THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS.

Southland Times, Issue 1354, 30 December 1870, Page 2

THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS.

_" Had it been otherwise necessary to remind us that we had come full tilt upon the holiday. season, the events of the past few days would have supplied the missing link. A movement in that direction has been obyjrmgTor ftht> lwnfc THTftrtmfr it w*»— not until Saturday h«m*' .frf»sijfeatf^'^-tr"oli-max warranting a decided opinion on the point. Taking, our dates from Saturday, we have much pleasure- in reporting that the weather has been upon the whole fa- • vorable. A few showers of rain fell, but those only tended to cool the atmosphere, keep down dust, and refresh the vegetable • kingdom — matters of no small importance to the recreations of the season, which in this part of the world are essentially those of out-door , pursuit. As a rule, Saturday is the busiest day of the week in InvercargilL . The country settlers make it a point of visiting town,; and whilenmanyof them bring in their pro- ■ ducts, a, still larger number take away •their supplies! In this way business people "are^ept" tolerably throngr Last Saturday^ was -an ; extra busy day. The streets were well filled with vehicles, the tilted spring cart of the farmer being specially conspicuous. The footpaths were equally well engaged, and at certain parts of the day- the throng closely approached a bustle. The shops and stores, more particularly those having wares and condiments brought into request by the ; season, were tastefully arranged, and in many cases gaily decorated. The butchers in particular were eminently successful in proving to the satisfaction of the more sceptical that their calling was quite capable of being elevated to the category of a • fine art. Wreaths of floss and flowers were amongst the more commonplace devices resorted to in the way of ornamentation. Their higher aims delineated a rare and in many respects an exquisite branch of the profession. The carcases of great sturdy bullocks hung down from the Bhambles with flanks manipulated so as to represent " true-lover's knots," alongside of slaughtered pigs with Cupids shooting amorous darts engraved on their hides. In this respect the shops of Messrs Aitkin and Co. and G. Saundera were particularly noticeable. They had many of the attractions of picture galleries, with this important difference that, instead of the indigestible- canvas, sound Christmas cheer formed the ground- work. The fruiterers came next in order of display. Messrs Cooper and Co. had a fine shady avenue erected in front of their premises, and a few well-, trained" garlands' over the windows. The shops- -of- Messrs Ross and Cleave were completely draped. Their articles of commerce, consisting of ripe cherries, strawberries, and all the other fruits and vegetables of the season, were- a less prominent although, not by any means a less inviting display. After the fruiterers came the pastry-cooks and confectioners. Mr A. Mackenzie exhibited a cake, a huge: pile.. of confectionery, the elevation plans of which would have done no mean credit to a- professional architect. It was entirely the handicraft of the exhibitor, and for the information of those having a taste Tor. expensive luxuries, we may add that it is valued at a sum of £10 10&. The retail- stationers came . next with T their Christmas offerings! Both Messrs Eose and Eodgers had Christmas Trees.; Theia? branches and twigs bore a plentiful crop ■of Christmas gifts, rather too miscellaneous to be mistaken for vegetable productions. These gifts were disposed of qn the lottery principle, and the best evidence we can give that they were value in the -way ; of a money consideration, te that both establishments were, literally thronged during the operation of "drawing!" "., The usual midnight service at the Roman Catholic Chapel was rendered with a gorgeous display. The altar was beautifully draped and lit up by a brilliant array of tapers. The services | were conducted by the Eev. Father Belliard, assisted by his acholites. The . choral .service was particularly effective, I a number of the leading amateur singers of- the district having kindly j taken part in the ceremonial. The. audience," which was a crowded one, represented various shades of theological opinion besides the denomination under whose auspices the service was held. On Sunday the various church and chapel services were specially appropriate to the iseaspn." The Wesley an Sunday School janniversary was celebrated by an . apipropriate sermon, preached by the Rev. IMr Rish worth. In the afternoon an (examination on scriptural subjects took jplace in the chapel, during which the ■ pupils displayed marked proficiency. An ;excursion trip in connection with the (school took place the following day };(Monday), particulars of which were. I ] briefly? alluded to in our last issue. A ! similar reference was also made to the [general events of that day. . Its projceedings -were brought to an agreeable j close by the Oddfellows annual gathering, ■ a detailed report of which will be found ( in another column. It is, only necessary

to add that although the day was observed as a strict holiday by all classes of the community, its proceedings were marked by a total absence of everything like impropriety of conduct.