Have you ever wondered where he might be at any point during the day?  Well, we have a website where you can track Santa!  Go to  http://www.noradsanta.org/en/track.html and see where he is!

And just to get you in the spirit, here is The Night Before Christmas.  Enjoy, all, and please have a Merry Christmas!

The Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

“Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”

Every Christmas season we are told to believe in the Spirit of Christmas, and as Christians we try to personalize this spirit as the Holy Spirit. But it’s not. It’s make-believe.

I have watched over the past several years whenever anyone mentions believing in the spirit of Christmas, Santa Claus is referenced.   The Polar Express movie swept the country during the 2004 Christmas Season. All Polar Express tickets that the kids receive spelled out two letters of the word “believe.” The boy, who held the only winning “BE” ticket, had to first say “I believe” three times before he could receive the first gift of Christmas – a bell from one of Santa’s reindeer. Kids, who believe in Santa, can hear the bell; but their parents can’t due to their unbelief. For several years, the annual Fort Collins Symphony Guild’s Christmas Concert’s theme “Truly Believe” with its focus on Santa. I know of one family in my son’s grade school, who are atheists. They try to fill their spiritual void with at least one belief besides being the best in everything, which is perpetuating the Santa Claus myth so their fifth grade child can still accept it as true. A Christian should question anything that is based on lies and deceptions, for these vices are not of God’s Kingdom.

REFORMATION HITS A HOLIDAY

My pastor reminded our congregation several years back: “If you ignore history, you are doomed to repeat it. Learn history. Know it. When we discover history, we rediscover truth. The word of God reveals truth.” Any authentic confrontation with history results in the opposite of self-exoneration. The primal idea Martin Luther brought to the world is sola scriptura – a Christian is to be guided by scripture alone. In reaction to the abuses of Church authority, Luther appealed to the ultimate authority of the Bible. I have also sought the scriptures to backup the reason to believe “Christmas will be the golden calf of America” (see “North Pole Going South?” http://wp.me/p158HG-kH and “Where Christmas Comes From Part 2” http://wp.me/p158HG-2m); and as you can tell, scripture completely backs up this radical statement. In Luther’s rejection to what appeared to him to be the Church’s idolatry of its own hierarchy, he replaced it with deference to the Word, which can easily slip into an idolatry of its own, if the entire counsel of scripture is not consulted.

Protestants were the first to reject the Christmas celebration, but the break did not happen in sixteenth century Saxony or with Martin Luther. Martin Luther celebrated Christmas.[2] We should note that Luther did not appraise many of the practices in the Church according to the sola scriptura idea he started. The sixteenth century Reformation did not initially go into the substance of the Church’s traditions. I have a feeling that Luther’s initial stance, which enacted the Reformation, when he nailed his ninety-five theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church, was what the Lord required of him. It was a great precedent setting stance; and I greatly admire it. But least we consider all of Luther’s practices flawless; we should remember his anti-Semitic, Holocaust-inciting ravings.[3] It’s a deeply disturbing part of his legacy. A couple successors to the Protestant Reformation, who endeavored to fully enacted Luther’s sola scriptura concept, was John Calvin and John Knox.

As you can imagine, a ban of Roman holidays[4] (which included Christmas), caused uproar in certain quarters; and John Calvin was reproached as the instigator of the action. Calvin wrote a correspondence that if he had been asked for advice, he would have not supported this decision.[5] John Calvin was initially uneasy about the edict to ban the Roman festivals, because he feared that the sudden change might provoke tumult, which could impede the course of the Reformation, even though Calvin’s general views on worship were clearly stated and were subsequently called the regulative principle of worship– all modes of worship must be expressly sanctioned by God’s Word if they are to be considered legitimate.[6]

Although Church leaders, in the midst of a reformation, are most likely to be hesitant to touch anything greatly loved by the masses, the Lord is not. God’s patience and kindness is meant to lead people to repentance, not lead us to justify His endorsement of our faults.  The Church’s failure in relation to idolatry, embodied via Roman feasts, was a symptom of man’s change in the times. Thank God that His grace has been, and continues to be, great!

“Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received a full knowledge of the truth, there is no other sacrifice that will cover these sins. …Anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God and have treated the blood of the covenant as if it were common and unholy. Such people have insulted and enraged the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to his people” (Hebrews 10:26-29_NLT).

 Calvin’s lack of endorsement for celebrating Christmas, due to his application of sola scriptura, is echoed by another successor of the Reformation. John Knox and the Scottish Reformation repeatedly affirmed that true worship must be instituted by God – in His Word. In 1560, Knox asserted the sole authority of scripture as it relates to doctrine and worship.[7] In 1566, the position of the Scottish Church was reaffirmed when the General Assembly in Scotland wrote: “concerning the “festival of our Lord’s nativity, circumcision, … these festivals at the present time obtain no place among us; for we dare not religiously celebrate any other feast-day than what the divine oracles prescribed.”[8] Please refer to “Christmas Outlawed in Scotland” http://wp.me/p158HG-8N .

While King James of England sought to appeal to the masses by imposing various ceremonies (Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide, and Ascension) upon the Church to enhance his Anglican cause, Presbyterians maintained a strong stance against Christmas. These Scottish ministers persistently resisted, with David Calderwood (1575-1651) representing their firm opposition: “Indeed, the brazen serpent was originally constructed by God’s express command; yet it was destroyed when it became a snare to the people of God (2 Kings 18:4). How much more, then, should we discard man-made observances, which are additionally contaminated with Roman superstition and idolatry?”[9] My aim is not to criticize or uplift any particular Christian denomination, but to give the reader a very cursory glance at how Christmas has flowed through Church history and the circumstances involved.

