50 A YEAR OF COSTA RICAN NATURAL HISTORY 



the procession had reached the next stopping place. The 

 daily rain at that season made it necessary to remove the 

 altars at once. 



On December fifth a turno was held for the benefit of the 

 Orphan Asylum. It was not as great a function as that for 

 the Church of San Francisco in July. Many articles were 

 sold by chances at booths at the east end of the market 

 house and a number of the guests of the hotel took chances 

 and won small prizes. In the morning a few ox-carts brought 

 gifts of firewood. 



In December the shops were given over to the most as- 

 tonishing collection of small toys, mostly of tin, for "La 

 Noche Buena" or Christmas Eve — such toys as we had 

 never seen before as well as dolls of a familiar pattern, and 

 many drums and whistles. The children seemed to play 

 with toys very little at other times so that the shop windows 

 were doubly attractive to them. It was the custom to go to 

 confession on Christmas Eve, then attend midnight mass. 

 All evening there were bombs and bells from the churches, 

 increasing each hour. We were rudely awakened about 

 one o'clock by the passage of the pious churchgoers, on 

 their way home from mass. The air was rent with firecrack- 

 ers, bombs, whistles, horns and church bells, with wild 

 savage yells making us think of Indian warwhoops. 



On Christmas evening we went to the chapel of the Orphan 

 Asylum to see some reputed decorations but found none. 

 Service was in progress and we stayed a few minutes, the 

 orphans singing the responses rather pleasingly. On the 

 way home we went into a house to look at an elaborate "por- 

 tal" or representation of the first Christmas. The whole 

 portal occupied a raised platform about five by ten feet, 

 enclosed by a little green-draped fence a foot high. The 

 Holy Family were seated under a sort of altar which was 

 stable as well, for cows and horses were looking through 



