CHRISTMAS EVE.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 December 1921, Page 4

CHRISTMAS EVE.

LARGE CROWDS IN TOWN. FINE WEATHER PROSPECTS. To-morrow is Christinas Day. Her aided by many signs earlier in the weel the near approach of the festive season was more marked yesterday,, when a warm summer’s day attracted crowds of shoppers to town. To-day will see the shopping carnival at its height, and to-night Christmas Eve in town will ring with joyful notes of a crowd intent on & bright and happy Christmas. The railway traffic has been heavy for several days and the town is full of visitors. There has also been a large exodus of residents, particularly to Auckland. The attractions of the seaside have brought many visitors from inland Taranaki and other parts of the Dominion, and the accommodation at. the seaside is fully taxed. With the promise of a continuation of warm and sunny’, weather New Plymouth will offer much to make up an enjoyable holiday. The main Christmas attraction here is the Taranaki Jockey Club’s meeting, which opens on Monday and will be continued on Tuesday. It will attract follower* of racing from all parts of the province, while to those whose interest in the turf is not very deep the fixture offers a happy occasion to spend an enjoyable day amidst surroundings of unusual charm.

By custom Christmas has come to he a period of generous spending, and although the spending flower of the community has become lessened Christina* trade this year has been good. The top emporiums were thronged with buyers yesterday, and to-day those who have the happy task in life of selling all those good tilings which go to make Christmas a time of gladness for children will have another long day. Christmas., though it is essentially a time when the hearts of the children are made glad, and by whom it is looked forward to while yet the years Of childhood remain, is not without its pleasures for the adult members of the community. It is at this period of the year that families, the members of which may be scattered over the Dominion, make an effort to meet under the parental roof, tokens of esteem are exchanged, the aged are rejuvenated by the simple fact that their offsprings are around them ones again, and the seriousness of life is forgotten for the time being. All shops in New Plymouth will remain open until 10 o’clock to-night, special programme.? will be given at the picture theatres, the band will play in . Devon Street, and there will be late trams.