THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPII, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1988.
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CHRISTMAS LASTS FOR TWELVE DAYS
To
HE “Twelve Days of
Christmas" is phrase
which a
We
have almost forgotten to- day. Yet Christmas itself is only part of the great feast of Yule, which ex- tends from Christmas Eve to Twelfth Night (January 6.) Here and there in the more remote parts of the
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still survive.
In Cornwall, the fisherfolk of St. Ives and the neighbouring villages go Guise Dancing. At night the streets are invaded by Hotelparties of young people attired jin grotesque costume. The boys are usually dressed as girls and the girls as boys, some of them Stubbs Rd. presenting historical charac- ters, others merely disguised with blackened faces.
Garage
Phone 27770/0
The
Hongkong Telegraph.
To see them dancing at the street corners to the sound of concertina and drum, one might be watching gome Italian carnival were it not for the mid-
Wyndham St., Hongkong winter sky overhead.
'Phone 26615
December 28, 1938
the
UNTIL recently
quise dancers in Corn. War on the Defensive wall, as elsewhere, used to act the traditional play of "St.
ONCE MORE the initiative in Ceorge and the Dragon." Many
the Sino-Japanese War passes versions of this are found all from the hands of Japan to the over Britain, but the principal Chinese. Only in the air and "characters" are the same in all. on the sea does Japan now ap-The party was generally pear to hold undisputed sway introduced by "Old Father She has used the, former to Christmas."* | launch an almost unprecedented
Stepping out from the half- campaign of terror on Chinese cities and towns, the latter to circle of players assembled in tighten a blockade that, to all the big friendly kitchens of the intents and purposes, has the farm-houses, he proclaimed: subjugation of 470,000,000 Here comes 1, old Father Christ- people by starvation 49 its
mas, welcome or welcome not.
objective. This naval blockade, I do hope aid Father Christmas will
never be forget.
you don't believe what I sio say, Come in, St. George, and clear the
teay.
A resplendent St. George was followed by the sombre figure
THE Twelve Days of Christmas culminate
nt Inxey, in Lincolnshire, with an extraordinary game called "Throwing the Hood,' which has been played there for more than alx hundred years. On the afternoon of January 6 the men of the five rival hamlets which form the parish assemble on a bleak hill-top overlooking the Fens. The leader of the game, called the "Lord," is dressed in a scarlet tunic with a Morris dancer's top hat decorated with Hlowers. Round him he places his twelve red-jersied "boggins" to form a hundred-yard circle- as if for rounders.
Then, taking a "hood," which is made of a tightly fastened roll of sacking, about two feet long, he chants the formula:
Hoor again hoos, toon again toon, If a Man meet a man knock a
a Man down
-Bu don't hurt him!
and hurls it into the air. In a moment the crowd is on it, each man striving to capture the hood and escape with it, past the boggins, to his own village.
N this way the IN
game
goes on for an hour. Then comes the "sway." Ima- gine a giant football scrum com- posed of a hundred men locked immovably over an unseen ball and you have some idea of what this is.
..
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Bit by bit the weaker side is driven down the hill, contesting every inch, for "luck" goes the winners. At last, without need of referee or whilstle, the pressure slackens, the scrum breaks up-and another gu Haxey's hood games has come to an end.
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A. K. H. Jenkins
WOMAN
of the Turkish Knight, and his costumes still parade the town into the darkness. The clavie is NEED
NOT TELL
about which so little is said, may one day prove a decisive | factor in the war, as a similar blockade did twenty years ago. China, remember, cannot feed itself, but must import vast quantities of rice and other foods from the outside world.
China fares better on land companion the Dragon. After on New Year's Night carrying Bnally demolished whilst still and it seems evident from the great deal of boasting and pans of blazing tar upon their burning, and the crowd rush to news of the past few days that country wit, a fight takes place heads. Led by a band, they seize the glowing embers, which large-scale attacks are begin-in which the Turkish Knight is gather in the market place, are thought to bring good luck. ning both in Kwangtung and knocked out by St. George, where a huge bonfire is lighted. The same idea of good luck Honan. What influence these Then in comes the Doctor. With Further north. at Burghead underlies the New Year custom offensives will have upon the his magic medicine he resurrects on the Moray Firth, the fire of Wassailing. On January 7 A WIDOW cannot be com- pelled to disclose statements the villagers of Carhampton in made to her by her husband ceremony called "Burning the Somerset carry into the orch- during their marriage. Clavic." This takes place on ards a milk pan full of cider
This centuries-old rule of law was January 11, which is Hogmanay into which roasted apples have or New Year's Eve-old style. been broken. Each man fills his upheld in the Chancery Division re- cently, when Mr. Justice Simonds refused application by they were then on all fronts.
