Fraternity-Testvériség, 1960 (38. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1960-10-01 / 10. szám
8 FRATERNITY invited to attend a Christmas play. The huge, ornate-ceilinged auditorium was packed. The low stage was improvised, and, even while we were seated, stagehands were still busy with the props. In the center of the stage a tall Austrian fir tree, sparsely decorated with candles and a few strands of tinsel, provided the Christmas atmosphere. The stage setting was touchingly amateurish and modest. Paper stars of Bethlehem, angel wings of paper and hand-painted cardboard props dominated the scene; yet everything was of a pure golden quality. The American and Hungarian flags — the latter hung with black crepe — added to the solemnity of the unusual occasion when the Vice President attended a play performed by Hungarian patriots on free Austrian soil. Tanned, healthy-looking and youthful, Nixon sat in the front row with his entourage from Washington, Ambassador Thompson and others, and awaited the curtain call. The curtain — two white sheets — was opened by two Hungarian ministers. The scene of the Nativity occupied the center stage. Children in native costumes, with angel wings and halos, toddled out. Suddenly a woman’s frantic voice broke the silence: “Jaj, jaj, Juliskám, az Istenért ne vegyed ki Jézust a bölcsőből!” (No, no, Julie, for Heaven's sake leave Jesus in the crib!) The woman had merely tried to remind her daughter to stick to the script and not take the Holy Child from His place. Julie must have been a real rebel, for even the two ministers were unable to keep her from trying to take the show into her own hands. The excitement over, the show got rolling at last. After ten years I again heard the ancient Hungarian carol, “Mennyből az angyal lejött hozzátok pásztorok” (“The Angel of Heaven Came Down to You, 0 Shepherds") and “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht”. The singing of carols was forbidden by the Communists. The Nativity story in this simple setting rang with more sincerity than has many a professional performance. The tidings, “Peace on Earth, Good Will toward Men", were not a mere manifestation of faith, but also an indictment of the Red tyrants. The primitive presentation of the ancient Christmas legend and the aura of tragedy surrounding the players and the audience created a religious atmosphere that captivated even those who had never witnessed a Christmas play. ★ ★ ★ The religious atmosphere of the performance was dissipated
