Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1897-01-08
A CHRISTMAS In DIXIE.
An Interesting Letter From j. A. Weller,
Former st. Louis Resident.

Jip5io VI oiciSh oelis anu JoIly Snout oi
happy youngsters pelting each other
with snow balls out of doors, and with
the snap OF corn popping and crackle Of
welcome wood hres in your conf prtable
homes your readers are good natured
enough to credit almost any strange tale
SO placing great confidence in their cred
ulity and not little in the patience of
your typos" will tell how Christ
mas is kept down in the furthermost
end of Dixie. During the old slavery
DAYS Christ mas week was given over to
family reunions and general good cheel-
and great liberties were given he dark
les. They had to do the chores and
some light work but we're allowed To 90
on practically unrcstrained in their
cake walks, balls, coon hunts and
chicken fea Is. TIE spirit of Christ
mas is still strong in colored
brother to-day. Business depending to
any extent upon cOlOred help, and what
business of any moment here does not
depend upon them in some way, must
be done under rapidly multiplying
annoyance as Christmas day approaches.
Servants in the house become slrang, ~
Iistless and laborers about the docks lose
much of their usual interest in hosting
tackle and barrel trucks. Old time
southern bosses are very patient with
their men as rule and get on the best
they can. The new man from the north
who has to do with them is driven To
distraction by the apparent apathy and
lnefiiciency of every negro he has on
hand. Perhaps he remarks upon 1t
when some good natured cracker will
assure him, "These yere niggers amt no
good nohow." The facts are they have
''Chris'mus IN dey bones" and nothing
short of coon hunt or cake walk will
get il out. Servants leaye their mis-
tresses without warning the day before
Christmas or disappear after breakfast
on that day, and will not appear until
''after the ball" day or two later.
When scOlded for such inexcusable
conduCs, the ebOnized American hand
whites Of her eyes, and say she "is
pow'ful sorry, missus, is you mad?'
and thes she is herself again for
year. ibis erra,ic kind of service is
often hard on housewives who have
their plans made 10 entertain friends,
but the housewife who has gathered
wisdom in the study of the domestic
cannot be changed. SO much for the
darkie and his holiday disease, a relic
IF the old times and condition so
thoroughly upset. s'endurin' o de wah."
Christmas weather Is usually too warm
tor heavy clothing in SOnth Florida.
Eighteen ninety-six was an exception,
being clear cool and bracing. Cool
because of the terrific cold along the
North Atlaneic and snow over the mid
die north and west. Such weather is
hailed with deligh, by old residents and
we, who haze lived only two years in
the Gulf country enjoy it. Defenders
here are much the same as April in
Michigan, without the rains. No
sleigh bells Jingle here on Christmas
eve, but before the sun has dipped his
yellow head INTO the warm blue waters
of the Gulf OF Mexico small boys and
big ones also. begin The same program
that is carried out by the Yankee small
boy the night before the Glorious
Fourth at home. BY midnight the en-
tire city is abiaDe with rockets, Roman
candles, flash fires and Chinese lights,
and the boom of suntIry cannon in the
out skirts of the town and down the
bay on craft possessing fire arms Of any
sort, forbid sleep save of the most resis-
less sort, and drive away any Christ
mas thoughts that may have crept IN
during the easily hours whie the young
sters stockings were receiving attention.
BY daylight the payements are well lit
tered with scraps of paper, rocket sticks
aud broken wrecks of the nights cele-
bration. Stores and shops are most of
them closed. Houses are decorated in
colors flags lap in the wind that bring
the smell of salt water of the incoming
tlde to your powder sickened nostrilS
and your ears are greeted by the chimes
that ring out from both the Catholic
and Episcopal churches calling 10 early
services in memory of the
child whose advent was welcomed on
the hills of Bethlehem by angel voices
centuries ago. The youngsters of the
several sunday schools have had their
Christmas trees the night before, the
same as their hardy northern cousins,
but no sleds, or mittens, or popcorn, or
skates, fuY coats, or fleece lined slippers
hung on those trees. Young America
in Tampa don't wear mittens, no2 know
how to skate, nor eat popcorn. If he
IL a genuine Florida boy he meyer saw
popcorn and could not tell crapberries
from cherries. There is no old man
selling popcorn on any street corner IN
Tampa and cranberrics are brought
down here in small quantities from Cape
Cod Mass. to sell to the northerners
who will insist on their faYorIte sauce
for the Thanksgiving and Christmas
turkey. Don't you little Wolverines
think for minute the southern boy
and Girl are not made very happy by