The Washington times., 1903-01-29
CHINESE ENTERTAIN IN
HONOR OFNEW YEAR
Foreigners Warmly Welcomed and Cordially In
vited by CeeStials to Dine-Pe-
CuIiar Customs.

'Kung hoe fab tsoi. Come in. Be
welcome. What you have to drink
port wine, white wine, blackberry
brandy, or saudieu? Eat plenty fruit;
eat nuts; eat candy You leave your
card. you take mine. I wish you good
luck I viii name you to the Joss"
These were the words which greeted
a small party OF newspaper men which
last night toured Chinatown under the
escort Of Detective Lawrence O'Dea,
whom the CelestiaIs of this city hold in
high regard. The greeting was given
when a call was paid to an humble lit
tie house in the upper end of PennsyI-
vania Avenue, occupied by : round
faced. aImond-eyed Celestial. who, met
on any other day or in any other way,
would have gdzed with that blank. ex-
pTession1ess look which tells nothing to
Occidental eyes. But this was Pei
Nein," the New Year. and the visiting
party were New Year callers. al nos
pitality beamed from an intelligent face
as John" welcomed his guests in his
pigeon English"
There were two rooms to the little
shop The front room, devoted to busi-
ness on ordinary days, was now gaudily
decorated with paper ornaments, fans
parasols, and lanterns All the tools OF
trade and signs of business had been
for the nonce Telegated to obscurity.
and in their place was spread a table
fairly staggering under load of good
things. And the things were good. The
severest effort failed to secure an Eng
lish equivalent for their names. but an
English palate had no difficulty in pass
ing judgment on their savoTiness.
CrystaIlized peanut oil. in curling
strips resembling noodles, occupied a
prominent place, for until noon yester-
day no other food was allowed to pass
the lips Of an orthodox Chinese Dishes
Of china so rare as to make a cOnnois-
seur in ceramics green with envy were
laden with candied fruits as delicate
in favor as the fabIed food Of Olympus.
and in the center OF each was a pile OF
watermelon seed. regarded as a great
deIicacy by this epicurean race. Great
doughnuts, covered outside with a
sprinkling Of fig seed, and containing an
interior surprise in the nature of a
sweet condiment. 1anked with strips Of
what looked like molasses candy, but
which was the Chinese equivalent of
maccaroni. Oranges, tamarInds, grapes.
and nuts the latter indigenous to China.
and consisting of a soft fruit IN an
easily crushed shell; dishes Of picked
roots Of a deep purple dye. and boxes
Of choice cigars and tobacco as seductive
as the Egyptian lotus seed completed
the lis. = good things freely set forth
for the partaking Of every caller who
honored tle dwelling with a call
Explains Worship Of Joss.
Behind the edibIes rose towering bou-
quets q ornamental paper flowers; in
front of them burned, in a censer, COW
cred with ashes of roses. a piece Of rare
sandaIwood as large as the fist. while
on the wall behind the table hung a
picture OF the Joss. imported direct from
China for the occasion. This picture.
as was earnestly explained to the call
ers, was not IN itself an object Of wor-
ship. but it was worshiped for what
It represented
You Catholic?" was asked each In
turn. Finding one Catholic IN the party,
the host proceeded to explain: You