The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-02-05
OLD CHINESE NEW YEAR
TO-DAY WILL BE
OBSERVED BY FEW.

For the first time. in thousands of
years the New Year Of the Chinese,
which falls to-day, will pass unobserv-
ed. In the interior of the Dragon
Empire, where the modern ideas of
the Republicans have as yet found
little acceptance, the ancient calen-
dar is still in general use, and 1t is
probable that the first day of the year
SO will be marked by the traditional
rejoicings. The Chinese government
officially adopted the Gregorian cal
endar on Jan. 1 last, and practically
all of the CelestiaIs in America cele-
brated on that date.
The old Chinese New Year of the
monarchy was movable feast, fail
ing on any date between Jan. 19 and
Feb. 10 and it was the most generally
observed holiday season kept by any
only the birth of New Year, but was
also observed as the birthday of all
Chinese. OF course, not all the Celes-
tials were actually born on that date,
but it was the custom of all Chinese to
count their age from the New Years
day of the year in which they were
born. The celebration usually occu-
pied a week or two, and was of the ma
ture of a bacchanaIia. The Chinese pre-
pared for the festival by cleaning
their houses and shops, preparing new
raiment, and paying all their debts.
| at the shrine of the goddess of joy.
The man who was unable or unwtll-
| ing to pay all his debts by Pei Nein,
or New Year, became taboo among his
fellows, and was to be pitied as the
n1ost unfortunate of individuals.
| In the Chfnatowns of most Ameri-
can cities the Chinese celebrated New
| Year on the first of January. The
yellow dragon flag of the empire was
conspicuousIy absent. and the emblem
of the new Chinese republic was much
lin evidence Yet the most important
manifestations of the change than has
come over the Chinese was to be not
| ed in the absence of queues On New
Years day of 1912 more than half OF
the American Chinese still chung to
their tpigtails.'' Today the queue
is a novelty, and it is probable that
fully nine-tenths of the Chinese on
this side of the Pacific have visited
a barber Only few very aged men,
who, as one of them put it, fare look
ing forward to die,'' cling to the an
cient customs and the 'p1gtails.
~Man. drawn from the dust, must
return to it, and all that he does
meanwhile, with the exception of what
i good he may achieve, is but dust and
vanity; the good alone survives" Such
is the teaching of the Catholic Church
lin regard to Ash Wednesday, which
the Lententide, season of piety and
prayer, fasting and abstinence. The
custom of the sprinkling Of ashes or
Il the first day of Lent dates from the
first centuries of Christianity. Sin
Iners who then submitted themselve!
to canonicaI penitence were placed By
the bishop under the obligation o
wearing a hair shirt and placing ash
| es on their head, and were excluded
from church until Easter. In tn
); meantime, throughout the days o
Lent, they were required to remail
: hum bly, PROSTATE at the portals of tn
church, imploring the prayers of th'
f faithful who were permitted to as
sist at the mysteries within the sacret
l edifce The custom of placing ash
, es on the head is of Jewish origin, an
was common to the religions of othe
ancient peoples. Remember that tho
4 art but DUST is the significance q
3 this custom, which is now gradual
: passing into disuse.