Evening star., 1935-12-29
TINES 10 DEAD DAYS
Once They Were Ruthlessly Cut From Calendars,
But 1t Made New Years Celebrations
Logical for Modern Men.

the ancients invited their equivalent
of the cop on the beat to Join the
merriment at its beginning.
1t is not TO be assumed. Of course,
that every Greek and Roman citizen
awakened on New Year afternoon
with q headache. that the hangover
was Q national institution, for many
confined themselves to the tanner
ritual Of singing, calling on friends and
eating heartily Of rich foods. These.
as they are today, always have been
elements Of the New Year festivities.
The making Of good resolutions"
and the strong. even If rather vague
conviction that the new year is des~
tined 20 bring better things, is not far
removed from the spirit which made
the early man indulge his particular
superstition of the same occasion. He
believed in gods maryland vindictivg
as well as benign-and he never was
quite certain which would gain
dominance over his life in this mo.
mentous interval of change.
LIE DEVELOPED several unusual
customs as q result. One was to
climb to his rooftop, sword in hand.
to meet whatever Of good or evil for.
tune the new year had in store for
him. Less aggressive citizens Of those
days, taking advantage Of the light
trafic, used to congregate in great
numbers at crossroads, where they
knelt on cowhides and listened at
tentively for the still, small voices Of
oracles giving counsel as to the probe
abilities Of the coming year.
Modern man has improved upon
these and several other customs which
have attached themselves at various
times to the festival Of New Year.
He no longer accepts the limitation Of
extending greetings only to those Of
his friends who are within walking
distance OF his domicile. through the
development of considerable indus.
| try which produces seasons greeting
cards and a mailing service that car
ries them to all parts Of the world.
The extension Of greetings on this
elaborate scale is projection Of the
spirit Of wishing which always
has influenced man at this turn in
| the tide Of time. It is done more
simply. and on less personal scale.
in other parts Of the world. One form
Of 1t is to be found among the
peasants of Bulgaria, who light fires
| on hilltopS as a means Of extending
greetings to neighboring villages. In
many countries the get-together iS
even closer. nanifesting itself in
festivals that are the equivalent Of
the American barbecue. with every
one In the countryside gathering to
partake Of a common feast. which Is
anything but common in the quantity
and quality of the meal served.
A practice which enjoys a vogue
in all countries, though restricted
somewhat by the circumstance that
the average man already has exc
hauSted his bank account and his
credit at Christmas, Is that Of exc
changing gifts. 1t is limited natural-
ly to those who still have enough
currency to dislike the idea of de-
validating the dollar, but it was q cus-
tom that enjoyed quite an emphasis
In the time Of Elizabeth.
Glance quickly at new years through
the ages and you will find that the
idea Of giving on this day reached q
climax in the time Of good Queen
Bess when it was socially permissible
to ask for a gift in event the expecta.
ton of one failed TO naterialize.
The Queen herself was a consider.
able beneficiary under the system.
But. to return to Tuesday nights
celebrations!
BY the time those in the United
States begin to reach their climax Of
joyous welcome to the symbolic cher
ub whose picture will be in all the
papers Wednesday, the greater part
Of the civilized world will have done
with its New Years eve fetes and
gone prosaically to bed. The cosmic
accident Of its geography puts the
Western Hemisphere at the end OF
the line in mans reception to the
New Year.
Australia is the first Of the larger
land areas which dot the face Of
Mother Earth to bid adieu to the old
man with the scythe and welcome
to the young one with the bow and
arrow. Then comes Asia, followed
by Africa, Europe and most Of South
America before the first Americans on
the Maine coast begin to blow whistles
and ring bells signifying their ella"
ton at the momentous change.
| Actually, 1t takes five hours for the
New Year to make its way across that
part Of the Western Hemisphere
which looks to washington for polit~
ical guidance. That takes into con-
sideration the interval between the
arrival of midnight In Eastern Maine
and It's descent upon Western Alaska
When the new year actually Is
born into the world it is o'clock in
the morning of New Year ev for
those who live on the Atlantic sea-
board; 1 O'Clock for residents Of Hole
lywood and elsewhere along the Pa
cific Coast. :
To be sure, 1t all evens up in the
course Of "a hours, for II those in the
West must wait longer to start their
parties, they can keep them going
later.
1t really is all very precise and
orderly, this appearance Of time at
. its birthday party, but it would not
be unless men once had been gen-
erous enough to slice 10 days out q
their calendars as II they never ex.
iatAdl