The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1905-10-20
A FROLIC IN MEXICO
BREAKING THE PINATA DURING THE
Z CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL.

This Mirth Provoking Pastime IL the
Great Social and Fun Making Fea-
ture of the Season-Dressing and
Filling the OLA.
Christmas in Mexico is not the typ
ical Christmas of cold and snow and
ice, but one of bright, warm sunshine,
eloudless blue skies, flowers in profu-
sion, trees in full foliage and life of
out of doors.
At least a week before Christmas in
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
its 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, 10 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 GRIN
killed. paper dress is fashioned; then a
bodice is built up draped to represent
loose white waist, and above this is
placed false face. The hair is made
with black paper, braided into one long
plat at the back as the women wear
their hair in Mexico. Sometimes
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
yer and gold tinsel, glass balls and col
ored lights all help to make the flower
pinata very beautiful. The possibilities
for dressing these pinatas are endless.
In large family the mother and
daughters have their own pinatas, and
great secrecy is maintained in the dec
grafton of the ola. 1t is the aim of
each to devise as original a 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 filed 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 and
suspended from the ceiling one at a
time All the relatives of the family
are present, and as cousins Of the fifth
and sixth degree are recognized and
children are very numerous there is
generally a large gathering. They all
sit very demurely on chairs ranged in
a 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 the
middle of the room. Near by is a jar
or umbrella stand filed with apisaco
canes or sticks. When everything is
ready child or grown person is Sc
lected and called by name. She comes
forward and is blindfolded.
Then the fun begins. The person
blindfolded is turned round and round
until she loses all knowledge Of where
the pinata hangs. A cane is put in her
hands, and she is told to hit the pinata
and try to break it. She is given three
chances. If she fails to hit it she sits
down amid laughter and ridicule. If
she hits it without breaking it she is
entitled to a small prize.
And so 1t goes on. one after another
being called up, blindfolded and given
cane and three chances to break the
pinata. Finally one more fortunate
than the rest succeeds in giving hard
enough blow, and, crash, the pinata
falls to the grounds in hundreds of bits,
and its contents are scattered far and
wide.
A wild scramble ensues. Everybody
rushes forward to gather as much Of
the spilled contents as possible.
The fortunate breaker of the pinata
gets handsome prize and is awarded
the seat of honor. He or she sits down
and is debarred from another trial at
breaking another pinata. AS soon as
the confusion dies down and order is
somewhat restored another ola is hung
m and the same routine gone through