Evening star., 1899-03-25
EASTER GIFT GIVING
seasonable Souvenirs Range From Flower
to Jewels.
The Pretty Things the Shops Offer in
Novelties = Candy and
POsies Lead.
Written for The Evening Star.

| Written for The Evening Star.
| Easter has become almost as distinctly
a season of gift giving as Christmas. 1t is
| no longer a festal day, celebrated by one or
| two religious creeds, but a great religious
! holiday participated in by members of all
| creeds or no creed at all. The German ira
dition of Easter egg giving, introduced into
| this country by the children of the sturdy
| German immigrants, has grown to propor-
| tions beyond the dreams or means of the
| average citizen.
| A walk up Broadway or 9th avenue, New
| York, will illustrate this. Souvenirs of the
| most expensive sort exhibited in the
| most fashionable shops.
| The swagger milliner puts out a few of
| the choicest of her spring bonnets in the
velvet-lned show window and calls atten-
ton to her Easter headgear The great
dressmakers have a costume or two of &C.
centric cut disclosed in their showcases and
labeled Easter gowns, the florists windows
| are packed with gay and grotesque-lookin
speciments of new Easter blossoms and
the jewelers. get out gold and jewels and,
fashioning them into rare and curious pat
terms, put them on the shelf and call atten-
ton to the --latest Easter novelties" The
bookshops display bewildering array of
dainty Easter booklets and cards and tiny
things in silver and ivory and mother of
pearl that are especially prepared for the
giver of Easter gifts
Since Easter has acquired a place as a
gift-exchanging time, each woman wants
to know what is the fashionable thing to
give.
Boxes of candy are always acceptable
presents. Some of the most expensive Eas-
| ter boxes are covered with satin-white to
be adorned with spray of white lilies vel
low to bear a cluster of springike daffodils
purple to display bunch of artificial vio-
lets and pink to show a cluster of aZaleas
or Japanese plum blossoms. On the cheap-
er boxes the flowers are only stamped and
large bows of bright-colored satin ribbon
are chosen to give color to the box.
To Delight u Child.
Boxes for children are made in the shape
| of rabbits. little chickens and brownies
Large Easter eggs of candy, china or pa
pier mache are filled with bonbons and pre-
sented to ones favorite juvenile friend
either Easter eve or Easter morning There
| are various toys shown in the confection-
ers' and the department shops intended to
| take the place Of the od-fashioned dyed
egg These are plaster rabbits followed
out within to hold candies or any other lit
tie gift.
Then there are whole families of
| brownies, from the policeman brownie to
| the dude brownie with his high hat and
elegant smile. The hats are detachable
| Some of them work on a little hinge and
when thrown back disclose a hollow space
inside the figure intended also for the hid
| ing away of small SWeeties. A plaster egg
| mounted on funny little feet and having
| grotesque head above, will not only amuse
| the most ser.ous-minded child. but prove
source OF more solid satisfaction when it
is found that the head may be screwed off
| and that the egg is full of sweetmeats
Nothing could be more cunning than the
white plaster rabbits, with round glass
| eyes and capaciouS sides crammed with
| goodies. Little fluffy yellow chickens spec
| tacled and perched on arm chairs several
| or them sometimes in a group going to
school to severe-looking chick in spec
| ,~1lff fnI
| toys that one sees everywhere.
Silver Trifes Popular.
! In silver trif1es there are the same book
marks for prayer books, with silver crosses
dangling from the ribbons and prayer books
with covers inset with silver crosses and
sprays of silver wrought Easter lilies Of
| course all sorts of silver odds and ends are
| put in boxes stamped with lilies or the
| words, Christ the Lord is risen" Their
appropriateness as Easter gifts, however
| is vaguely remote to every one but the
| shrewd shopman, who is anxious to dis
pose Of them for coin of the realm.
| AT Easter there is probably wider ex-
| change of flowers as remembrances than at
| any other time of the year. Flowers fig
ured largely in the old heather festivals
| that were the forerunners of the Christian
Easter. Easter was the feast of spring
and 1t was quite natural that the reappear-
ance of the flowers should be prominently
| noted.
| Spring Blossoms Always Welcome.
Flowers are perhaps never so welcome as
when they first come back to us after the
| cold, bleak days of winter, and the Amer
| lean public has marked an increasing taste
for them each spring by the generous, even
| lavish, way in which the blossoms are
| made use Of. The boxes in which the flow
ers are sent are often worth several dol
| lars alone, being covered with satin and
| lace like the candy boxes.
Fancy work to meet all the requirements
| of the Easter season may be purchased
| too. There are embroidered stoles and
| altar covers to be presented to ones IA
| Vorite rector; prayer book covers and book
marks, embroidered in purple, with pious
| epigrams. Scented and satin-covered boxes
to hold ones jewels. glove and veil cases.
| handkerchief boxes, embroidered in lilies
| and crocuses. snowdrops azaleas, daffodils
! or any of the distinctively "springy" flow
| ers, are supposed to be characteristic of the
| season. In fact there seems to be no
| branch of the trade that does not adapt
itself to the fad for Easter gift giving
Even the staid and unimaginative grocer
| displays stock of comically dyed Easter
eggs and the announcement that duplicate
dyes may be purchased Of him warranted
not to come off or kill any thoughtless
| iIIVapjla