The Washington times., 1919-12-22
FESTIVITIES MARK
APPROACH OF XMAS
Elaborate Program in Schools
and Churches Indicate OBJ
servance of Holiday.
CONTINUED from Page Fifteen.)

torists bringing home the Christmas
tree.
Poor Will Benefit.
Christmas giving as usual will ex-
tend beyond immediate family circles
in the shape Of gifts Of dinners, cloth
ing. candy, nuts and toys to the poorer
people.
The Rotary Club, headed by Its
president, Roland Robbins, manager
Of Keith's theater. will spend three
days in distributing its holiday lar
CESS TO the young people.
At 1880 o'clock this afternoon. the
first several hundred Of an army of
1000 orphans and poor children will
be entertained at Keith's Theater.
They will view the regular program,
at the close of which Charles B. Han
ford, distinguished Shakespearean
actor. will appear as Santa Claus. He
will recite a prologue of welcome to
children. both young and gray-haired,
when the sound OF reindeer bells will
be the signal for the start of q pro-
cessional arranged by the District
Community Service
Holiday Pageant.
This pageant will be headed by
Druids carrying mistletoe, a boar's
head and the wassail bowl, the Lord
of Misrule, the court Jester, the Ladies'
with the peacock, the smoking plum
pudding, and group OF English
peasants in dances. Santa Claus and
the children will fall in behind them
In procession to the lounge, where
an immense Christmas tree has been
set up with q winter landscape back
ground.
Here Santa Claus and his assistants
will distribute huge packages contain
ing books, toys, and candy.
The program will be repeated to-
morrow and Wednesday. during which
time 1000 children will have been
cared for at Keith's.
All the children will be taken
to and from their homes in automo-
biles. Next week Tuesday the pro-
gram will be repeated at Howard
theater for the benefit Of 500 colored
children, the Rotary club again be-
ing host.
many churches will make special ef-
forts to bring Christmas cheer to the
poor, work in which they will be
aided by hundreds Of private Good
Fellows who have taken old and
young people under their care through
the Good Fellow movement of The
Times.
Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army will distribute
500 Christmas dinner baskets We'd
nesday evening at it's headquarters
on Pennsylvania avenue. Christmas
morning at 10 o'clock 500 while chill
dren will be guests Of the Salvation
Army and Cosmos Theater at a spe-
cial entertainment in the theater, at
which bags of Christmas gifts will
be distributed. At the same time an
equal number of colored children will
be similarly favored at the Howard
Theater.
The Gospel Mission viii be Santa
Claus to 400 children, with q dinner
and gifts at the Georgetown branch,
Thirtieth and NJ streets, tomorrow
night for 135 living in that vicinity,
and similar provision for nearly 300
at the mission headquarters on John
Marshall place Christmas afternoon
at 2 o'clock.
The Central Unioh Mission will care
for several hundred poor families.
St. Vincent De Paul
The Society of st. Vincent de Paul
has an organized Christmas move
ment distributed through the many
parish societies.
One OF the finest Christmas acts
will be the thirty-eighth annual dis
| tribution of overcoats to poor boys
by Saks & Co. This is done on a sys-
tenn calculated to make the gifts do
the most good in the most graceful
| manner.
Saks & Co. will be open on Christ
mas morning to just one hundred
! customers. These will be the boys
designated to receive overcoats. They
| will be admitted to the store with
their parents or grown friends. Then
| they will be conducted to the over
| coat department, and will be waited
upon as II they were customers with
check books in their hands.
school Celebrations.
From within the four walls Of the
city's public and private schools,
\ Washington tomorrow will hear thou
sands OF children burst forth in song
The singing will be a part of the
celebration, but in many schools. es-
pecially the high schools, elaborate
programs have been arranged The
high schools are presenting Christ
mas plays, while every grade class
room will be decorated with green
cry. with Santa Claus distributing
/ presents.
In many OF the schools il is a year.
| ly custom to exchange presents. Last
} Friday in thousands of lower classes
/ d
| and the name they found on the little
| slip taken from the box was the name
| OF the person to whom they should
give a present-just a little remem-
brance of no special value.
| II IL truly a Christmas spirit that
| VIII prevail in the schools tomorrow
| Teachers viii tell the children that
| the JOY is not in receiving, but in Civ
! ing. Tomorrow. incidentally, is the
last school day until January s.
Eastern High Program.
Ihe most elaborate celebration will
De at Eastern High School, beginning
AT O'Clock tomorrow afternoon.
students OF the school will present in
the assembly hall Charles Dickens
Holly Tree Inn," with this cast: Jabez
1ooos. Charles Lanham. Lois Chaplin.
Everett Jarvis. William Furey. Lii
! liam Bragunier, Marion Tucker ard
Theodore Tenley.
Al O'Clock the alumni association
oasketosll team will play the regular
n