The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1920-01-03
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guns and beating Of drums. :"
This Is the beginning of one of the many New
Years prOclamatiOns Of Peter Stuyvesant, director
general Of New Netherlands-hs farm, the
+B0RweriJ," on Manhattan island gave the Bowery
Its namely which he hoped to prevent more
sins, debaucheries and Calamities" in New Am
sterdam during his II years Of administration,
1647-4. For it was in old New York that the
American custom Of New Years calls had its be-
ginning. And when the fun got too boisterous old
Peter would come stumpng along on his silver
banded wooden leg and try to make an unwilling
rattlewatch enforce his proclamation.
New Years day was the holiday par excellence
In old New York. 1t was day peculiarly dedl-
Gated to family congratulations and the renewal
OF friendships in expressions of sympathy and
good will, which, following SO closely the sacred
festival Of Christmas, inspired all with peculiar
significance. Washington Irving has said: "New
York was then handy town. Anyone who did
not live over the way was to be found round the
corner" So the making of New Years calls was
easy Let us glance at the New Amsterdam of
that day on the first day of the new year.
The sober, older citizens, sturdy figures, richly
and warmly clothed walk, slowly smoking to the
fort to render New Years wishes to the officers
Battery to do the governor the same honor. Ever
since daybreak a noisier element has reveled up
and down the narrow lanes and by the banks Of
the canal (nOw Broad street,, shouting greetings
beating drums, firing muskets, blowing horns
shaking 'rumbng-pots" and drinking rivers Of
beer. group of young burghers, with some
clumsy firearm, a Snaphance or murtherer, have
gone from door to door Of each corberoofed
house firing blank volleys, gathering recruits,
drinking more beer till all repair to Beekman's
Swamp known to this day in New York as the
SWamp) to fire at a target
Noise and New Years continued to be closely
connected in the days Of the American colonies.
New Years day was favorite day for shooting
at mark, for shooting for prizes, and target
companies of very respectable citizens rose early
IN the morning FOR these contests. For it was
deemed most selfish and rather disreputable foe
man to spend the entire day in such shooting.
He could 60 with his target company" in the
morning but he must pay a round Of calls to the
fair In the afternoon
In the days Of New Years celebration In New
York, In the first half Of the nineteenth century.
the town seemed a great family reunion, In which
each man We'd with the other in boisterous delight
Shops we're lighted, windows garlanded streets
crowded. Great vans-stages with four and six
hOrses-were crowded with groups of men, often
group Of klnsfolk, or old neighbors, or hilarious
mob Of men allied in pOlitics-or some target
company" or "band of old hremen" The ac-
quautances Of each were called upon in turn.
i was about the beginning of the nineteenth
century that the change from a neighborly OBJ
aeryance to one Of pure fashion began in all the
large cities. The younger women Of such house
holds as had daughters were hostesses, and great
vas their rivalry, one with another, In respect to
richly loaded refreshment tables and elegance of
toilet The dudes Of those days-they called them
'eeaux' and "dandies" and "gallants"
themselves In their best and started out early in
the morning on their calls.
L was not until about the middle Of the century
mat the abuse which finally led to the customs
decline began. For years the dandies of New
York and other large cities rgaled one another in
the length Of their calling lists, and the calls soon
came to be nothing more than hasty stOps-mere
rapid gOrgings of cake and gulpings of wine-ln
slead Of the 0ld-time friendly calls of men upon
me families Of their friends and acqualntances
Then the adies-the matrOns as we'll as the
young wOmen-began to vie with one another in
tae number of their callers This led TO the
most extraordinary practices. Callers were re-
efated, indeed much as customers are drummed
ap by dealers in soap Cards announcing that
Mss Ths-Or-That would be Eat home" on January
were sent out almost indscrimlnately
Then the Sunday papers of the time began to
PRINT lists of those who would receive and the
heuses Of those mentioned in the lists were sure
% DC besieged by numbers of men whom the
iaaies had never met or heard of and desired
never to meet again. Men would go calling in