The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1915-12-31

NDlA DCGlO lllp WV IVA ANN
~ number and variety of its New
Year days and this is SO be-
K&M cause of the 'large number oil
races and religions.
When a traveller who expects to
spend some time in the country goes
to the bank with his letter of credit,
usually card Is handed him on which
Is printed the various holidays. THIS
Is for his convenience, 80 that he
will not let himself get out of funds
and 20 to the bank in a hurry, only
TO find II closed on account OF some
holiday. The holiday may be Chris
ian, Mohammedan or that Of any one
Of the numerous Hindu sects.
When the usual card was given me
in Bombay, says writer, | noted the
number of these holidays which were
lscribed to New Year. They did not
exactly bear out the humorous de-
Icription of every day in the year as
a New Year day, but there seemed
hardly a month of the Christian calen'
lar which did not have at least one
New Year designated. and in some
months there were more.
Kaleidoscope Bombay observes all
.hese New Year days because the
stream of Asatic life which circulates
through 1t includes all the civilization
and all the races and religions OF the
ah1ifinng from tho
Occident. The spirit is one of cath
olicity.
All the races and all the religious
sects observe the New Year OF the
Christian calendar. because British
'ule of India is reflected in this day;
,ut they also observe the New Year Of
he different races and religions
among themselves, at least to the ex.
tent of knocking off work.
Whether in Bombay or Benares, the
monkey temple has its throng of Hin
du worshipers. and the Mohamme
dams often are not unwilling to share
In the observance to the extent Of
foregoing their business activities.
The Hmdus on their part are apt to
think il a shame to work on NOLAN
medan New Year day when the Mos.
lem population may be thronging the
Jumma Musquid mosque. So 1t goes
all round the circle of New Year holt
days
There Is a simple arithmetical meth
cd of calculating the time from the
Hegira in the terms Of the Christian
era, but the easier way is to accept
without question the fact that such
and such a day is the New Year Of
the Mohammedan era. Similarly, the
New Year of the Buddhists and the
Brahmins and the jams and the Sikhs
may be accepted without bothering
about the calendar.
The British New Year in Bombay,
or Calcutta, or Delhi is much the
same as in England.
While the Christian New Year is
formal and stately on account of Brit
ish authority, it has less standing than
the New Year of the Parsees, because
it is a single days observance, while
the Parsees take two days. The year
! happened to be in Bombay was the
Parsee Yazdezardi, 1876, and the New
Year days came on September 10 and
IA.
On this day was afforded the op
portunity of witnessing the Parsee re
ligious observances, or Zoroastriar
services 1t was in the Allbless Bagh
on the Charm road Their churches
or temples of worship are free from
architectural pretensions without and
within. They are more like an ordi
nary hall.
In this temple the women were gath
cred at one end of the room and the
men at the other end. In the space
between was stand holding a lamI
with the eternal fire under glass. The