Book excerpt: The spell of Christmas in a tri-cultural land pervades this last of Dorothy Pillsbury’s four books. In 35 stories she takes us to the winter ceremonies of New Mexico. We watch with her the ancient Zuni rite of the Shalako gods; we are lit by the glow of farolitos on adobe roofs and feel the crunch of clean snow in the mountain lanes. Best of all, we are taken through adobe doorways into the homes of friends and neighbors, like those of Tenorio Flat, where the welcome is warm and the way of life gentler perhaps than it is today. More than a Christmas book, this is a shining string of tales for all seasons.