THE CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1361, 26 December 1885, Page 2

THE CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL.

Another Christmas has passed 1 Our thoughts have again sped back along the 1 ' stream of time ’’ dwelling on home incidents and connections with that half sad, half , pleasant pathos'begat of ''remembrance and redaction " and emphasized by plnm-pudding and the other indiges'ible comestibles which form *aud-ins-ks f *his 1. stive reason.

“We ring th bells and raise the strain. We hang up garlands everywhere And bid the tapers twinkle fair And feast and frolic—and then we go Back to the same o’d lives again.” British conservatism baa preserved the hia orio beauty of this Christian festival even in these distant climes, bat with the thermometer at 120 degrees the oleaginous compounds fashion requires ua to consume cannot be expected to follow (he serene, inoffensive career they puraue nnder a more propitious temperature. Bat th ; s is not a poetic view of the festival. Our dietary is a matter of vital importance, but as old Passer observes in bis Five hundred points of good husbandry 44 Chrismas comes but once a year ” and wo are licensed to 44 make good cheer ” without too a precise a calculation as to the consequences.

On Christmas Ere a very disagreeable nor’-weat wind was blowing in Ashburton, but still the streets were tilled with sightseers and others, and the shopkeepers appeared to do a good business. We have already referred briefly to the displays of the different vendors.

WAITS. The members of the Excelsior Band preserved the old institution of 44 waits ” and visited the principal parts of the borough and snbnrbs, performing appro priate carols. The drum is rather an unusual accompaniment of such music, but still the efforts of the Baud were much appreciated and it is a pity that the great length of their circuit delayed the completion of their progrtmme until a very late hour and prevented several tesidents acknowledging their contribution to the good old customs of the season.

THE CHDECMKS At the Church of the-Holy Name of Jesus Missa Cantata was celebrated a ll a m on Christmas Day. The church was very tastefully decorated by ladies and gentlemen of the congregation and the festival music was of unusual excellence. Father Chastagnon preached an eloquent sermon appropriate to trie occasion, and administered the sacrament to 85 communicants

The decorations in St. Stephen’s Church were in many respects superior to tho e of former years. in addition to the usual wreathing there were several very carefully wrought crosses and other devices, the Communion rails had received much attention and the same remark applies to the pulpit, which was exceedingly pretty. Over the Communion table were the words “ Behold thy King;” while over the east gable end were the sentences, “ A little.child shall lead tberr,” and “ Unto us a child is born ” la the four windows of the nave were the words “ “ Service,” which were evidently intended to suggest to the minds of the congregation a sequence of thought, relative to the season. i'liere - .was a carol service on Christmas Eve, which was fairly attended, but the church on Christmas Day was hardly so full as usual, people apparently being tired out* by the previous day’s north-west wind The Incumbent preached at the moruing service from John x, 10, “ I am come that ye might have life, and have it mure abu <dantty ”

At the Dissenting pieces of worship there were no services. OLD BBS’s BOMB

The inmates of the Old Men’s Home were not forgotten m the general festivities. <he kindness of a number of friends enabled Mr and Mrs Fox to laj a moat bounteous dinner before the inmaices of the institution, and the old gentlemen were load in their commendation of the generosity of their friends and the sea sonable attention of thi master and matron. ASHBURTON HOSPITAL Mr and Mrs Macks? did their utmost to give Christmas Day at the Hospital a pleasing celebration. .The patients had not been forgotten by the outside public, and the matron with care and thoughtfulness that have endeared her to every inmate of the establishment made up a menu which sharpened appetites that were good and wooed back those that hal been lost. The genial master and bis exoailent wife spared no pains to cheer the lot of their suffering charges, and they ‘ succeedd to an extent that must have pleased themselves—their moat exacting critics.