The times., 1897-12-19

rendered. The altars are bnrdened with
fragrant flowers and glorious with lights:
incense fills tile air aud melodous chant
ing, and the gorgeous veStments Of the
Greek priests giittering in the light, bring
forth dreams Of medieval pageants. 'ihe
midnight mass Of the Western church
is equally as beautiful.
few hours later the streets OF every
Grecian town and city are alive with peO
pie; the wide ruadways Of Sparta, its
lemon and orange groves, are crowded with
men cladintherationa dress, the fustinilla;
the white tboroughfares Of Athens lined
with pepper trees, the many colored pOrti.
COS and verandas of her houses, all are
filled with people, but with the mufe COS
mupulite crowd OF q world center. The
| customary round of calls has begun; for
the whole of Christmas Day is an inter
change of visits. In the forenoon the men
call, astbey dc here on New Years Day, on
as many families Of their acquaintance as
the time allows, or they send their cards,
with wishes ''foT happy feast" It some
times happens that gentleman or d lady
! is obliged t. send three or four hundred
cards; the rule is imperative, and If
broken is an objectionable Offense. The
! ladies start out in the afternoon, dressed
in their Especial dresses Those who re-
ceive are gorgeously attired; the unmar
| ried daughter exhibits all her dowry, her
| dress is fairly loaded with rich, handmade
| embroidery. Her worth from the money
standpoint is openly displa yed.
| SIMPSON
| The stereotyped form does not admit
! conversation. The visitor on entering
is greeted by the lady of the house, or some
] In, bar ,lar she
| He bows formally.
II wish you d happy feast. ] wish your
daughter Rossina a happy feast. / wish
your son Mitza a happy feast wish
and so on, naming every member or near
relative of the family not present, wish
ing each, separately and dist inctly,
HAPPY feast" Then, walking to every
individual in the room, a happy feast is
! again wished and the visitor is escorted
to the seat OF honor, namely, the sofa.
| Presently the servant enters, bearing a
| tray, OH which is a glass of coguac or wine,
a cup of preserves and n glass of lter,
in which is a silver spoon. If the guest
is lady the wine is omitted. The Wis
itor holds up the spoon:
Your health" he says gravely; 1
wish happy feast to you and all our
family" anI, beginning again, ieiter aues
the names of all present.
Thank you; thank you each responds
solemnly. The wine is then drunk, the
preserves eaten, and the visitor takes his
leave, going to the next house, where pre-
cisely the same ceremonies are enacted
the same stolid formality and strict eti-
Quette observed.
The interior of the modern Greek house
is interesting at all times, as well as on
this day. The floors are never carpeted,
but gayly striped rugs flung here and
there, while the ceiling is especially ar
tistic, being frescoed neatly or painted in
soft colors which harmonic with the walls.
The effect is highly decorative, a Sort of
neglige art ra ather like a Parisia atelier,
only nester. One characteristic belong
ing to every Greek household is a picture
of its patron So int, in front of which a
little taper always burns in a vessel of
olive oil, and on feast days the lady of
the house hurns most fragrant incense
before it, and the whole house is penetra ted
with delicious odor. There is also to be
found generally a picture of the Saviour,
before which candles and incense also
, burn.
The family reunion takes place at
o'clock in the afternoon at the Christmas
dinner, and the following day an excur-
sion is made to some little hamlet outside
of the city.
: To the American mind, SO prone to in
finite variety, it seems remarkable thai
: such time-worn customs should be ob
served; that ceremonies SO qua int ant
a stiO that they seem like the grave effort
of little children to play grown up
should at this very hols be practiced il
Greece ETHEL MARIE ARMIES.