Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1873-12-25
Chrisfnias in Spain.

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 festi.
val is called by a different name. and
its presiding genius is painted with &
different costume and manner You
know all about our jolly Dutch Santa
Claus, With mis- sIirewd, tWiDkling
eyes, his frosty; beard, his ruddy fa..e
and t. c bag ofIre5sures with which he
comes tuInf,lihg down the ielimhey,
while his Iealn iof reindeer snort and
stamp on the icy roof The tEnglisll
Christmas is equally well-knOwn, and
the wonders OF the. German niiFaeif.
tree, the first sishtof which no child
ever forgets. But you are, perhaps,
not so lInIiii;lr With the. spirit of the
blessed season OF advent in Southern
Europe, and 20 L will tell you some of
the pleasures andfancies Of the Spanish
Christmas. - xxi TsI "a 2uiZFst JGf
i The good cheer which it brings every
where Is especially evident in Spain.-
They are Il frugal people; and many =
good Spanish family Is supported by
less than the waste of a household ON
Murry Hill. But there is no sparing
at Christmas. This is a season as fatal
to turkeys as Thanksgiving in New
England. The Castilian farmers drive
them into madrid great droves, which
they conduc. from door, to door, maxi
ing the dim old streets gay with their
scarlet wattles, and noisy with 0bstre-
porous gabbiing. But the headquarters
of the marketing during those days are
in the Plaza Mayor, where every varif
ETY. of fruit and provision is sold. There
is pothing 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 fruilage;, and in stalls
beneath the gloomy arches, the BUTCH
ers drive their flourishing trade. eAn
is gay and joyous-chafferiHs and jest.
ing, greeting of friends and filling Of
baskets. The sky is wintery but the
ground is ruddy and rich with fruits OF
summer. A- i-7is- lsii-a % u 3ii-iA
At night the whole city turns ont in-
to the streets. The youths: and maid-
ems of the poor class gotrOoping through
the town with tamborines, cslstanets
and guitars, singing and daneiDg.-
Every one has a different song to suit
mis- 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 chill
dren take in the festival bears q curious
resemblance to those time-honored
ceremonies we all remember, The
associations of Christmas in Spain are
all of the GOSPEL. There is no northern
st. Nick theseto stuff the stockens OF
good childEsl with rewards of merit.
Why, then, on Christmas eve do you
see the little shoes exposed by the win
Ciows and doors: The wise kings of
the East are supposed to be jorneyiug
by night to Bethlehem, bearing gif1s
and homage to the heavenly Child, anS
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 of Judea. IA, This
thought is never absent from the re-
ioieings OF the Christmas-tide in Spain.
Every hour of the time is sacred 10
Him who came to bring peaceu and
goodwill, to the world. The favorite
foy of the season of called 1.-THE Natiy-
| itV." It Is sometimes very elaborate
and costly, representing a landscape
under starry night; the shepherds
watching their fiocksi the magi COM
I inc in with wonder and, awe, and the
Child in the stable, shedding upon the
darkness that living light which was to
loysrspread the worid.-Johfas Hoy in
81. Nicholas for Jnalazy. 80 yfg1iiliy