In reaction to the Protestant Reformation, a defensive Catholic Church adopted an attitude that the Church was sinless in itself, and had no need of reformation.[10] I have encountered this same argument when discussing the laying down of Christmas with devout Christians. When I mentioned to a close friend that “this is a holiness issue,” she defensively challenged me: “Are you saying I’m not holy?” I told her that only God can make that call. I am only responsible for myself and my family as well as for the things God gives me to do. Writing about Christmas (i.e., this blog and my book SANTA-TIZING: What’s wrong with Christmas and how to clean it up) is a matter of obedience for me. I am as fallible as anyone. I am merely sharing what the Lord our God has shown me with over 14 years of research under my belt.

I additionally hear Christians declare something similar to: “I am saved by grace, and accepted by God just as I am. Therefore, I have no need to change; and am holy.” This first sentence is absolutely correct. Yes, our spirits are saved, and the Lord incredibly accepts us just the way we are. Thank God! But when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our souls are still full-of-the-dickens. Have you lied since you have become a born-again believer? Have you coveted? Have you sewn to the flesh instead of to the Spirit?

The process of sanctification cleanses our souls: “work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13_NASB). To reform something means that it is made better.  Don’t you and I have room for improvement? Isn’t that the purpose of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as we partner with Him? On-going reformation is the road a believer travels to become more like Christ. Hopefully, our ultimate destination is for our will being enthroned in Christ’s love. This is the kingdom road revealed in Isaiah 35 as the “Highway of Holiness”: “And a highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for him who walks that way, and fools will not wander on it” (Isaiah 35:8_NASB).

Is the Church infallible? Are you? Here’s a helpful hint – when trying to discern the truth about infallibility, ask those outside. Glance at any congregation to see that there is a continual need to review the Church’s imperfections. Mankind’s answer must be that we all fall short of the glory of God, as we journey unto perfection.

Let’s remember to look into history’s mirror to regard the reflection of past errors to help us not repeat them. The first formal declaration of the doctrine of infallibility (papal )[11] came during a time when so much was tearing at the fabric of the Church’s traditions of faith and its institutional power.[12] The Church is again in a tumultuous time when traditions and institutions are being challenged by the King of kings Himself. My pastor told us “When you are in service of the King, you have to do what the King tells you to do. God is asking you to live for Him.”[13] The Lord our God is currently in the process of removing all things from His Kingdom that can be shaken “so that only eternal things will be left. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be destroyed, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:27-29_NLT).

Catholicism was more attuned to what nineteenth century liberalism threatened than what it promised; therefore, the Church leadership made itself the bulwark against the new idea. Will the Lord’s Church do the same in this kingdom day? Will we take up the task of reformation? Or will we set ourselves up against God’s new thing? Will we examine our imperfections, as led of the Lord? Or will we deny our shortcomings, or our need to deal with our faults?

Idolatry is a fundamental sin for all of us, so there is no need to become defensive. Right before the Lord declares “new things I declare” in Isaiah 42, God proclaims that He will not give His glory or praise to idols. The Church’s heart solely belongs to Jesus. Paul was speaking to believers in Galatia about freedom in Christ when he wrote: “So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. …These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict” (Galatians 5:16-17_NLT).  Believers, who are free in Christ, paradoxically have a conflict raging within them. It’s our old sinful nature that loves to do evil versus our new life in Christ directed by the Holy Spirit.

I am not advocating keeping the Jewish law, as some have accused; but living a life pleasing to the Lord with holy, reverential fear.  Does endeavoring to avoid the sins listed in Galatians 5:19-21 amount to keeping the Law or living a life of love as directed by the Holy Spirit? “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Galatians 5:18_NKJV). I am advocating abiding by the Essential Commandments given to All Believers, which are Holy Spirit given directives. I am also advocating living a yielded life in Christ, so we may bring forth eternal fruit as a natural product of abiding in Him. After the fruits of the Spirit are listed, Galatians 5:24-25 tells us: “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

Paul would not exhort believers to walk in the Spirit, if the opposite could not be true. Galatians 5:19-21 enumerates the sins, exhibited in believer’s lives, when we follow the desires of our sinful nature: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambition, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like.  Once again notice, idolatry is one of them. Additionally, notice that many of these sins exist in the Church today. Show me a church congregation without selfish ambition, envy, or strife; and I will show you one that operates in the Kingdom of God. Remember that anyone living a life that produces idolatry will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Therefore, the Church worshiping idols in any shape, form, or fashion, especially by means unique to it (e.g. sun images hanging on a tree), is an area that needs sincere examination in this kingdom day. By the way, this kingdom day will be marked by reformation upon reformation until we are “conformed into the image of the Son” (Romans 8:29_NASB).

The Latin word for “reform” is reformare. It’s means “to shape something according to its own essential being.”[14] Aren’t you and I supposed to be transformed from glory to glory into the very image of God by the Spirit of Living God? Authentic reformation looks to the message of love preached and lived by Jesus. We are to do as He did in all things. Please refer to “Walking in a Winter One-der-land” http://wp.me/p158HG-gN and “Winter One-der-land” http://wp.me/p158HG-aH .

