Newspaper Page Text
4 ELEBRATED by religious observ- ance end festivals among the Egyptians, Chinese, Jews, Rom ans and Mohammedans many centuries before the Christian era. New Tear's day is still the one holiday celebrated by all na tions, civilized or savage. While true that the first day of the new year does not fall simul taneously in. all sections of the globe, since all countries do not use the Christian calendar, it is. .nevertheless, a fact that each nation has its own New Year's day. Even the cannibals of . the South Sea islands and savage tribes of Central Africa celebrate the beginning of the new year with some sort of ceremonies. One general characteristic, however, marks all the celebra tions, and that is the spirit of rejoicir1S and feasting. Many of the customs " are quaint and unusual, but still fraught with the spirit of revelry and good will. In our country, of course, especially in the large cities, merri- . ment and conviviality hold full sway, though the watch-night 'serv ices in the churches appeal more to those of serious bent, to whom the passing of the old year and the welcoming of the new are causes for reflec tion, meditation and even sadness. In New York, Chi cago and most other cities the New Year's frolic is a veritable Bedlam of. noise and revelry. Millions are spent in wine and costly suppers, and as the hour ol midnight m KM'-: : W tions, civilized or savage, wnue ill ' &.2J T1 V- . W C- ,.air." ... . zukiim ; i if i i i l iiniif w i j i i t i i ri it nun tiii ii jrv 'QPi 1 strikes a full hundred thousand glasses are raised aloft in the joy palaces, and the health of the New Yeat is drunk. The lobster show places of New York human and crustacean are jammed to the doors, with the tables engaged weeks before hand. The noise and the wine-drinking zone extends fully ten miles, with every foot of it packed by a yelling, struggling, good-natured crowd, marching in un ending procession up and down the streets. At midnight the din, the roar and the rattle that has kept up unceasingly since the electric lights were turned on breaks loose in one mighty blast that threatens to tear even the subway trains from underground and jar the elevated from their tracks. Nowhere else in the couritry is the celebration so blatant, so ridiculous and so reck lessly extravagant as there. From the spectacular standpoint and the long list of notables on dress parade no celebration equals, perhaps, that at the White House, at Washington. All society of the capital attends. Second only in splendor of display to the glitter ing uniforms of the diplomats and the army and navy officers are the Coral settings. Uncle Sam furnishes the flowers from his wonderful green houses and likewise the music, the famous Unit ed States Marine band, that always plays at WMte House functions. -- Every vantage point is seized upon for the hanking -of flowers and extreme care has to be taken that they will not impede the progress of the 10.000 people and more who surge through the rooms at the reception. All mantels are cov ered with blooms and palms and bouquets in vases are placed at every convenient point. The president takes his place in the blue room and the procession begins with the foreign am bassadors, headed by the dean of the corps, and the ministers and attaches of the various lega tions. Then come the chief justice and the other members of the judiciary; then the senators, rep resentatives army and navy officers and other officials of the government Later In the day the president receives the people at large, and their waiting line generally extends from the front door of the White House out to and down Penn sylvania avenue for several blocks. At the present Instant old 1912 changes to new 1913. a million miles of telegraph wires and countless wireless stations will publish the glad tidings to every city and village In the country and to ships at sea. And this will be official, too. for the message will come direct from the United States naval- observatory -at Washington, and still more directly from an old sidereal clock that has long held an honored place in that institution. This plain-faced old clock Is always correct, never varying even one hundredth . of a second from the astronomical reading of the stars. It furnishes standard time for half the world, and as the new year is born will send its message clear up to Alaska, to. South America, to China and to London. -. Over in France New Year's day is not entirely one of rejoicing; that is, unless one is able to rise above such mundane things as finance, for New Year's in France means bills! It Is the universal paylng-up day of. the year: All . the dear, familiar old bills that have been jogging along and accumulating during the year sud denly pile in en masse and greet the head of the house on New Year's morning. It is not