Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-02-08
A Chimes. New Years Celebration.

A 0hinese Hew Years Celebration.
a writer In the s. Nicholas for Jan
uafy says: The Chinese New Years
Day in 1882 fell on the 18th of Febru-
ary. They have 4 week Of holidays at
their New Year. just as we do between
the 25th Of December and the lst Of
January.
In the cities they make q fine display
of fireworks. but some Of the Chinese
people In Santa Barbara are rich. so
there were 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 NewYear's
Day as American boys do. cracker at
q time. or one package at time; they
bring out large box 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 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 of. but the Chinese did not seem
to mind it at all. They were hopping
about in the smoke, pouring the crack
ers out on the ground, box after box,
barrel after barrel. You could not 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 string of them, which had not
gone of.
I thought the American boys had al
most as much fun out Of it as tho Chi
nese.
Every Chinese family keeps open
house on New Years Day. They set
up q picture or an image of their god in
some prominent place, and on table
in front of this they put 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 out
with their hands full of queer Chinese
things to eat, showing them to each 9th
er, and comparing notes.
"Oh, let me taste thatr' one boy
would exclaim, on seeing some new
thing; and, ''Where did you get it?
Which house gives thatP'' Then the
whole party would race off to make a
descent on that house, and get some
more. l thought it wonderfully hospi-
table on the part of the Chinese people
to let all these American 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
ill-mannered-lit better than street
beggars, but the Chinese were polite
and generous to them all
In some of the stores there were men
playing game which has been played,
under different names, all over the
world. 1t consists simply in one man
holding out his hand, with part of the
fingers closed and part open, and his
antagonist 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 rap
idly it is next to impossible to call out
the number quickly without making a
mistake. For every mistake fine Of
some sort, according to the agreement
Of the players, is to be paid. These Chi
nese men played it with such vehemence
that the perspiration stoodo on their FORE
heads, and their shrill crying out of the
numbers sounded like unbroken sen.
tences; there did not seem breath be-
! tween them. They rested their elbows
on the table, and. with every opening
of the fingers, thrust the forearm for
ward toits full length, so there was vio-
lent exercise in it.