The New York herald., 1922-01-08
Americans Have Holiday
4 Parties in French Capital
Opera Singers Give Christmas Songs at Dinner Held
j by Mrs. Alastair Cameron-Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon
Whitehouse Entertain Embassy Staff.
By MAY BIRKHEAD.

| her mother and recently they nave taken
an apartment in Paris. Mr.. Edwards Is
graduate OF the Massachusetts, Insti-
tute of Technology and during the war
he served as a captain in the United
States Army. After a short wedding
trip to the south of France MIR. and Mrs.
Edwards will sail for America on Janu-
airy aboard the George Washington.
The Christmas atmosphere has per-
vaded the streets of Paris for the last
fortnight. In the cafes. theaters. restau-
rants and hotels the visitor Eas found
that the French are preparing for gay
Christmas, but in somewhat different
manner from that of the Americans.
Christmas is not the "homo" day In
France as 1t Is In America. 1t is cele-
brated in churches. with midnight
masses, and reyeillon In the restaurants
means that Parisians give their cooks a
vacation while they dine zen ville'' and
then go to the, cathedrals to hear the
Christmas music, and then 3ack to the
restaurants for the reveillon supper and
dance. There are few family gather
F, ings for Christmas dinners such as we
! have in America.
Exchange Gifts New Years Day.
The children. of course, have their
| Santa Claus, but the grown-ups look
upon the day as being only for children.
| New Years Day is the time for their
! big celegration. Their family gather
/ ings and big dinners are given on New
/ Years day and it is only then that they
exchange gifts. The first day of the
year is always their big home day just
as Christmas is ours. The reveillon sup
rers followed by a dance can be COM
pared with the celebrations on any
other big fete day when the restau-
rants and hotels have parties, except
that they make much more os the menu,
as the French seem to think that Christ
mas eve Is the time that they must eat
well at all costs.
A great many French families go to
the country for their Christmas holi-
days Many have gone to the Riviera.
and Saint Moritz is favorite spot.
especially for the children, who insist
that Santa Cluas comes only with the
| snow.
| There has been that same mad rush
in the shops, particularly in the toy
departments, that Is to be found in any
part of the world. and belated shop
pers have found themselves in a pre-
dicament. For the last fortnight they
have been making the rounds OF the big
shops and have become imbued with the
Christmas spirit by gazing into the
windows. but each day they have pat
off making their purchases because I
an "embarras du choix." The conse-
quence is that shoppers are falling all
over each other at the last minute.
If the shops are not selling as much
as in former years. 1t Is certainly no
fault Of the quantities of novelties that
are being displayed, nor Is 1t because
of any failure on the part of the masses
of the people to appear. The shops
have never been so crowded. and II the
people do not buy, 1t is only because
| their pocketbooks are not as full as
they should be to meet the high prices.
In some instances prices are lower than
they were last year but on the whole
they are still much too high to make
business as good as 1t has been. The
booths and sidewalk shops on the boule-
| wards look gay and are apparently
fiourishing Humor is the leading note
in their displays. Toys that bring JOY
to the young and smiles to the faces
| of the elders are shown everywhere.
The greatest novelty OF the boulevards
is a popcorn stand. The corn Is ac-
tually being popped by electricity and
put into paper bags and buttered De-
| fore your very eyes just as II is IN
America. French boys and girls stand
around and look at the performance and
occasionally buy bag, but they seem
to wonder what their beloved bouie-
wards are coming to with having such
queer stuff for sale which Is not at all
traditional with Paris.