The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-12-31

Man plumes himself upon being the
| only creature that has the pleasure and
| pain of retrospect, the hope and the fore
bodlngs of the future. Perhaps it is only
! In degree that he can thus arrogate to
himself exclusively the brooding functions
OF memory and forecast, for have not other
| creatures the remembrance Of associa-
lions, and, according 10 the season, do they
not exhibit notifications of action which
| show foresight? But man at least is pc
| cullar 10 the eXultation with which he sees
the sun Use upon the glad New Year.
! Other creatures have their season of emo
ton woven into their lives by the round
of nature. Man has made hoop of time.
and ages before he grasped the heliocentric
mechanism of our little world had num-
bered the days of our orbit and noted the
end and the beginning of a cycle.
There must have been time, far back
| in the twilight of the minds growth, when
the days passed vaguely as long or short.
undistinguished in definite perodicity, and
when the moon was more important in
reckoning divisions of the year than the
sun. But the records of the most ancient
peoples attest that they made much ad
with celebration and feasting when the
New Year came round, and the customs of
observance are so rooted that they will
never entirely vanish while human society
holds together.
Il is of little account when the day of
celebration is chosen. 1t has varied with
months of interval Ancient Rome had il
in March, but according to the legend. NJ
ma changed il to the 1st of January, and
Janu Bifrons might have faced both ways
| quite as comfortably To reason in June or
September as in bleak and chilling Janu-
| airy. Only in the sixteenth century did
| the nations conclude that the Ist of jam
no Nax ht,t rl.ot,
We say 1.-THE nations" we leave ont of view
| the Chinese, who are at least fourth of
! the earth's population and have a very
ancient celebration of their own. The
| Russians retain the old style of reckoning
| the year, and thus there is the confusion
of twelve days difference about the 1st of
January, but their example is not followed
by any other country in Europe, and yet
1T was long after Catholic countries had
| the GregOrlan calendar that Protestant
countries fell into scientific line, and Eng
land only in 1852. during The reign OF
George the Second. There are indeed
many places in old countries where pres
| ent-givlng, one of the characteristics of
!. New Year. celebrations, still follows the
old style of the. calendar, affording NO.
table. demonstration Of the tenacity. of
habit in defiance of the almanac. = =
New Years day is marked by the pre-
! sentation Of gifts with well-nigh uni
! versatility of custom, but Christmas day
has considerably subtracted from the
| hOnors of the more ancient observance.
| Tie English Boxing day-the day of giving
| Chris mas. boxes as presents-leayes TO
+ New Year's day only the modern formalty
of exchanging. pretty artistic cafds. But
|: the French Jour de Pan is also known as
| Jour deS EtTenDes. and etrenne is clearly
derived from the Roman strena meaning
\ New Year presents, and its applicatiOn-is
Extended to first gifts or business trans
l. a fire. Of
responds. 10 the :old-fashioaed term,
"handsel," which we. derive from the
/ Danish: The Romans got their. custom
4 of giving stTenB from. the Greek S; and the
Romans spread, the custom among the
|. BritOns. Whence the Greeks adopted it is
problematlcaE.: The Egyptians, the Jews,
/ the Arabs had their New Year festal OBJ
| servaneeS, and the custom may 90 far back
| In history to-. ancient India, To- the people
|; whose Sanscrlt gave roots to. nearly all:
1.-THE branching languages : of : Europe:
/ Where the Chinese got their observanceS.
which are very elaborate and very friendly
| and include the most commendable re-
| quirement OF wipiDg off debts as well as
exchanging gifts and hospitality, can only
be matter of conjecture. but the his
torical mind is unwilling 10 accept any
l>custcm as entirely original.
The venerable graybeard who hears the
New Year bells ring out the old. ring in
the new, experiences variety of emotions.
] IL be rs IN the mood of retros pect.:. La do
/ tage he has little leftof earth but. the: Joy
LOT seeing others joyful, or, the crabbedneSs
I of seorning all in which he cannot partici-
pate. He has no illusions: beyond the;
/ vague one Of h oping that he maycontinlie:
TO grow old and see other returns. OF the
day: Hls-0wn: work is done and he awaits.
the dread summons which separates him
| from the living He too had his childhood,
4 his years of lllimitable biHties, his.
th.NN. cletC l-<eff l.<sN
+ and III 0|Dast to finger over or give prudent
/ shapeto action. Now, in the last stage of all;
+ his days are all past and he rs inclined in
i second;childhoOdt TO- return%tOlS iniplicity, to
| be delighted, with little and to- shun care
/ and worry. -: ..::-:
" tits a blessed CHARACTERISTIC. of hale old
i age that the oh lef pleasure. socially iS:with
! the young, the. pra ttle-and romping of the
grandchildren and the. great-grandchildren
| VIII ose>wayS of lnnocen ce and out bursts of
/ glee kfndle new life in :flickering NOR:
tally Happy the old age: which fingers:
In. kindllDess and unsoured designation
surrounded by. the pc: and :cheerfulnesS
of the succeeding generations :: :. :.
\ :. In the abstract lit is perhaps startling.
that all this" procession of changing emo;
| tfon from. youth to. old age, from the end,
of: the. year to the beginning of new
| one, has been. going on without cessation
/ from the dawn of. history in all regions
less had his. otions of: the seasons also,,
/ for he was yery@mnchi higher than: the
+ bear, WHICH also lives; in caves, and: by.
cumming 0ver;his naws~ indicates his per-
ception of. the ALTERNATING night which;
settles upon him. The soldier: tired of
wars alafms..' long ago lookek back upon
the stress and storm*of his; stirring youth
and midd le age, ana must have:concTuded
that the war d nm would throb with aver
age: regu clarity w hen lie had gone. irres pee
l:tiyesof his good wishes for. peace. 49,. .
| :: To-day the soldier but: beholds the ex-.
/ pansion:of the field of conflict. the perfec-:
tion of weapons of destruction, nations on
the muster-r0lI instead: of. arm les; THERE
sources of strife multiplied ;tenfold by the
Facilities OF trans portation by sea- and
land and the. red uctiop of campaigns to
ks and mouths instead of devastating
years. AS the French saying is. the more
| things change the more they are the same.
| The gladDess of the new year : is per-
petual reminder that the aspirations :of
| mankind are: higher and better than the
results, OF which indeed: we are not sole
disposers. since we never escape from the
impress of our. environment of struggle.
| and the very strife: of progress means the