The Chinese are so fond of lanterns that every year they have a "Feast of Lanterns." On that day and night lanterns are to be seen everywhere. Bridges and houses and trees are covered with lighted lanterns.
They have fireworks, too, that look like stars and trees and flowers.
A Chinese dinner begins in the wrong way. They have fruits and nuts first. After this comes rice. They eat more of rice than of anything else. Then they drink tea without either milk or sugar. They use neither forks nor knives. Instead they eat with small sticks of wood or ivory. These are called "chopsticks." They hold them between the thumb and first two fingers. They use them to carry their food to their mouths as you use a fork or a spoon.
[Illustration: Chopsticks.]
Do you know how they catch fish in China?
They have a bird which swims and dives into the water. This bird lives on fish. Every time he dives he catches one. He is trained to bring the fish to his master. A tight ring is put round the bird's neck. This is to keep him from swallowing the fish. When enough fish have been caught, the bird is given some to eat. This bird is called a cormorant.
A Chinese fisherman lives in his fishing boat. But China is a very crowded country. So other men as well as fishermen live on small flatboats in the rivers near the big towns. Ducks and other fowls are raised on these boats. The people on the water are as busy as the people on the land.
In China houses are one story high. They are built of wood. The roofs slope, and are made of sticks woven together. The churches are called pagodas. They are not like our churches, but are tall, like towers. They are usually nine stories high. They have little bells hung all around the roof. These bells ring when the wind blows them back and forth.
