FAIRS

(Lat. feria, holiday, connected with fest us, feast), periodical meetings of persons having goods or wares for sale in an open market held ata particular place, and generally for the transaction of a particular cla of busine . The origin of fairs is obviously to be traced to the convenience of bringing together at stated times the buyers and sellers of the stock-produce of a district. In Europe the numerous festivals of the Church afforded the most favourable opportunity for the establishment of these markets. This a ociation is indicated in the German name of a fair, which is identical with that used for the ceremony cf the ma . In the Middle Ages fairs were of great importance, and were specially privileged and chartered by princes and magistrates, public proclamation being made of their commencement and duration. But modern facilities of communication have much diminished the nece ity for periodical markets, and it is now chiefly amongst agriculturists that they are of much importance, large agricultural meetings being held in various districts for the sale of cattle and horses, and for the exhibition of agricultural implements. There are also, especially in Scotland, a considerable number of hiring fairs for farm servants. In the le developed commerce of the Hast, however, they still retain much of their ancient importance and magnitude. In Europe the most important fairs of the present day are those at Leipzig and Frankfort-on-the Main in Germany, at Lyons in France, and Nijni-Novgorod in Ru ia. Tho last is, indeed, the largest fair in the world. The fairs of Great Britain now mostly consist of the weekly market days of country towns and the agricultural meetings already mentioned. In many places the oid fair-days are still kept, but are now merely an a emblage of penny-theatre., peepshows, and such amusements. Amongst the fairs which were once celebrated saturnalia, or rather bacchanalia, may be mentioned Donnybrook Fair in the county of Dublin; Bartholomew and Green wich Fairs, London; and Glasgow Fair. The first three are now extinct. Fairs in the sense of markets are unknown in tho United States, but the term is usually given to ladies’ fancy bazaars, collections of fine art or the higher industries for public exhibition.—Cf. C Walford, Fairs, Past and Present.