New Year's Day In Faroff China Greatest of Festivals In the Celestial Empire, a Happy Time Foi Pigtailed Creditor*. I OF all Chinese festivals that, of New Year's day is the greatest. Helng a peculiarly contradic tory race, the Chinese do not reckon time by the sun, as we do in America, but by the moon, so that the Chinese New Year's day may come at any time between the middle of Jan uary and the middle of February. When the time approaches, creditors arc happy, for by the last day of the old year ail debts must he paid. The Chinaman who cannot pay up must hide his head until the festival is over. Another preparation is a general wash ing up. Household belongings and per Bona I attire are put through a severe course of soap and water In order that ihe new year may be begun with clean liness. When the night of New York's eve approaches, the sound of the firing of crackers begins and is kept up with an incessant din until dawn. The first business in the new year Is the saerilice to heaven and earth. A table is spread with offerings of food and drink, can dles and incense, and crackers are let off again just outside the front door. Then the father of the family comes forward and kneels down in front of the table, holding a stick of Incense in his hand and knocking his head three times on the ground. Rising to Ills feet, he places the Incense in the censer on the table. More crackers are let off, and paper money is burned. After this ceremony the household gods are worshiped in the same way, and then the ancestral tablets, after which the "liviiiß idols" linve their turn. The father and mother sit down side by side, and all their children and grandchildren kneel before them and do them reverence, but offerings are rot made to the liviiur. as tlier are to J is ~S = 1 ICTU I! ES = # I Gall and See || I My Fine § | Art Display. 1 \ Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastells, Carbons, Etchings, Photographs, Sepias and Oliographs at all prices ) II 1 Pictures for Every J Room in 5 the House. jlj It will be a Pleasure to show them whether you buy or not Igjjj W.G.B AIR'S AnSiudio I the dead. Then the servants conic for '.vard, dressed iu their best, and kneel down, bowing their head'' to Hie ground before t'oir Kinder and mis tress, receiving' pres.- its wli 11 they rise. I.onir before all these eereiiiouies are finished It is quite lifrlit. but in the early hours of New Year's morning the streets look as deserted as if no one "KCNO SHI, KUNO SHI!" was living in the city. The shops are all shut, and the busiest streets are as quiet as if It was an ideal Sabbath of rest. But the quiet does not last long. Oc casional crackers are let off, and strings of beggars soon appear on ev ery hand. They are far inore numerous than usual and more importunate. They know they will reap a rich har vest on this happy day, for it ' lucky to begin the year with good deeds, and It is not loiiß before the streets are filled with a well dressed multitude starting out to pay New Year's calls. Custom requires tlnit ;•'! the men in CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1905. ('lilrin shall call on their relations, ! teachers anil friends, anil for three I days (110 visiting goes 011. Women are j not expecte I lo pay New Year's calls or ; to see the visitors who come to their houses. As (hose are men, of course ; (hat would Vie highly improper. 1 When friends meet in the street for ( the lirst time in t lie new year they j stand and bow very politely; they put j their hands together and shake them, 1 saying, "Kung shi, kung shi," which i means "I respectfully wish you Joy," I liui they often add, "May you grow ; rich," for that is the Chinese idea of J happiness. For three days the New Year's re- I joicing goes on.and then all the poorer i classes begin to work again. Large ! shops and places of business are closed j for a month. Brooklyn Citizen. j- of Vonr'd lull*. Not many years ago it was the cns ! torn in all countries to visit one's friends <>n New Year's day, and In this j country open house was kept all day : unti. a matter of some ten or fifteen 1 years ago. It is questionable whether it j will ever become fashionable to set i New Year's day aside for calling aguia. j The ancient Romans made much of 1 their New Year's calls, and after the I empire of Home had passed away the I custom lived in England, France and ! Germany. I \Vli«* 11 Women Smoked. In a copy of the Old Farmer's Alma ; nae, printed about 180(i at a reduction of one-half and one third. Bj quick if you want to get in on these bar- H gains. THE FAIR STORE. I LH. A. ZARPS Sc CO., PROPRS. | Mow Is Your ! Complexion? t Do you realize that you can I have a clear, smooth, velvety skin l>y simply using flosmeo | The Beauty MaKer M. A. ROCKWELL, lCiuporiuui, Pa* HUMPHREYS' Specifics cure by acting directly on the sicfc purls without disturbing the rest of the system. No. 1 for Fevers. No. 2 " Worius. No. 3 " Tei'thing. No. I " Diarrhea. No. 7 " Coughs. No. H " Xi uridgia. No. 5) " Headaches. No. 10 " Dys|if|isin. No. II " Siippmsned Periods. No. 12 " Whites. Nt>. 13 " Croup. Ni . 14 " The Skin. No 15 " Uluumiit isiu. No. 16 " Mulnria, No. l'J " Catarrh. No. 'J" " Whooping Cough. No. 27 " Tli« Kidneys. No. 0 » TU Uliuldi r. No. 77 " I< 1 Oripjs-. la iiiudl l*o of tit .. m lit t tit the prH-ka-t. At l'i 11 ■ M I.' il< d. Me. *ui b. •1- M, .11 r ■ ,< 11 . Iluiiiphrt-t oliu s»rwl«, ;«v Vu«k. FIRE SALE! Sweeping Reduction SIO,OOO worth of Hardware of all kinds must be sold during the next Ten Days, regardless ol cost in order to allow repairs to be made on building. Bargains For All. | I MURRY 4COPPERSMITH CO. | Why Buy McClure's? McClure's Magazine is bought and read in homed not because it is a maga zine, but because it is tl te magazine. Why? FIRST—THE PRICK It coats but one dollar a year, or less than ten cent 4 a number, for over thirteen hundred two column pages of reading matter. Thin amounts in actual bulk to twenty or twenty-flve hooka costing anywhere from a dollar to two dollars a volume. SECOND—QUALITY. The reading matter is written by America's lead ing writers—the best short btory writers, the best writers on timely articles, the best writers of important serials, such as Kchurz's Reminiscences or Baker's Railroad articles. THIRD—TIMELINESS. The reading matter in McClure'sis notonly good; it is not only entertaining, amusing, instructive and inspiring- it it also about the subjects in which you and all Americans are most interested at the time. No subjects in the next twelve months are going to bo so important as thequestiou of railroad rates and rebates and the question of lile insurance. Moth of these questions will he discussed by authorities in an impartial, careful, interesting way. KOI'RTII ITS,CH ARACTER. McClure's Magazine is not edited for child ren, but at the same time, there is rever a line in it that any young girl might not read. Its advertising pages are as clean as its editorial pages McClure's Magazine. in your home is intended to work only for good Send %l 00 t<>-day for one year's subscription, or leave an order at your be I.k store. November and Pe cember free with new sidmcriptions for ltssj 8. S. Mc CI.I RE COMPANY, 47 East 83d street, NEW Y«>HK Veil i»« <»m a H""!•«- bv ukiiiK up the buaiut -» of fcwtirmu kutwrrthvr.f, rMi l lnr« tt t-lvau mi«l Mil ii -|.tiUiiK I 1/uhlimliiiii any luaii or «.»»ioi Would lik«lVnpn-«M Ut The ur '1 , milifiir i«h liuukuh . rlfrtlnii, In uiMtimi 1,1 l,in easll l« 112 .rltn kf-.t I. Write In.l ly