difficult to obtain credit in France, provided one pos sesses the externals of a comfortable compe tence, and the tradesmen - and landlords and shopkepers are content to wait until January first. Then they drop their gentle little remin ders In the mails or, more frequently, present them through representatives. The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker and all the gal axy of "their sisters and their cousins and i their aunts" are to be reckoned with. Festival, banqueting and .merrymaking like wise hold high carnival. From New Yearp eve until the morning of the second day of the new year the streets of Paris are en fete. Beautifully gowned women, in richly decorated carriages, and groups of beribboned holiday-seekers form a boulevards. Cafe life then is wild and brilliant ' Burging, happy pageant that throngs the spacious and the students from the Latin quarter con tribute their full quota of roistering and revelry in the restaurants and along the streets. The German celebration of the New Year is not lacking in wholesome good cheer and festive pranks, but it is pre-eminently a decorous one. In Berlin elaborate musical programs are ren dered and everywhere anthems and festival songs are chanted,- beginning at twilight of the last day of the old year and continuing until the bells peal forth the glad tidings of a new year born unto the centuries. There is one German custom that dates from the year 1848 that has no little of the spirit of the typical "bad boy" In it On New Year's eve anyone walking along the streets of Berlin and wearing a high hat need take no umbrage if a couple of German students, who may have endeavored a trifle too zealously to find the bottom of the flowing bowl, slip up behind him and smash the aforesaid hat down over his eyes. This Is the penalty he pays for wearing such a hat at such a time and he has no kick coming to him, even it his hat is knocked off his head and kicked until it ceases to be a hat The good folks In the Rlienish provinces have an adaptation of this custom that is more gentle and yes less expensive, considering the dam age done. This consists of stealing up upon a friend as he is walking along the street end whispering In his ear: "Prosit Neujahr. The friend thus accosted straightway comes across with a little present, such as a cigar, or a drink or an Invitation to dinner. In .Frankfort-on-the-Main the entire city rushes to its windows as the old year dies, flings them open and, glasses in hand, ' drinks a toast to Father Time's latest born. Then the windows are slammed down, the merriment ceases and all retire for a peaceful night's slumber. In England the New Year customs are of very ancient origin and even more generally observed than i'J this country. Every English family sits - up to see the old year out and the new year In. and always there is a bowl of hot punch, etc. with which to drink the toasts to the New Year The custom Is a survival of the time when the head of the house assembled his family around a bowl of spiced ale from which he and they, drank each other's health and the health of the New Year. ' The words used In the toast were: "Wass Hael," meaning "to your health." Pres ently, the toast bow I came to be known aa the wassail, or wassel bowL In Scotland the wassei bowl Is the center of - the celebration, which Is a distractlngly mad and merry one. God-cakes, triangular in shape, filled with mincemeat and about a -half-Inch thick, are eaten on New Year's day In both England and Scotland. They are sold in large numbers and can be purchased for from a penny apiece all the way up to one pound. Feasting is really the chief feature of the Scottish celebration, more so than at Christmas or any other time of the year.- Steaming hot wassel, too, is carried from door to door and indulged in by neighbors and friends. . Iu Russia the Julian calendar is still In vogue and January 1 there corresponds to January 14 of our calendar. The Russian festival begins on New Year's eve and lasts until the fourteenth day of the New Year. At midnight as the old year is dying and the new being born, the Czar attends public mass, and precisely on the stroke of 12 o'clock a hundred cannons are discharged and the revelry begins. At the end of the cele bration two Weeks hence the people fast and attend solemn religious services, marking on the doors of their houses, also, a cross to prevent Satan from crossing the threshold. In the rural sections the Russian children make the day peculiarly their own, for, armed with peas and grains of wheat, they sally forth in bands early New Year's morning, stop at every house, enter and wake the Inmates with a bombardment of peas or by scattering the wheat over the sleepers. Later In the day they choose the very finest horse raised in the village that year, decorate it and present It to the