In our rediscovering of truth through our discovery of history, we distinguish that history actually records that the first Christmas trees explicitly decorated and named after the “Christian” holiday appeared in Strasbourg in Alsace in the beginning of the seventeenth century.[15] An anonymous German citizen wrote in 1605: “At Christmas they set up fir trees in the parlors of Strasbourg and hang thereon roses cut out of many colored paper, apples, wafers, gold-foil, sweets, etc…”[16] Additionally, we hear that Christmas, as we know, it is a Victorian invention of the 1860s.[17]  In 1846, Queen Victoria and her German Prince Albert were sketched in the Illustrated London Times standing around a Christmas tree with their children.[18] Queen Victoria’s husband played a large part in the transformation of Santa Claus into the icon that we recognize today as the “The Spirit of Christmas Rejoicing.” He brought in a Teutonic[19] element to the Christmas mix. At this point Santa Claus began to ride a sleigh, descend chimneys, and fill stockings, just as Prince Albert had practiced in Germany during childhood.[20]Due to Queen Victoria’s popularity, fashion-conscious Brits and East Coast American Society followed suit. The Christmas tree, and its totem figure Santa Claus, had arrived in America with style; and by the 1890s, its popularity was on the rise around the United States.[21]

THE FATHER OF CHRISTMAS

Do you remember Dana Carvey’s hilarious Saturday Night Live Church Lady skit? One Christmas show, he dressed up complete in a conservative dress, sensible shoes, and a gray wig spelled out the word “Santa” with magnetic letters on a white board; then rearranged them to spell “Satan.” Do you recall the Church Lady’s byline? “Could it be Sssss….atan!?”

History Professor Jeffrey Burton Russell incredibly agrees with the tongue-in-cheek Santa-Satan assessment of the Church Lady. Russell wrote The Prince of Darkness, which draws attention to the historical dark links between Satan and Santa Claus. This is a link many Christians have sought to ignore or minimize. From a European folklore viewpoint, Russell notes: “The Devil lives in the far north and drives reindeer; he wears a suit of red fur; he goes down chimneys in the guise of Black Jack or the Black Man covered in soot; as Black Peter he carries a large sack into which he pops sins or sinners (including naughty children); he carries a stick or cane to thrash the guilty (now he merely brings candy canes); he flies through the air with the help of strange animals; food and wine are left out for him as a bribe to secure his favors. The Devil’s nickname ‘Old Nick’ derives directly from Saint Nicholas. Nicholas was often associated with fertility cults, hence with fruit, nuts, and fruitcake, his characteristic gifts.” [22]

If you ask most Christians who have the Santa Claus tradition included in their Christmas morning routine, they will most likely tell you that Santa Claus is based on a real saint.  The history and legend of Saint Nicholas is so intertwined that the only things that we can say for sure about him is the general time he lived and where he was located. I base this assertion on the Catholic Encyclopedia: “Though he is one of the most popular saints in the Greek as well as the Latin Church, there is scarcely anything historically certain about him except that he was Bishop of Myra in the fourth century.”[23] Saint Nicholas is said to be renowned for his generosity, miracles, and love of children. He supposedly dropped coins down the chimney to preserve his anonymity and the dignity of his recipients.[24] Bishop Nicholas of Myra may have become the first official Saint Nicholas, but this is not Santa’s sole point of origin or his earliest.

The power, which stands behind the jolly old man of Christmas, goes way back – back to the beginning of recorded history and beyond. The worldly figure of Santa really derives from an even earlier set of figures – the shamans who were the first magicians of the human race. The very notion of a gift giver descending from a high place bearing gifts can be traced back to the shaman’s climbing up the world tree to reach the other-world, then returning with gifts for everyone. [25] These were not toys or IPODS, but messages concerning the year to come and/or the fate of the world.

The immediate predecessor for our modern Christmas Season for Western Civilization is the Roman Saturnalia and its worship of Saturnus (i.e., Saturn). Please refer to “Where Christmas Comes From – Part 2” http://wp.me/p158HG-2m . Saturn was also known as the Roman god of time and agriculture. Other sun gods were also associated with the changing of time and vegetation, like Babylonian Tammuz and Phrygian Attis. The celebration of the returning of the sun, and its worldly blessing for the New Year, connects people to the controlling god of this world through his shamanistic priests (whether magicians or images of St. Nick).

The shamans, from whom we get some of our Christmas traditions, were all over the world; but for obvious reasons we will focus on those who originate in the North. Please note that the devil proclaimed: “I will raise my throne above the stars of God. And I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north” (Isaiah 14:13-14). Why does the devil want to sit enthroned in the recesses of the north? Psalm 48 says that Mount Zion, which is beautiful in elevation and the joy of the whole earth, is in the far north. George Otis Jr. reveals that “the far north is well beyond the polluted atmosphere of imaginary gods and fallen angels Only on Mount Zion can the true God be found.”[26] The northern shamans often wore bells on their ritual red robes trimmed in white and, as mentioned before, shinned up and down the central pole (i.e. tree) adorned with sun images in their skin tent to receive messages from the other-world. Remember that their central pole represented the axis of the world, which led to the shaman’s final demonic destination. The father figure of Christmas (i.e. Santa Claus) and his shamanistic predecessors were first said to be the midwives of the sun. [27]  

Prior to 1823, Santa Claus neither had reindeer nor the ability to fly or descend chimneys. “These elements arrived with the publication of Clement Clarke Moore’s classic poem A Visit from Saint Nicholas (or The Night Before Christmas). Some have speculated that Moore, a professor of Oriental languages, drew his inspiration from the rituals of Siberia’s Koryak, Kamchandal and Chukchi peoples – rituals that, to this day, include the worship of the “great reindeer spirit.[28] “The only person who can communicate with the reindeer spirit, according to these traditional societies, is the tribal shaman, who does so by eating the fly agaric mushroom. Once entranced, he ‘flies’ to the spirit world, where he collects messages and ‘gifts’ in the shape of new songs, dances and stories for the tribe. Interestingly, the shaman enters the realm of the spirits through the smoke hole on the roof on his yurt, or hide tent.”[29]

I happened to be watching CNN when they featured a special Christmas Display in England called “Satan’s Grotto,” where kids get a “free” gift of an eyeball or severed finger, plus the additional chance to sign their life away. [30] CNN said it was all tongue-cheek, but the picture of the horned-one in a Santa suit was telling. There is more truth to this tongue-in-cheek caricature of Satan as Santa than many would care to admit. The devil is prideful and enjoys revealing what he’s involved in, but you have to look very carefully because he continually masks as an angel of light while his character is based solely on lies and deception.

