Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-25
AMERICAN .s5aCHRIS'TMAS
CELEBRATION OF THE DAY IN
MANY CLIMEs.
The Stars and Stripes Bring Cheer to
Many People Who Never Heard
Of the Day.
From the New York Tribune.

From the New York Tribune.
In all parts of the United States Christ
mas is a day Of rejoicing and merrymak-
ing, Of family reunion and a time for reel
procal presents. 1t is legal holiday In all
the states, the District Of Columbia, New
Mexico and Arizona, and although 1t Is
strictly Christian festival, it is generally
observed by people Of all creeds. In the
southern states Christmas eve and Christ
mas morning are made noisy with fire
crackers and shouting; in New England,
sleigh rides, plum pudding and roast goose
contribute their share toward the enjoy
ment of the day; in the middle west the
Weinachts customs Of Germany and
Sweden have been adopted. and while there
may be slight variations in the mode OF
celebration in various parts Of the country.
there is no place where the Christmas tree
Is not the popular feature Of the joyous
time The popularity Of the tree 10 last
ing monument to the sound Judgment OF
julius, bishop Of Rome. who chose Decem-
Der Is. the spring festival, as the day to pc
celebrated as the birthday Of Christ. At
that time when the lengthening days gave
promise Of returning spring. the people
made merry, hung lamps In the fir trees,
praised God for His promise Of new Hfe
and pledged themselves to peace and good
will toward their neighbors. The lighted
Christmas tree, which is the JOY Of children
in all.parts of this country, is the surviving
remnant Of the old Morse spring festival.
In the Philippines.
The Philippines never knew anything but
green Christmas, for. the rainy season
now being well over, the climate. while
warm, IL delightful. The Christmas fes-
tivities begin on the evening OF the oath,
when there is celebrated with solemn pomp
in most Of the churches what is known as
La Misa de Gallo" In commemoratiOn of
the birth Of the Saviour in manger. In
many of the private houses what are
known as ..Nacimientos' are prepared with
great care. One end of the large room Of
the house is fixed up to represent land
scape, adorned according to the social po-
sition of the people. They place in this
landscape images of people and animals OF
all sorts. There are always images repre-
senting the wise men of the east who came
to worship the young child Jesus. The
central feature is manager or cradle in
which the child lies, the recipient Of the
homage Of all the other figures In the pic
ture.
The Christmas season lasts in the Phil
ippines from the evening of December "a
until January 6. known as "Dia de .os
Reyes DAY Of the Kings>. December "a
is known as lnnocsnts DAY, and ID custom custom
tines day and April l. when children play
practical jokes on each other. The ex-
change Of presents L. quite general. al
though not cafrieQ 70 lne extent winch Cd
tains in the United States. and the COM
mon name for these presents is "aguin-
aldos," though they have no reference to
the former insurgAnt leader. A free trans
lation of AguiDAldo's name would be
Christmas present"
Christmas in Porto Rico.
Porto Rico enjoys q summer climate at
Christmas time On Christmas eve a sup
Der to which all friends and relations are
invited is always4prepared. and the table
is presided over by the patriarch of the
family, who receives the congratulations
Of his descendants The feature Of the
supper is a sucking pig roasted whole.
The young men. With mandolins and
guitars, go from house to house, eating a
bite here and there, and serenading the
young women. The entire night IL given
up to eating, visiting and merrymakng,
and yet all is done temporarily. The ira
dition among the Porto Rican children is
that IL they leave their shoes outside the
door of their room the Christ Child Will
come while they sleep and fill them with
candy, nuts and fruits. Among the negroes
of Porto Rico 1t is a custom to dress in
fantastic costumes and go from house to
house with drums and to the weird music
of their instruments dance the old dances
brought from Africa by their ancestors.
1t is possible today In Porto Rico to see
and hear music and dancing which find
their counterpart among the gloomy forests
of Africa.
Festivities In Hawaii.
Christmas In June-like weather, without
snow or the Jingle OF sleigh bells, without