The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-12-25

Snants, at midnight, The Christ Is born ~
Then all go home and break their fast.
Next day there is mass and more feasting,
put no giving of presents. That is reserved
for New Years. The weather. Greeks and
Bulgarians have on that day a custom
somewhat like the New Years calls of the
knickerbockers, except that no one gets
drunk
At Arnautkeui, at the narrow entrance
70 the Black sea, every year the water ID
blessed by priest in presence of as many
Greeks, Bulgarians and Russians as can be
present. After the blessing the priest filings
bis large, silver crucifix into the river.
Strong swimmers plunge into the current
amid the Ice and snow, and the one who
secures the crucifix is held fortunate above
all his fellows.
CHRISTMAS IN SOUTH AMERICA.
Consul Gustave Fl. Gosser Of Brazil told
me when pumped the question squarely
at him, that in all the Latin A merican
countries Christmas is mainly observed az q
religious or saints day merely. There is,
however" he said, - large and growing
number of people who have travelled and
seen Christmas days In America OF Northern
Europe, or who have read of them In books,
who reproduce the festival faithfully,
usually after the German plan, with loaded,
lighted tree aud the hanging OF stockings.
But they are the minority; the wealthy
people must have something different from
the rest"
CHRISTMAS IN ITALY.
Sig. Cesare Poma, vice consul Of Italy,
Is an extremely handsome gentleman,
courteous and kindly, who has some diff
Guilty In managing our harsh Saxon conso-
nants. The Italians, he assured me, have
scarcely anything corresponding to our
Christmas tree celebrations, with
r~4fk a 81 ~ l.
There is more or less giving of gifts, but
not especially at Christmas. The child
leaves his shoe on la cheminne-ths mantel,
you call it, and It is the good child. the
Cambino Jesu. who fills il, not st. Nicholas
ION Christmas day they have what they
call a 'presepio,' a representation of the Ma
tivity, where the figures of Mary and St.
Joseph, the Holy Child. the adoring kings,
the OK and the ass, all cut out of paper and
colored, and placed in little hut represent
ing the stable. Outside is the snow. rivers
Observation-Disclosures the designer wishes.
Sometimes these presepios are shown in
church, and then the figures are made OF
wood, life-siEs, and the appointments are
elegant"
''And the carnivalr' asked.
20, that has nothing 10 do with Christ
mas. though it begins the day after. Il IL
merely the season of winter fashion, opera
balls and the like, and closes at Ash
Wednesday. The last week Is carnival
confetti thrown and the masquers."
IN PARTIBUs INFIDELIUM.
The Rev. G. H. Daniels, district secretary
Of the American board of commissioners OF
foreign missions, said: christmas 10 uni
versally celebrated at the missions In China
Japan, India and elsewhere, taking gre.
cisely the shape that 1t has with us, G
mingled tone of religion and home cheer
1t is even introduced into family life
though, OF course, to a very slight extent as
yet. A great many presents Of toys, dolls
books and the like are sent from this coun-
try, SO that at the same time that French
children are playing with Japanese dolls
Japanese children may be gazing In speech
less wonder at the kind that grows in
Paris"
Writers on Japan say that the Japanese
are very fond of making trihing presents,
SO that they doubtless take kindly to q ne
holiday wish gift attachment, especially
as they take" religion much easier than
the Chinese.
IN THE FIJI ISLANDS.
"Do they have any Christmas In the Fill
Islands!" l asked William Churchill
the author OF IA Princess Of Fill" one of
the books of the season.
land very much Of a Christmas. You
know the islands are Methodist now,
dismally Methodist. Well, when midnight
comes in a FIjian village--and it isn't q
matter of guesswork, either, when IL comes,
for then the great Southern Cross constelIa-
ton stands poised upright in the heavens
earlier or later it leans to the right or left
when midnight comes, on Christmas eve,
the girls gathered at one side of the long
,yNFt pAr
it Is this, which was written by q native
and SET to a native melody:
Kykoya ia magu
Koi au Sa luvena
Sa leve oti mona dra
Ko Jisu no Crisaito,
(which means, literally, He Is my
father, his son. His blood was split al
out-Jesus the Christ
''Then from the other side of the green
the boys take the autistrophe, and last OF
all the old men in the middle of the green
roll in laundering bass. The chiefs house
stands at one end of the sylvan theater. the
church, or missionary house, at the other.
snow in autiphon and now in united har.
mony the two bands of children sing until
they have exhausted all the carols they have
learned. Then some one kindles fire by the
rubbing OF two sticks; the spark is caught
and passed from hand to hand to tip with
flame the torches of cocoanut buds. The
torches glow in every dark corner as two BY
two the singing bands unite aud march tc
every house in order.
"fo each they wish health and wealth
and all good things and take their leave
The young merrymakers put out their
torches and seek their mats to sleep. By
daylight comes the turn of the older folk
who, with the grave courtesy Of thess
islanders, call upon their friends and neigh.
bors. At later hour all meet in the mis-
sion chapel and hear the lesson OF the Toast
as others do in lands more civilized. A
feast of pigs and yams and fruit ia served
by the chief, who calls on all the households
as they sit at meat.
There is universal gift giving. IL the Law
didn't forbid it, they would give away
everything they possess. So they are le
Rally limited to trifles, and Of these every
body gets one from everybody else, IL II 1,
no more than a cocoanut with the husk cut
in fauciful patterns"
sand In Samoai"
~ don't know much about Samoa ~ said
Mr.. Churchill. Robert Louis Stevenson
and l divided the South Pacific for literary
purposes and Samoa came in his half"
And thus IL is seen how Christmas enclr-
Giles quite the whole world this day, and
hundreds OF millions join in its simple OBJ