Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1925-06-18
HOLIDAY TIME WITH
THE PORTO RICANS
Christmas Offers Pleasures
NeuO to Northerners.

A morning dip in the Caribbean sea,
freshly gathered oranges and grape
fruit for breakfast, eaten in patio
surrounded by the delicious freshness
OF flowers still wet with dew, glor-
iously blue sky overhead-these were
few of the reasons why we left home
and the frozen North at the holiday
season to seek the land where poinset-
tias grow wild in the dazzling tropical
sunshine. Even though such surround
ings did not seem at all in keeping
with our idea of the Christmas season,
the experience Of merely being there
was delightful and long to be remem-
bered, says a contributor in the New
York Herald Tribune.
Christmas In Porto Rico is a reli-
gious holiday and not gift day. The
real celebration such as we know,
comes in January and is called Three
Kings day. The fifth, sixth and sew
enth days of the month celebrate the
visit Of the wise men to Christ's birth
place. On the evening of January 5
the children arrange boxes containing
grass outside the windows of their
homes for the horses of the kings. In
side are placed their shoes for the
gifts that the wise men bring them, as
they did the Christ child. Almost two
weeks are given up to merrymaking
among both old and young. There is
little work done, especially among the
country people, who go from house to
house for dancing.
The guitar and many odd instru-
ments, some of which are of Indian
origin, furnish the music. One of the
group often sings, improvising words
to suit the occasion. In the absence
Of music for dancing, hides are tightly
stretched on sticks and are beaten to
the accompaniment of rasping noise
made by scratching with a wire
gourd cut with grooves before drying.
Although there are many days Of
feasting, the greatest preparations are
made for January 6. The plumpest of
little pink-eyed pigs is persuaded to
leave the company Of his brothers and
sisters, pass through the hands of the.
cook and, when delicately roasted over
bed of charcoal, occupy the place
Of honor among the multitude of
Christmas dishes. Mealy sweet pota-
toes, such as we do not see in our
northern markets, are sliced raw, fried
and served with It. Yautia, starchy
root vegetable, Is boiled. Large green
bananas are roasted or baked in wine.
brown sugar and spices.
Chicken with rice is a favorite dish,
and gandules, a cousin to the bean, rs
cooked in highly seasoned sauce.
The salad Is usually quite simple,
favorite one being sprouts Of certain
variety Of palm, dressed with olive oil
and lime juice and served on a bed of
lettuce Sweetmeats hold just as
prominent place on the bill of fare
as they do in the North. Many sweets
have a fruit foundation in the form of
q paste or of crystallized fruit, the
guava and bitter orange being favorite
fruits for this preparation. The lech-
oza Is a melonlike fruit introduced into
Spain by the MoOrs, and brought by
the Spaniards to America. While still
green the fruit is thinly sliced and
cooked with brown sugar.
Another sweet which is given freely
to children is made of the sweet po-
tato. rNhe vegetable is first cooked
and mashed, then cooked again with
sugar and coconut milk The mixture
is made quite stiff, and when cool 1t is
cut into squares Very small portions