New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1905-02-01
A FROLIC IN MEXICO
BREAKING THE PInATA DURING THE
CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL.
This Mirth Provoking Pastime Is the
Great Social and Fun Making Fea-
ture of the season-Dressing aaa
Filling the Ola.

Great Social and Fun Making Fea-
ture of the Season-Dressing aad
Filling the Ola.
Christmas in Mexico is not the typ
ical Christmas of cold and snow and
ice but one of bright. warm sunshine.
cloudIess blue skies, flowers in profu
sion, trees in full foliage and a life Of
out of doors.
At least d week before Christmas IL
the principal streets of Mexico arches
are erected from sidewalk to sidewalk,
festooned with wreaths of flowers and
bunting in the national colors-red.
white and green. Under the arches
booths are erected, and every toy man
ufactured in Mexico is on SALE
In every Mexican house great prep
arations are made for what is called
the "pinata." Every child begs and
scrapes and saves the centavOs for
weeks and months ahead. All kinds of
articles are made especially for this
ceremony, and every family vies with
it's friends and neighbors to have its
pinata more beautiful and fanciful than
any one else's.
The pinata is really an earthenWare
utensil which is in general use for cook
ing. 1t is called in common parlance
an ola and is Of brown pottery some
thing like the old fashioned earthen-
ware crooks used in the north before
enamel ware became the fad.
The pinatas are large or small, as the
purse Of the purchaser permits. They
are round, pot bellied and very large at
the top They are sold from door to
door on the streets and in the markets
They cost only 10, Is Or 20 centavos
but the ola is the least expensive part
of the game.
The body Of the ola for woman is
covered with tissue paper; then erin
killed. paper dress is fashioned; then a
bodice is built up draped to represent
a loose white waist, and above this is
placed false face The hair is made
with black paper, braided into one long
plait at the back, as the women wear
their hair in Mexico. Sometimes a
white tehuana headdress is made Of the
lace paper used by bakers and confec-
toners.
A flower pinata is decorated with
large paper flowers in every color Of
the rainbow. Red, white and green rib
bons, forming long streamers, and sill
md <y1o hol 1c nd
ored lights all help to make the flower
pinata very beautiful The possibilities
for dressing these pinatas are endless.
In a large family the mother and
daughters have their own pinatas, and
great secrecy is maintained in the dee
grafton of the ola. It is the aim Of
| each to devise as original dressing
for the pinata as possible, and it can
be made a very extravagant ornament.
In the families of wealthy Mexicans
the luxury of the pinata often mounts
| into thousands.
After the Ola is decorated to the taste
it is filled. The filling consists of pea
nuts, hazel nuts, hard candies, like
marbles, and all kinds Of Mexican
dulces, These dulces are candied fruits,
nut paste, etc.
Christmas night the pinatas are car
ried in great state into the sala AMI
suspended from the ceiling one at q
time All the relatives Of the family
are present, and as cousins of the fifth
and sixth degree are recognized anC
children are very numerous there is
generally a large gathering. They al
sit very demurely on chairs ranged il
row around the walls of the room.
One person is constituted master OF
ceremonies, the eldest son or daughter
of the house He or she stands in th'
middle of the room. Near by is a jal
or umbrella stand filled with apisact
canes or sticks. When everything i
ready a child or grown person is Sc
lected and called by name She come!
forward and is blindfolded.
Then the fun begins. The person
blindfolded is turned round and rouns
until she loses all knowledge of Wher'
the pinata hangs. A cane is put in he
hands, and she is told to hit the pinat,
and try to break it. She is given tire
chances. If she fails to hit it she sit
down amid laughter and ridicule. |
she hits it without breaking it she i
entitled to a small prize.
And so it goes on, one after anOtlae
being called up, blindfolded and given
cane and three chances to break th
pinata. Finally one more fortunat
than the rest succeeds in giving har
enough blow, and, crash the pinat
falls to the grounds in hundreds Of bits
and its contents are scattered far an
wide.
A wild scramble ensues. Everybod
ID PUSHES forward to gather as much Q
the spilled contents as possible.
The fortunate breaker of the pinat
gets handsome prize and is awarde
: the seat Of honor. He or she sits dow
and is debarred from another trial Z
. breaking another pinata. As soon 8
the confusion dies down and order
somewhat restored another ola is hun
up and the same routine gone throrgl
So the fun continues until the last pin:
ia Is broken, and then the prizes al