Morning journal and courier., 1885-12-25
CHRISTMAS. 1885.

Immense Crowds out Shopping-The
 Busy Times for the Merchants-
 Christmas Tree CelebratiOns-Fieas
 ant Times All Around.
 Christmas to-day will, if the signal reports are verified, be ushered in with considerably cooler weather than that of the past few days, which has excited general remark as surprisingly warm weather for the time or year. There weYe various Christmas celebra- tions in town yesterday and there will be more to-day The Christmas music in the Episcopal and Catholic churches to-day will as usual draw large audiences. There was Christmas in the air yesterday. All day long shoppers were out and till late in the evening the stores were crowded with Christ mas buyers, and at some of the large stores there was a perfect jam. Santa Claus evil dently had his hands full last night. The horse cars were crowded to excess with the shoppers coming and going. The conduc- tors had hard work to keep on "schedule time," which was because ladies got on and off the cars so deliberately and without the least appearance of hurry. At least so the conductors say and they ought to know; and they haven't the heart nor the disposition to strike the bell and start up the car, even
 when by so doing they interrupt two ladies
 who are kissing each other goodbye and re-
 beating "good-bye," goodbye" good bye," in parting at the car steps, entirely oblivious of the crowded car or how exasper- ating it all is to the conductor.
 The markets were crowded last evening and many thousands of pounds of turkey, chicken and duck were sold at the regular places while score or more of farmers dis posed of wagon loads more from their carts at the curbstones. Many stores are finely 1 decorated with evergreen, running pine, &c., and there will be more Christmas trees i'll private houses than ever before in this city. l The sale of Christmas trees has been very | large this season, and happy homes
 and the number of happy children l will be numerous. The merchants say 1 the sales this year have been more numerous
 than last and that the buying began earlier
 and was well kept up and quite evenly dis | tributed along the week. They say that the | aggregate of sales in value does not exceed | last years. The shopping did not close till | after half-past 10 o'clock last night and the 1 crowd out in the middle of the evening was | immense A New Haven gentleman doing
 business in New York said last night that he
 never saw larger Christmas shopping crowds 1 in that city than there were on 14th street
 aud Sixth avenue, in the shopping sections, l yesterday and last evening all the large stores on Eighteenth street were open. They ] usually close at pm.
 To-day many poor families will have a
 fine dinner and bless the agency of the board | of associated charities and the board of city 1 missions from which agencies enough artl 1 cles to stock a small grocery store were sent | cut to the poor yesterday. At the day nur- sery on William street last night thirty of | the little ones that cared for at the lnstl- l l,,l l hi1 fhaip fhQrG arr 1 out laboring for their livelihood, gathered 1 around Christmas tree that has been pro vided for them by the members of the man | aging board. The tree was fairly laden | down with toys and those other odds and
 ends that make childhood happy. The ages | of the children that are now cared for at this 1 institution, which is under the careful guar 1 dianship of Mrs. Hills, range from six months to eight years. At the free kinder
 garten, 193 Franklin street, yesterday morn l ing, there a happy occasion. A Christ | mas tree we'll laden with gifts delighted the
 thirty children present and joy reigned. The i institution is accomplishing much good in {
 quiet but effective way and is worthy, in l deed, of generous support.
 | At all the public benevolent institutions | to-day a Christmas dinner will be served l Tomorrow at the New Haven orphan asylum | gifts will be distributed, songs sung, recita | tions delivered, and Santa Claus will be i'm 1 personated.
 At St. Francis orphan asylum Christmas
 will be commenced with high mass at | o'clock Rev. Father Harding, the chaplain
 of the asylum, will oficiate. The Christina dinner will be abundant. In the afternoon
 there will be Christmas tree celebration fo
 the children and the distribution of gifts.
 There will be services appropriate tC
 Christmas at the hospital in addition to {
 poultry dinner