Middletown transcript., 1898-01-01
FIRST DAY OF THE YEAR.
How 1T is Observed in the Various
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Countries of the Earth.
The nations of the earth have differ
ed considerably as to which is the fist
day Of The year, but all have agreed in
celebrating it as a holiday. Among
the Chinese it is the greatest festival
Of the year, and in France it is obssrv-
ed more than is Christmas.
In Persia the year is supposed to be-
gin on March q, and the day IS one Of
universal rejoicing. Men who never
take bath or get shaved at any other
time do SO on that day. and the BARRIERS
reapa rich harvest In consequences.
Our Teutonic and Saxon ancestors
found it impossible to celebrae the
day without wassail bowl. Pledges
were drunk from it, and from this
came the name, wassail being derived
from the Saxon "wasshaiP'-s'to your
bealth.n The bowl was so big that
when man rose to drink from it he
had to use both hands to raise it to his
lips, and such were the gentle manners
Of the times that friend always stood
by with drawn sword while he did so
to prevent his being stabbed.
New Years is great day in the
courts of European royalty. All the
monarchs, with the exception of King
Leopold, who is not noted for being re
ligious, begin the day by going to
church, and much of the Tins that re-
mains is devoted to the reception of
the great dignitaries of church. state,
army and diplomatic corps. Even his
little majesty of Spain must go through
this ordeal, and he gets very tired of it
before it is over.
The custom of making New Years
calls was Inherited in New York from
the Dutch, and though it has ftien
somewhat into disuse of Lie y-trs
there are signs of its being reviVei,
1t has always been the Custom of
the presidents of the United States to
receive on New Years day. In 1870,
when New York was the seat of
government, Washington hsld recap
tion between the hours of 12 and 8 and
was visited by all the home and foreign
dignitaries. He expressed the hope
on that occasion that whatever change
might take PLACE 10 the mlnners and
customs of the city the observance of
New YEARS. day might never be given
up.
According to an old superstition i'll
fortune is sure to attend the family
whose first visitor on New Years day
is female, while lady's first caller
should be dark man, as fair one is
thought to be harbinger of evil.
A custom similar to that of making
New Years calls is the sending of
cards to ones friends on the day. In
this way one can keep up acquaint-
ances that might otherwise die out
merely from lack of time for great
sociability.
After the restora tion of the Bour-
bons it became fashionable in Paris to
send bon-bons on New Years day, and
in 1922 thousand tons of them were
sold in the two days preceding the
festival.
In New York New Years is always
great occasion, though the manner of
observing it has changed with the
times. There are services in many
churches and receptions in many clubs
and drawing rooms, and for some un-
discovered reason all the small boys in
the metropolis turn out into the street 8
and blow horns. The chimes of Trim
ity always used to be rung from 11.30
till midnight and thousands of people
went to hear them, but the horns made
so much more noise than the bells that
the ringing has been discontinued
New York Tribune.