The devil playing Santa is re-iterated in the CzechRepublic on St. Nicholas Eve: “A devil prowls neighborhoods to interrogate children to find out whether they were naughty or nice. The devil carries a large switch with him for emphasis, and it’s not unusual to find photos in Prague newspapers of ‘frightened kids being menaced by the devil.’”[31] Thus Santa Claus’ association with Christmas is not an accident or a coincidence. He is inextricably connected to the Saturn roots of Christmas whether Christians participate in his “Ho… Ho… Ho…” tradition or not.

Just casually pay attention during the Christmas Season and you will see that Santa Claus is one of the most common and celebrated sight of the holiday. As Christians, we say that we don’t worship Christmas like Secularists, Buddhists, Pagans, or Satanists; we only worship the “golden” type saying that Jesus is the reason for our season. The reality is that Christians have brought Christmas out of the pagan world just as the Jews brought the Apis out of Egypt. “Israel cries out to me, O our God, we acknowledge you! But Israel has rejected what is good… Throw out your calf-idol… My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity? …This calf – a craftman has made it; it is not God” (Hosea 8:2, 5-6).

When Jesus came to me with tears in His eyes telling me: “The mixture of Christmas grieves My heart,” I had to come to grips with the thought that my Christian celebration of Christ’s birth actually upset, and even opposed, Him. It did not exalt Him as I had been taught. “Those who oppose Him he [the Lord’s servant] must gently instruct, in hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:25-26). Believers can oppose Jesus Christ, and sometimes regrettably we do.

God’s solid foundation is sealed with these trustworthy inscriptions” “The Lord knows those who are His,” and “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness” (2 Timothy 2:19). I pray that we will not show contempt for God’s kindness, tolerance, and patience towards us. Romans 2:4 declares that God’s kindness leads us toward repentance. Actually coming out of Babylon and laying down Christmas fulfills turning away[32] from this celebratory practice that grieves our Savior’s heart. We are exhorted to “make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with Him” (2 Peter 3:14). Our orders from headquarters are rules to live by given to us in God’s Word. They are our rules of engagement to the King of kings, where we receive the victor’s crown, because we serve the Lord according to His rules.[33] We are called to no longer live as the world or pagans do. Second Timothy 2:21 shows us that we are “made holy;” and thus, “useful to the Master,” if we cleanse ourselves from perishable, earthly practices. Then we are “prepared to do any good work.”

Purification is a two-way process, as is most every work of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives. We are first made holy through Christ’s atoning sacrifice, and then we must also choice to cleanse our lives. “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love…” (1 Peter 1:22). But please remember that purification is ultimately wrought by Christ: “To purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:14). It’s like we love Him, because He first loved us. Please notice that our love is proven by what we do. Let’s not “claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him” (Titus 1:6).

—————–

Copyright Dec. 24, 2012 – When you copy, please copy it right by including attribution to this article. Author: Robin Main.

Twitter: @SANTATIZING, Facebook: http://facebook.com/santatizing, Website: www.santa-tizing.com, Email: santatizing@gmail.com

The information in this article and more details can be found in Chapter 5 “The Golden Snare” or Chapter 6 “The Golden Calf” in my book: SANTA-TIZING: What’s wrong with Christmas and how to clean it up (available on amazon http://www.amazon.com/SANTA-TIZING-Whats-wrong-Christmas-clean/dp/1607911159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353692179&sr=1-1&keywords=SANTA_TIZING).

The stockings were hung near the tree with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The brown dawgs were nestled all snug in their bed,
While visions of antler bones danced in their heads.

Storm in her ‘kerchief, Thunder and Freighter in their caps,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
They sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window they flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below.

When, what to their wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
They knew in a moment it must be St Nick.

Forget the rest…

Hope St. Nick brings us something good!

The chaps from CPT decided to hit up the Durbaville park and give you some shit for your eyes to feast on. Yeah they’re the Saint Nick’s and Zwarte Piets of our skate generation! Enjoy your presents and coals. Tis the reason to fuck Mary!!! Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah, Blah Blah Blah Blah!!!!

NASA has a clever idea here as it seems,  a Christmas spirit asteroid flying through the cosmos and decorating every thing it comes in contact with.  I guess this is jolly Old Saint Nicholas wondering the universe as he did in the community of Patara which was a port on the Mediterranean Sea.  Among the Greeks and Italians he is a favorite of sailors,  fishermen, ships,  sailing and certenley as patron saint of children.  So the clip makes sense of Old Saint Nick sailing the galaxy still bringing cheer to all he comes in contact with.  Merry Christmas and thanks NASA,  nice touch.

From NASA and Me: Our wish for a happy holiday season,  and a healthy and prosperous 2013!

Video uploaded by U Tube user NASAtelevision

Further Up Yonder

NASA Television shares this inspiring production by Italian video-maker  Giacomo Sardelli,  about the International Space Station,  its inhabitants,  and its role in space exploration.  Sardelli writes of the video, “I’m not the first one to use NASA’s pictures taken from the International Space Station to craft a Time-lapse  video. You can find many of them on the Internet,  that’s where my inspiration came from.  What I wanted to do, though, was to look beyond the intrinsic beauty of those pictures, and use them to tell a story and share the messages sent by the astronauts who worked on the station in the last 11 years.”

This is a great clip and because the world did not end,  we all have a better chance at what it is to be more humane than human.  Love these videos you can feel,  aren’t we lucky?  Your going to make that happen.

Video uploaded by U Tube user NASAtelevision

English: Santa Claus with a little girl Esperanto: Patro Kristnasko kaj malgranda knabino Suomi: Joulupukki ja pieni tyttö (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.