nobleman who Is master of the village. In return he scat ters small coins among them. Their elders, too, make presents to the nobleman, such as cows, Bheep and'fowls. The -strangest of .all Russian customs, perhaps, is the gathering around a jar of water by each family group In the belief that, if their faith is sufficiently strong, the miracle performed by Christ in Cana of Galilee when he turned the water into wine will be repeated. New Year's day in Japan is picturesque to the extreme. The emperor holds a formal court reception, much as our chief executive does, which Is attended by the foreign diplomats and high officials of the Japanese government. The . celebration among the people lasts "five days, and preparations for it are begun long before. The. fronts of all houses are covered with em blematic decorations: branches of pine and of bamboo are planted in large vases filled with earth and placed before the doors, and over the projecting roofs of the houses are strung garlands of plaited straw. These latter bear leaves of certain trees, shell - fish and other charms believed to be potent factors In bringing good luck to the household. " . v- The people flock to the temples, which are open all New Year's night, and there cook their zooml, a sort of rice cake, always eaten before the sun has risen. Later, on New Year's day, there Is much visiting and tea drinking and ex change of good wishes for the coming year. If he can do no better, even the very porest of peasants wraps pieces of dried fish In paper, tied with a peculiar red and white string used only on this occasion, and sends them to his friends as his New Year's gift The Japanese new year date falls simultaneously with our own. they having adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1872. The Jewish New Year is usually celebrated some time In September and Is called Rosh Hos hanah, also Yom Hardin, which last means days of judgment New Year's eve is observed with fasting and the day . Itself with feasting. "May you be In favor with God this New Year ts the Jewish form of salutation, from which the Gen tile greeting, "Happy New Year," Is said to be a contraction. HE KNEW WHAT TO AVOID If Knowing Human Nature Would Do It This Man Would Have Made Good Preacher. "Dr. John Haynea Holmes, who preached a. Bull Moose sermon to President Taft the Sunday before elec tion " day, - isn't like Washington White," said a member of Dr. Holmes Church of the Messiah in New York. "Washington White was an aged hod carrier." Laying down his paper one evening, he said to his wife -over his spectacles: ""Martha, I believe I'd make a preacher. Listen, now, and I'll give you a sermon. . ' "The old man then stood up to the table and bellowed out a vigorous dis course on the wickedness of the Idola ters of the Orient "His wife said at the end : A good enough sermon, Washing ton, but you've told us all about the sins of the foreigners and never a word about the elns of the folks at home here. " 'Ha, ha, ha, I understand preachln too well for that laughed the wily old man." ITCHING AND BURNING Iberia, Mo. '1 was troubled with scalp eczema for about five years and tried everything I heard of, but all of no avail. The doctors told me I would have to have my head shaved. Being a woman, I hated the idea of that I was told by a friend that the Cuticura Remedies would do me good. This spring I purchased two boxes of Cuti cura Ointment and one cake of Cuti cura Soap. After using one box of Cuticura Ointment I considered the cure permanent but continued to use It to make sure and used about one half the other box. Now I am entirely well. I also used the Cuticura Soap. "The disease began on the back of my head, taking the form of a ring worm, only more severe, rising to a thick, rough scale that would come off when soaked with oil or warm water, bringing a few hairs each time, but in a few days would form again; larger each time, and spreading until the en tire back of the head was covered with the scale. This was accompanied by a terrible itching and burning sensa tion. Now my head is completely well and my hair growing nicely." (Signed) Mrs. Geo. F. Clark, Mar. 25, 1912. Cuticura Soap and Ointment sold throughout the world. Sample of each free with S2-p. Skin Book. Address post-card "Cuticura, Dept L, Boston." Adr. Misty Past "I am afraid," said Senator Sorg hum, "that the altercation in which I have become involved must be more or less obscure to the casual listener." "About all you have both said lately is 'You're another.' " "Yes..And we have said it so often that I am afraid nobody remembers ex actly what either of us was accused of being, in the first place." V' - Hopeless. ; "Who wrote that Btory about Roose velt's return to the Outlook office?"1 asked the managing editor. ; "Billy Pennington," replied the city editor. . "l thought