CHRISTMAS EVE
A DAY OF BUSY SHOPPING AMONG THE CHILDREN Another Christmas has come and gone. ,The year contains many holidays, but Christina.? alone of them is a truly national festival*, It is the season of rejoicing and reunion, of hand-shaking and heart-opening, or kindly thought and generous impulse. It is preceded by days of bustle and preparation, of hospitable planning and loving effort. Christmas is the time when every household strives to hold good cheer, when the pennies and the pounds v are counted less carefully Ihan'at nnv other stale of the year. It is the period when old and young meet on common trronud of- happiness and fellowship. Evervbodv hopes always for "ood weather at Christinas, but really there is no holiday that depends less fy •ts success on the weather, "he Chrvtmas reioicing is of the heart, and is rot to be 'dimmed by any frown tlmt tho skies can wear. The activity that an to tho making of Christmas rifts, dinners, and reunions, and of all the other thines proper to the reason, have their beginnings long before Christmas Hay. They reach their climax on Christmas Eve, when the shops receivo such a rush of trade as they experience on no other day of the year. Wellington, of course, is no exeention to a rule that runs wherever British communities have carried the traditions of Britain. There are wise people who do their Christmas earlv, and in doinc so lift some load from the shoulders of overworked shop assistants, but few people are able to keen entirely clear of the shops on Christmas Eve.' Wednesday was a wry hiisy dav indeed in Wellington. streets were thronged with peonlo from early mornincr until Into at nisrht. Monday'a.nd Tuesday had been bustling days in'the simps, but obvionslv many purchases had been left to tho eleventh hour. The Children In Possession. Tlio children hold by ri?ht a very large sharo of attention on Christmas Eve. Their hoarded pennies probably 'do not amount' to an important part of the Christmas turnover from the point of view of the average shopkeeper, but if they are not always the snenders, they are crenerally the "spendees." It is on the children that tho festival centres. Wellington's children may bo said to havo had possession of the town on Christmas Evo. They were to be found nil day in every shor. and every nlace of entertainment. They wore tin swords in tearooms. they li'cw discordant trumpets in the streets, they carried t dolls, boats, balloons, and endless narcels. They gave their Chrstmas confidences to all who rared to listen—and thero were many who listened with warmed hearts. They often were hard to please, not liecause they could not find things they liked, for tho shops were full .of things of that sort, but because thc-y found selection so difficult. The toys wore better this year than they had been for several years nast. owing to the reappearance of some British lines and tho curtailment of Japanese purchases. Trade In City Very Brisk. Christmas shopping has a business .is well as a sentimental interest. Tho Christmas trade is the most important of the year from tho poiht of view of many merchants and retailers. Inquiries in various quarters on Wednesday elicited the information that trade generally wns very brisk, although 0110 or two salesmen were disposed to qualify their statements on tho subjcct. "People are buying freely and there seems to bo plenty of money about." said one retailer. "13-ut I notice that people are getting shy of tho high prices. Yes, prices are higher then ever this year in many lines, i nd tho public has got an idea, I fancy, that tho profiteering is being done in the shops. Our invoices show that is rot the case in any senoral sense— there are alwnys good profits on certain Christmas poods—but wo cannot put the facts before all customers. Tho variety of fancy goods this year is very wide and the nuility is better than last year." Another retailer said he did not think thero was quite as much money being spent as was tho case last year. He pointed out that the demobilisation of tens of thousands of soldiers had meant tho stoppage of military pay and allowances, and that the returned men had not had time to become fully restored in civilian life. "Then the people hnva not sent so much stuff overseas this Christmas "ho added. "That is an important factor. Thousands of families | made special efforts to send gifts to I'm hovs, during the war, and though these purchase? were mado early fchoy ranked as Christmas itrado. I think that my turnover is roin.g to bo rnthcr less than last year.. But then romeother houses nro reported to lie doing better than ever. I don't think t.here is any real si?n of a shortage of money but I [ agree (bat people arc showing an increasing dislike for high prices. They are getting away from the hurry and glamour of the war years." Tlio Christmas Dinner Tsble. Tho purchase of the Christmas dinner was a matter of importance for every liousewil'e and every family. High pricra were the rule. Poultry of all kinds was scarce and very expensive. Hams, which had almost disappeared from the market a few weeks earlier, we.ro in plentiful supply, but. were very dear. The traditional roast beef is les? popular as Christmas fare in Now Zealand than spring lamb, which was in sood supply at the current prices. Dried fruits of all kinds were very high-priced, but did not 6hov,' the tliroatened scarcity to any oxtent. Nuts, even the humble peanut, were more expensive than a year ago. Fresh fruit was plentiful, and though tho Christmas demand hardened prices, there was not much ground for complaint on this score. The bustle of Christmas shopping and Christmas preparation continued until a late hour on Wednesday. Some of the shops did not. close until 11 p.m., and by that time, it, is to bo feared, many of the assistants, with fourteen hours of arduous work behind them were feeling that Christmas joys eould he nurchnsfd too dearly. But the streets cleared and the shop-windows darkened „it last, and t.here was quiet until the Christmas morn. In very many honw Christmas started before sunrise, for there was little chance of sleep nfter eager youn<r eyes had discovered in the break of <lawii that Santu CI "us W1 nnid his annual visit, and had filled (lie stockings in the old, joyous, impossiblo way.
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Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 78, 27 December 1919, Page 10
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1,093CHRISTMAS EVE Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 78, 27 December 1919, Page 10
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