And mamma in her kerchief, and I in my cap, had just settled our brains, for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutter, and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow, gave a luster of midday to objects below.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick, I knew in a minute it must be Saint Nick!

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, and he whistled and shouted and called them by name.

“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donner, and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall, now, dash away, dash away, dash away all!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, when they meet with an obstacle mount to the sky.

So, up to the housetop the coursers they flew, with a sleigh full of toys — and Saint Nicholas, too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof, the prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head and was turning around, down the chimney Saint Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot, and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes, how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry.

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, and the beard on his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, and the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath.

He had a broad face and a little round belly, that shook, when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump — a right jolly old elf, and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.

A wink of his eye, and a twist of his head, soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, and filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.

And laying a finger aside of his nose, and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, and away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere they drove out of sight, “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”

Nederlands: Sinterklaas tijdens het Het Feest van Sinterklaas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Want to share other classic Christmas stories with your children? For more heartwarming holiday stories, try these:

• Christmas Stories

• Christmas Tree Stories

• Santa Claus Stories

• Inspirational Christmas Stories

• Winter Stories

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• Looking for my Christmas Cheer (theatticbirds.wordpress.com)
• A Visit from St. Nicholas (triblive.com)
• ‘Twas the night before Christmas (thirdeyemom.com)
• Semi-Classic Caterpickles: “How old is Santa?” (caterpickles.com)
• Saint Nicholas – the real Santa Claus (thetemplarknight.com)
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This article was first written and published on http://www.cyprusscene.com on the 30th November and it is being re-published here for the enjoyment of the TFR membership.

During the late summer I met a charming Dutch family at the Aphrodite Restaurant, Lapta where they were being entertained by the owner Cemal Boransel with a demonstration of traditional dancing and explanations of so much Turkish Cypriot cultural practices.

Since then I have kept in contact with our Dutch friends, Jantina, Eddy, Sander, Thomas and Amber and we have shared links and when I shared the following links to Cyprusscene articles we noticed an incredible reading by Dutch readers which was great and hopefully we will see many more of these very friendly people coming to North Cyprus to enjoy all that is good about our homeland.

 Dutch Treat at the Aphrodite Restaurant, Lapta

 Dutch Treat at the Aphrodite Restaurant, Lapta – More news

I recently had another email from Jatina and she wrote this to me.

 ”Hello Chris

How are things there in Cyprus? We are well and everything is OK here in Holland although it’s getting colder with today’s temperature of only 4 degrees.

 Brrrrr!

Here in Holland we will start the seasonal celebrations with the arrival of Sinterklaas. He is an old man with a beard who looks a bit like Santa Claus (He has a servant who is black)

He comes on Saturday 1st December with the steam boat and first he puts small gifts in peoples shoes at night and on the 5th December they turn into a lot of gifts. When he has completed his work he goes back to Spain where he lives and then we start here with our Christmas Celebrations by setting up a Christmas tree in our home with many lights and candles.”

I had a holiday in Ostend in Belgium for the Millennium New Year Celebrations and we encountered similar characters who came into the bars giving away small gifts of sweets and chocolate so I decided to learn a little more of this wonderful custom.

According to Wikipedia:

“Sinterklaas or more formally Sint Nicolaas or Sint Nikolaas; Saint Nicolas in French; Sankt Nikolaus in German) is a traditional Winter holiday figure still celebrated today in the Low Countries, including the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as French Flanders (Lille) and Artois (Arras). He is also well-known in territories of the former Dutch Empire, including South Africa, Aruba, Suriname, Curaçao, Bonaire, and Indonesia. He is one of the sources of the holiday figure of Santa Claus in North America.

Although he is usually referred to as Sinterklaas, he is also known as De Goedheiligman (The Good Holy Man), Sint Nicolaas (Saint Nicholas) or simply as De Sint (The Saint).

He is celebrated annually on Saint Nicholas’ Eve (5 December) or on the morning of 6 December in the Netherlands, Belgium and Northern France. Originally, the feast celebrates the name day of Saint Nicholas — patron saint of children, sailors, and the city of Amsterdam, among others. Sint Nicholas being a bishop and this geographical spread make clear that the feast in this form has a Roman Catholic background.

Closely related figures are also known in German-speaking Europe and territories historically influenced by German culture, including: Switzerland (Samichlaus), Germany and Austria (Sankt Nikolaus); the region of South Tyrol in Italy; Nord-Pas de Calais, Alsace and Lorraine in France – as well as in Luxembourg (De Kleeschen), parts of Central Europe and the Balkans.”

So here we are on the eve of the arrival of “Sinterklaas” on the 1st December and one can only but imagine just how excited all of those many thousands of children must be in the countries he will be visiting tomorrow.

For your enjoyment I have included a video link showing his arrival in Holland in 2010 and you can view this by clicking here.

If you have a vivid imagination and can travel through time, you can visit the Sinterklaas Celebrations in Rhinebeck by clicking here.

For North Cyprus, Christmas is just around the corner and Christmas trees with decorations and lights will be appearing very soon and I will try to write a follow up article of how we all enjoyed ourselves for our Dutch friends to read and enjoy.

By Chris Elliott

This article was first published in www.cyprusscene.com on 30th November 2012

]]> http://teepee12.com/2012/12/24/a-visit-from-st-nicholas/ Mon, 24 Dec 2012 05:10:18 +0000 Teepee12 http://teepee12.com/2012/12/24/a-visit-from-st-nicholas/ http://gingerjar2.wordpress.com/2012/12/23/the-real-saint-nicholas/ Mon, 24 Dec 2012 03:10:00 +0000 Lynden Rodriguez http://gingerjar2.wordpress.com/2012/12/23/the-real-saint-nicholas/

English: Santa Claus with a little girl Esperanto: Patro Kristnasko kaj malgranda knabino Suomi: Joulupukki ja pieni tyttö (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My Take: The Christmas message of the real St. Nicholas

Editor’s note: Adam C. English is author of “The Saint Who Would Be Santa Claus: The True Life and Trials of St. Nicholas of Myra” (Baylor University Press, 2012) and associate professor of religion at Campbell University.

