Show A HAPPY NEW YEAR NEW DAY has haa been regarded as an occasion of peculiar significance among all peoples from very early ages the fact that it marked the closing of an old account with Time and the opening of a new one caused it to be regarded by the ancient romans as a peculiarly fitting period for the reconciliation of differences the making of good resolutions the exchanging of visits and the giving of st renal or presents to relatives and friends all of these things may be found described at length in the pages of ovid and other latin writers who also tell us of masquerades feasts sra smoking oking altars and white robed processions professions process ions to the ca capitol pito I 1 the Roman young man of fashion arrayed himself in his best and went forth to visit his lady friends to partake of the cup which both cheers and inebriates and to impart a hue of carmine to the seven hills of rome borne just like his fellow of today in any of our modern cities not only were the st renal or p presents resents exchanged between relatives and friends but the emperors exacted them from their subjects the made these new years yearns gifts such a source of pro profit fat to themselves and so onerous a burden to the people that claudius at length issued a decree limiting their cost like the ancient romans the early saxons observed the festival of new years day with feasts and gifts gift among the persians these new years yearns presents took the form copyright 1888 of egg while the new yearns year Is gifts distributed by the ancient druids druies among the early britons consisted of branches of mistletoe cut with peculiarly solemn ceremonies when christianity began to make its way among the romans the church vigorously opposed the participation ci of its converts in the festival observances of new years yearns day which were of a heathen character the occasion being dedicated at as was the whole ensuing month to the god janus from whom it was called whom they represented as a man with two faces one looking backward and the other forward thus implying that he stood between the new and the old year with a regard to both sacrifices to janus were offered upon twelve altars not only during new years yearns day but also throughout the entire month of january it was therefore very natural that the church should oppose the festive ceremonies of this occasion but about the fifth century the first of new years yearns day assumed a specially sacred character as the anniversary of the saviors circumcision and as the octave of christmas which had then become a fixed festival on december as commemorative of our lords nativity thus january still holds a place in the church calendar many of the observances of new years year Is which once enjoyed the fhe greatest popularity are now nearly or wholly obsolete this is most notably the case with the giving of presents which though once a uni versal versa custom is now almost entirely superseded by the giving of christmas gifts many of the old english sovereigns like the roman emperors derived no inconsiderable portion of their income from the new years gifts of their subjects in his quaint history of the world howell states that the wardrobe of queen elizabeth was almost wholly supplied by new years presents among other things he remarks that queen elizabeth in 1661 1561 was presented with a pair of black sm silk knit stockings by her silk woman mrs Montague and thenceforth she never wore cloth hose any more in return for the elaborate new years presents which she received from every one attached in any capacity to her court good queen bess bees made gifts of gold and silver plate to the men and of necklaces bracelets gowns mantles petticoats and fans to the women under the henrys the extortion of bf new years gifts practiced just as under the old roman boman emperors and the custom of voluntarily making them to the reigning english sovereign continued until oliver cromwell on becoming lord protector put a stop atop to it apropos of this custom of giving new ew yeas years gifts a good story is told of a court jester of james 1 I who being sent by his royal master with a bag containing a fine lap dog as a New Years present to a female favorite was persuaded by some ways of the court to atef refresh resh himself en roto at a tavern where they exchanged the lap dog for a pig the dismay of the jester ou on tumbling out his at the feet of the lady was so great that he rushed t cotely tely from the house of the favorite and d into the presence of the king shOut shouting lAg an all the way that he had been n bs bewitched Witched by some fiend who had ad his masters lap dog into a 64 a statement which received ready credence from the ang who was a devout believer in witches and witchcraft and who had written and published a voluminous work on those subjects everyone to Is familiar with the customs of masquerading on new yearb eve and day of watching the th old year out and the new one in and of firing off oa guns blowing horns singing and partaking of good cheer on new year years s eve but probably few are aware that these re fa among the oldest of all our social and have been practiced in vadous ly modified forms forma in nearly an all civilized civilised civili sed countries ever since the pm kanaan emperor julian reformed the th calendar and made the I 1 calendar 3 or flat fl at da day y pf af janu january ry the beginning of the year in many parts P of rural MW england and scotland tt it is 18 customary for large parties of men and women to go about on new years eve bearing from house to house an abundant supply of cakes bread ard and cheese together with a scat bowl of what is called wassail or lambs lamb wool a drink composed of hot ale spices sugar toast and APP aples lea in the households they visit all the members of the family are awaiting their coming and are pre pod to to welcome them with a plentiful supply of good cheer the first arst house visited by these wassail carr carriers jers after midnight is regarded as highly favored it being a popular bouef belief that good fortune throughout the entire year is then sure to follow all ahito its inmates great care is taken however that the first member of the he wassail party crossing the threshold three shall be a man for were a woman to be the first to enter misery and misfortune would infallibly ensue upon the calends or first day of january the ancient romans were especially careful to so regulate their conduct that their every word and act should be a happy augury for all the ensuing days of the year and they believed that as they were fortunate or the reverse glad or sorrowful happy or miserable upon that day so would they continue to be throughout the following twelve months this old superstition still exists in the minds of many persons especially in the northern counties of england where both old and young are particularly careful in their behavior yn new years yearns day in many of the rural districts of scotland it is still customary as it has been from time immemorial for all horses and cattle to receive an extra feeding on new years yearns day that they as well as their masters may have cause to commence the new year with rejoicing readers of the Scottish poet robert bobert burns will remember his auld farmers new year morning salutation to his auld mare maggie on giving her the accustomed ripp of corn to hansel in the new year A quid guid now new year I 1 wish thee maggie I 1 hal theres a ripp to thy auld baggie 21 a ripp being a handful corn felix fonteneau a French frenchman mau who published a very curious work on astrology in 1680 says that new years yearns eve should never be spent in idle mirth and frivolity and that unhappiness and misfortune will be the result of thus misusing it he adds that it should be devoted to pious meditation and to an effort to read the future pythagoras an old greek philosopher a term which he was the first to apply to himself because he was a lover of wisdom required his dis dh cirlee of whom he had to devote new years yearns day to recalling all the events and actions of their I 1 lives during the preceding twelvemonth in order that by condemning those meriting censure and by praising those who were worthy they might the better regulate their conduct for the ensuing year A pious old english custom was for one of two friends meeting on new yearns year Is morning to exclaim welcome the new year to which the other would reply I 1 A and nd gods blessing on us both while it continues lady readers will be interested to leam that the term pin money is directly connected with New NewY Years earls from the fact that when the present style of pins first came into vogue they were so ao expensive and were thought so desirable that they were largely utilized as new years yearns presents and instead of the pins themselves selvestre the money with which to buy them was often given thus giving rise to the term pin money which finally came to be apollen to all money bestowed for the purchase of feminine dress or ornament in this connection it is related that queen elizabeth once said to sir walter raleigh Balei gb on receiving from him a new years yearns gift of the new style pins 1 I trust these will pin your loyalty still closer to our person to which sir walter gallantly replied that might not be wen well for my love for your majesty might ooze through the pin holes in my loyalty in so unruly a manner as to be unpleasing to your highness GEOFFREY |