until they grew
to the size of candles. Each rod contained about five wicks,
and these were dipped together. The process was repeated
perhaps fifty or more times.

A quill of powder was tied to the wick of the Christmas
candle before dipping, and the wick was so divided at the lower
end that the candle should have three legs. The young people
took a great interest in the dipping as well as the burning
of the Christmas candle.

My grandmother's candle-rods had belonged to her grand-
mother, who had lived in the early days of the Plymouth Colony.
They had been used since the days of King Philip’s War.

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