The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1898-12-30

HOW OUR EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS
KEEP THE DAY.

hoioSy-Jopanese FestiNities-Ihe
French Retain Their Partisan Ways.
How Other Aliens Usher In the Year.
Whilo Christmas appears to be slightly
losing In popularity, New Years day
seems to get firmer hold each year upon
the affections of the American people
This Is largely due to the increasing num-
bers of foreigners In our population.
Christmas belongs to the cold countries of
the north, New Years to the warmer
lands The former is English and north
German; the latter belongs to the Latin
races. The army of Italians, Hungarians
and Russians who come to our shores still
further increase the difference described
All OF them learn to celebrate the day In
more or less American fashion, but nearly
every nationality adds enough of its own
customs and ceremonies to give the day a
flavor such as 1t would have In their own
land.
The Chinese do not take much stock in
our chronology. They do all their oele-
brating upon their own New Years day
which comes In the latter part of January
or the first of February They make and
receive calls and set little table for
friends, on which the chief delicacies are a
few crystallized fruits, handful of lai-chi
nuts, cigarettes and cigars. In calling
they shake hands like the western bar
barians or else shake their own hands to
show regard and affection each for the
other. Those who have white wives 60 to
even further lengths To be more accu
rate, 1t Is the wives that do the celebrating
while the mild Monaghan husband stands
helplessly by To all who come she offers
whisky, beer and cigars. For her init
mates she usually provides some Chinese
"ohow," which is the generic word of that
district for all Monaghan food The Chi
nese husband stays around good portion
Of the day, eats and drinks with his guests
and offers friendly opium pipe to who
ever Is pleased to use that fascinating drug
He Is sorely tempted to set off f1recrackers
In the front street, but a long and unpleas-
ant experience with the policeman g clubs
In that precinct overcomes his natural love
for noise.
The little Japanese colony in New York
city follow the example of their neighbors
with that singular power of imitation for
which they are famous. They put on their
best apparel and visit and receive calls with
all the junction. of an old Kniokerbooker.
They rather improve upon the latter in
the decoration of their home upon the day
Like us, they employ evergreens as q sym
Dol of the returning life of the year. The
symbolism Is REINFORCED by one of their
oldest figures This Is q circle SO divided
by curving line as to make what irrev-
erent people have called two tadpoles. In
reality they are two fishes lying head to
tall and SO bent around as to form a cir
Gle. The circle Is the symbol of eternity
or Of Immortality, and the two fishes are
k1.ssv la 10 i'll -
verse. The figure Is q very graceful one
and Is worked In embroidery, painted on
silk or stenciled upon paper. Other de-
signs are fishes or paper balloons In the
shape of fishes
In the French quarter around south
Fifth avenue the day is observed by our
Gallo citizens with all the ardor of true
Parisians. Everybody dons purple and
fine linen, calls numberless are made, and
the day closes In dancing and a general
good time
The everlasting bonbon and the bon
bonniere are everywhere. The boxes are
not as extravagant as in Paris or as in
some of the ultra fashionable emporiums
of Broadway and Fifth avenue The res
taurants and cafes are we'll patronized,
but by callers rather than customers. Ev-
cry one deems 1t his duty to run in and
have glass of wine or a pony of beer and
sometimes little absinth, with the pro
prietor.
New Years among the French is mark
ed by the appearance of various kinds of
homemade Liquors There is not French
family housewife or cook but possesses
some ancient recipe for making these en-.
joyable liquids On this day they are all
brought out and offered with pardonable
pride to friends and neighbors. All are
very palatable and some are really deli.
cious.
Irish residents in America make it q
point when they can to offer something in
memory of the "old sod. " Sometimes it
is pigs head and greens, sometimes it is
bacon and spinach, sometimes 1t is pig
and cabbage or ham and cabbage, but it is
always poteen, and lots galore of it
number of years ago there were sew
eral Irish clubs that on New Years day
served their members with dinner of ba,
con and greens, but they have been falling
off, and believe only one now exists 1t
is on Fourth avenue near Union square
and is still patroni2ed by men who crossed
the ocean rs immigrants 30 and 40 years
ago.
In the Italian colonies, of which there
memorated svery much as 1t is 10y the
French, but with more color and vivaoity
and with few er and less expensive presents
Both men and women wear the bright APP
parcl peculiar to their own district in Italy
Coats of velvet, velveteen and corduroy
vests of silk, satin and marseiiles, huge
sashes of every imaginable color or com
bination OF colors boots worthy of cav
airy trooper and leggings which might
serve gamekeeper are among the strange
but picturesque articles of wear which you
meet at every point
In deep contrast with the Italian, loving
color, light, music and excitement, Is the
Malay and lascar colony 1t is composed
of seamen, cooks and quartermasters from
vessels engaged in trading with the far
east and varies in number from 100 to sew
eral hundred On New Years day some
of them go through a queer ceremony that
appears to have come down from the Brah
man days of India They decorate a small
male statue and say before it few words
whose meaning they themselves do not
seem to understand. They call the statue
Rauma, and it appears to be the old In
dian god or demigod Rama, the hero of
tho farnnua moan, Of ha .tRamavapa