Show MEW YEARS UNIVERSAL V V 1Y V rbrU A CEIEBIUTXON J J Christian Hebrew 1 Egyptian CHnaman and Mohammedan Mohamme-dan All jkgree that the Fesival is a NecessityV V > i l i I 11 New York Dec STJHIunianlly has by common consent agreed that it Is I well for periodical breaks to be made In be lifes handicap so that girths may tightened veins taken In u fresh grip given to time warning and u listening car ing from the front whore the best men riclu Pull lo the off bays wide go wide Therefore it haH been ordained thatamong the high lays and holidays of many races Ncw ears day shall be considered the most Important The old year does not always end at the I sumo time The ortodox Jew Ignores the Qhrlstluu NewYears and keeps a date of his own fixing So does the I JCgyptlan the Chinaman and the Mohammedan Mo-hammedan But although they differ so materially us to t the right date for the celebration all tiles nations regard re-gard It us a day especial Interest In those large American cities where Chinese colonies have settled the New Years day of almondeyed on Is celebrated with a tit n loug explosion I of lire crackers and feasting on such delicacies as birds neat soup roast iucking pig and Oriental sweetmeats Time Chinese quarter is gay with the yellow bunting and dragon Hags that betoken a Mongolian festival and any man Is at liberty to walk in on another an-other lake a seat at his table and wield a paid of chop sticks In the Interests In-terests of his nppetltr whether he knows the host personally or not The Joss sits In gloomy state all day receiving re-ceiving Klfhj unn iiierense with haughty Indifference and thmc Chlnunian seeks at the wheel of fortune to know what luck the great god bus in store for him duiing Iho coming year The Hebrew regards the occasion more In the light of a religious festival than of an ordinary V or-dinary holiday as the riulsimn Isi prone to do and the ceremonies of his faith enter moralarfely the exer rises of the day than they do with tha Episcopal or the Roman Catholic The differencein New Year dates ih I perfectly natural It must be remenj bered that in Rome the year anciently began In March and when Numu afc cording to the anclent legend transferred trans-ferred It to January 1st that day wits held sacred to Janus Dlfrons who was thus supposed to turn at once bapk upon the old year and forward Into the new When Christianity llrst budded and blossomed and began to strike Its roots llrmly into tIle earth it was gtnm praljr agreed lint a solemn cclebra tlonif the birth of the now year should ho ofeervod AS to the exact date wiun It sl uld bo So observed no one In those ancInL days appears to have any SOt tledjnnvlctlon Christmas day the till nun < ation March 25th Raster day and March 1st have all at different time or places shared with January Jet tie honor of opening Hie new year and twas as late us the sixteenth cen turjbefore It was decided Lo make Jani ry 1st theuniversally accepted dut of the Christian New Year rib early fnlheis OnTyposlum Am been Augustine Peter Chrysologun and rtiiors us a rebuke to the Immoral supcuiiiouK i and idolatrous observance of Hi paKun festival prohibited in Ohrlsiun use all festive celebration and drected that on the contrar > the first Iny of the Christian year should be otjorved ilth prayer fasting aTid hunUiatlon The mandate of the fain IOTA I-OTA Ins treated however with light indifference for the moat part and the festl character of the day was pcr tlnaoously preserved but those who prefOjied to observe the day UK one of prayt Were In sufficient numbers to inuka tills feature of the early cele brull < of New Years distinctly rio V ticealle In the annuls of the pust Thee seems to have been little dif feicne In the social observances of I the ky from age to age The most I ancieiL wi Kings dealing with the subject sub-ject ff t New Years day bpcak of the fcasthg and visiting that were char V acterdtlc of the festival and also record V rec-ord tint It WUH one of the most carefully care-fully tbserved customs to give presents I to frkmls und relatives in the shape of isevyears gifts V inland there are many examples of it ten ns a part of the public rx pendlUfe of the courtso Car down us V the rolni of Charles IT I In ninny countries the night of New Years i jvc St Sylvesters eve was colebnuhl with great festivity which was in < jlonged until after 12 oclock when thb new year was ushered in with congmtqlatlong complimentary visits and wishes for a happy new year In th4 country tnc 011 custom of making ma-king Isejv Years calls Is dying out to the regret of those who In memory love to linger on pleasant scenes of their youngerdays It Is still fortunately a day when family gatherings and good dinners are considered essential to the proper ujlcbration of the festival and when the touch of nature that makes the whofe world kin renders It easy for any hungry man to secure an abundant abund-ant supply of good things |