The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1905-02-19
| FROLIC IN MEXICO
BREAKING THE PlNATA DURING THE
cHRleTMAs FESTIVAL.

1
rhis Mfrth Prevoiins Psstiass IL tAs
Great seeisi snd gun Making Yss.
turs Of ths sessen-Dressing aae
rtiiiag the olis.
Christmas In Mexico 10 not the typ
lcai Christmas Of cold and snow and
ice, but one OF bright warm sunshine
cIoudless blue skies, flowers In profu.
sion. trees In full foliage and life Of
out OF doors.
At least 0 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- s--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 nelghbors to have It's
pinata more beautiful and fanciful than
any one else's.
The pinata Ia really an earthenware
utensil which ID In general use for cook
ing. II is called In common parlance
an ola and % 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, AZ the
aurse 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 q woman Is
covered with tissue paper; then a GRIN
kied paper dress is fashioned: then
bodice 10 built up draped to represent
loose white waist. and above this IA
placed false face. The hair Is made
with black paper, braided into one long
piait 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 4
the rainbow. Red. white and green rib
bons, forming long streamers. and sil-
yer and gold tinsel, glass balls and col !
ored lights oil help to make the flower
pinata very beautiful The possibilities |
for dressing these plnatas are endless
In a large family the mother and |
daughters have their own pinatas. and |
great secrecy is maintained in the dec
grafton Of the ola. II Is the aim OF |
each TO devise as original dressing |
for the plnata 40 possible, and 1t can
be made very extravagant ornament. |
In the families OF wealthy Mexicans
the luxury of the plnata often mounts
into thousands.
After the ola Is decorated to the taste
II is flled. 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 plnatas are car
ried In great state into the sala and
suspended from the ceiling one at q
time. All the relatives Of the family
are present, and as cousins Of the fiftk
and sixth degree are recognized and
children are very numerous there is
generally large gathering. They all
BIT very demurely on chairs ranged in
\ row around the walls Of the room.
One person Is constituted master OF
the eldest son or daughter
of the house, He or she stands in the
middle Of the room. Near by Is Jar
Or umbrella stand filed with apisaco
,anes or sticks. When everything is
'eady child or grown person is Sc
ected and called by name. She comes
Onward and is bllndfolded.
Then the fun begins. The person
,llndfolded Is turned round and round
Until she loses all knowledge of where
he pinata hangs, A cane is pnt In her
lands, and she Is told to hit the pinata '
nd try to break It. She is given three
hances II she fails to hit II she sits a
own amid laughter and rldlcule. II Q
he hits 1t without breaking 1t she is T
ntitled to small prize. )
And so It goes on, one after another !
elng called up, blindfolded and given a Z
ane and three chances to break the !
inata. Finally one more fortunate 9
nan the rest succeeds In giving a hard G
nough blow, and. crash, the pinata D
Ills to the grounds In hundreds of bits, a
nd It's contents are scattered far and a
'ide. b
A wild scramble ensues. Everybody u
lshes forward to gather as much Of a.
le spilled contents as possible.
The fortunate breaker Of the plnata
its a handsome prize and is awarded
Ie seat OF honor. He or she sits down @
I'D is debarred from another trial at d'
another pinata. As soon as ra
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