CHRISTMAS AT SAMOA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15821, 19 January 1915, Page 9

CHRISTMAS AT SAMOA.

GIFTS ARRIVE BY MAIL.

SATISFACTION OF MEN.

"WHOLE (AMP HAPPY."

ROUND OF FESTIVITIES.

Th. arrival >•!' the Christmas mail was a prat event, writes a Herald correspondent ■.:!)'. 'he Sanioan troops from Apia "ii D->e:nl er 31. It must have Keen just .*':•■!'. mid day mi December 23 when the N.imi.i arrived, he loutinucs. and at once he-an : " dis„'.>ige the largest mail ever .'' '•■ to Samoa. By the time the letter." veil- ■•'.'! the side they were ready to 51..:: "ii '.!■■ 1000 small cast-* addressed to ea- !'. man ii.d:\ idually. I'nfortunately the har-'Miiter elected to c n down with a run. -'' t'ai' •:" Williams naturally put to sea ,;„>■ 'i..: nijit. '1 hi., hindered progross a title, but he returned the next morn i ■_• cash, and by eleven o'clock all the t'hn-tai.is cheer had been landed, and the dep. .!■:•:•_ i.'dicers and men went on boar.!. i'h. \ were I' 1-nel Turner loth Regiment . bi..ken le_-. Major Head. Captain N' H. Lieutenant '1 ole, and others, Tin* ; ti Rej'.mei.t band were towed out in ii l.ghter -... farewell the colonel, but the »ei\ heavy swell quite disorganised the iiiuMcal genius of some of the bandsmen. Distribution of Presents. In '•!'•'' meanwhile every form of transpoit had ! " ■ •■■ hard at work. This meant that in a very dtorttime every one of the mime! us ( hrvti i. s gifts had been sent to the - amp.-., i. nfortunately a heavy topical thunderstorm in the afternoon of Christmas Eve rather disorganised matters, but as far as the Auckland Patriotic Fund jilt.-, weie concerned the rain did no damage. Chaplain (jnptain Maiden and Quartermaster Sergeant Haddow. with a band or" willing helpers from the 3rd. Auckland. Regiment, got all the cases of presents under the verandah of the officers' quarters at Vaimea camp, and quickly opened them all up and divided them into three shaiee —one for the Auckland Signalling Company and on? for the wireless station garrison, under Captain Neely, while the le.-i were for the Auckland boys id amp. Welcome Reading Matter. Word? cannot express the joy and satis faction when it was. seen how- generously the people of Auckland had treated their boys. .Mere words cannot express one fraction of what we feel, but suffice it to say there was enough to prolong Christmas over the New Year, and everything was just what we wanted. Christinas Eve saw the whole camp happy, and with enough mail matter to keep everyone bury for a long time. Over a dozen cases of books and magazines from LTrisichurch will supply us with still more leading materia] to last for a long time, tor which we are deeply grateful. Eain Mars Christmas Day. Christmas morning broke very wet indeed, and effectually put a stun*to the combined church parade for all the troops which was to have been held on the Malifa c-inp parade ground. Owing to the inclemency of the weather the sports meeting for the afternoon was also postponed ; but this did not prevent the men irorn thoroughly enjoying their Christmas dinner. Hi.? day closed with a most suc(issful covert held in the barracks. lu-fottamtely th- programme has been lost, but it was distinctly good, arid went with a swing. A Quaint Ceremony. Boxing Day was another whole holiday, and was devoted to a seven a-side football tournament. This is a particularly strenuous form of amusement for such a hot ' climate, but it was a great success. In the afternoon there was a Jaumafataga at the Village of Lepea, which was attended by a large number of officers and men. Alter the ceremonial reception of the guests, including Colonel and Mrs. Logan. the sisters from the hospital, Captain and Mrs. Loft us Tottenham, and the officers of the force, there was the ceremonial drinking of kava. Then for about an hour we saw the girls from the neighbour*, g villages Indulging in a dancing competition. This <was followed bv a [;reat feast of roast pig and native fruits, which was partaken of sitting on the ground in long lines, under a canopy of palm brandies. Graceful Native Dances. Then our host and hostess, Faumuina and Pun. conducted us to seats on the grass in the centre of the village, and we were entertained for about two hours to a series of native dances. The are really more of th 1 ? nature of physical exercises and are mostly performed sitting on the ground. But they are wonderfully graceful and done in most perfect time. At intervals different families came to the front and did some very beautiful stepdaneing. Those who know the islands of the Pacific say that they had never seen more finished dances in any other island. There was another good concert in camp that evening, even better than the one before.

This was the end of the Christmas festivities, and the way the troops swung along at the route march on the following Tuesday morning showed that they had suffered no ill effects. New Year's Day is to be devoted to the sports meeting which was postponed.