again St. The "Clavie" is manufactured mug and after drinking some of BUT once
out of a tar barrel with odd bits the cider throws the rest at the Florence Annie
who wished The Japanese have made re-
George proves the peated efforts to add to their champion, the Turkish Knight is of wood, and is lighted from a trees, at the same time shouting to deliver, Interrogatories to Mrs. gains, to consolidate their exist-Isinin and he, and the Dragon, burning peat-no other method Sometimes one of the roasted stantiate her claim that Mr. Tyler aloud to scare away evil spirits. Edith Lilian Tyler, widow of Mr. Edmund Deeble Tyler, to sub- may be used.
apples or a piece of bread which left his widow about £70,000 subject It is afterwards carried with has been soaked in the cider, is to a promise that she would pay much ceremony to a neighbour- placed in the trees to encourage Mrs. Shenton £ a week during her ing hillock where fresh fuel is the good spirits to ensure a lifetime. added, and the flames shoot high bountiful crop.
campaign and how much terri-the "Turkey Snipe" and the festival appeara again in tory China will be able to wrest battle is renewed. back from Japan remains to be seen. It is two months since Canton and Hankow fell, and the Japanese are still where
ing seizures, But they are are dragged off the stage by As a reward hampered, firstly, by a with-"Old Beelzebub." drawal of troops that is almost for his valour, St. George (in sensational in character, second- some versions) is given the hand ly, by weather conditions which of Princess Sabra, the King of for the next five months will Egypt's daughter, in marriage! favour the defenders, thirdly,
This ancient mummers' playi
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by the birth of new confidence is still acted at Christmas time GRIN AND BEAR IT
in China,
Time Marches On
in some of the villages of Hamp- shire. The players here are farm labourers, and wear 4
ON FRONTS hundreds of miles traditional costume consisting of apart, Japanese divisions area Norman helmet and something menaced by irregular forces resembling a coat of mail. Their who hurass their communica-faces are hidden by fluttering tions and often receive support strips of wall-paper which hang suflicient to provoke major down over their clothing and battles.
give them a wild appearance. As one meets them trudging Japan has already thrown a million men into this struggle, more like a troop of dancers through the lanes, they look China three times that number. Japan claims that China's losses transplanted from the jungle than sober English countrýmen. are staggering, her Own iu- finitesimal. On the other hand, For hundreds of years the Japan has dipped dangerously play has been associated with into the reserves of man-power St. George, the Patron Saint of she must keep at home and in England: yet the "plot" in Manchuria against a possiblo probably far older than any of conflict with Russia, Chinese the "characters.' There is reserves of man-power are in-ttle doubt that it dates from exhaustible and, in fact, are an before the time of Christianity, embarrassment because of lack and that the slaying of the of arms. Dr. Sun Fo. President Turkish Knight and the victory of the Legislative Yuan, recent-of St. George originally sym- ly claimed that by the middle bolised the defeat of Winter and of 1939 China will have an and the triumph of Spring. armed army of 10,000,000 men
in the field. Cut that number The "Twelve Days" was also by fifty per cent, even, and the a Aro festival, Everywhere total is formidable and some throughout Europe great bon- thing for Japan to ponder over. fires were lighted at this time The war has by no means to encourage the mid-winter sun reached a decisive phase, and to regain its power. time is certainly on the side of China.
At Allendale, in Northumber- land, twenty-four men in quaint
By Lichty
"Her mother picked him, but she put her foot down and insisted on picking the gown?”
Mrs.
The addresses of the parties in the case were not disclosed,
Mr. Roger Turnbull, for Mrs. Shenton, sald her case was that Mr. Tyler communicated to his wife his wish that she should pay to Mrs. Shenton £2 a week during her life- time.
PAYMENTs stopped Mrs. Tyler, It was alleged, gave him such a promise.
Mra. Shenton received the 'pay- menta until March, 1937, when they were discontinued. The question was, what steps could be taken to compei Mrs. Tyler to disclose the alleged bargain in which the husband sald: "If you
will pay the lady this weekly sum i wi let
you have my residuary estate."
Mr. Turnbull contended that the rule of common law which said that no wife should be compellable to dis- close any communication made to her by her husband during marriage had no application to a widow.
SACRED CONFIDENCES
Mr. G. D. Johnston, for Mrs. Tyler, said it was an absolute rule | of law that no husband or wife could" be compelled to disclose any com-. munication made during marriage, It would be detrimental to the court: to disclose sacred confidences be-- tween husband and wife.
Mr. Justice Simonds said that in her defence to the action Mrs. Tyler denied that any such wish was expressed by her husband, or pro mise made. Mrs. Shenton sought to establish her ease by interrogating Mrs. Tyler.
A widow always was an admissible- witness, ns was a woman who divorced but, whether a widow or a divorced woman, she was not com- pellable or admissible as a witness in regard to matters which had passed between herself and her hus-- band during the married state...
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