Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/279

Rh Mexico's only martyr, San Felipe de Jesus. He was martyred in China, and his baptismal urn stands in a wooden frame in the cathedral beside the tomb of the Emperor Iturbide.

The carnival season comes with its throngs of gay, promiscuous maskers, but without a representation of our King Comus. Some of these are said to represent the spies sent out by Herod in search of Christ; if so, they seem to enjoy themselves amazingly.

Lent is duly observed, especially by ladies, who perambulate the streets dressed in black, on their way to and from church. At this time the Zocalo has two of its sides adorned with booths and rustic tents, in which various delicious drinks are sold by captivating Indian maidens. In accord with the season fewer toys are sold in the streets, but as the people pass they halt to partake of a drink of aqua de chia, aqua de pina and orchata.

On Palm Sunday large quantities of palm, plaited in every imaginable form and tied with ribbons, are taken to the church and blessed. They are then placed on the iron rods outside the windows to protect the house from lightning or any other dread calamity.

During Holy Week, bells, organs and choirs utter not a sound, the stores are closed, and the world has a holiday. On Holy Thursday it is customary for both ladies and gentlemen to turnout in their new suits. The ladies appear in handsome toilets, the result of weeks of labor for the dressmakers, while the gentlemen display a corresponding industry on the part of the tailors.

Good Friday sees an entire change. The whole republic is in mourning, and the smiling faces of yesterday are superseded by downcast eyes and sober mien, as the vast concourse of people pass silently on their way to church.

In the afternoon is celebrated the feast of the Tres Caídas (Three Falls), which commemorates the three falls Christ suffered on his way to Calvary. After each fall the priest preaches a short sermon. Then follows the ceremony of the Tres Horas (Three Hours), when the scenes of the Crucifixion are represented in pantomime and with effigies. On the evening of the same day there is a service