CHRISTMAS AT CAIRO.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 December 1915, Page 5

CHRISTMAS AT CAIRO.

• CHEERY NEW SJEALANDERS. (Special from N.Z. War Correspondent.) Cairo, Dee. 25. Under extraordinary circumstances the New Zealand forces celebrated Christmas over a wide area of sea and land. It is inadvisable to state the location of the main body, but it will be satisfactory to relatives to know that the festivities, however simple, are not marred by the enemy's shot and shell, and all are having the merriest Christmas possible under the circumstances. The New Zealand hospital at Cairo is a picturesque scene. Over eight hundred patients are dining in gaily-decorated wards, pulling crackers anil donning paper caps with quite Christmassy effect. There were great turkeys, garnished with sausages, and plum puddings, washed down with real English beer, and all of them disappeared like magic, making one fear they might be almost as deadly as the Beachy Bill Battery. For those not strong there were chicken, custards, jellies, and oranges. Though the Christmas "billies" had not arrived, each man on waking found that Santa Claus had left a well-filled stocking on his bedpost. The Auckland Mounted Rifles Band played during the afternoon grave and gay tunes, one, "The Old Folks at Home," sending tlie thoughts of officers and men across the thousands of leagues of ocean. Caxols and a service added a home-like touch.