GLOSSARY OF CALIFORNIA TERMS
Abalone: a shellfish found on the Pacific coast, having an iridescent shell.
Adobe: originally the sun-baked bricks; also applied to buildings built of these bricks.
Barbecue: the roasting of a whole animal in a pit,—the principal feature of many a festivity.
Cascara sagrada: a medicinal plant whose value is now appreciated by the whole world. Tons of the bark are shipped from California annually.
Chiquita: a diminutive of endearment.
La Fiesta del Señor: Christmas Day.
Lagunita: a little lake.
La Pastorela: a play performed at all the Spanish-Californian settlements on Christmas Eve. It represented the story of the Nativity and of the triumph of the Faith over the wiles of Satan.
Madre: mother.
Mission San Francisco d'Assisi: the foundation of the present city of San Francisco.
Ninita mia: "my little girl," a very common term of endearment.
Padre: father.
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