Christmas periodicals and sup-piements on all sides herald the approach of the festive season, reminding us that really it is not the feast which counts but the anticipation of it. That is as true of the child as of the adult, though of the latter in these sorely troubled times the cynic might observe that it is not the anticipation but the inability to j anticipate which absorbs men's thoughts and moulds them to a sombre outlook. Be that as it may, children all over the world—and in this respect Shanghai is no exception—are already count-
what the foot of the stocking wil ing ther presents and wonder: aay hold as a surprise. Christmas will come and the reality will not be quite as fine as that rose- -tinted vision of anticipat-on. Christmas noon will see many presents ready broken to the accompaniment of a deal of fretfulness. Such is the same story every year. In the Far East how much we miss through lack of the anticipatory signs of Christmas en-1 at Herne! How many of n for the cld fashioned whom we pretended to detest when we had them hand!
It is true that the singing was more often than not mediocre and the "brass" when they had it made small pretensions: nevertheless, they were sufficient to preserve the medixval atmosphere of Christmas which is its greatest charm. In Shanghai mest of us yearn in vain for the signs that Christmas igh: thrice blessed those with children prattling round!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.