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Show Observing New Year's pj .EW YEAR'S day isn't what j!M-J u used t0 be' Thls ls 10 &S n sma" waJ" attrTtutable to the addition to Cite Consti-tution Consti-tution of some dry reading matter. In still greater part it is because the international obsession ob-session for celebrating whenever Father Fa-ther Time takes a fresh start 'n piloting pilot-ing the earth around the sun is thousands thou-sands of years old. The manner of observing the day has changed greatly through the centuries. The urge to give presents at least once a year was felt even before Christmas and Santa Claus came Into the scheme of things, and the ancient an-cient Greeks, Chinese, Egyptians and Romans tendered their gifts to one another on the first day of the year. Kings got into the habit of receiving extra gifts from their subjects on these days and liked It so well the; began extorting larger and larger sums. This practice got so bad ii Rome under the Caesars that Claudius Clau-dius called a halt. It spread to other countries, havener, hav-ener, and the English had their New Year's celebration spoiled annually by rapacious sovereigns until Queen Elizabeth's modest demands of her subjects cut gifts down to a minimum. mini-mum. Iu those days the celebration of New Year's day had become worldwide. world-wide. With variations to suit all nationalities, na-tionalities, it consisted everywhere of eating, drinking and motley merriment. merri-ment. Christopher Columbus, so far as Is known, was the first white man to jubilate on New Year's day in the western hemisphere. While his ships were undergoing repairs on January 1, 1403, be enjoyed a sumptuous dinner din-ner with two savage monarchs on the island of Haiti. After this meal, history says, the discoverer of America Amer-ica had ids first smoke of tobacco. Whether lie enjoyed it is not recorded, but he left It to a later generation Sir Walter Raleigh is generally credited cred-ited with the function to Introduce todaeeo to Europe. The Pilgrim Fathers and the first families of the older states of the Union enjoyed a quiet holiday as each year came around. They feasted, hut not until they had attended religious re-ligious services. For 25 years up to the dawn of 1020 and the era of war-time prohibition, pro-hibition, the celebration in large cities cit-ies became noisier and more expensive expen-sive each year. Thousands used to crowd Into places of merriment, while principal thoroughfares were packed with hrongs of merrymakers wltU squnwkers. clappers, bells and confetti. Every hotel and most of the restaurants res-taurants were Jammed with gay diners. In 1008 It was estimated that $1,000,000 was spent In the New York white-light district on New Year's eve. After that statisticians gave up trying try-ing to figure nut the sum. |