The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1919-12-03

Then him In my fond arms embrace.
After placing piece Of holly under
her pillow, many girl, In the north Of
England especially, repeats these lines
to herself before retiring to rest on
Christmas eve, according to a writer
In London Tit-Bits.
Cupid plays an important part In
many Of the superstttions and customs
that are still eXtant ut this season.
Another queer custom in the north,
although 1t is not now so prevalent as
1t was, Is that Of gathering maidens'
purses. The money for these purses is
collected some we Hks before Christmas
from the inhabitants Of the mining
towns, and they are given as marriage
portions to the poorest among those
girls who are soon to be married. On
Christmas eve a full purse Is quietly
thrown in at the girls window, so that
her feelings shall not be wounded by
an ostentatious distribution.
A Christmas practice among super
stitious girls who wish to dream about
their future lovers Is that Of abstain
Ing from food or drink or speech dur
Ing the whole Of Christmas eve. Then,
after all the family have retired, they
make cake Of flour, salt and water,
called "dumb cake" This they eat
just before retiring to bed. in the be-
lief that their somewhat indigestible
supper will cause them to dream Of
their future husbands.
In the Alps there exist several
charming Yuletide customs of propos-
~ 1ln nr,in NV tl,n lo,,
ers. If girl accepts bouquet Of
edelweiss from man during the
period from Christmas day to New
Years eve the action denotes that she
accepts him as her future husband.
Another Christmas custom In Switz-
erland ls for the young man to place a
flower pot containing q single rose, and
a note on the window sill Of the girls
room when she Is absent from home.
He then waits for reply. If the maid
accepts the flower before New Years
eve, then the young man boldly enters
the house to task papa" If, on the
other hand, the rose Is not touched,
but Is allowed to fade away, the pro-
posnl is rejected without a single word
Of love having been exchanged be-
custom for baShful bachelors!
In Sardinia Christmas wooing Is far
more complicated. If n Sandman IA
ther has marriageablc daughter, the
"ould-bc Suitor applies to him for per-
mission to speak to her by means Of a
species Of telephone that has been in
use for the purpose for centuries of
Christmascs.
1T Is long string with n wooden
knob at each end. The girl drops one
knob out Of her window and, the shut |
tcrs being closed, places the other knob
to her ear. Down below her wOuld-be
lover DOurs words OF undying devotion
into his knob!
On every New Years day I'm Rouma-
Mia fair of mnrriagcablc girls is
held. The girls are all drawn up in
one line and the men in another, with
the parents of both behind them If a
young man likes the look OF any par
ticular girl he steps out of his line,
goes up to her and enters into conver-
sation. If he Is favOrably received by
the girl. his parents and her parents
compare notes as to the marriage set
tlcmcnt and similar practical matters
Many quaint SupcrStitiOns are aSso-
ciatcd with the festive season in vari.
ouS parts of Britain. In IIcrtfor(lShre
the wearing Of new shoes on Christ
mas day is considered to be very un-
lucky; while in other parts II Is
thought 10 be inviting i'll luck to allow
any new leather in the house during
The whole of Christmas week. Some
folk say that "a green Christmas
makes fat churchyard," but in Dew
0nahire they say that green Christ
mas makes prosperous year.
SupcrStitiouS people assert that one
should be careful about the choice Of
the holly for the decorations. Part
should be smooth and part prickly.
Then, providing both kinds are carried
into the house at the same time, all
Will be well. But should the prictly
variety be taken in first, then the hus-
band will rule the household during
the coming year; If the smooth Is
brOnpht I'm first thn VITA will ho nIor,