Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1867-05-11
R HOLIDAYS, FESTIVALS,
EETES. ETC.

tolic day-in the calendar, is an occa-
sion for a grand rejoicing-as a recent
Yankee traveller has expressed it, "for
a regular ,urn out" A village raining
constitutes q grand festival scene. When
a house is finished, all except the roof,
and that is ready to place upon the
walls, all the principal families are in
yi,ed to witness the ceremony, and par
take of a feast, to which each guest
mus, contribute. When the rafters are
Joined, a man ascends to the highest
point with a large wreath, with which
he crowns the united spars, and then
making q speech, takes a bottle Of wine
and hurls il to the earth. If it breaks,
we'll and good; but if not, nj luck will
come to the house or its owners. The
man who bears the wreath is followed
By a long procession, who wait until he
has fulfilled his commission, and receive
| him with shouts as he d%escends, when
all proceed 10 the table, where they eat,
drink, and are merry for many hours,
and then n dance closes the scene.
When q baby is born among the poor,
the village matrons are expected to call
and fill the mothers cupboard with good
things, to last until she is able to at
tend TO cooking herself; and when she
frs, appears at church, thanks are Of
fered for her recovery. During the
winter, spinning circles are held two or
three times a week, first in one house
and then in another, till all have been
visited, when they begin again. Each
Maiden's wheel is carried by her lover,
who accompanies her, and sits by her
side during the evening, with his elbows
upon his knees, a little pipe in his mouth
and knitting work in his hand, with
which he keeps as busy as she with her
dis,aff, unless he stops to give her a kiss
now and then,-which she does not take
at all amiss, according to common re-
port. The Pastors wives sometimes try
TO interfere with these spinning circles,
which do not always end as decorously
as they begin; but they find it, on the
whole, better not to NEEDLE with these
social gatherings, where industry and
skill at spinning, knitting and dancing
is equally cultivated. A wedding in
Northern Germany, in the primitive
style, is a grand affair. In every village
is a man whose special office it is to car
~ wedding invitations, which he does
on horseback with a long staff buckled
to his side, hung with ribbons of every
color of the rainbow, Il large knot of the
same in front, his hat gay with long
streamers, and his horses head and tail
in corresponding array. This is the
uniform of the person who has the office,
and is kept sacredly through many gen.
eratious. He sets out in gay spirits,
stopping before every door, calling
aloud TO those within to CONF forth,
when, in rustic rhyme he tells his err
rand, ~endeavoring to be as humor-
Gus as he can; and those thus hailed
offer the ancient Mercury a glass
of brandy TO keep up his spirits and
sharpen his wits" Before he has de-
livered a hundred messages, however,
he is apt to get somewhat dull. Every
family is requested TO bring their own
knives and forks, aud spoons, and where
ervants are kept, they also are expect
ed to come. II the wedding is among
the poor, a present must be offered, and
in this way many obtain their means OF
going to housekeeping. The bride is
escorted 20 the house of her lover by 8
cortege, consisting Of the bridesmaids,
who sit with her in the carriage, where
also are her bed and spinning wheel,
with the distaf adorned with gay rib.
bons. Four horses draw the carriage,
with ribbons futtering from their heads,
and in front ride the bridegrooms on
horseback, with flowers and ribbon bows
in their ~button-holes and hat bands.
The bride enters her new home with
great ceremony, where she is greeted
by the company already assembled-the
company drinking her health-when
they all proceed TO church, where the
Pastor awaits them. If they are not
able to furnish themselves with rings,
the marrying parties exchange a piece
Of coin instead. The schools are not in
session on a wedding day, as the school
master must be invited, and the chill
dren are all allowed to be spectators.
The young men Of the village FIRE of
their hunting pieces, both while going
to and returning from the church, max
ing a great and incessant ''racket."
When the wedding procession returns
TO the house, the dinner is ready. It
has been the same at every wedding
feast for a century. The dishes inva-
riably consist Of soup, boiled ham, boil
ed rice with sauce, and roast veal. On
the Pastors table is also roast duck,
made particularly excellent in the eyes
of the people by being stewed with
sugar and cinnamon. The festivities
continue three days, but the Pastor and
schoolmaster ouly attend the first. The
dance commence soon after the
dinner, during which every mar
must dance with the bride, and
the groom with every maiden. The most
interesting ceremony i, that Of stealing
the garter off the bride, which must be
done by the young men but, knowing
this beforehand, Bayard Taylor says
tina, the bride places it very low. When
stolen, the husband must redeem it with
money. The guests dance all night,
and in the morning sleep upon benches,
or chairs, or tables, for a little while,
and then dance all day and all another
night. They generally are so weary on
- .k;-J 1o, that they retire early.