The morning news., 1889-01-31
CHINADOM'S NEW YEARS.
SAVANNAH'S ORIENTAL COLONY
CELEBRATES THE DAY.

Confucionisn's Followers Eat Big
Dinners and Hit the Pipe in Honor
OF the Greatest of ALI Chinese Fes-
tivals-Some Mongolian New Years
pay Customs-No Work for Fifteen
Days.
Yesterday was the greatest Of all the Chi
nese holidays, aid the Cinnamon in this
city refrained from work, rs is the custom.
aud dressed in their best clothes. They paid
visits to each other and the finest fruits and
nuts and elaborate dinners were enjoyed by
the almond-eyed children of the Orient.
The Chinese New Year holiday is cee-
brated by the Chinese in much the same
wav Christendom celebrates Christ mas,
and the Auglo-Saxon world copies from the
Chinese the custom of making New Years
calls on the first day Of the year. Christeu-
dom has not copied all that might with
good reason be borrowed from the Chi
nese.
PAYS UP HIS DEBTS.
One Of the first things Chinamsn does on
his New Years day is to pay Nd all his
debts. After that his conscience is so far
regulated that he can, wi b benlgnant
coontenRnce, repair to the Joss temples to
pray to the gods to shower down blessings
upon him. Then he goes home and sur
rounded by all that the epicure could wish,
If he can afford it, he eats the best that flies
in the air, that swims beneath the waters or
that courses on land. Birds nests from
almost inaccessible places are
drawn upon for his New
Years dinner. and fruits from all nations
and confections of his own country, with
Chinese liquors to wash them down, aud
amid these happy surroundings be hits the
pipe and dreams Of empires innumerable
where every Mongolian is an emperor.
When he awakes from his postprandial
slumber he starts out making his New
Years calls, and to his credit he generally
returns sober.
A LENGTHY HOLIDAY.
The Chinese New Year holiday lasts f1f
teen days, during which time in the home
country, said Wong Gen yesterday, no one
works. The display of fireworks, in which
the Chinese excel, is kept up during the en-
tire holiday season, the people giving them
selves up to pleasure and worship. Visit
ing is general, and, to quote Charley Lee,
everybody eats all the time"
The Chinese in this city have no temple
dedicated to joss, but they did not forget
to perform the usual religious exercises in
the quiet Of their inuer rooms Yesterday,
and their lauudries had Chinese lanterns
burning brightly all day. A MORNING
NEWS reporter was Hospitality received at
the homes Of Wong Gen, on Bull street,
Wing Sing, on Broughton, Sing Wah, on
Barnard, and Wing Lee, on Whitaker
street. At each place bananas, Chinese
oranges, Chinese nuts, candies and other
delicaces were displayed and offered gen.
erously.
SOME CHINESE REFRESHMENTS.
The Chinese nut is a curiosity to an
American and is delcacy that is not to be
compared to any fruit of the raisin or date
kind. 1t is the size Of and closely resembles
in appearance a sycamore ball When the
thin shell, which is very frail, is broken, the
fruit is disclosed. 1t is about the size of
raisin and has a saccharine and delicious
taste. 1t is the most popular fruit on the
Chinaman's table.
A. all OF the places visited queer Chinese
confoctions and fancy candies were placed
on great wide plates, aud the visitor would
| have been wanting in decorum and courtesy
who did not accept the offered hospitality.
The offerings were imported from China for
| the occasion, and came from Hop Cheong,
| Hing Looug street. Canton, dealer in finest
dried Li-Chee and Luug-Ngan"
| The Chinese of Savannah will not OBJ
serve the New Year's season as elaborately
as in China or as they do IN New York and
| San Francisco. but will work the rest of
the holiday season. None of them were
| able to tell what year in their calendar was
| celebrated, but as they date back nearly
| 5000 years it don't make any difference to
| them, and if they can stand it Mslicau
man needn't worry whether it is 1889 or
| $3.50 with them.