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Show Christmas in Shanghai Just One of Their Days WHEN Christmas comes to Shanghai, a cross-section of the world makes holiday. The aver age Chinaman fails to gel the niean In? of it, hut such a fun-loving ppo pie can do well with one more eele hration. So the Chinaman himself adds to the din with firecrackers and gift-giving, parties and the making of calls. There is a distinct western touch to the observance of the season by this most cosmopolitan city. Shanghai's Shang-hai's "social registerltes" start plans for dinners and dances as early as the middle of November; Immediately Immedi-ately reservations are checked off on the calendars of ballrooms and restaurants. The exact form of observance ob-servance varies with the nationality divisions of the city. In the Russian Rus-sian section, the day is observed as it Is on the sleppes or In Moscow. The French greet Sinta Clnus In their own way, even though the wax dolls have to be brought far from the Champs Elysees. The Japanese Japan-ese prefer to make merry by drinking drink-ing snkl. The English must have their plum pudding and holly. At the mission schools, where boys and girls are taught in separate sepa-rate classes, Christmas carols around the tree give modest school girls a chance not only of singing hynrns hut of "seeing hims." In Interior China, however, most of the people prefer to celebrate their own Dragon-boat, Mld-Au-ttimn. and New Year holidays rather rath-er than this "imported" one. They do not even try to understand these queer foreigners. To them December Decem-ber 25 is Just another day! Frances Fran-ces Grinstead. ffi Western Newspaper Union. |