The Wilmington morning star., 1944-12-24
Yanks Find Odd Customs
. At Christmas Ouerseas

Moorish helper, Zwarte Pet
BLACK Peter who leads the old
entleman's horse, and obliginely
carries his pack The Dutch Santa
wears red and white ecclesiastical
I.robes, and leaves a rod instead o
presents if the children have been
bad.
Americans in Italy will find San.
ia and his presents do not arrive
until the Epiphany, Jan. 6, al
though Christmas itself is cele-
brated as religious day. Most
Italians attend midnight mass on
Christmas Eve, and go home to a
"veglione," or long feast featur-
ing roasted eels. lamb or sauce
made of hot olive oil, garlic and
anchovies. The bagpipers travel
from house to house, playing
Christmas songs.
G. I. Joe will find hot, instead
Of white, Christmas in both Aus
tralia and South Africa. Despite
the 100 degree temperature, the
people down under eat a middaf
meal of roast beef, turkey or ham,
plum pudding, mince pie and all
the trimmings. Bouquets for the
Australian hostess are likely to
consist Of pure white Christmas
lilies. delphiniums, gladioli or n.y.
drangea. which replace poinset.
tias and Jerusalem cherries.
The holiday season for both Eng
land and France will be a bit
brighter this year. England will
have its first Christmas under
dim-out, rather than black-out reg
ulations, and lights will shine from
church windows for the first time
in several years.
This will be Frances first lib.
Grated Christmas. There it is a
day devoted mostly to religious OBJ
seTfance, family get-togethers and
children. Midnight mass is one of
the most important features of the
celebration, and many churches
have a creche representing the
original manger. French children
place their shoes by the fireplace
before going to sleep, and find
them filled the next morning with
gifts from lie petit Noel-little Lord
Jesus. When the adults come home
from mass, they have a grand
feast known as lie reveillon.''
In Luxembourg, servicemen will
see huge Christmas trees in all
public places, and will probably
accompany some local family to
the traditional mass at midnight
or three or four in the morning.
Mass is followed by a Christmas
breakfast. the main dish of which
is a sausage.
The liberated town in. the Phil.
lpplnes may have a chance to 90
back to their traditional celebra-
tions this year. Traditionally, on
Dec. Is the people begin nine
day attendance at a gay mass
sung to pastoral music and accom-
pnied by violins, tambourines nd
orgn. They fast from sunset until
after the midnight mass on Christ
mas eve, and break their fast with
dinner of ham, cheese, stuffed
chicken and other delicacies.
Inc Chinese, who have watched
missionaries prepare for Christ
mas for years, are taking particu-
lar pleasure in the holiday with
the arrival Of the American C. I.
Flrecrackers, of course, are
main feature of the celebration,
and temporary toy shops blossom
in the city streets.
Iceland has added its own spe-
clal Christmas gremlin-the Will
O. The Wisp-Who leads people
astray between Christmas and
New Years. They find themselves
black dogs, and white rabbits hop
along under foot. All of this, of
course, leads to much merrymak-
ing, and a superstition that it is
dangerous to walk abroad at night
during the holiday season.
In the Holy Land itself, service
men will have a chance to attend
the impressive services held on
the Latin Christmas. The Patri-
arch comes from Jerusalem with
a troop of cavalry and Kavasses,
and the office lasts from 10 o'clock
on Christmas even until long after
midnight. After the reading of the
gospel, the clergy and many of
the congregation file. down flint
Of steps, alon winding rock
heWn passage to the grotto of the
Nativity. A waxen image of the
Infant, wrapped in swaddling
clothes, is carried in the process
sion, and laid on the site said to
be that of the manger. -.
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