By Adam C. English, Special to CNN

Four years ago, I embarked on a quest to discover the truth about Santa Claus and the original St. Nicholas. My search took me many places, sending me finally across the Atlantic to Bari, on Italy’s Adriatic coast.
The old town of Bari is a brambly, medieval maze of streets and alleyways that cross and crisscross. It is said that the city was intentionally constructed in a topsy-turvy way so that anyone trying to raid it would get swallowed and lost in its labyrinth. If you keep wandering, though, eventually you pop out onto a plaza and see the Basilica di San Nicola.
And there, in a gray tomb, lies the “real” Santa Claus. The basilica housing that tomb dates to the 11th century. You can go into the basilica and pray, rest or just gawk, but the real show lies below.
Down dark steps you will enter a candle-lit crypt, built in 1089, supported by 26 marble columns. Through a grate you will see a large marble and concrete tomb, St Nicholas’ final resting place.
Little is known for certain about the life of Nicholas, whose name means “the people’s champion.” He was born sometime after the year 260 and died sometime after 333.
He was bishop of the church in Myra in what was then the Roman province of Lycia, Asia Minor. He attended the Council of Nicaea in 325 with the other bishops of the Christian empire, where he would have seen the Emperor Constantine.
Perhaps he would have slipped into obscurity as nothing more than a minor saint – originally he was a patron saint of sailors – except for one unique story that circulated about him shortly after his death.
It’s such a strange and surprising tale that historians assume it must be based to a large degree on fact. It is the tale of three poor daughters.
Nicholas had been aware of a certain citizen of Patara – in Lycia, modern-day Turkey – who had once been an important and wealthy man of the city but who had fallen on hard times and into extreme poverty. The man grew so desperate that he lacked the very essentials of life.
The poor man reasoned that it was impossible to marry off his three beautiful daughters because they lacked dowries for proper marriages to respectable noblemen. He feared they would each in turn be forced into prostitution to support themselves.
Nicholas heard this heartbreaking news and resolved to do something about it. He bagged a sum of gold and in the dead of night, tossed it through the man’s window. The money was used as a dowry for the first daughter.
Sometime later, Nicholas made a second nighttime visit so that the second daughter might marry. Later tradition reported that, finding the windows closed, he dropped the bag of gold down the chimney, where it landed into one of the girl’s stockings that was hanging to dry.
When Nicholas returned to deliver anonymously the third bag of gold for the last daughter, the curious father was ready. When he heard a bag hit the floor, the father leapt to his feet and raced outside, where he caught the mysterious benefactor.
Nicholas revealed his identity to the father but made him swear never to tell anyone what he’d done. He did not want praise or recognition for his generosity.
More impressive than its connection with modern-day Santa Claus traditions is the tale’s historical uniqueness. The vast majority of saint stories that circulated in the early church involved extraordinary miracles and healings or dramatic martyrdoms and confessions of Christ.
They involved monks who went into the desert and experienced the tempting of the devil and the burning of the sun, mothers who’d had their entrails spilled onto the Colosseum floor for Christ, mystics who saw the heavens open in their visions.
But the Nicholas story was about a regular family facing a familiar crisis to which ordinary people could relate. Those in the pews had never heard anything like it.
When medieval Christians looked at the great church frescoes, basilica mosaics and cathedral stained glass pictures of Jesus, Mary, John the Baptist, the apostles and saints of old, there was little to distinguish one saint from another.
But St. Nicholas was easy to spot. He was always pictured carrying three bags of gold. The story of his helping the three sisters jumped off the dry page of history and into the minds and imaginations of young girls and boys and adults.
Indeed, Nicholas would become the most popular nonbiblical saint in the pre-modern church. More churches would be dedicated to him than to any other person except Mary, the mother of Jesus. The first medieval drama that was not intended as a worship ritual and that was written in the vernacular was about Nicholas.
No wonder, then, that sailors from Bari wanted his bones. In the 1080s, Seljuk Turks invaded Lycia and Asia Minor (what is now Turkey). It seemed only a matter of time before they would plunder the tomb of St. Nicholas.
The Barians resolved that his bones be moved, or “translated,” to use the expression of the day. Under the nose of the Turkish overlords in control of the area 47 Barian sailors disembarked at Myra disguised as pilgrims.
They quietly made their way to the church of St. Nicholas, hiding swords and shovels under their clothes. As soon as they entered the church, they barred the doors, smashed the marble cover and looked inside.
They found more than they had bargained for: Nicholas’ bones were floating in a sweet-smelling liquid like oil or water. Known as the myrrh or manna of St. Nicholas, the liquid was highly valued for its purported miraculous and therapeutic qualities.
The bones were taken back to Italy and a basilica was erected in Bari to house them. To this day, Nicholas’ tomb continues to excrete a small amount of watery liquid.
Every year on May 9, one of the Dominican friars charged with the upkeep and care of the Basilica di San Nicola squats down in front of a small opening in the tomb and slowly collects a vile of the myrrh of St. Nicholas. It is then diluted in holy water and bottled for pilgrims and visitors.
So there is a lot more to the story of St. Nick than meets the eye. His bold initiative to help three poor girls in need sparked a tradition of gift-giving that has carried into modern times. The magical Christmas Eve visits from Santa Claus represent the vestige of this old story. Instead of fixating on the commercialization and greed that plague the modern Santa Claus, I chose to see in it the lasting power of a simple act of kindness.
More than a footnote to the legend of Santa Claus, Nicholas is a model of Christian kindness, an inspiration for charity and a saint to be remembered. He challenges us at this time of year to give not only to those we know and love, but also to those we do not know and especially to those who find themselves in need.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Adam C. English.
The Editors – CNN Belief Blog
Filed under: Christianity • Christmas
source URL: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/22/my-take-the-christmas-message-of-the-real-st-nicholas/?hpt=hp_c3

//

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Here are some of the names of Santa Claus of Father Christmas.

