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

wv: bdheu legs carrying lOUU uall-Hdhtu
olameSe. who carried banners and escorted
awrinkled old prince as their. king This
old King was as black as the ace OF spades,
and his under jaw was no thicker than
your finger. He was dressed In gold and
silver clothing. and he had crown on his
head tn looked like a pyramid of Ice
cream. The people cheered him as he came
up, and he stopped IL front of our party
andwagged his thin lower jaw at the govt
ernar, saving something That L could no
understand. ..s...:
Right near here there:wa a great swing
fastened to: a beam across two poles about
100. feet high. From the top of this beam
the ropes holding the swing were hung.
and on the board at its foot four naked
Siamese stood. A purse of money was tied
to a long bamboo fishing pole an0 fastened
to one of the uprights, so that the money
hung about thirty feet out from the swing.
The pole was so bent thatthe bag OF money
hung Quivering from the tOpmoSt point, far
out t. the side of the swingers. The feat
was for them TO get the money while the
SWING was moving They first knelt and
prayed to the king, and then went up and
down upOn the swing until they swung
themselves high up in the air and nearer
and nearer the money. Al last one of them
reached it. According to the rules he had
TO bite it off with his teeth and to hold
the money in his mouth until the swing
stopped. This is DO easy feat, and the peO-
pie went wild. Then other four men
took their places on the swing and more
money was put up. and so it went on. |
was not able to learn just what 1t meant,
but I was told that it was semi-relgious
in character and that it came from the
Brahmins.
The Chinese New Year festivities often
last for three weeks. The people prepare
for them, and the last days OF the old year
are the busiest. Every one wants money,
and the storekeepers are getting ready for
their annual settlement. All debts are
expected to be paid at the end of the old
year. and every one figures up his ac-
counts. The women celebrate the occasion
by cleaning house: The floors are washed,
the chairs are covered with red:cloth, and,
strips of red paper marked with: ameS of
good fortune, wealth. and Happiness are
pasted outside the front DOORS: The last
of: the old year:ls celebrated with least,
and. on the last night The little. boys of
CHINA run about the streets Yelling out.
good re- olutions; One of theiTcrTesis that.
they will sell their folly and their lazy.
habits to- any one who will buyin order
that they. may be- wiser next year. The
officials hold RECEPTIONS jas~we do. and the
princes at Peking call .upOn The Emperor.
and say that they hope he will reign 10000
years. =: .-.:->.-.: -. -.
Some of the queerest people have ever
met are the Koreans. The. world knew.
nothing about. hem ten yeaTsago,. and they;
have to-day about the saQe customs which
the Chinese had: 400 years ago. They are
TO a large extent nation Of children and:
New Year. is "a great: day with them; On
this dav men and boys turn out to f1y kites
and they = zap :1his kite flying up during
the New Year. hnliC avs. When they are.
over they cut the strings of their kites and
let them flv away, believing that<r Kites
will AIRY of. any i'll luck: which may be
waiting for their owners: a Korean kite
g.,
world. Ii has no tail and II IS nearly
square. 1t is made OF thin pieces OF bam-
boo covered with paper. with hole In. the
center The iact that it has no tail make
II require great skill TO: onPrate. and the
Koreans use reels of string instead OF balls.
When they get their kites high up-ll tine
:aiT+they try to make them swing this way:
and that SO they will cut the strings of their
neigh bors, aud when. the strings become
entangled their owners pull at Them and
the one who gets hold of his enemy 5. kiie'
first has the right To it. These kite. fights
are very Skillfuly managed. and athOp5and
people often watch them with aSIDuch. n=,
terest~aS the Spaniards 90 a -hGllfght and.
We Americans do the Tacetrack. -, j.:
+. New Years day is a sort of Korean Sab:
bath. 1t Is the only Sunday the Koreans
have, and the same may be said OF the
Chinese. In Korea no one ever works on
New Year and there are family reunions
this day are expecteG re go home To their
parents. All debts have TO t5e paid and
every one expects to Get his bills at the
last of the year. On New Years morning
it is imperative that You call upon your
: friends, and you are expected 10 sacrifice
To your .anresto tors. The giving of: New
Years presents is common, ana. these
presents are always sent out in a:.cer tain
kind of box known As New. ears boxes:
Every, one comes out in new clothes. and
for: a week little else than feasting'is done.
The Koreans are very SuDerStIIiOnS, and:
one of their New Years customs. Is the
making of effigies of straw representing
themselves. In these straw men are hid
den. pieces OF money and; also a':Dlece of
/ pa per on which is written q prayer asking.
that The. owner be delivered from all
plaques and diseases and misfOrtunes. for.
the year TO GOMEZ Boys call. for these;
effigles and they are cut up: to-get the;
money out of them. The more: they; are
cut the better will be the luck of the. per
sons who make them. After they are torn
to pieces the Temainder5 are thrown at:
some cross roads, where they are bnrned.
The japanese celebrate the. New Year
much the same as do the Chinese. Calls:
aremade. presents exchanged and settle-.
ments are expected: The children are GU I:
in force. They play all sorts of gaines.
and they make snowmen Just as cur boys.
DO in America. :; =;
i ne lUrks nave mum Der OIL holidays.
il was IN *CoDStantlnople. on Mohamme eds
birthday and the people were ALI out in
their: best clothes. and : / watched the
Sultan 90 to the mosque: i also saw the
procession which goes every year across
Cons tan til oDle to kiss The 'maDtel of Mo-.
BANNED. The Mohammedan year is:
eleven, days shorter than ours, and its
Ney Year day changes from year: to year
The. astrologers fix the exact beginning of
1t by. firing rocket from one of the height IS
about Constantinople and the Turks cele-
brate it in great sh pc. The. Sultan gives
a reception in one of his palaces. and at
this reception every one gets a New Y ear:
pieces. which are especially minted for the
purpose. All the high class. Mohani-
nedans make presents to their households
op1ais day. and nearly every servant gets
a .piece.of money.
FRANK. G.. CARPENTER.