Wonderful Trisha, thanks for sharing Enjoy your Christmas and have a blessed and peaceful time. Kind regards Sybil On Sun, Dec 23, 2012 at 8:53 PM, Trisha McLeod <huntxll@yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > > > A CHRISTMAS MARKET—At Colesberg at Christmas there were upon the market, > in the way of vegetables, only one bucket of potatoes, two buckets of > green peas, and a few onions. > The potatoes seemed likely to create a riot, and, after great altercation, > were divided into three lots, and realised £1. 2s.10d. In some places flour > or bread cannot be obtained, and rice is the staple diet . > > CHRISTMAS AT GRAHAMSTOWN. — > Christmas was celebrated at Sir Walter Currie's mansion, where a dress > ball was > given to the military officers and other guests .The gay uniforms of the > military, the airy costumes of the ladies, the sombre black of the > civilians, > formed an agreeable scene, and the Volunteer band (the only remnant of the > Rifle > Volunteers) gave great satisfaction. > Cape & Natal News March 14, 1863 > > > CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR AT THE CAPE.— > > We have our own way of spending our holidays, and know how to keep up our > spirits > (writes "The Lounger," in the " Town Talk" of a Cape Town journal) We > retain many of the customs of the old country. We do not forget nor > neglect the > religious origin and character of the festival. The Episcopalians, > Lutherans, > and Roman Catholics go to churches decorated in such a style as churches > cannot > be decorated in countries where the snow covers up all the treasures of > Nature. > Look at those garlands, festoons and wreathes of brightest, freshest green, > interwoven with brilliant flowers of every hue. Look at those stars, > crosses, > and other appropriate devices, composed of everlasting flowers. You have > no such things > in the country . > > The Dutch, though they do not decorate their churches, attend them in > crowds; for strict Calvinists > though they be in most matters of doctrine, Christmas Day is to them one > of the most solemn > and sacred in the year. Coming from church—not through snow crunching > under our > feet, but if in town through hot, dusty, sweltering streets if in the old > country, through shady lanes, with the perfume of orange blossom and a > thousand > other flowers wafted to us on a welcome breeze from orchards gardens, and > cornfields-we go home and sit down to our hot heavy orthodox Christmas > dinners > of roast beef and plum-pudding, with the thermometer standing at 90 or 100 > degrees in the shade. But we do not sit long over our wine and walnuts. > For as > the evening comes on the rooms, cool during the day, become oppressively > hot. No > closed windows or shutters here now. > Every door and window is thrown open to admit the slightest breeze. But > still it gets hotter within doors. > > We go out under the trees, among the flowers, and there spend our > Christmas evening. > As the day closes, a full, round, summer moon with a rich rosy blush, > caught > from the sun which has just set in a blaze of colour in the western waves, > rises > over the far distant mountains, flooding the landscape with such a glorious > sheen as never you saw in northern climes. No, sirs you never saw such a > Christmas Day and evening as we had here last year. Our climate is > renowned-fine > days and finer evenings are not scarce with us; but even we were in > raptures. We > did not envy you your snowy fields and frosted trees, your cosy rooms and > roaring fires. Out in open air, in the clear moonlight, we gathered in > happy > groups, and there told our Christmas tales, played our Christmas games, > and sang > our Christmas songs And there we drank your health's, and thought of you > fondly > and affectionately; did not envy you; did not wish that we were with you, > but > that you were with us, to see how we spend our Christmas in this sunny > southern > clime. > And we are fonder of Christmas and New Year than you are, so fond of them > that > we are not content with one day, but have a second Christmas Day, and a > second New Year’s day. > > On all these four days, the last two especially, Capetown streets – the > business ones at any > rate-were completely deserted. Not a workhouse, office, or shop was open. > No > work of any kind whatever was done. Even the newspaper proprietors sent > their > papers to press some thirty-six hours before they were published, in order > to > give their printers two full holidays. New Year's Day and the following > day are > greater holidays with the old Cape settlers than the Christmas days. And > they > were never more thoroughly enjoyed than they were this year. The weather > continued as fine as it had been at Christmas, and picnic parties were the > general order of the day with all classes. The trains took thousands of > passengers out to all the stations between this and Wellington, the > tramway cars > were filled with those who wished to picnic on the rocks at Seapoint; > omnibuses > and carts plying from earliest morn took hundreds to cool retreats at > Mowbray, > Rondebosch, Newlands, Wynberg, and Constantia; the woods skirting Table > Mountain, and those clothing the sides of the picturesque little valley > which > runs down into Camp's Bay, were alive with people. No, sirs, you in the old > country don't know what a New Year's Day picnic party is. > Cape & Natal News March 15, 1864 > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > SOUTH-AFRICA-EASTERN-CAPE-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message