• Afghanistan – Baba Chaghaloo
• Armenia – Gaghant Baba
• Brazil – Papai Noel
• Czech Republic – Ježíšek
• Denmark – Julemanden
• France and French Canada – Le Père Noël
• Germany – Weihnachtsmann
• Iraq and South Africa – Goosaleh
• Ireland & Scottish Highlands – Daidí na Nollag
• Italy – Babbo Natale
• Portugal – Pai Natal
• Romania – Mos Craciun
• Spain and Mexico – Papá Noel
• Netherlands and Belgium – Sinterklaas

Vaettebron – Christmas Card 2011
by *Griatch-art

It’s been a chaotic couple of weeks for me, and therefore I have neither had the time to work on my fantasy writing nor to update this blog. I’ll admit, I’ve been a bit discouraged by the lack of feedback/response/viewing of my blog, but I will continue to write in it, at least for my own benefit/enjoyment.

At any rate, I will be taking the next couple of days away from blogging before I come back. Here’s to fresh starts, holidays, family reunions, and a new year. Happy holidays everybody!

Most Americans know Santa Claus as the jolly old man who delivers gifts on a sleigh, donning ruby-red overalls and a snow-white beard. While some may know that this mythical character is based on Nikolaos of Myra, a real-life religious figure and Catholic saint, most likely don’t know much about his background.

As is often the case, some of the attributes that belong to the fictional description of Santa were also inherent in and central to the character of the real-life St. Nick. Of course, the bishop, who lived from 270 until 343, did not own reindeer, and he certainly refrained from hopping roof-to-roof, sliding down chimneys in an effort to deliver gifts to children. That said, Nikolaos’ generous spirit was very real—a sentiment that carried over into the mythical tradition.

TheBlaze recently spoke with Dr. Adam C. English, associate professor of theology and philosophy at Campbell University, to learn more about the phenomenon that is St. Nick. The educator recently released “The Saint Who Would Be Santa Claus,” a book that tells “the true life and trials of Nikolaos of Myra.” After stumbling upon St. Nick’s tomb in Bari, Italy, while working on a study-abroad trip, English found a library filled with information about the historical figure. Naturally, he dug in and, three years later, released a book about the man who captivates children’s imaginations. According to the professor, the literary work may be among the most researched on the subject.

“Often times we get the impression that Santa Claus is based on a vaguely historical person,” English said, going on to paint a divergent picture. “There is all of this documentation and evidence and material that is rich and really has not been explored much.”

EUROPEAN CONNECTION

While the reality has certainly informed the magical world that the mythical Santa resides in, English notes that the vision of the jolly gift-deliverer that most Americans have is an invention that was sculpted right here in the U.S. In fact, it was in the 1800s that the revival of Dutch heritage in New York gave way to Santa Claus as we view him today.

The New York Historical Society provides a similar recap of the history, noting that Santa really didn’t arrive on the scene until Clement Clarke Moore penned the poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (known today as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”) in 1823. After that, author Washington Irving wrote “Knickerbocker’s History of New York,” which added to the description, and artist Thomas Nast began drawing Santa following the Civil War’s conclusion. These individuals helped to shape the current image that Americans have of the Christmas figure (the U.S. version is based on the Dutch character of Sinterklaas).

“Stabilization of this picture of this man dressed in red fur [who was] jolly and pudgy [soon came],” English told TheBlaze. “It really had to do with the evolution of American culture. The Dutch wanted to connect with something nostalgic and European.”

English went on to note some of the primary differences between the American celebration of Santa Claus and the image and observance of the character in European countries. While, in the U.S., he comes to bring children their gifts on Christmas Eve, other nations celebrate on the evening of December 5, which is, coincidentally St. Nikolaos Eve.

“He will come in and visit with the children and leave gifts for them,” English explained. “Sometimes kids will leave shoes out and Saint Nick will leave simple gifts—chocolate gifts and coins.”

And forget about the sleigh and reindeer. In many European countries, St. Nick rides on a white horse or a donkey and, rather than sporting an Americanized outfit, Santa is dressed in a bishop’s mitre hat and robe. In Austria, the tradition is even more divergent, as he travels with an evil sidekick who carries “naughty” kids away in a sack. His name? Krampus.

SANTA THE POLITICIAN?

The real Nikolaos, of course, didn’t have an evil sidekick, nor did he spend the majority of his year supervising gift-making elves in the North Pole. He was the head bishop of the church at Myra on what is, today, Turkey’s southern coast during a time of intense persecution. In addition to this responsibility, Nikolaos had a multitude of community roles.

“What was most startling about him is to learn that, in addition to being a gift giver, he was a politician, a businessman, a patron, a protector of the people, a judge, a lawyer and a social activist,” he explained. “If he were alive today, he would be wearing a business suit and running for office.”

Truly a story that would pluck at the heartstrings of most fiscal conservatives, St. Nick, who resided in modern-day Turkey, once went to Constantinople and petitioned for lower taxes for residents of his town.

“He was truly involved in the social affairs of his time—working for lower taxes, working for grain for his people,” English continued. “[At another point he got] involved in some legal disputes, saving some men from beheading who had been falsely accused.”

