Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1915-12-30
Old Time New
Years Customs
Setting Up" in Years Gone By.
The Dutch and Their Calls. 49,

Coin to sit up tonight?"
L ckon-y l recko I will. Nuth-
In In it, y know, but lots O. fun and
fresh cider"
Such a conversation might nave been
heard In any rural region of the CEN
trail west some forty years ago on any
New Years eve. And the setting up
was the one and only point in which
New Years observations differed from
those of Christmas. The Knickerbcck-
ers have so far impressed themselves
upon American life that most of the
present generation think "calls and
congratulations have always been the
great feature of New Years.
know then, innocent youth, that as
late as fifty years ago New Years
calls were an unknown institution in
three-fourths of the United States.
But in the border states, especially the
southern sections Of the states just
north OF the Ohio, the practice of
watching the old a out and the
new year in" was the one thing pc
culiar to New Years. Wonderful things
were to be seen at that hour. Cows
fell upon their knees, fowls went
through a sort Of reverential perform
ance, the wild animals lost their fear
of man, and certain plants of a mys-
FERROUS nature Sprang up in the door
yard.
II have had the children pull and lay
on my lap shoots as long as my hand,''
was the testimony of one good old
lady, and, for aught any nearer could
ever discover, h honestly believed it.
A little later. when the old superstition
died out, watch night" became a re-
ligious proceeding. The ordinary even
ing meeting was followed by a song
and praise" session. A few minutes
before midnight the members Of the
church gathered around the ALTAR"
dt was merely the space in front of the
pulpit, but the old name remained) and
sometimes joined hands in a circle.
AS the minute hand of the clock
neared the XII mark the most pro-
found silence was discretionary
Christian was supposed to be in silent
prayer for pardon for the sins Of the
closing year.. When the new hour and
new a began, all broke into a glad
song, often mingled with Shouts" in
Methodist or United Brethren churches,
and after the song closed the members
pledged cath other to renewed devotion
and greater faithfulness to duty for
the coming year. The negroes, always
quick to adapt their old African Gus
toms to their new religion, took special
delight in his one, adding many fanci-
full features, and it still survives in the
far south as walking Egypt
But what of the original watch
night?" Well, all we can say is that
some or u ancestors brought 1t from
Scotland with them, and, as they told
of the wonderful things that had hap
pened In Scotland. so their children in
Kentucky and Indiana old the same
things as having happened in Mary
land, and by and by their children in
Illinois and Missouri told Of them as
occurrences in Maryland or Kentucky,
and so the superstition lived on in
many neighborhoods ever to the out
break of the civkl war.
Strange to say, the custom Of calling
on New Years day grew most nearly
universal among the Chinese and
Americans. The former celebrate the
new year through three days, during
which they call on their friends, ex-
change greetings in the streets, beat
gongs, e prayers and make q
Fourth OF July Of 1t in fireworks.
In the days when q little group OF
frame houseswith gable ends of Dutch
brick clustered about the fort adjoin-
Ing the point called the Batter In
New York, Mynneer and Vrouw, to-
gether with their children, the youths
and maidens Of New Amsterdam,
would go about making visits to each
other. celebrating the day "a only q
primitive people could celebrate 1t, the
elders smoking their pipes and the
youngers making merry and all en-
3oying themselves heartily.
But the burgher1 OF New Amsterdam
Al new generations came on waxed
rich. Broadway passed the old rope
walk near the present site OF the Astos
: House. shot over Union eQuareland