Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-12-25
HINDU CHRISTMAS
Observance of the Day by Mis-
sion in India Told of by
Mrs. Foss.
VISITED THERE LAST YEAR
Writes Description Appropriate to
the Season Printed in Aug
,ustana Observer.

In the current issue of the Angus
tana Observer there are several inter
esting Christmas stories from different
parts of the world, among them an ar
ticle by Mrs C. w. Foss, wife of Dr.
Foss, professor of history and eco
nomics at the college. Mrs. Foss' ar
ticle is entitled "A Christmas Picture
from India" and describes a Christ
mas festival at the German Lutheran
Leipsic mission in Madras, as follows:
From the time we landed in India
until the Goth day of December we no
ticed at every place preparations for
tChrfstmas, and possibly that, in part,
accounts for our continually associat-
| ing the thought of Christmas with
India, where the surroundings were
least like anything that had encircled
the season for us in former years.
During our entire sojourn of 10
weeks in that strange land can not
remember to have expressed a single
sentiment or to have entertained upon
any occasion solitary thought in, any
way above mediocrity. The climate
had a peculiar drying up effect upon
me. resolving me, so to speak, into a
{
made wonderful impressions and which
| it has required the changeable exhilera-
| ting climate of America to develop and
/ the sunshine of home to fix as vivid
pictures to be taken up and studied
and laid down again at will. Shall l
| present one such?
Is Beautiful City.
at is Thursday. Dec. II, 1908. The
place is Madras, called by guide-books
and most tourists one of the three mod
ern European cities of India, but ap-
pearing to us a strange admixture of
Europe. America and the orient. There
are beautiful streets filled with cabs.
carriages, automobiles and rikshaws.
| The architecture is Grecian, Gothic,
Moorish and oriental-with Moorish in
/ the ascendancy. You see a cluster of
Moorish spires and imagine you are
| approaching a mosque when, TO your
surprise, you find it the law college.
We have had passing glance at all
this and have just arrived at the beau
tiful and almost palatial bungalow be-
longing to the German Lutheran Leip-
sic mission in Madras, the home of Dr.
Bauer. who has charge of the boys
school Of that organization at this
place.
Presents for Natives.
'"The boys. 26O os them, are assem-
bled on the back verSnGa to get their
Christmas coats and Ioin cloths accord
4kzg 10 the established custom of this
mission station. Zach boy and the two
native teachers. who are to help with
the distribution. greet us with the now
familiar 'salaam' (peace). There is a
great stack of COZ is made of some
lightweight wash goods. They are pick
ed up one by ole by the teachers, the
attached name announced, and the boy
! steps forward and takes it with sa-
laam. This is quickly disposed of, but
the loin cloths take more time. There
are bolts of unbIeached muslin lying
in heap-the roll is again called, this
time alphabetically, and each boy steps
forward measures off six times the
length of his arm from the elbow to
the tip of the middle finger, with the
length of the index finger added for
good measure-the teacher cuts the
selvage, the boy tears off the goods,
folds it, 'salaams to DIR. Bauer, and
returns to his place in the ranks. This
requires quite time. but is most inter
esting sight-one sees each individual
that goes to make up the group. When
all are supplied. DR.. Bauer asks one
of the boys to show us how he drapes
his loin cloth and another to twist a
turban for us. This they do so deftly
we are almost ensious of their skill.