The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1873-12-24
Christmas in Snain.

There is no civilized country on earth in
which children are not made happy by the
promise of the coming Christmas. But, in
every country the festival is called by differ
ent name, and its presiding genius is painted
with different costume and manner. You
know all about our jolly Dutch Santa Claus,
with his shrewd, twinkling eyes, his frosty
beard, his rudy face and the bag of treas
urcs with which he comes tumbling
down the chimney, while his team of reindeer
snort and stamp on the icy roof. The En-
glish 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 Advent i'm
Southern Europe, and SO / will tell you some
of the pleasures and fancies OF the Spanish
Christmas.
The good cheer which it brings everywhere
is especially evident in Spain. They are 4
frugal people and many good Spanish fam
ily Is supported by less than the waste of /
household on Murray Hill. But there is N,
sparing at Christmas. This is season as fs-
tai to turkeys as Thanksgiving in New Eng
land. The Castilian farmers drive them int
Madrid in great droves, which they conduci
from door to door, making the dim old streets
gay with their scarlet wattles, and noisy With
obstreperous gobblirg. But the headquarters
OF the market during those days arein the Phza
Mayor, where every variety of fruit and Iro-
vision is Sold There is nothing more stirling
then those vast heaps of fresh golden orarges
plucked the day before, in the groves Of An
daiusa; nuts from Granada, and dates from
Africa; every flavor and color of TROPICAL
frutage ;and in the stalls beneath the gloomy
arches the butchers drive their fourisling
trade. All is gay and joyous-chaffering and
testing, greeting of friends, and filling of bask-
cts. The sky is wintry, but the grouIG is
ruddv and rich with the fruits of sumner.
AT night the whole city turns out into the
streets. The youths and maidens Of the
poorer class 60 troOping through the town
with tambourines, castanets and guitars sing
ing and dancing. Every one has different
song to suit his own state of mind. Tie wo-
men sing of love and religion, and many of
the men can sing of nothing better THAI poll
tics. But The part which the children AXE in
the festival, bears curious resemblance to
those time-honored ceremonies we all rmem-
Der. The associations of Christmas in Spain
are all of the gospel. There is no no.thern
St. Nick there to stuff the stockings f good
| children with rewards Of merit. Why then.
| on Christmas eve do you see the tie little
shoes exposed by the windows and doors
The wise kings OF the East are supposed to
| be journeying by night, to Bethlehem bear
ing gifts of homage to the Heavenly Child, and
out of their abundance, when they PISS by
the houses where good children sleep they
will drop into their shoes some of the treas
ures they are bearing to the Baby Price in
Judea, This thought is never absen from
| the rejoicings of Christmas-tide in Span. Ev-
cry hour of the time is sacred to Hin who
came to bring peace and goodwill to the
! world. The tavorite toy of the seaon is
called "The Nativity It is sometims very
elaborate and costly, representing landscape
under starry night; the shepherds vatcl-
ing their flocks; the magi coming in with
wonder and awe, and the Child in the tabh,
shedding upon the darkness that Twins light
which was to overspread the world.-Joan
Hay IN St. Nicholas for January.