New-York tribune., 1911-10-29
HELP FROM EGYPT
PhMaOhs Lend did m SOlJing
Christmas Problem.

Dame Fashion has joined forces with Isis
the dowager goddess Of old Egypt, and to-
/ gether the two have succeeded in raising
/ the lowly Christmas card to an assured
| position in society. When it first began TO
'climb" the leaders OF fashionable society
would have naught OF it. 1t was vulgar
and crude" only the degenerate youthful
| generation took it up, and altogether il
( had very hard time "butting into So
! ciety.' But now, since Egypt and the
! Orient have had such a successful sea son
| among mladis gowns and headgear, their
Endorsement has opened the doors to the
! poor, aspiring little card, and this Christ
/ mas season she makes her formal debut 10
society. Sowned i'm Egyptian mantle and
/ the richly glowing coors Of the sacred
scarab She brings greetings from antiquity
/ the same messages which the Pharaohs
/ -four thousand years ago used 10 send
around on a New Years morning to their
/ faithful lords and ladies' Society. which
adcres anything new. all the more II it be
as old as the pyramids. is taking up the
despised little card with a relish, though
! disagreeable persons whisper that as for
them they don't care for poses, II you ask
titlll. my IKE Sllllplts hltdit'l'i ' ll loA-
mas cards. the jolly old kind that looked
one straight in the face and said, Merry
| Christmas They never did like freakish
things. that talked i'm outlandish heather
languages that no honest person could
understand-and il is such poor taste TO
employ an Interpreter. However, in spite
of the old foges who persist I'm running
down the Egyptian Christmas and New
years card. she is here for the season.
She has been a well meaning little thing
always her one desire in life being to re-
leye the world of the burden of Christmas
gifts. which, I'm many cases. il desires
neither TO give nor 10 take. When weary
soul sighed over her date book and wrote
down. "To-morrow, downtown, get Tor
Jane" then the little Christmas card would
look up Shyly from her corner in the desk
and whisper: Let me go TO Jane for you;
I'll tell her you love her I'm my very pret-
tiest way Shell understand. and be glad"
Another day the little card would Say:
Let me go 20 that disagreeable Mrs.
Smith for you. I'm quite inoffensive. and
YOU won't have to spend your money TO
buy a present she won't want"
Hitherto the weary soul has not listened
10 the Christmas card. Presents must be
bought for most Of ones friends. II at the
last minute one did have to send card.
it was with sense OF shame, a feeling
that the proper thing was not being done
and an awful horror Of awakening on
Christmas morning 90 find a silver spoon
from that same horrid Mrs Smith. to
whom a card had been sent In the last mail
IN
Christmas gift has lost its grip. The card
Is the thing. and the season Of Joy 10 the
world promises TO be relieved of the horrors
Of wholesale present giving
The cards most popular this year come in
all the dignity Of printed names. No longer
need ones cards be dishgured with hastily
scrawled signatures. one gives ones order
six weeks in advance and has ones name
printed on the inner Sheet OF the card in
the space which used TO be From -
There is a significance in this beyond the
mere Improvement in the appearance OF the
card. FOR it destroys the impression that
the latter is sent as a makeshft. The fact
that it was ordered six weeks before Christ
mas is proof positive that the giver had her
friend in mind long before the holiday sea-
SON
Almost as popular as the Egyptian per-
sona Christmas cards are the Egyptian
menu and place cards, adorned with out
spreading scarabs with wings of real teath
ers Of cleaning reds, blues and green's
Tiny water color sketches of the pyramids
and camels accompany the scarab in some
of the larger cards Already their admir-
ers are planning Egyptian dinners. One
woman says her guests must come in Egyp-
tian costumes. even II they have TO make
them themselves.