The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1910-12-30

symbolism an1 Of good wishes me NC"
wine too is pAas2d around, with the WISH NAV
everyone may drink along with tle cup q ioAe'
long life soup containing peculiar i!0e p".Ss'
mochi, is eaten by ALL each one "iS"ns .H
others ten thousand years OF pleasure "hu p
nnritv Then the household prepare lot ""S
Of festivitv. The busy broom and bamboo duster
ono loft idle all the dav for fear that they might
eweeD ont Of the house the divine freshness that
has come into it. All the shops remain cloSeu
from dawn until the next day. 1t is the day OF
the home and OF social happiness. There IS ho
"Christmas tree" as the center OF the Japanese
New Year celebration inside the house, put there
Is the Kagami mochi or mirror rice CAKES tAla'
are made as conspicuous as the Tree. lhese
cakes represent the round mirror, IN "hlcn Ihe
sight of her face enticed the sun goddess OUT VI
her cave in the olden time. For eleven days Ihese
cakes remain decorated with fruits and hoWers'
elevated on whitewood trays. Then they lorn
part of family feasting.
Throughout Japan the New Years day IS the
one complete holiday of the year Soon alter
breakfast all the members of the families, dresseu
in their newest Clothes take to the gardens PARIS
and streets for characteristic pleasurlnss., UNI
yersal visiting is social laW-callng' on 1rlehos
and relatives in person or by card. UNIVERSAL
gift making is INDUCED in, messengers being
and friendly circles. Distinctive and exclusive
games also belong to the New Year time. Battle
dore and shuttlecock is probably chief among
them. In certain parts of Tokyo, for example,
streets are almost impossible because OF the
hosts of the players of this game. AS far as one
can see, the scene IS one Of bewilderlng color
from the stir of the dresses of the girls who are
as active in their sport as so many or our tennis
PLAYERS Gayly ornamented battledores flash ev'
erywhere. and the air is full of the bright, f1utter
ing toys that are struck from one to another
player Penalty for defeat usually means gro
tesque markings of the face with strokes OF char
coal ink. One may see thousands of children
merry under the comical markings imposed upor
their foreheads and cheeks.
Kite flying is another peculiar New Year pas
time And kite flying in Japan is sight wei
worth going far to see. The variety or shape, TN
gorgeousness of coloring, the extraordinary siz
of many of these toys is something peculiar t
the Japanese Then the skill shown In maneu
vering the kites is marvellous. They hum as the
, sway in the January breeze with sort of organ
pipe volume of sound, and, at times, they swoo
down upon antagonist fiers, like hawks, ant
with their glass-dustcovered cords cut their en'
. mics free, thus making them the property {
their own masters. There is hardly more ia
. cinatng spectacle than one of these friendly ba
ties in the air of Japanese kites, under the gui
:. ance Of the skilled men who manage them.
l. Another distinctive entertainment for the Ne
Year celebration is furnished by groups of maske
n performers who go about the streets led by
It curious animal-like creature, whose grotesql
v lion-head excites much mock terror among CHI
r. dren. The antics of these motley crowds a
A. supposed to exercise evil spirits from the Japa
e csc homes, as well as to add gayety to the
ings of the day, Many other unique ceremont
:, lake place on the first day: too many for an :
~ tempt to describe them here.
20 But we may not pass by the old card parti
4 of the New Year evenings; the matchings of
ID beginnings and ends of the hundred songs OF
" hundred singers" From one January to anott
of this game is not INDUCED in; but at the openi
of of the year it is the chief sport kept for the ev
I'd ings, whole families becoming absorbed in it.
IN is a contest of memory and Of quickness at d
bv covering in cards laid out before a group of pl
W ers the end of poem whose opening lines hs
al been read by leader. 1t is astonishing to
fa the mental skill that many of the players hs
M acquired.
at One more exciting New Year game deser'
les mention, the fortune lotteries. In these no
in lotteries one takes hold of the end OF rope Z