it was a pretty, good Btory." - . ... "It was more than that ,-Jt was a remarkable story. . I think we ought to raise Pennington's salary. He didn't wind up by saying: The colonel then plunged Into a mass o correspondence.". "I'm sorry to have to tell you that he did I blue-penciled that part oz it" - - , "Oh, pshaw! Well never be able to make anything of that fellow." Where Autos Are Barred. - Prince Edward island bars automo biles, not because the Islanders can-, not afford the machines, but because of accidents caused by the reckless ness of drivers who brought In the first cars. They caused many run aways, and a few had tragic endings. The legislature at once passed a law' barring autos from the island. Some of the leading cities have since en deavored to have the enactment re pealed, but the country Influence has always been strong enough to over come all such efforts. " Qualified. "Was your son one of the popular boys at college?" "Yes, Indeed. He was elected chee leader three times." "And what Is he going to do now?" "He is considering a fine offer to call carriages for a leading caterina firm." The Way. ' "Come, my dear, let's travel into slumberland." "Well, mamma, can we travel on the sleepers?" It's easier to persuade a man to stand alone than It is to Induce him to stand a loan. Pardon others often, thyself never. Publlcus Syrus. Stops Coughs - Cures Colds Defining It "The slang the young girl of today uses is a Bort of a' pigeon English, isn't itr - "No, it's a sort of a chicken English.' His Sort "I know a cabman who writes poe try." "Then he must be a hack writer.' State Aviation School. Guatemala has opened an aviation BChooL FREE TO ALL SUFFERERS If yoti feel "frrt of sort" Mrnn aownHor4frot th bines," suffer from kidney blBdder,rirToas disease, chronic weaknesses, 11 lcersukinernptionft,plleJtcut write for my FK KB book, it Is the most InatrtfctiT medical book ever written. It tells all aoontibes d iseases and the romarkablecBres effected bytbeNew French Uemedy "T HERA PI ON No. 1, No. 2. No. and yon can decide foryooralf if It is the remedy fo oar ailment. Don't send a cent. It's absolutely FBlcn. Nofollow-utocirealar. JDr.IeClertsM Co., U&veratocU ICd.. llAmpslAttO, The Wretchedness of Constipation Can quickly be overcome by CARTER'S LITTLE LIVER PILLS. Purely vegetable act surely and gently on the liver. Cure Biliousness, Head ache, Dizzi ness, and Indigestion. They do their duty. SMALL PILL, SMALL DOSE, SMALL PRICE. Genuine must bear Signature y 41 .nu 1 hv jF -f'ifl HITTLE I il"VJ' 1 ! t-ii.ua. 1 W. N. U., Kansas City, No. 51-1912. 3 1N II BREATHE THROUGH YOUR EAR3 In those prehistoric times "When you "were a -tadpole and I was a frog," we breathed through our gills, and if we still did tuberculosis and all kindred germs would have a batting average of .000. Such are the teachings of Dr. John O. Davis of the University of Virginia medical department delivered before a local body of medical students, according to a Washington correspondect of the Pittsburgh Dispatch. "You can exhale air through the ears now. Just take a chest full of air, close the nostrils and try to exhale. The air will come out through the ears. Muscles of this old breathing organ have been - out of practice for a few thousand years and it will require some practice to get them in , order. . "I would advise mothers to train their children in this new but old mode of breathing. It will greatly help against many troubles, as there would be no chance of getting infectious matter Into the lungs or throat After a little practice a child win be able to close or chut his ears lost as a fish- works his gSla. - "Originally the nose wv&s used for emelllng only. After a while man began taking long, gen erous smells, and" later developed his breather into a smeller at the expense of his "gills.-- If my advice were - followed man would have three breathing organs Instead of two within two gen erations. . ALCOHOL-3 PER CENT AWgetable Preparation Tor As similating the Food and Regula ting the Stomachs and Bowels of 11 LS. ilU.ltUJ, 6 Promotes Digestion,Cheerful nessand Rest Contains neither Opium .Morphine nor Mineral Nox Nar c oxic - - fft'Cnrimmm Wimhrmrrm SVtivor. A perfect Remedy forConstipa tion . Sour Stomach.Diarrhoea, Worms .Convulsions .Feverish ness and Loss OF Sleep. - - I nW V d - I Facsimile Signature of' The Centaur Company, NEW YORK. tysasnarj s; m y luitiiii For Infants and Children. 1 The Kind You Have Always Bought Bears the Signature of - Guaranteed under the Foodaij) Exact Copy of Wrapper. w Use VJ For Over Thirty Years mbtw veu rrr. ---..iH:HL,V 3 I M Cnck jn. TaaU Out Vaa I I I I t. tiM. SoM hf Pi win. I I PARKER'S HAIR BALSAM ms sad tu'iiilifim 4J5. btjfc i.iiM!M3isMi s flmrutt sTnrsnB- i Vevef ValTs to Ewrrtor OrngH Jir, J PxOTenta bmir fa.li.ne. -and tl.oo at iJTTigrltrf?.