Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-31
OBSERVANCES OF NEW YEAR
DIFFER AMONG THE NATIONS
Calendar Has Many Dates on Which Cele-
brations Are Held and Methods Also
Show Great Variety.

Christ Child in the manger, with the
Virgin kneeling at one side, st. JOSEPH
at the other, and the shepherds, the
Magi, the sheep. oxen and ass arranGec
in the background and surrounding the
Infant. These .preseptos" have existed
In Italy for hundreds OF years, and some
OF them are of rarest beauty and value
the figures frequently having been mod
eled by the greatest artists of the realm
AS is the custom In this country, great
celebrations are held in Italy on New
Year eve. and on New Year morning
sn Official reception is held by the Kine
for the diplomatic corps, parliament
the supreme court and important ofii-
cials OF the kingdom. A great New
Year dish served throughout Southern
Italy especially is the "capitone," pre-
pared from eel. considered q particular
delicacy by the Italians.
As in Spain, gifts to the children are
made on the Epiphany, or the day OF
the Three Wise Men. There is some
thing particularly logical in the OBJ
servance by European countries of this
day as a day for bestowing gifts tc
children, as 1t was on this day that the
Three Wise Men crossed the desert
bearing their gifts to the little Babe OF
Bethlehem.
Day In Great Britain.
Great Britain's New Year day is OF
particular importance to many OF his
majeSty's subjects, as 1t Is on that day
that the Kings honor list" is made
public. and those who have special
honors conferred upon them, such as
an advancement in the peerage, eleva-
ton to the peerage of various civil and
military decorations bestowed. are made
happy by the official announcement of
their honorS.
In England December 26 is a holiday,
as well as Christmas day. This day is
known as Boxing day, so called because
of the custom of the postmen on that
day to carry boxes to those within the
precincts OF their delivery routes for
Christmas contributions
Although mistletoe and holly are used
extensively throughout the British Isles
in Christmas decoration, it was re-
marked at the British embassy that the
wreaths seen so widely In the windows
OF American homes are absolutely I'M
known in England.
A custom in Greece is the cutting of
the New Year cake. A great cake is
baked for that day, in which a gold
coin is placed. At the breakfast table
on New Year day the cake Is cut in as
many slices as there are members of
the family at table. To the one who
receives the slice Of cake containing the
gold piece year of great happiness and
good luck Is supposed to be In store.
1t has only been for the past two
years that Greece has observed January
l as New Year day. Previous to this
time the Orthodox Greek Church calen-
Oar was observed, in which all feast
days come Is days later than those of
the Gregorian calendar. January Is,
which used to be the Greek New Year
day, Is also st. Basils day. a great re-
ligious feast: and to this day, although
January has been accepted In ofiicial
circles, January Is Is still observed
throughout Greece with great celebra-
lions.
Like Greece, the Kingdom of Bulga-
ria, the land Of Boris the bachelor King,
has also observed the Greek calendar
until recent years. Through q compro-
mise between church and state ON
Gals, Bulgaria has adopted the West
ern calendar In observing New Year
day, but still celebrates It's Christmas
on the day designated by the Greek
Church. Therefore, the Bulgarians are
perhaps the only Christian people who
celebrate their Christmas after New
Year: for the Bulgarian Christmas falls
on January 2 and their Epiphany on
January 20.
Bulgarian Greetings.
A beautiful custom Of the Bulgarian
peasants Is to send New Year greetings
to friends in neighboring villages by
building enormous bonfires. whose lights
may be seen from one village to an
other.
In the old days it was the custom to
present at court the young girls who
were old enough to make their bow to
society. This custom is not as nrev-
alent as 1t was in former times. 1t Is
also on New Year day that the King
announces the promotions which are to
be made in the army, and in addition
holds a great banquet, to which are in
vited members Of the cabinet and i'm
portant officials of the army. Through
out the holiday season small boys be-
tween the ages Of and IL years, ire
spective of their station in life, 90 forth
in the morning from house to house,
singing carols which are centuries old.
On the Feast Of the Epiphany q re-
markable custom Is observed In Bull
garia. On that day the priests of the
church bless the waters of rivers and
seas throughout the country. Accom-
panied by bands of expert swimmers
and church dignitaries, the priest goes
to the river bank or seashore and after
placing his benediction upon the waters
he casts within them = large metal
crucihx. Sometimes the >waters are
frozen and covered with ice, but that
makes no difference to the swimmers
on the shore, who, breaking the ice,
plunge into the icy waters in search of
the metal crucifix. He who Is lucky
enough to recover 1t will be the recipi-
ent OF great hOnors and fortune
throughout the year.
Persia'S Calendar Differs.
January / has no significance to the
people of Persia. New Year day for
the subjects of the Shah falls on March
II, the first day of Spring, when the
world awakens to new life and new
hope. Celebrations of the New Year
commence with the FIRST rays of the
sun on that day and last throughout
the realm for period of three days.
Court astrologers are appointed to watch
Tor the flrSt appearance of the sun,
and at the exact appearance of Old
Sol on March 81 the Persian New Year
commences with great celebrations.
The most important event of the
thIee-day festival Is the reception held
by the Shah to the officials of the realm.
To each who attends this reception a
gold coin is presented, which is sup
posed to be symbolic of good luck and
fortune.
Special New Year services are held
In the mosques and great banQuetS are
held, at which the national dish. known
as pillow" is. served in as many as 40
different styles. Calls are exchanged
between friends and gifts are made to
the children and tn the moor