The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-01
M D N w o NJ FEN
 AND THIN c s

@"e SuStoh OA ceieDrating the hrSt day of the year is very ancient one, but how old 1t is will probably never De known definitely; but we do know that a,ooO years before Christ was born the people who lived in Babylonla kept New Year festival, which they called "zai- muk." which lasted for more than a week
 And So I am going to wish all of my readers "A Happy New Year" for 1 feel sure that most of them will answer back, The same to you and many of themp' How pleasantly these greetings strike the ear, whether in town or coun- try. in the home or at the office, orf the street or in the car, on the train or ferry or wheresoeyer one hears it.
 The New Year treads so close upon the heels of Christmas that the spirit of the Babe of Bethlehem fingers to give warmth to nearly every one save the old grouches who are dead to the win soneness of the Christ child. and even tah to catch the joy of the Master when He had put Nazareth behind Him and went out to bring men into closer touch with their Heavenly Father and sweeter fellowship with one another. The New Year is no tirne then, to be churlish. According to one of the old poets, so general was the spirit of good feeling on New Years Day that l Even stranger dogs,
 Meeting with bristling back, soon lay | aside
 Their snarling aspect. and in snortive Friendly become and wallow in the 1 snow.'
 Another thing we know about the New Years Day is that among the old Romans the year had only 10 months, beginning with the month of March. But for req sons too long for the purpose of this story the months of January and Fep- ruary were added and the year was made to begin on January 1, which was held sacred to the god Janus Bfrons, or ''Two-Facea Janus." so called because he was supposed to look back on the old year and to look forwartf to the new one. Over in England the ancient heather priests called Druids used to scrape the mistetoe from the oaks and distribute the boughs or sprays of it among the people on New Years Day.
 1 The first mention of the feast in Cnr.s- tiap literature occurs in canon r of a council which met at Tours in 5s7. ln | order" so the canon runs, "to tread under foot customs of the heathen, our jfathers ordained that private litanies should be held at the beginning of Janu- ary, psalms sung in churches, and at l the eighth hour on the first of the month I the mass of the circumcision, pleasing to God" It is true that other authorities claim that it was kept as fast, evil dently as protest against the immoral excesses of the heather.
 l New Years is possibly more widely 1 celebrated than any other holiday, not even excepting Christmas. It is made
 much of not only in America and all the Englsh-speaking peoples of the earth, but among Mexicans, Turks, Greeks Russians, Chinese, Japanese, Persians IHawaians and others. The day being given up to festivities and rejoicings. | The New Year does not begin or the same date in every country, but on what ever date it is celebrated, one and the same idea is associated with it. that of good will and kindly feeling, often ex- pressed in quaint customs and oftener |stil in the giving and receiving of pres ients. state this because if any of you failed to send some one a Christmas present in the rush of Christmas, you can yet get in on New Years gift
 The Chinese of California have a week of holiday at their New Years in Feb ruary, just as we do between December s and January 1. In the cities they make a fine display of fireworks. They use barrels full of firecrackers, and the Chinese boys do not fire them off, as the American boys do, cracker at a time; they bring out a large box or bar rel full, and fire them off package after package, as fast as they can. I am glad that this is Chinese custom, for it eats up money to buy fireworks, even for a couple of American lads.
 | Every Chinese family keeps open house on New Years Day all day long. They set up a picture or an image of their god in some prominent place. and on a table in front of this they put little feast of good things to eat. Some are an offering to their god and some are for their friends who call. Everyone lis expected to take something. The Cali |fornia boys. it is said sometime abuse the hospitality, and are seen issuing from Chinese homes with their hands full of queer Chinese things to eat. show ling them to each other and comparing notes, and asking Let me taste that! |''Where did you get it?" or What house lis serving it?''
 Among our Jewish friends. as we know the New Year does not begin on January II, but on Tishri f. the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. New Years 1 Day is known as the Feast of the Trum- pets, the reason for which name you may read in the O. T.. Leviticus xvi. It is with them the beginning of a very solemn time. leading up to the Day of Atone ment, or Tom Kippur, as the Jews call it, which is the most serious day of the entire year. On Jewish tables on New