Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-12-18
CHRISTMAS IN PERU.
a Charming Picture Of the Day in n
TrOpic Lind.

Hr0plc Lnnd,
Let us take peep at Peru, our lovely
Southern sister. Blessed with climate al
most perfect, where the helotrope grows
wild on the hillside and flowers bloom all
the year round there is no more gentle,
kindly, hospitahle 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
oy the government and the people Life
III Feru 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 appreci-
ate their lovable qualities will often send
back grateful glance of retrospection,
As trav'lers oft look back at eve, when eastward
darkly going
To gaze upon the light they leave still faint be
hind them glowing.
Among the Anglo-Saxon dwellers in Pc
ru Santa Claus is not forgotten and the
approach of Christmas is looked forward
to with eager expectation in many a child
ish heart The tabled shoe of the ancient
dame with her numerous progeny, the glass
slipper of Cinderella and the trials and tri-
umphs of the Sleeping Beauty are as ia
miliar to them as to our own little ones.
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 il Fastening to
the seashore, and the summer bathing sea
son 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 prevails 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 mp, in varying degrees of
detail, according TO the ability of the fami-
| ", representation of the scene at Bethle-
hem, with all Its surroundings faithfully
shown In the distance are the shepherd,
watching their hlcks, the wise men of the
afar, and in the foreground the humble
manger, with the holy family grouped
around the cradle, While the star of Beth
lehem shines brightly in the sky above
Gold. silver and jewels are lavshed on the
decoration of the scene, days are devoted
to perfectng its smallest detail, and OF
Christmas eve, and for days thereafter
friends and visitors are admitted to gaz,
and admire.
At the Christmas season in Lima, coming
as it does at midsummer. the skies arr
cloudless and the air is tempered 10y thu
breeze from the Pacific, which rolls placid
" along the shores of Peru. AS the brie
twilight of the tropics fades, the jeweleC
cross of the southern hemisphere rises il
the sky, the avenues of the plaza begin t.
ill, bright eyes flash brief chances of recog
milton, friends exchange pleasant greeting
as they meet, the wel-trained bands of tn,
garrison play softly in the summer air, un
til at last the sweet-voiced bell of the ca
thedral tolls the "Animas" There is
momentary hush, whispered prayer fo
the souls of loved ones gone before, tn
crowds begin to melt silently away, and a
the moon rises soft and full over the dis
tant peaks of the Andes we turn from tn
scene, bearing with us a pleasant memoir.
of a Christmas in Peru.