NEW-OLD SANTA CLAUS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 14, 14 December 1932, Page 13

NEW-OLD SANTA CLAUS

CHANGES IN MEXICO. Santa Claus, that joily old fat man who drives his reindeer-drawn sleigh over tho snow-covered rooftops to bring presents to good children on Christmas Eve, has been banished from tho nursery folklore of Mexico. In his stead will come the Feathered Serpent, Quetzalcoatl (pronounced Ket-zoll-quattle), ancient Indian god of good deeds and most important of the Aztec Indian deities. Old Santa Claus is banished, not through any fault of his own, but for the reason that he has no place in the national life of Mexico, according to a decree of the Mexican Ministry of Education. Mexico lias a folklore distinctly its own. It is woven about real and fancied figures of the Aztec and more ancient Toltec Indian civilisations. Of the hundred-odd mythical characters, Quetzalcoatl is best known to the Mexican family. His good deeds are legion, and are known to Christian and pagan alike.

The name Quetzalcoatl signifies feathered serpent. Feathers are good omens to Indians, and tho serpent has always been an honoured figure in aboriginal life in America, as it typifies the Divine spear—lightning. The Biblical story of the serpent in the Garden of Eden was unknown to the Indians of the Americas until they learned it in religious history five centuries ago. Quetzalcoatl is said to have been a culture-hero who actually existed in Mexico, and the Spanish missionaries who went to “New Spain” in the time of Cortez professed to see in the feathered serpent a reincarnation of the Apostle Thomas, sent by Divine Providence to bring about the conversion of the Aztec people. The Aztecs, and the Toltecs before them believed that under the benign influence of Quetzalcoatl there was luxurious growth of the fruits of the ■ earth, and because of his domination ;of the solar system lie is frequently shown emerging from a golden disc, representing the sun.

The Mexicans begin their Christmas festival or “fiesta” on December 24 — La Vispera de la Natividad (the Eve of the Nativity). Myriads of church bells summon the devout to early morning services, after which presents are exchanged and the children receive their toys—modern importations or uniquely fashioned native products, ingenious noise-making devices, fruits and sweets consisting of candied fruits and vegetables, chocolates and leche

quemada, a tempting delicacy of burnt milk. The Christmas season in Mexico is like the North American spring time or early summer. Flowers bloom profusely, fruits are ripe, and the verdant valleys offer visual proof of Quetzalcoatl’s blessings.