CHRISTMAS EVE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2653, 27 December 1915, Page 3

CHRISTMAS EVE

MERRY CROWDS IN THE WET

GOOD CHRISTMAS BUSINESS

Nothing can kill the spirit of Christmas. Here in'the midst of tho most terrible war that lias afflicted the world, when it almost seems sacrilege to wish anyone "A Merry Christmas," tho Christmas Eve crowds jollied along as thick and apparently as gay as ever, but the close observer will have noted that this taore than any that can bo recollected was a children's Christmas. The adult population merely'seemed to enjoy a reiiectcd pleasure from the delight the old-time customs caused the little ones. On Friday afternoon the main thoroughfares ,were densely thronged with parents, towing along a convoy of children, as blissfully happy as anyone would wish them to be. The

weather was dull and gloomy, and rain began to drizzle half-way through the afternoon, with tho promise of worse to come. -It came at about a quarter to live, when fell the heaviest shower Wellington has experienced for weeks. The crowds gathered in thickly under the verandahs, and charged gallantly for seats on the already overcrowded tramcars. _ Paterfamilias, steaming with perspiration and wet with the rain, struggled on to the street cars with

large angular parcels, destined to make many a heart glow in tho dawning of tomorrow. ■ His wife struggled just as valiantly with parcels and boxes intended for the furnishing forth of the Christmas dinner-tables—the dozen and one things that are left until the last moment, but are always remembered. The heavy rain did not last more than an hour, but the downpour did not then and there clear the air. Rain, misty, wetting, irritating rain, fell during ■ the evening,. but it was only a slight check on the numbers of those

who invaded the streets, a grim reminder of tho "state of war" being manifested by the many men in khaki, who joined in the gaiety of Christmastide with the freedom of having earned it.

Business people had no oause to complain. From what could be gathered in the rush of trade, the Christmas business was highly satisfactory, and most of the smaller retailers agreed that it was a little better than last year. Toy trumpets blared joyously in the smudgy night, drums rattled metallically, squeaker squeaked, bands carolled, children laughed and cried, parents coaxed and bullied, and the whole assemblage was typically the Christmas of the streets.

One thing noticeable this Christmas was the almost entire lack of exterior decoration as far as the shops were concerned. At one time it was customary for almost, every shopkeoper to embower their premises'with ferns and palms. _ As it is now a matter of no small difficulty to secure those trophies of the glade, the habit has died quite a natural death, and Friday saw its ulipost total disappearance. Here and there the stirring times wo live in found roflcctioir in decorative schemes involving a vivid display of flags, which spirit was also represented in the array of toys for boys. Never were tho men of to-morrow given such a choice of , toy soldiers, guns, rifles, men-of-war, submarines, airships, etc., on which to feast their ardent souls, whilst prominent in the doll kingdom was the faithful Red Cross maidee—

the appealing representative of the notable part women have played and are playing in the war. • On the whole, the downpour on Friday evening, though a trifle disconcert-

ing, was not without its compensationsr Christmas Day da\vned coJd and grey, with a light breeze from tho south, but. towards midday tho rainolouds trekked away—to some dry tract, it is hoped—and the afternoon was as-clear and sunshiny as anyone could wish. Yesterday was peerlessly