Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1879-12-25
NEW YEARS DAY.


Ring out the thousand wars of old
Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Ring in the valiant man and free;
The larger heart the kindlier hand
Ring out the darkness of the land;
Ring in the Christ that is to be-
Since the year 7l3 B. c. the first day OF
the year has been observed in all civilized
countries as holiday.
On the first day of the New Year the
Romans sacrificed to Janus a cake of new
sifted mai, with salt, incense and wine
and all th mechanics began something of
their arts trade; the men Of letters did
the same, nd the COnsuls, though chosen
before, took the chair and entered upon
their Offices. 1t was a beautiful conceit
! which rclr scented this heather god, who
| unlocked te gates through which the New
Year entered, us having two taCes-One
looking rcgrttiully after the old year as it
passed slowly beyond the confines of time
into the immeasurable depths Of eternity;
the other turned ioytully and hopefully TO-
ward the Jung New Year as it approach
cd--and, hough long since two.iaccd
Janus has become but u shadOwy myth,
his emblem still exists in the human heart,
and in thi, later era do we on New Years
day enter ON new duties, form new plans,
make new resolves, and, undoubtedly, very
like the old Romans, many Of our good
beginnings meet much the same endings,
and the year slips by, as has the old one
lust gone, leaving dill along its way head
stones which mark the graves Of coed IN.
tentions, of hopes wrecked, Of duties uu.
performed. But regrets are vain, and who
would sulk and trown when mirth and
ppincss-seemng happiness at least
rule the hour. The old year is dead; let
past glefs and sorrows be buried with
him, "Ring out the old ring inthe ncw!"
"LC ROi est mOW rirc ie ROi!' This, the
beginning OF the year, is TO each pure
white page ON which to inscrbc some good
deed performed some noble aim deter
mined, some lofty aspiration born.
On the recurrence orthis season Of ics-
tiyity, when the gate Of time swings open
on its hinges, and an honest, rosy-faced
New Year comes waddling in, like Il Jolly,
iat.sided butler, loaded with good wish
e., good humor and minced pies it is
interesting to recall the queer customs Of
olden times and different natlOnalitics in
connection with the day which the French
call, par excellence, ''le Jour de- Ian. >"
What other day in all the year 80 full OF
promise and of happiness? The Anglo
Saxons called the day "Guila attera, Or
after lule, meaning the second Christ.
mas. In almost every cOuntrp and every
age the dawning Of Il New year seems al.
ways to have been welcomed with rciOlc-
ng.
In many places in Germany, particu-
larly on the Wescr, they welcome this sea-
son by firing guns, which is called "shoot,
ing the New Year Thence, probably
the origin Of the pyrotcchnic displays
wont to set the streets in an uprOar in our
own country. In the Naterland the
young men on New Years day take to the
house Of the girl they wish to woo
"trepchOt," with these words: Here,
bring me you trcpcrOt; if you will give
us something you must not long consider. "
Saying this they discharge pistol, throw
the trcpoIrot INTO the house and run away
with all speed. The people Of the house
then run out to catch the audaci0u' youth,
and if caught he j., obliged to ride the
kettle hook or 10 drink water mixed with
-"rotwasscr, After undergoing this
ordeal ihc is entertained The trcprlrot
is made OF a willow staff. on the TOP Ol
which is Il wreath in the form OF wheel,
the spokes of which protrudc through the
circumference, and on these point, apples
are stuck In the middle of the wreath
there is broad ornament OF gold foil,
from which spread over the whole wreath
thick. white, ray.lkc punches of willow
shavlngs.
In the south of Ireland tine master OF the
house goes ont upon New Years eve and
throws a cake against the front door, that
NJ hunger may enter there during the
year. This custom may have been de-
rived from the name of "wOlt.monah'' or
wolte-month which the Ang)o-SaxonS gave
to January, for during the cold weather
which prevailed ut this season the wolves
were driven by hunger from the forests
and so emboldaned as to attack men.
In Celtic countries the Druids at this
time Of year were accustomed to cut The
sacred mistlctoe with golden sickle and
present the boughs to the people, For
these the people received many valuable
presents in return, since the mistetOe-
bough was held in reverence by all.
The custom Of exchanging New Years
gifts, seemingly old as the day itself, is
still in vogue, but not to that extent
which belonged to former days.
In the early days of Nieuw Amsterdam
New York-New Years day was celc-
brated with boisterous mirth, that made
the welkin ring with happy greetings.
Calls were exchanged between all the
families, and sugar and honey cookies
were freely distributed, Subsequently, the
custom became offensive to the new Puri-
tan stock, and an effort was made to have
it abolished. The ancient Knickerbockers
became Indifferent Mt the proposition and
Mr.. John Pintard notable citizen in
those days, published in the New York
| Mirror, of 1882, vigorous defence of the
old custom, in which we have u pleasing
picture OF how General and Martha
Washington kept open house and received
their friends on New Years's day. Gen
eral Washington, in the first year Of his
Presidency under the new Constitution,
1889, resided in ther Franklin House, at
the head of Cherry street, New York. On
New Years day, 1890, he was waited up
on by the prisciple gentlemen of the city.
The day was uncOmmonly mild and pleas
ant. After being seyerally introduced
and paying the usual compliments
of the season, the citizens mutual
ly interchanged their kind greetings
and withdrew, highly gratifed by the
friendly notice of the President, to most
of whom he was personally a stanger. In
the evening Mrs. Washington held her
leuee. 1t was about full moon, and the air
so bland and serene that the ladies attend
ed in their light summer shades. Intro
duced by the aids and genilemen-in-
waiting, after being seated, tea, coffee,
plain and plum cake were handed around.
Familiar and friendly conversation en-
sued, and kind inquiries, on the part of
Mrs. Washington, after the families of
the exiles with whom she had been ac-
quainted during the revolutionary war,
and who always received marked atten-
tion from General Washington. To one
standing at the side OF the president, near
to Mrs. Washington, she remarked, dur
ing the evening, that of all the incidents
of the day none so pleased the General (by
which title she always designated him) as
the friendly greetings of the gentlemen
who visited him at noon. To the inquiry
Of the President whether it was casual, or
customary, he was answered that it was
Il 4 .N.l.