CHRISTMAS SCENES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 306, 26 December 1936, Page 5

CHRISTMAS SCENES.

COME AND GONE.

PLUM "PUD." AND HEAT.

TROPIC DAY IN AUCKLAND. Out of a season of frenzied buying; out of the arm-aclie, back-aclie and footache of thousands of shop assistants; out of the smiles of shop-keepers and a joypus citizenry; and out of the steady rain of an undiminished Christmas Eve was born yesterday, Christmas, 1930. Loyal to tradition Auckland substituted the blaze of pohutukawa for the redberried holly and in the heat of a tropic day spooned the heavy plum "pud" of wintry England —and liked it. It was a day that awoke to the screams of excited children surveying the laden stockings of a beneficent Father Christmas, and in the homes where children resided the excitement of the day had full rein. Whistles, trumpets, drums and shrill voices sounded, and toy trains, motor cars and aeroplanes bore vivid imaginations on epic flights over the household furniture. And so through the day until, in the early evening, tired eyes drooped and tired bodies were carried again to bed —this time with no red-clothed, white-whiskered visitor to people the night with dreams of a to-morrow of surprises. A Lazy Day. Otherwise is was a lazy day. To those on whom the Christmas rush had borne heaviest came reaction-, and in the sultry, cloudy morning there was little to stir tired limbs with activity. Then came mid-day, with the clouds passing and the sun coming out to give Auckland one of its hottest days for some time. Walks, drives, a'swim and a sun bathe, a visit to friends—these constituted the day's activities for most people. That was the general Christmas Day —and a day that passed all too quickly for most people. But Christmas was spent in many ways by .many people. With the heat of mid-summer about them others sought the quieter precincts of the country, and about Auckland many a motor camp of single or multi-familied residence was a scene of Christmas cheer —with the scent of attractive cooking lying heavily on the lazy air. The "yaclities" had their own way of celebrating, and in cool coves they spread their Christmas hampers as a climax to a delightful day of cruising; with the water alongside inviting a "dive to cooler levels when the heat of the sun required tempering, externally as well as internally. It is estimated that about 1400 of Auckland's yachting fleet were upon the water yesterday, and that on them 7000 Aucklanders sought the path of sunlight in the cool waters of the harbour and the Hauraki Gulf. _ For many of them it was the prelude to a cruise tliot would last until after the New Year, and the bigger craft are seeking other harbours and other scenes. Fun on Warships. The Navy, too, had its day. Although the majority of'the sailors on Christmas leave, there were many left on the five ships of the New Zealand division, and for them there were traditional customs to be upheld and a day of jollification to be spent. The ordinary routine of the day was restricted as much as possible, and there were jolly scenes on the decorated mess decks. According to custom, junior and senior ! officers exchanged uniforms on visits to the 'tween decks, and there was much chaffing and joking in the atmosphere of good fellowship. The spirit of Christmas was about, but conditions were not all that they could have been on the eve of The Day. Throughout the evening of' Thursday there was a steady drizzle of rain, but it did little to dampen the ardour of a people determined to enjoy the most prosperous Christmas Eve experienced for many years. Although well controlled and orderly, traffic in the city was heavy, and the decision to bar motor cars from Queen Street was well justified. Overcrowding the footpaths and the shops, thousands of citizens surged in a buzz of gaiety throughout the evening, and the rush of shopping, then nearly a fortnight in age, continued in force until the last closing minutes. The crowd seemed insatiable in their demand for Christmas goods, and the shop assistants —although they bore the flush of Christmas feeling in their smiles—must have felt the aelie of tiredness before the end came. A Carnival Spirit. There was a carnival spirit abroad, and from the crowded pavements came many a burst of song, although the singers were sometimes uncertain of feet. It was Christmas Eve, and there was the smile of tolerance for ' any jollification. Money had been flowing, and that meant more work and more money to flow in later months. Let it go! The undimmed gladness of that Christinas Eve defied the weather, and it had its fulfilment in the glorious sunshine of yesterday. I here were those, although, to whom Christmas Eve was not without anxiety, those who had arrived in the city unheralded, and who sought sanctuary in the hotels and boardinghouses. An unprecedented demand for accommodation that was already evident weeks back had filled all the more prominent houses, and the late-comers had to be turned away again and again. Many! had to seek the charity of friends and shakedowns, although most of the] seekers were able to get accommodation in the smaller and lesser known board- j inghouses.