the time of chiming bells and joyful carols; of turkey and candy and
plum-pudding and all the other good things that go to make up a truly
merry Christmas. And here and there throughout the country, some of the
quaint old customs of our forefathers are still observed at this time,
as, for instance, the pretty custom of "Christmas waits"--boys and girls
who go about from house to house on Christmas eve, or early Christmas
morning, singing carols.

But, aside from the Christmas customs we all know so well, Uncle Sam has
many strange and special ways of observing Christmas; for in this big
country of his there are many different kinds of people, and they all do
not celebrate Christmas in the same way, as you shall see.


=IN THE SOUTH=

Siss! Bang! Boom! Sky-rockets hissing, crackers snapping, cannons
roaring, horns tooting, bells ringing, and youngsters shouting with wild
delight. That is the way Christmas begins down South.

[Illustration: CHRISTMAS IN THE SOUTH]

It starts at midnight, or even before; and all day long fire-crackers
are going off in the streets of every city, town, and village of the
South, from Virginia to Louisiana. A Northern boy, waking up suddenly in
New Orleans or Mobile or Atlanta, would think he was in the midst of
a rousing Fourth-of-July celebration. In some of the towns the brass
bands come out and add to the jollity of the day by marching around and
playing "My Maryland" and "Dixie"; while the soldier companies parade up
and down the streets to the strains of joyous music and fire salutes