CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9602, 17 December 1896, Page 6

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS.

TO THK EDITOR OF THE PRESrf. Sir,:—l notice in your issue of yesterday that the Holiday Committee of the Chamber of Commerce recommended that Monday, 28th inst., should be observed as Boxing Day. Of all the absurd recommendations the .shopkeepers, their assistants and the public have to submit to this takes the palm. It the said Committee were organised to disorganise business they could not move in a more successful way. By their action the public will not know which day will be observed as the holiday, unless the shopkeepers rise at once to the occasion and unanimously announce which day they will observe. Since my arrival in Christ-church, now over sixteen years, I have never known the day.after Christmas not to be observed as a holiday, nor has there ever been any attempt before to take it from the assistants, many of whom live distances from the city, and look forward to annually reuniting with other members of their family at Christmas time. Christmas Day falling on Friday will make a nice holiday if Boxing Day is observed on Saturday. But if it is held on Monday it will be neither the one thing nor the other, and many who have looked forward with pleasure to their Christmas holidays will be sorry they have come.— Yours, &c, Thos. Kincaid. 161 Colombo street, Christchurch. TO THE EDITOR OF THE PRESS. Sir, —It seems to mc that the reputation of the Christchurch tradesmen is becoming a by-word in the matter of holiday keeping. There is no town in New Zealand in which more cheese paring is to be found in that respect. The Holiday Committee of the Chamber of Commerce has just issued a recommendation that tradespeople observe Boxing Day on Monday instead of Saturday this year. Now, sir, to my mind it would be absurd, from a business point of view, to do anything of the kind, as the city will be practically deserted on Saturday. It is a certainty that Christmas Eve will be the better night for doing business, and, I take it, there cannot be two late nights in one week, Scotch Dunedin sets us an example, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and January 2nd are close holidays, while at Easter the shops are closed from Thursday till Tuesday ; and this in an almost purely Presbyterian community. It is only once in several years that Christinas falls on Friday, and if wo Begin tinkering .with the holidays on that account it will show a very email spirit. From an employee's point of view it will be hard, indeed, to lose an opportunity of gettingout of town for a day or two. I sincerely hope that the tradespeople of Christchurch will stick to the old custom and close Friday and Saturday, thus enabling themselves and their employees to enjoy a Merry Christmas.—Yours, &c, Interested.