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(Editor's Note: The Passion pla y, an impreave drama-tic Performance rep re. *enting the passion& and death of Christ ta bêta g preoented agal>a this year by tht peo ple of Oberammergaz4, Bavaria, Ger- maay. The foiiowing is an article writ- ten by Mrs. John Vennerna of 849 Willot* roadr, linnetkaj, dealintg with the incep-. tion and hMstory of the produtiton and #Usvins:, an acco unt o! the 1922 perform- ance. It is believed that it wvili be, of apecial interest at thia ttme.) Ry MrS. John Vennema Sitate soe ixt miles from Mu- nich. on the Ammer river and snugly. tucked in the. Bavarian Alps is the littie village of Oberammergau. It .is here that the Passion Play isbe- ing presented again this year. Before ive visit this revered spot it is well to know a ýbit about:the history of the Passion Play, how it came to be played there and why. The question of. the rnorality of this type of play cornes up, its good influence or cvii (if any) upon the people, there and elsewhere. .Many peoplehave stated that'they would not care to sce such a spectacle as the passion of Christ and incidents from our Bible actcd after the manner of the presentation at Oberammnergau. 1 had feelings .akin to theirs before Iwent to seethe play. I went out to that littie town because it waÀrs theý thing, for travelers to do and a part ofImy program while in Eastern Europe that year.- I-have been thankful for having witnessed it, thank ffu that the, prvilege came* to me, and I* count it one of the big things of mylife. 1 'cannot feel otherwise than that such a cel ebration of the passion of Chris t as* presented at Oberammer- gau as *most reverent and, inspiring, and leaves one with the feeling that those simple people lead holy lives. O-ne comes away with a better under- standing of. events biblical, and spirit- ually, uplifted, bésides:being deeply af- fected- by it. The effect upon the visiting world must have been pro- found., Those sincere, good Oberanmner- gauers -some 685*in number, men, women, and children .acting eut the incidents in.- Christ's life, with the of one man-The Christ.- Titus condcmned to be crucjfied 30,- 000 Jews ini and about Jerusalem forty or so years aftcr Christ's crucifixion. Those men; too, must have had dis- vtracted mothers to mouru thern-somc, * Marys mlo swooned at their crosses. They were Jews-}lewas a Jeiv. Their self-sacrifice, :because. they were fol- lowers of Him, id not> save even their names' from oblivion. Why then did the death of one .Jew-Jesus !of. Na- zaretb-transform the world? It was tbe Great Divine *and Natural law be- .hind aIl, that brought about the cruci- fixion of that one nman. Civilizations and 'empires have gone down into oblivion, but the kingdom that Christ established bas gone on., The lizht of civilizaton bas followed.wbere'His. teachings:have endured. Teachinga Repretented in PIay Thes teachlngs In thelr humble way haveebeen represented over- the centuries In the torm of plays-in their efforts tn im press upon the heart of man that Divine story. There came Into being thep, ail that was dlstl'nctly Catholle. In its efforts to leave t he pagaft Ideal.q behind and set before the worId the great truth, the church at that time made un- derstanding of the truth possible. That the people rnight see and comprehend, lie taught byý symbois, spolie through the eye as Weillas the ear: every huai-an elément of pathos, of tragedy, of awe, that would touch the beart or impreqs. the imagination wai used. As the light of thé new religion went farther fnto distant placés, away froni Rome the tendency grew to represent, ail this too often lIn larger and icoarse ways, oten dlefeatlng the cause In its efforts to rea ch ue the mos seUccesrui retflocl.of[indUt- ing meditation and of particulariy mIn- pressing people wlth an ldea. Represéntations of the Passion Play occurred ln Spai, Gérmany, the Neth- .érlands, and England 'ory early. Noné but théeone at Oberammergau, Bavarla, has. survived. The others becaine lrrev- erent, Insincere, and non-lnsplrlng. Posters used at Early Daté One suich early play attraçted the péo)- pie .by great posters anaiounclng "La Passion de N. L,. Jésus Christ" wlth tabieaux,. and in order to explain thié meaninga of these and to prepare the audience for the'scènes te follo there was an arrangement w hereby the in- terludes were featuréd by a chorus sing-: ilng hèavýenly mhuslci. thie force and pa- thos et which linger. ,with one., The music, by the way' han neyer been pub- Ilshed for.thie. publié. The Play ls glven ,i Germnan, but one follows.the librettoi translaited Into6 one's language, easily. Theater lJnprêtentious The theater,: then, wlth- a seatlng ca-, .PacltY of four thousand, was mont un- Pretentious. The stage, Gréek ln struc- ture, was closèd, at thie back.