1929-12-13 — Page 17

CHINA MAIL CHRISTMAS SUPPLEMENT, 1929.

CHOP SUEY

SERVED IN HONG KONG

For Hong Kong sassiety where must we

seek?

Nineteen out of twenty will answer. "The

Peak.

The lower the level the commoner the clique, That's as plain as your nose, or the rouge

⠀⠀ on your cheek. Number One resides Top Side the rest by the

creek:

Which is largely the reason of Mrs. Two's

pique,

As you'll see for yourself any day of the

week.

But isn't a snob just a sort of a freak?

[Man, man there! Your rhymes are beginning to creak. Ed.]

In childhood's days who o'er me hung, And weird celestial ballads sung. And regularly Momma "stung"?

My Amah.

Who when the days were moist and hot Would leave me in some sunny spot, And very often me forgot?

My Amah.

Who'd see her "pang yaus" frequently, Discuss her maxʼer and miss-ee, And seldom ever think of me? ·

My Amah.

At 8 p.m. when Ma and Pa Took chow with them and Sis, Both John and May in distant seats Were far apart like this. 4t 10 Papa and Ma withdrew: And then ye Gods! -- What bliss! The lovers sat till nearly two ABOUTASCLOSEASTHIS.

THE LORE OF CHRISTMAS

Legends, Superstitions,

Observances

now is come our joyful'st feast! Let every man be jolly. Eache roome with yyie leaves is drest,

And every post with holly. Now all our neighbours' chimneys smoke,

And Christmas blocks are burning; Their ovens they with bak't meats choke And all their spits are turning. Without the door let sorrow lie, And if, for cold, it hap to die, Wee'le bury't in a Christmas pye,

And evermore be merry.”

A vell of mysticism has always shroud- ed Christmas. Its origin, doubtless, is attributable to the legend of the Magi, and for that we must look to the simple Script- ure story as related by St. Matthew.

^ In far-distant days it was believed that all Nature, in a variety of ways, testified to a recognition of the event in the birth of Christ commemorated in the celebration of Christmas. The winds and the seas, trees and plants, and all things animate, afforded evidence of knowledge of the approach of the anniversary and became imbued with

There was a young man of Hong Kong, Who toddled along with the throng

To the Club or the Lounge Beer or baccy to scrounge From the pals who had not known him long.

But his victims his presence soon quit When they saw that he shied at a chit:

And in wrath handed out

To the miserly lout What is commonly called the cold mit.

Then the lizard remarked: "This is wrong. I've a name both resounding and long.”

So he stuck in a hyphen

And soon got a wife in

The circles of Hong Kong's Bon Ton.

They dined all alone at 8-8, And of oysters they 8 quite a sp8: Then he asked his dear K8 If she'd tell him his F8, As they 8 t8-a-t8 at 8.8.

Our towns are a nightmare of noise.

Noise! Noise! Noise! Saxophonous, cacophonous, gramophonous. Battering, clattering, shattering; Noise of boys, skirls of girls, Hooters, scooters, rooters, Motors, voters, rotors, Throngs, gongs, bells, yells · Tattoos, cockatoos, hullabaloos,

Jazz and loud-speakers, solitude wreakers. All hail the great God NOISE!

Ship me somewhere from such sewage,

I NEW ZEALAND curiosity would bring From this noisy garbage heap,

you here.

Are you HUNGARY? Yes

SIAM. peckish.

From the horror of the new age,

So that I might get a sleep.

This weather MEXICOve Where the Bari stops his Toning,

JAMAICA a good meal here?

Yes! They FIJI well. YUKON have any-

thing.

CAN ADA get US A meal?

Wait and ALASKA.`

JAVA a good lunch yesterday? BALI good. I had to have SAMOA.

What about some TURKEY?

And the Battle fails to Dore, Where the Gramo ceases Phoning, And the Cocka Toos no more.

There was a young curate of Salisbury

Whose manners were 80 halisbury-

scalisbury.

He walked about Hampshire Without any pampshire

No it's too GREECEy and the waiters don't Till the Bishop compelled him to walisbury.

SERVIA well.

Then it's SCILLY to ROUMANIA, Let's RUSSIAway. It's getting CHILI. You CONGO. I'll not 'INDIA. Oh this is SPAINful. Goodbye. | CEYLONg.

the spirit of adoration, joy, and peace. According to tradition, at the moment the Saviour was born peace-a profound silence -prevailed throughout the world. Birds stopped in their flight, cattle ceased to feed, men ceased to toil and were suddenly over- | come by awe, whilst the stars glittered with added lustre. In this tradition originated the Middle Ages superstitions attaching to the miraculous phenomena sup posed to recur each Christmastide.

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The Chrysanthemum

One of the oldest of the superstitions is that the chrysanthemum was born at the same time as the Babe of Bethlehem, and that it was instrumental in guiding the wise men of the East to the place of the Nativity. There was nothing to guide the Magi, no movement, no excitement to fur- nish a clue, but, suddenly, at a sign from King Melchior, the caravan stopped. "It is the place," cried Melchior. "Look! Here is a flower rayed like the star which has guided us here, and which, even now, is above our heads." As Melchior stopped and picked the white chrysanthemum flower the stable door opened of its own accord and the pilgrims entered. Melchior placed the chrysanthemum he had picked in the tiny hand of the new-born babe, Christ, the Saviour, and all bent before the shining Presence, bearing as sceptre the winter flower, white likeness of the guiding star.

There was an old roue of Sidney Who soaked till he punstured a kidney.

But so great was his thirst That he drank till he burst And died. But he asked for it. Did'n'e?

"Jok."

It is upon such traditions as this that Christmas has descended to us in these matter-of-fact days, over nineteen centuries following the birth of Him after whom the greatest festival of the Christian year is- named.

The Children's Patron Saint

It is to a legend that we owe the most commonly practised of Christmastide cus- toms, that of present-giving; and the most popular of Christmas figures-Santa Claus, the mysterious being who flies o'er land and sea, descends chimneys, and distributes toys to good little boys and girls. "Santa Claus" is really a corruption of "St. Nicholas," patron saint of the children. There was, so runs the traditional story. a poor nobleman who had three daughters. So poor was he that he could not provide dowers for the girls. He therefore planned to kill them. Warned in a vision of the projected tragedy, St. Nicholas, at night, visited the nobleman's castle and dropped a fat purse of gold down the kitchen. chimney. Thus was mysteriously provided a dower for the eldest daughter. In likė inanner, on successive nights, St. Nicholas dowered the nobleman's two other girls. In olden times purses possessed something of the shape of the stocking as we know it to- day. Hence the old and still prevailing practice of excited children hanging up (Continued on Page 24.)