The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1873-12-26
CHRLSTM4S IN SPAIN.

CI IN SPAIN.
There is no civilized country on earth in
which children are not made happy by the
promise of the coming Christmas. Butin
every country the festival is called by
different name, and its presiding genius is
painted with different costume and man
ner. 1ou know all about our jolly Dutch
Santa Claus, with his shrewd. twinklino
eyes, his frosty beard, his ruddy face. and
the bag af treasures with which he comes
tumbling down the chimney. while his
team of reindeer snort and stamp on the
icy road. The English Christmas is equally
well known, and the wonders of the Ger
man miracle-tree, the first sight of which
no child ever forgets. But you are, per-
haps, not so familiar with the spirit of the
blessed season of advent in Southern Eu-
rope, and ! will tell you some of the plea
sures and fancies of the Spanish Christmas.
The good cheer which it brings everywhere
is especially evident in Spain. They are
frugal people, and many good Spanish
family is supported by less than the waste
of household on Murray Hill. But there
is no sparing at Christmas. This is a sea-
son as fatal to turkeys as Thanksgiving in
New England. The Castillian farmers
drive them into Madrid in great droves.
which they conduct from door to door,
making the dim old streets gay with their
scarlet wattles and noisy with obstreper-
GUS gabbling. But the headquarters of
the marketing during those days are in the
Plaza Mayor, where every variety of fruit
and provision is sold. There is nothing
more striking than those vast heaps of
fresh golden oranges, plucked the day be-
fore i'll the groves of Andalusia, nuts from
Granada, and dates from Africa; every
flavor and color of tropical fruitage and
in the stalls beneath the gloomy arches the
butchers drive their flourishing trade. All
is gay and jOyOus-chaffering and jesting.
greeting of friends and filling of baskets.
The sky is wintry, but the ground is ruddy
and rich with the fruits of summers. At
night the whole city turns out into the
streets. The youths and maidens of the
poorer class go trooping through the town
with tambOrines, castanets, and guitars,
singing ana dancing. Every one has diff
ferent song to suit his own state of mind.
The women sing of love and religion, and
many IF he men can sing of nothing bet
ter than polite. But the part which the
children take in the festival bears a curious
resemblance to those time -honored cere-
monies we all remember. The associa-
tions of Christmas in Spain are all of tho
Gospel. There is no northern st. Nick
there to stuff the stockings of good child
rem with rewards of merit. Why, then on
Christmas Eve do you see the little shoes
exposed by the windows aud doors? The /
wise kings of the East are supposed to be !
journeying by night to Bethlehem, bearing
gifts and homage to the heavenly child, !
and out of their abundance, when they
pass by the houses where good children |
sleep, they will drop into their shoes some /
of the treasures they are bearing to the |
Baby Prince in Judea. This thought is
never absent from the rejoicings of Christ I
mas-tioe in Spain. Every hour of the time /
is sacred to him who came to bring peace /
and goodwill to the world. The favorite 4
toy of the season is called ''The Nativity
1t is sometimes very elaborate and costly,
landscape under starry
night; the shepherds watching their flOcks,
the magi coming in with wonder and awe,
and the child in the stable, shedding upon
the darkness that living light which was
to overspread the world. -[John Hay in
St. Nicholas for January.