The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-12-27

reading Of the stars, 1t furnishes standard time
for half the world, and as the new year is born
will send It's message clear up to Alaska, to
South America, to China and to London
Over in France New Years day is not entirely
one of rejoicing; that is, unless one is able to
rise above such mundane things as finance, for
New Years in France means-bills! 1t is the
universal paying-up day of the year. All the
dear, familiar old bills that have been jogging
along and accommodating during the year sud
denly pile in en- masse and greet the head Of the
house on New Years morning. 1t is not difficult
to obtain credit in France, provided one pos
sesses the externals Of a comfortable COmpe-
tence, and the tradesmen and landlords and
shopkepers are content to wait-until January
first. Then they drop their gentle little remin-
ders in the mails or, more frequently, present
them through representatives. The butcher, the
baker, the candlestick maker--and all the gal
axy of their sisters and their cousins and their
aunts'-are to be reCkoned with.
Festival, banQueting and ~merrymaking like
wise hold high carnival. From New Years eve
until the morning of the second day Of the new
year the streets of Paris are en- fete. Beautifully
gowned women, in richly decorated carriages,
and groups of beribboned holiday-seekers form a
boulevards. Cafe life then is wild and brilliant
surging. happy pageant that throngs the spacious
and the students from the Latin quarter con
tribute their full quota Of FOSTERING and Tevelry
in the restaurants and along the streets.
The German celebration of the New Year is
not lacking in wholesome good cheer and festive
pranks, but it is pre-eminently a decorous one,
In Berlin elaborate musical programs are rem
dered and everywhere anthems and festival
songs are chanted, beginning at twilight Of the
last day Of the old year and continuing until the
bells peal forth the glad tldings Of a new year
born unto the centuries. There is one German
r4D that 1at1v fpnT1 the vnpr 1913 that has
no little Of the spirit of the typical bad boy
in 1t.
On New Years eve anyone walking along the
streets of Berlin and wearing a high hat need
take no umbrage If a couple of German students.
who may have endeavored a trihe too zealouslV
to find the bottom of the flowing bowl, slip up
behind him and smash the aforesaid hat down
over his eyes. This is the penalty he pays for
wearing such a hat at such a time and he has
no kick coming to him, even If his hat is knocked
off his head and kicked until it ceases to be a
hat.
The good folks in the Rhenish provinces have
an adaptation of this custom that is more gentle
and-yes-less expensive, considering the dam
age done. This consists Of stealing up upon a
friend as he is walking along the street and
whispering in his ear: "Prosit Neujahr." The
friend thus accosted straightway comes across
with a little present, such as a cigar, or a drink
or an invitation to dinner. In Frankfort-Onthe-
Main the entire city rushes to its windows as the
old year dies, filings them open and, glasses In
hand, drinks a toast to Father Times latest
born. Then the windows are slammed down. the
merrin!ont ceases and all retire for a peaceful
nights slumbeT.
In England the New Year customs are Of very
ancient origin and even more generally observed
than in this country. Every English family sits
IN to see the old year out and the new year in,
and always there is a bowl of hot punch, etc,
with which to drink the toasts to the New Year.
The custom is a survival of the time when the
head of the house assembled his family around
a howl of spiced ale from which he and they
drank each others health and the health of the
New Year. The words used in the toast were;
"Wass Hazel" meaning ito your health" Pres
emily, the toast bowl came to be known as the
wassail, or wassel bowl,
In Scotland the wassel bowl is the center of