The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-02-15

VIII Pay Debts, Forgive Enc.
niles and Spend a Day or
Two In Feastlng.

| dents of st. Paul, in common with
| their brother Celestials throughout the
entire world, will commence feasting
| and merrymaking in celebration of the
| first days of their new year.
No other event is so religiously OBJ
| served as the Chinese New Year, and
while there are less than half a hum
dred of the Orientals in st. Paul, the
advent of their new year. will be OBJ
| served with almost as much pomp and
| merry making as in their native coun-
try.
St. Paul Cinnamon were busy yes
terday and last night preparing for
proper celebration Of their new year,
and in anticipation of the important
event the Cinnamon were supremely
happy.
When a Clio b . representative made
the rounds of the Chinese restaurants
and other places where the Celestials
| congregate yesterday evening, he found
himself surrounded by unusual activity,
but at none of the places were the Chi
| nese so busy that they could not find
time to salute a visitor with their
New Years greeting.
"Car-ne-foto toy" said Woey Sen, who
was found at his place on Jackson
street, surrounded by dozen or more
wearers Of the "pig-tail." Car-ne-fo-
toy, translated into English, is a model
greeting. According to Woey Sen one
of the pioneer Cinnamon Of ST. Paul.
1t means: Happy good luck to you;
may you be prosperous; may your
honorable family be prosperous, and
may the spirits of your ancestors rest
content"
"Car-ne fo-toy" will become a IA
miliar salutation should you happen
to come in contact with st. Pauls
Chinese residents during the next day
or two. 1t is spoken by one China
man to another; it is sent by mail and
messenger, for no time is quite so i'm
portant to the Oriental mind as the
Chinese New Year festival season.
But the superstitious, custom bound
Chinese do not content themselves with
mere salutations and greetings in cele-
'brating their New Year Even here in
St. Paul the small colony of Celestials
will put aside business cares and today
will be devoted to visiting, feasting and
fireworks, for no Chinese celebration
is quite complete without a display of
fireworks.
In China and in the larger cities
where the Chinese are numerous the
New Years celebration means a week
OF feaSting, but here in st. Paul the
celebration will not continue more than
day or two. But it must not be pre-
sumed, simply because the celebration
Is short, that elaborate preparations
are not being made for the event.
Pay Debts and Wipe Out Grudges.
The advent of the New Year is sup
posed to wipe out any and all grudges
which one Chinaman may hold toward
another; the very air breathed by the
Celestials is imbued with the spirit
of peace. New Years cards, with a
prayer written on a slip Of peculiar
red, known to the Chinese as luck pa
per, are handed about as friendly greet
ings.
During the passing of the old year
every Chinaman makes a mighty effort
to square accounts in monetary way
All bad debts are, as nearly as posi-
BILE, Cancelled, for it is an unwritten
law that a Celestial may let a bill
run until New Years, and If it is
not paid in full at that time the debtor
is in bad repute.
''Bligge feast" said Joe Lee, proprie-
tor of Jackson street laundry, in re-
ply to a query as to how the ST. Paul
Cinnamon would celebrate the new
year, and an investigation showed that
the 1aundryman was not mistaken
Preparations for the feast were in evil
dence at more places than one 1t is
safe to predict that the Chinese in
st. Paul will today enjoy their great
est feast of the year. The menu will
be strictly Oriental, for the subjects of
the dOwager send to PARKWAY China
for nearly everything that goes to
make up a part of their New Years
dinner.
Down on Jackson street, where T h
G o b e man mingled with a party Of
Chinese for nearly an hour yesterday
afternoon, Woey Sen was induced to
tell of few of the good things upon
which his countrymen will feast to-
day, for they will all feast, no matter
whether they have money or not. Those
who are able to provide the feasts
will care for their more unfortunate
brothers, and no Chinaman will be
turned away from a place Of feaSting
at the festive board at New Years
time.
According to Woey Sen, bean sprouts
and water chestnuts are two vegetables
that enter into nearly all of the Chi
nese meat dishes; the water chestnuts
take the place of potatoes. At some
Of the dinners, we chief" yang wall''
and "lychee ap" will be served-which
means that the Celestials will enjoy
sharks fms and birds nest soup. Chop
suey and other ordinary dishes would
be as much out of place as would liver
and bacon for an American Thanksgiy-
ing day dinner.
Dainties of New Year Feast.
One of the delfcacies which the Chi
nese indulge in at their New Years
feast is "chrysanthemum fritter," and
fish and pineapples are cooked together
in way that would make an Amer
lean ask for the recipe. Up in the
kitchen of the Jackson street place an
expert was found in the somewhat sur
prising task Of frying beautiful fresh
La France roses while an assistant was
preparing orange peel and nuts with
which to cook a duck
The chrysanthemum dessert is one
of the time honored New Years deli
cacies, and an Oriental dinner would
not be complete without 1t.
New Years to the Chinese offers
much the same opportunity in the way
of dressing that Easter does to the
American, and today will find the half
hundred Orientals residing in St Paul
attired In their gayest colors.
During the feasts today the Chinese
gods viii be accorded especial atten-
tion A table of vegetable foods is set
before those supposed to prefer vege-
table diet, and table of animal food
ia