The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-01-09

| hundred years ago, incline one to the
I sin Of covetousness as nothing modern
| could do Like most homes of the bet
| ter class in Cuba, it contains private
chapel, over whose richly canopied al
tar hangs a lfe-sized distressing figure
| of the dying Christ upon the cross. All
| MS feet stands gorgeously-dressed I'M
/ age of the Virgin Mother and a meek
complainant San Jose, amid splendid
| altar service of silver and gold fine old
| paintings and hundred tall candles
| whose light is never permitted to &C
| out. 1t is a matter of piOus duty az
| we'll as pleasure with these dear people
| to keep the tapers continually burning
| from year to year, and to deck the Vir-
| gin in their own choicest treasures OF
lace and jewels for every fiesta. On
| Christmas eve her silken robes were lit
orally weighted with diamonds, pearls
rubies, opals, in all manner of settings,
sewn on Unfortunately While the dia-
mond tiara of the ancestral Marquesa
crowned her golden wig, a dozen brace
lets hung from each wooden arm, and
chains of jeWeled finger-rings encircled
he. waist
The ancient Christmas ceremony
called Los Posadas is still practiced in
many Cuban homes, as in old Spain and
all her former colonies especially
among descendants Of the rich grantees
upon the great estates, whose isolated
communities eagerly welcome any di-
yertisement to mitigate their loneliness.
A curious mixture of superstition, fun
and religion are he Posadas. which
seem to an outsider as intended for the
amusement of children rather than a
rite Of religious significance. Yet young
and old, aristocrats and servants, saints
and sinners take solemn part in it.
The ceremony is intended to typify the
time when Caesar Augustus issued de-
cree that "all the world shall be taxed; ="
and Mary and Joseph, having come out
of Galilee to Judea to be inscribed for
the taxation, found Bethlehem so full Of
people who had arrived on the same err
rand, that for nine days they wandered
about without gaining admittance to
any house or inn, and on the ninth
day took refuge in manager,
where Christ was born The
word posa means inn, and the rite rep
sents the wanderings of the holy
family. At San Antonio, on Christmas
eve dinner was concluded two hours
earlier than usual, in order to give am
pie time to the ceremony for which the
family had spent weeks in careful and
expensive preparation; and by O'Clock
the servants had cleared the great din
ing room hall, where the performance
began and ended. All the household in
Guiding the guests, servants, farm
hands and numerous beggars within
the gates, were assembled, formed in
procession two by two, and a lighted
candle put into the hand of each. All
the walls and corridors had previously
been decorated with lamps and ever
green; and led by the family priest and
two or three padres from town. we
marched all over the house, singing lit
anies at the top of our voices, with
individual variations in Latin, Spanish
Indian and Yankee. At last, after an
hour Of marching and singing, the pro-
cession halted before a closed door
when whiz, bang! went a lot of fire
works, suddenly sent flying over our
heads by invisible hands, supposed to
represent the descent of the angels. At
the same moment a bevy of little girls
came dancing in. They wore abbreviat-
ed costumes Of silver spangled tulle,
white satin shoes, and white ostrich
plumes fastened to their shoulders in
lieu of wings. Oddly enough, these little
creatures had come to superintend the
birth of the Savior-celestial mid wives
so to speak. Following them appeared a
group of ladies dressed to personate the
who watched their nocks by
night on the plains Of Bethlehem-each
with crock in hand and tiger-skin
hoor-rug over one shoulder. At this
point voices struck up a Spanish duet
Mary and Joseph begging admittance
at Posada, declaring that the night was
dark, the wind blew cold and Mary was
i'll and they had no where to lay their
heads Behind the closed doors male
voices responded, refusing admittance.
Again and again the tenors without
and the bassos within denied
until at last the angels announced in
piping chorus that she who craved shell
ter from the storm was the Queen of
Heaven" AT that name the doors flew
wide open and the holy family entered, |
by the procession shouting tri- |
hozanas.
The scene within, called the nacimi- |
ento, had been arranged regardless of |
expense and was very pretty. Elevated |
platforms, extending all around the |
room, We're covered with moss and |
green branches, upon which We're de-
posted groops of images in wax and |
wood. to represent scriptural scenes /
and incidents. There was Adam and |
Eve in Paradise; the annunciation; the |
salutation of Mary to Elizabeth: the !
Wise men of the East, sheperds tend
ing their f1ocks; the flight into Egypt, |
and many others. Some of the figures
were those of saints, borrowed from the |
chruches; others We're man
lfactured expressly for the occasion,
and not few We're living personages in
disguise. There We're tiny fountains
fasting up fairy columns of water; tall |
palm trees, in tubs acacias, aloes and |
wen fruit-bearing lime, pomegranite
md fig-trees, amid a wilderness of flow
ers There was a flock of living lambs,
which the lady shepherdesses had
great trouble to keep in order, to or
hree real baby-donkeys, and a little
,radle inbedded in a mound of pansies
lbove which lowered an angel, sus-
pended by a string from the ceiling,
holding a big wax doll in her arms.
Ihe whole was brilliantly Illuminated
~ hundreds of candles and ornaments