er with a kiss, beginning with the head of the
house, and then they retire, after gravely wishing each other a Happy
New Year.

Except that picturesque rake, Leopold of Belgium, every monarch of
Europe has for many years begun the New Year with a solemn appeal to
the Almighty, for strength, guidance, and blessing.

The children in Belgium spend the day in trying to secure a "sugar
uncle" or a "sugar aunt." The day before New Year, they gather up all
the keys of the household and divide them. The unhappy mortal who is
caught napping finds himself in a locked room, from which he is not
released until a ransom is offered. This is usually money for sweets
and is divided among the captors.

In France, no one pays much attention to Christmas, but New Year's day
is a great festival and presents are freely exchanged. The President
of France also holds a reception somewhat similar to, and possibly
copied from, that which takes place in the White House.

In Germany, complimentary visits are exchanged between the merest
acquaintances, and New Year's gifts are made to the servants. The
night of the thirty-first is called _Sylvester Aben_ and while many of
the young people dance, the day in more serious households takes on a
religious aspect. During the evening, there is prayer at the family
altar, and at midnight the watchman on the church tower blows his
horn to announce the birth of the New Year.

At Frankfort-on-the-Main a very pretty custom is observed. On New
Year's eve the whole city keeps a festival with songs, feasting,
games, and family parties in every house. When the great bell in the
cathedral tolls the first stroke of midnight, every house opens wide
its windows. People lean from the casements, glass in hand, and from a
hundred thousand throats comes the cry: "_Prosit Neujahr!_" At the
last stroke, the windows are closed and a midnight hush descends upon
the city.

The hospitable Norwegians and Swedes spread their tables heavily; for
all who may come in at Stockholm there is a grand banquet at the
Exchange, where the king meets his people in truly democratic fashion.

The Danes greet the New Year with a tremendous volley of cannon, and
at midnight old Copenhagen is shaken to its very foundations. It is
considered a delicate compliment to fire guns and pistols under the
bedroom windows of one's friends at dawn of the new morning.

The dwellers in Cape Town, South Africa, are an exception to the
general custom