The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1898-12-28
NEW YEARS CUSTOMS
HOW THE FESTIVAL is CELHS XTED
IN DIFFERENT PLAcS&

Nv
r
The Spanish Era IHPOrto Rico and
"32s" In the Pbfhippines-OId Time
Turkey shootihg = Passing of the
Pnntomime.
Copyright, 1898. by the Author.l
@UNDAY, Jan. I, begins the year 1899
- of the Christian era, but there are
citizens and residents who use other
calendars. Mohammedan sailors and ped
dlers of the leading seaports are still in the
thirteen hundred and sixteenth year of
their era. The many Armenian refugees
are in the thirteen hundred and forty
seventh year OF theirs. The orthodox Jews
are I'm the thirty hundred and four
teenth year of the Abrahamic era. The
citizens of Chinatown in San Francisco,
New York and the other large cities are
celebrating the forty seven hundred and
fifty first year since the accession of Fuh
Hi, their great ciyili9ing emperor, while
many Christian sects look at the time as
the flfty-six hundred and fifty ninth year
of the world. In our new territory of
Porto Rico the educated Spanish still refer
to the Spanish era, which began 3S b. O.
and is now 1897 years old. The Philip
pine insurgents keep alive the memory of
their wrongs by using 1928, the number of
the year which is the period that has
elapsed since LuZon was conquered by the
Spanish arms under Miguel Lopez de
LegaZpi. Our Mormon brethren commem
orate their faith by calling the present
time the seventy sixth year since the angel
disclosed the golden book of Mormon to
Joseph Smith.
The festival is very old, much older
than civilization itself 1t was intended
TO commemorate tine return of the sun
which was tabled TO have gone away or TO
have been slain or wounded in the poetry
and myths of the early northern races
This occurred at the winter solstice, Dec
21-22, and so far as was known was OBJ
served by all primitive nations as time
of Joy AS human knowledge grew the
moon became used as the measurer of
time, the very words moon and month
meaning originally the "measurer. AS
the lunar and solar years never agree there
arose early a tendency TO break the first
festival into two, and this accounts for the
discrepancy which prevails among civil
lized nations in regard to the observance of
the great winter festival With the Ger
mano-Gothic races the favorite is Yule or
OuTlSlllus, Dub Nltu blt llhblil ItCtS ~ 10
New Years. No better illustration of
the cosmopolitan character of our country
could be found than our celebrating both
festivals and making Christmas and New
Years events of equal entertainment and
joy. In the American celebration of New
Years there is distinct picture of our
colonial history In nearly every district
the prevailing style of observance is that
of the first settlers from Europe Those
who paid the greatest attention to the day
were the Dutch, French, Huguenots and
Spaniards The Dutch center Of observ
ance was New York and New Jersey. The
French was Louisiana and Mississippi
in the southern states and Maine in the
northern The Huguenots settled first in
New York, Massachusetts,, North and
South Carolina, while the Spanish had
settlements in Florida, California, New
Mexico, Arizona and Texas.
Our good friends the pilgrims and Puri-
tans were trifle austere, and their chief
festival was the day Of Thanksgiving,
which they themselves appointed. The
younger people who were encouraged by
their mothers kept up many of the older
festivals of the fatherand In this way
there was a covert celebration of the har
vest moon, Halloween, Christmas, New
Years and May day, these heing the chief
festivals of merrie England in ye olden
time.
The so called Cavalier settlers of Della
ware and Maryland, Virginia, the Caro-
linas and Georgia observed New Years as
a day OF rest and social entertainment,
though without any uniform characters
tics The Scotch settlers, who went in the
beginning chiefly to Virginia. West Vir-
, ginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, treated the
day with mild severity, although it is
said that on New Years eve the allowance
of Scotch whisky was doubled in every
household. The Quakers under Penn gave
the occasion a religious significance, as
did afterward the Methodists The Ger
mans or Palatines who came over i'm the
beginning Of the eighteenth century and
settled in New York and Pennsylvania
had hearty affection for the day and ex-
pressed it in shooting parties and social
functions. In the process of consolidation
through which the nation has gone the
old race lines have vanished. and most of
the special features which marked the
celebration by each element have passed
away or else been SO modified as to lose
their primitive character.
Thus I'm the memory of many who are
alive today common New Years practice