Los Angeles herald., 1890-12-25
CHRISTMAS IN PERU.
THE GREAT FESTIVAL IN A SUMMER
LIKE SETTING.

1t Comes in the Height of the Outdoor
Bathing Season and Is Celebrated
Amid Blooming Wild Tlowers-A Sol
emn Religious Holiday.
AS the season consecrated by all Chris
tian peoples, of whatever race or cline,
draws near, how few of us realize how diff
ferently it is observed according to the po-
sition of the observer on this globe of ours,
itself so small an atom in the immensity
of the universal The northern nations of
Europe welcome it with good cheer and So
cial gatherings; the dwellers on English
soil with yule log and mistletoe; our own
people with wreaths of evergreen and
holly, and among all these there fingers the
fragrance of the ancient traditions of good
old st. Nicholas, the children's friend, with
team OF reindeer and burden of toys, which
the legends tell were meant for distribu-
tion among the good l.ttle children.
But this is talk too serious for Christmas
tide. How do our neighbors of warmer
climes keep the festival? For them Santa
Claus and his outfit would be mystery
too deep to be penetrated. The only snow
they have ever seen lies miles away on the
slopes of their volcanoes. They have never
heard the merry jingle of the sleigh bell OF
the keen ring of the skate on frosty
morning, while snow storm would aston
ish them as much as we should be amazed
by the importation of one of their earth
quakes
Let us take peep at Peru, our lovely
southern sister. Blessed with a climate
almost perfect, where the heliotrope grows
wild on the hillside and flowers bloom all
the year round, there is no more gentle,
kindly, hospitable people on earth. Lima,
the capital, is renowned for the beauty and
grace of its ladies, and the children are like
animated Christmas cards. There is no
jealousy of the foreigner. He is welcomed,
entertained and treated kindly and fairly
by the government and the people. Life
in Peru is of a quieter, gentler character
than as we know it in the hurry and rush
of our business eagerness, and one who
has lived among them and learned to ap-
precate their lovable qualities will often
send back grateful glance of RETROSPECT
ton,
AS trav'lers oft look back at eve, when eastward
darkly going,
To gaze upon the light they leave still faint behind
them glowing
Among the Anglo-Saxon dwellers in
Peru Santa Claus is not forgotten, and
the approach of Christmas is looked for
ward to with eager expectation in many a
childish heart The tabled shoe of the an
cient dame with her numerous progeny.
the glass slipper of Cinderella, and the
trials and triumphs of the Sleeping Beauty,
are as familiar to them as to our own little
ones Perhaps some who may read these
lines may remember dozen years ago to
have seen the parlors of one of the leading
foreign families in Lima filled with de-
lighted audience to witness the debut of
the daughter of the house rs Cinderella,
the beautiful child bearing herself with as
perfect self possession as the bride of the
prince rs she afterward showed when, at
the drawing room of her majesty, in Lon
don, she bowed before the queen, herself
the fairest among them all.
But Peru lies few degrees south of the
equator, and while the American boy is
furnishing his skates or putting his sled
in order, his Peruvian brother is fastening
to the seashore, and the summer bathing
season is at its height. Christmas gifts
are not so plentiful, the shops not SO
crowded with puzzled customers, nor their
windows so filed with dazzling novelties
as with us; but beautiful custom obtains
there, as throughout all South American
countries. AS the season rolls on apace
and the sacred anniversary draws NIGH
one of the largest rooms is set apart, and
stage improvised on which is built up, in
varying degrees of detail, according to the
ability of the family, representation of
the scene at Bethlehem, with all it's sur
roundings faithfully shown. In the dis
tance are the shepherds Watching their
hocks-the wise men of the east in royal
robes, bringing gifts from afar, and in the
foreground the humble manger, with the
holy family grouped around the cradle
while the star of Bethlehem shines brightly
in the sky above. Gold, silver and jewels
are lavished on the decoration of the scene,
days are devoted to perfecting its smallest
detail, ana on Christmas eve, and for days
thereafter, friends and visitors are adj
mitted to gaze and admire.
AT the Christmas season in Lima-com-
ing as it does at midsummer-the skies arc
cloudless and the air is tempered by the
breeze from the Pacific, which rolls plac-
idly along the shores of Peru. AS the
brief twilight of the tropics fades, the
jeweled cross of the southern hemisphere
rises in the sky, the avenues of the plaza
begin to fill, bright eyes fash brief glances
OF recognition, friends exchange pleasant
greetings as they meet, the we'll trained
bands of the garrison play softly in the
summer air, until at last the sweet voiced
bell Of the cathedral tolls the "Auimas.n
There is momentary hush, whispered
prayer for the souls of loved ones gone be-
fore, the crowd begins to melt silently
away, and as the moon rises soft and full
over the distant peaks of the Andes we
turn from the scene bearing with us q
pleasant memory Of n Christmas in Peru.
-Ex-Mayor Grace in Troy Times.