- The housèe of Pontîns Pilate was on'one aide, *hile at the other was the home of Evans. A closed portion of the center of the stage Was uséd for the tableaux. The un- roofed stage seemed. to have rémark- able aceuÊtie prôperties. For a back- groundstood the low mountaîn peak wlthlis-cross. thé IKepalkrag. Tht. stagný held 695 peopie. There are no "Ritz." accommodations at 0O'beramnxergau. one Ia court.Qusly received iiy thé long haired players, an-d condaicted to the simple, dlean homes, where comfortabie beds and good food are waltlng. One dnes not expeet too much. Only te be with thi-se people two days, tryig to grasp their conception of the meaniaig of that tenth year in] eaiough! The angelus rang, heada were low- ered. Eventide came. T1he musical tink- llng of beils toid us thé goats and cowoe meuntain aides. People strolled through the shops wherethe handiwork of thé Pare s, abount itus (then ,Ant,,n, er, Mary Magda-1 rs,. kneéling and, plaiers Wéll Trained Tlhé players. were well traiaried béling coached, from childhood for their part.. Réhearsals begin two' years beforé the The exposition also seeks to interest neighborhood groups >and young ath- Ictes- in staging céompetitive sports., affairs and pageants. For instance, a contest ini amateur. boat. building will be held *soon, and there will be. .horseshoe pitching contests,: marksmansbip tests and archeiry.,,tzeets. Trhe ma nagement of the show wants té hear fromh inter- ested organizations in the cemui- tics, this espcciallyincludlng boy and girl, scout troops, camp.-lire girls, boys' clubs, high achools and nïeigh- borhood playground groups.. Such groups have been advised t osi AI Fach, contest manager of the Moý- torboat. and Sportsman show, by ad- dressing hlm at 1l1S.LaSalle street, Chicago. According to H. H. Shuart,. general manager. of the show, "every kid -i- Chicago" will be interested in the zoo, which includes mountain lions, pronged horn antelopes, black and brown bears, peccaries, badgers, quail, wild turkey and other beasts and fowl. Display Relies .of01<1 W«t Texas jack and Bronco John have arranged an amazingly interesting display of relics of the old west. Tbink of seeing, aIl at one time. Tesse *There is an aquarium, too, at this sports show. Thousands of beautiful fish, natives of the Minnesota lakes, are in the swinl there, displayed li specially prepared glass tanks.1,. .Such celebrities as Art Yolung, world famous archer, and Chief Coller, great authority on fly cast- ing, are on hand each day to show tricks of these sports. Moupted Heids of Animais ever Europe an the thartecnth and "' " iir p r rso eenecance --VALUI1Uang Uver aperiof tor t-y fôuteeth entrie deelocd 1eli and as a pledge of their slncerlty made -a yéars. He. ceded his part te hi. son, foureenh cntuies eveepe re vow tliat In ail humillty they would per Alois Lang, who will be the Christus for of the recelpts, while ane-third goest gion. It was the stimulus from which fôrm,~thé Passion of thé Christ every tén 1934. Thé part ef Mary, thé mothér, must thé village. Tht, two-thlrds varies wil blossomed architecture, art, music, Yéars. They have trled te be faithful te be sustalnéd by a Young woman, so fi relative importance of the players c dram, ad ltertur. .Thedesire te tha1t solénin obligation. They live in théei.séiedoni actéd by the same person various classés. mach member of eac drma ad itraur. hespirit of a-aiad thé performance I an. twlce. This Is also true ef Mary Mag- class réceives a like amiouait. This lii present the Christian religion before aci of worehlp. dalene. J3oth are outstanding charac.. cludes chorus, aciers, an-d musiciaais, an, the people was growingon every hand. Légéidary accouat.3 state that. from ters, and upon'-thèse fine actréss de- viorkéas li général who help te maIi L that hour thé plagué was stayed. Thé pends much of thé success of.thé play. thé play' possible. Thie commun1tW It 'adtetak sonewrm an s p~ysplay bécamné afixed institution, and ha. In regard te thé rimunération, cf té=eny Is éxpénded on ipoenn representing thePassionl of our Lord, béén given -régularly'sties, -.lt s1éactn:Tépaer eév -thinds [thus addlng te thé cemfort of visitons.