CETACEA n.
e two living suborders: (a) The Mysticete or whalebone whales, having no true teeth after birth, but with a series of plates of whalebone [see Baleen.] hanging down from the upper jaw on each side, thus making a strainer, through which they receive the small animals upon which they feed. (b) The Denticete, including th…
CHRISTIAN a.
rt. Same as Ecclesiastical court. -- Christian era, the present era, commencing with the birth of Christ. It is supposed that owing to an error of a monk (Dionysius Exiguus, d. about 556) employed to calculate the era, its commencement was fixed three or four years too late, so that 1890 should be 1893 or 1894. -- Ch…
CHRISTMAS n.
annual church festival (December 25) and in some States a legal holiday, in memory of the birth of Christ, often celebrated by a particular church service, and also by special gifts, greetings, and hospitality. Christmas box. (a) A box in which presents are deposited at Christmas. (b) A present or small gratuity given…