Chapter 59 Christmas

Christmas December twenty-fifth Christmas.The British celebrate Christmas, just like our old calendar year.In terms of customs and religion, this day is simply "New Year's Day"; it is said that it was already like this in the seventh century. up.As for January 1st, it's just the beginning of the year in name, and they don't always pay much attention to it. These days people have more and more opportunities to have fun, and they don't care about waiting until the New Year's Day; so the New Year's Day scene fades away again and again, as before, the fanatical anticipation and fanatical enjoyment of things are probably only in the memories of the elderly. , It just exists in the imagination of children.This is especially true in the big cities; you can see it in Shanghai, not to mention the more prosperous London.Besides, in such a downturn, who still has the heart to seriously have fun?So even though it's Christmas, everyone just decorates and decorates, just for a scene.

But the postman was too busy, and thousands of greeting cards passed through their hands.In addition to the greeting cards, there are also month cards.This kind of month card is a bit bigger, it is mounted on a card, and it also has pictures and auspicious words.There are also many tricks, but they are far worse than greeting cards.There are two types of cards, one with your name on it and one with your name printed on it.Those who have a lot of friends use the latter one, which is naturally more expensive; it is said that in the past few years, they had to intrigue and trick, but this year, they are mostly simple and simple, in order to save some money.The former one is different, each book and paper shop has to compete for buyers, so there are more designs and colors than before.However, it is said that there is no 12% fresh and surprising appearance. After all, this is just a thing for the occasion.But in the eyes of a foreigner, all kinds of colors are enough to look at.I once went to a big book and paper shop in the old city to see the thick samples of four volumes, with as many as 3,000 kinds.

The beginning of the sample is a royal greeting card: the King's is St. Paul's Church; the Queen's two paintings inside and outside, one of which is a garden; the Prince of Wales is a picture of waiting; A picture of an ice show in the park; a picture of a hunting trip for Princess Marley.St. Paul's Hall is majestic and grand, facing the city of London; the flowers in the garden reveal the smile of God; waiting for people to describe good luck and joy waiting for you on the avenue of life; St. James's Park (in the south of St. James's Palace) Represents the court, ice skating and hunting represent the sporting penchant of the British.The skating picture is antique and full of air.These greeting cards are large in size, and there are also small ones. Anyone can buy them and fill in their names and send them to others.In addition, there are all golden ones, which are crystal clear; those with "butterfly wings" are shining with royal blue light;There are also parchment imitation quarter-fold books; small windmills inlaid with copper sheets; Madonna statues inlaid with stained glass pieces;

The wives are also very busy, sorting out gifts from relatives, friends, husbands and children, decorating the house, Christmas trees, turkeys and so on.A week before the festival, every day when the lights first came on, I went to Oxford Street to see it. The promenade was full of people rushing to and fro to make New Year's goods; needless to say, there were many wives.Two things are indispensable for decorating a house, holly and branches of mistletoe.The former is also used in churches; the latter is only used in people's homes; most of them are inserted in high places.Holly takes its green color, sometimes with small red fruits; it has been used to decorate Christmas for a long time, and some people suspect that Christians picked it up from Roman customs. "Apple parasite" has small white berries, but it is a native English custom, and it was used as late as the early seventeenth century.Once under it, a young man could kiss any woman; but after the kiss he had to pluck a fruit.After the fruit is picked, no more kisses are allowed below.

There are also various decorations on the Christmas tree. Gifts for children are hung on the tree. The complexity of the decoration depends on the situation of the family.The one I saw at my friend's landlady's house was only a small one; it is said that I bought it from Urwuth 36 Company (the price is only three pence and six pence two yards), and it only cost sixpence, which is four or five cents.But on the dining table, there are some dazzling glass balls hanging on the green and green riguara, and some small things like "Eskimos" are arranged around the tree, which is also lively and entertaining.The custom of the Christmas tree came from Germany; Germany may have come down from Scandinavia.In Scandinavian mythology, there is a so-called world tree called "YgDgdrasil", which connects the three worlds of heaven, earth and the underworld with its roots and branches.It is a dead tree, but dripping with honey.Under the root is the fountain of virtues; in the middle of the tree sits an eagle, a squirrel, and four stags; beside the root is a poisonous snake, always gnawing at the root.The squirrels run up and down, sowing discord between the hawk on top and the wise viper.The tree cannot shake, and if it shakes, the monsters in the ground will rise up and make trouble.Thinking of this myth, the present Christmas tree is really more warm and amiable.The Christmas tree and those holly, "apple parasites", are burned together on the sixth day of the following year; when it is burned, all present will do it to share some blessings.

On Christmas night, at my friend's landlady's house.There was turkey and plum pudding as usual; the landlady was in a pinch, but she sold some old furniture and bought a twenty-two-pound turkey for the holiday.It's a pity that the maid was careless and toasted a little bit; the old lady nagged a few words by herself, so it's fine.But turkey doesn't taste all that special either.During the meal, everyone threw paper balls and cracked firecrackers at the same time—two people tugged, sometimes it only rang once, and sometimes there were small pieces of paper between them, most of which were auspicious words with the word "love".Playing games after dinner, there are musical chairs (the number of chairs is one less than the number of people; when the music stops, everyone rushes to sit), cover their eyes and blow out candles, catch blind people, snatch people (teams), grab balloons, etc. Everyone is so childish .Finally there is dancing.The night passed, and the next day was pretty much the same.

Everyone passed the New Year as if nothing had happened; some old families would like a person with darker hair and a darker complexion to be the first to enter the door in the morning, saying that it is auspicious to bring such a person into the New Year.My friend's landlady phoned that morning to invite the shopkeeper of a well-established business to come to her house; he was exactly such a person.Calendars are also sold during the New Year; people often use the Old Moorish Almanack (OldMo#re's Almanack), which can be bought at book and paper shops, and the price is as cheap as twopence.On this year's card, "The Twenty-Third Year of His Majesty King George's Ascension to the Throne" was printed on the face; there was a small picture with the sun, the moon, the planet, and the earth, and a circle outside the earth with the images of the twelve signs of the zodiac, such as " Aries, Taurus, Gemini, etc.The names of constellations in ancient times are taken from characters, but also have a different flavor.In front of the almanac, there is a whole picture of viewing images, and the title says, "What will happen in the future?" "Old Moore will tell you."From the picture, it can be seen that Old Moore was founded in 1700, and it has been more than 200 years now.On the side of each month, the upper column can be said to be a "retrospective map", but there is no mystery; the lower column is divided into days, weeks, memorabilia, time of sunrise, time of moon, London tide, and current affairs forecast.In addition, there are monthly surplus and deficiency charts, tide charts for various ports, planetary movement charts, three island collection schedules, postal regulations, road rules, how to make snacks, how to raise poultry, and common sense about housework.There are also a lot of advertisements, and the pills are the most sold, and they are all for wives; because this kind of calendar was originally for wives.

Written on December 15-17, 1934. (Originally published in "Middle School Students" No. 52 on February 1, 1935)