Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1882-12-28
Let them halloo. let them call,
A Chinese New Years Celebration


The Chinese New Years day in 1882
fell on the 18th of February. They have
week of holidays at their New Year,
just as we do between the twenty-fifth
of December and the first of January.
In the cities they make fine display
o. fireworks, but none of the Chinese
people in Santa Barbara are rich. so
there we're no fireworks, except crack
ers; but there were barrels and barrels
full of these, and the Chinese boys do
not fire off crackers on their New Years
day as American boys do, a cracker at a
time, or one package at a time: they
bring out large box full, or barrel
full, and FIRE them of, package after
package. as fast as they can. till the air
is as full Of smoke as if there were a
| fire. and the ground is covered with red,
half-burned ends.
Long before we reached the part of
the town where most of the Chinese
live, we heard the noise of the crackers
going off; but the Chinese did not seem
to mind it at all. They were hopping
about in the smoke, pouring the crackers
out on the ground, box after box, barrel
after barrel. You could hot see their
faces clearly for the smoke. Groups of
American boys stood as near as they
dared, looking on. Now and then one
would dart in and snatch up one crack
er, or a string of them, which had not
gone off.
thought the American boyst had al
most as much fun out of it as the Chinese.
Every Chinese family keep open house
on New Years day. They set up pic
ture or an image of their god in some
prominent place, and on table in front
of this they put a little feast of good
things to eat. Some are for an Offering
to the god, and some are for their friends
who call.
1t was amusing to watch the Ameri-
can boys darting about from shop to
shop and house. to house, coming cut
with their hands full of queer Chinese
things to eat, showing them to each
other, and comparing notes.
"Oh, let me taste thatw one boy would
exclaim, on seeing some new thing and,
Where did you get itp Which house
, gives that?" Then the whole party
would race off to make descent on that
house, and get some more. l thought it
wonderfully hOspitable on the part Of
the Chinese people TO let all these Amer
ican boys run In and out of their houses
in that way, and help themselves from
the New Years feast.
Some of the boys were very rude and
| lill-manne-ed-little better than street
beggars; but the Chinese were polite
and generous to them ALL lss u ,.-l
In some of the stores there were men
playing game which has been played,
under different names, all over the
world. 1t consists simuly in one man
holding out his hand, with part of the
fingers closed and part open, and his'an-
tagonist calling out, instantly, how
many of his fingers are open. One
would think nothing could be easier
than this. But when the movements
are made rapidly it is next TO lmpessi-
ble to call out the number quickly with
out making u mistake. For every mis-
take a fine of some sort, according to
the agreement of the players, is to be
paid. These Chinese men played it
with such vehemence that the perspira-
ton stood on their foreheads. and their
shrill crying ont Of the hunters sound
ed like unbroken sentences; there did
not seem breath, between them. They
rested their elbows on the table, and,
with every opening and closing of the
| fingers, thrust the forearm forward to
I its full length, so there was violent exer-
else in it, From "A Chinese New Years
Day in Santa Barbara by H H. in ST.
Nicholas for January.
The President has nominated Henry
Jessup, OF New York, to be Consul Gen
| eral for Teheran, Persia. He is said to
be good man.
The rolling mill at South Chicago, one
ofthe largest in the country, which has
been partially closed for some time,
shut up all departments Tuesday of last
week.
n. Fitzgerald, Washington Pension
Agent, arrested on a reqrtisition from
the Governor of Kentucky, has been re-
leased from custody, but will visit Ken,
lucky to answer the charges.
The heaviest wind and snow storm.
for fifty years prevailed along New.
foupdland coast on Monday and Tues
day,of last week. TWENTY-FIVE vessels
were wrecked in Green Bay. Great loss
of life is feared.
The Second National Bank of Jeffer.
son, Ashtabula county, Ohio, has sus
pended, caused by the reported defalca-