Elizabeth daily monitor. [volume] (Elizabeth, N.J.) 1868-1880, 1873-12-16
CHRISTMAS IN STAIN.

There is no civilized country on earth
in which children are not made happy
by the promise of the coming Christ
mas. But in every country the festival
is called by different name, and its
presiding genius is painted with o diff
ferent costume and manner. You know
all about ( ur Jolly Dutch Santa Claus,
with his shfewd, tWinkling eyes, his
frosty beard, Lis ruddy face, and the
bag OF treasures with which he comes
tumbling down the chimney, while his
team of reindeer snort and stamp on the
icy roof. The English Christmas is
equally well known, and the wonders OF
the German miracle tree, the first sight
of which no child ever forgets, But
you are, perhaps, not so familiar with
the spirit of the blessed season of adj
vent in Southern Europe, and so I will
tell you some of the pleasures and fan
cies of the Spanish Christmas. Tho
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 season as fatal to TURKEYS as
Thanksgiving in New England. The
Castilian farmers drive them into Mad id
in great droyes, which they conduct
from door to door, making the dim old
streets gay with their scarlet wattles
and noisy with obstrcperous Cabling.
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
before in the groves of Andalusia, nuts
from Granada, and dates from Africa :;
every flavor and color of tropical fruit
age and in the stalls beneath the
gloomy arches the butchers drive their
hourishing trade. All is gay and joy
ous-chaflenng and testing, greeting OF
friends and filling OF baskets. The sky
is wintry, but tho ground is rudy aud
rich with the fruits Of summer.
AT night the whole city turns out in
to the streets. The youths and maid
ems of the poorer class go trooping
through the town with tamborines, cas-
tanets, and guitars, singing and dancing.
Every one has different song to suit
his own state of mind. The women
sing of love and religion, and many of
the men can sing of nothing better than
politics. But the part which the chi d.
rem take in tho festival bears curious
resemblance to those time honored cere-
monies we all remember. The asso-
Citations of Christmas in Spain are all OF
the Gospel. There is no northern st.
Nick there to stuff tho stockings of
good children with rewards of merit.
Why, then, OH Christmas Eve do You
see the little shoes exposed by the win
dows and 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 b. airing
to the Baby Prince in Judea. This
thought is never absent from the reioic-
ings of Christmas-tide in Spain. Every
hour of this time is sacred to him who
came to bring peace and good will to
the world. The favorite toy of the sea-
son is called "The Nativity" 1t is
sometimes very elaborate and costly,
representing landscape uader starry
night the shepherds watching their
focks the magi coming in with won
der and awe, and the child in the stable,
shedding upon the darkness that living
Light which was to overspread the
word J,hn Hay in ST. Nicholas for
January.