Now one would imagine that when her home was reached, Oisette Mary would, before going to bed, hang up her stocking and prepare for a visit from Santa Claus; or even—it being about two o'clock in the morning—that she might find he had already filled her stocking or decked a Christmas tree for her delight.
Not a bit of it! The French Canadian child does not give nor does she receive gifts on Christmas Day. For these people the day is simply a religious festival; a holy day rather than a holiday.
So Oisette Mary, at two o'clock in the morning of Christmas Day, was given a bowl of hot pea soup, with plenty of onion in it—and put to bed.
CHAPTER III
NEW YEAR'S DAY
"SOME OF THE BOYS ARRIVING ON SNOWSHOES BROUGHT FRIENDS WITH THEM"
New Year's Eve in the Province of Quebec is quite another story; when that time arrived Oisette Mary was allowed to keep very late hours. Her brothers and sisters were all at home; some of the boys arriving on snowshoes brought friends with them.