These stories and attributes, of course, are very different from the actions taken by the traditional Santa Claus that Americans are accustomed to. While they paint Nikolaos as a kind and generous man, some may still wonder where the gift-giving element is rooted. One of the stories that English tells in his book, though, perfectly illustrates why the saint has become the coveted face of giving and kindness.

When Nikolaos was in his younger years, before having become a bishop, he heard about three daughters whose father had lost everything. After gaining an inheritance, he decided to help the young girls, knowing that, if no one helped, they could face a life of destitution or prostitution. But rather than approaching them directly, he walked by their window and anonymously tossed a bag of gold inside. He purportedly did this three times, offering one mini-tote of gold for each young woman.

English said that this story is significant, seeing as most Christians of that time had their faith noticed due to enormous adversity and sometimes even martyrdom due to their beliefs. However, Nikolaos became known for his generous and kind nature, a story that truly sets itself apart from the others.

“It sticks with people—this is something anyone can do,” the professor said of the giving nature displayed by St. Nick. “Even by the early 1100s there are groups of nuns in France who are making and wrapping little gifts for children and leaving them with Saint Nikolaos’ name [on them].”

AN EXAMPLE FOR ALL

As for contemporary society, English claims that we can all be inspired by the true story of St. Nick’s life. Whether it’s paying someone’s electric bill anonymously or helping a person in need secure some groceries—the options for assisting the downtrodden and embracing Nikolaos’ worldview are limitless.

The real-life Santa Claus may have lived an extraordinary life, but in many ways, he was relatable. He was the common-man’s saint—a man who had a fascinating life, but who died a natural death. An individual who wasn’t known because he was a scholar, a martyr or a celebrity, he is revered for nothing more than the actions he took in his own life.

English, who has deep faith in the general sentiment of each of the stories he encountered about St. Nick, did tell TheBlaze that Nikolaos left behind no writings of his own. Due to his common nature, none of his contemporaries mentioned him by name either. As a historian, the professor said that this is troubling, specifically when it comes to taking the stories seriously. However, he maintained that, due to his common nature, there was no reason his compatriots would have written about him.

“The first mentions of [St. Nick] are archeological mentions. A church dedicated to him,” he explained. “He’s by far the most popular non-biblical saint of the Middle Ages. I feel very confident about the kernel of the story.”

It is those tidbits of information that show such profound internal character. It’s no wonder that the saint’s actions led to a mythical tale of giving and kindness—one that is truly both timeless and inspirational.

To me, Santa represents the embodiment of a giving spirit. Like the 4^th Century Greek bishop Nikolaos of Myra, or Saint Nicholas, who gave gifts anonymously and hid coins in the shoes of children, Santa Claus recognizes even the littlest among us. Like Santa and Jesus Christ, who lost his life for preaching a message of salvation, giving to others in need is something we can all do at Christmastime.

Whether in his Swedish, Chinese, American, or incarnation, Santa is one of the world’s most recognizable figures. I haven’t visited his home in the North Pole or Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Finland (if you ask the Finns), but he often stops by our home to give presents to good children and those who are young at heart.

My son and I track Santa’s progress via the NORAD Tracker as he delivers presents to children around the world on Christmas Eve. When he’s a time zone or two away from arriving at our house, Alex writes St. Nick a note with his Christmas wish list, puts out milk and something sweet to eat, and darts off to bed. Whenever my son asks me if Santa Claus exists, I simply answer that he only visits those who believe in him. Those who don’t aren’t ready to accept his gift.

May this Christmas season be a gift to you!

M.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain and a collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories. His books are available as an e-book and in print on Amazon.com and other booksellers. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.

For more books or stories by M.G. Edwards, visit his web site at www.mgedwards.com or his blog, World Adventurers. Contact him at me@mgedwards.com, on Facebook, on Google+, or @m_g_edwards on Twitter.

© 2012 Brilliance Press. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted without the written consent of the author.

Saint Nicholas, Russian icon from first quarter of 18th cen. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The feast of St. Nicholas; oil on canvas, c. 1665-1668; by Jan Steen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nederlands: Sinterklaas tijdens het Het Feest van Sinterklaas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How on earth did a late Roman bishop in Asia Minor transform into a ruddy-faced, white bearded, jovial fellow in a red costume popping down thousands of chimneys every Christmas Eve? Well, it’s a long story. As as ever, we can think the creative thinking of the medieval mind for a great deal of it.

So – let’s go through some of the “facts” about Saint Nicholas:

• He was born in Patara in modern Turkey
• Nicholas was very religious from an early age
• His parents died in a plague
• The future saint stopped three girls being sold into prostitution by their poverty-stricken father by throwing bags of gold through the window of their house on consecutive nights (this story varies a lot in different versions)
• He went to the town of Myra (modern Demre in Turkey) where God directed the local people to elect him bishop
• Nicholas was imprisoned by the emperor Diocletian in the last great persecution of Christians and then freed by the subsequent emperor Constantine, who had converted to Christianity and turned the empire to the faith
• Constantine set three imprisoned men free after Nicholas appeared to him in a dream
• Bishop Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea and signed the Nicene Creed
• He also punched the well-known heretical thinker Arius while they were both at the Council of Nicaea
• After death, his body was embalmed and, as is the case with many saints, it refused to corrupt exuding sweet smells and curing the diseases and ailments of those who came close

All of which made Nicholas a popular saint in the early Middle Ages. A Justinian-era basilica was erected and the Varangian Guard, the fearsome Vikings who protected the Byzantine emperors, regarded him as their saint. Sailors adopted him as a patron saint because of a story he had appeared during a storm and rescued a ship bound for the bottom of the sea. Mariners would pray that Saint Nicholas should guide their tiller in the journey ahead.

After the Seljuk Turks defeated the Byzantine emperor at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, some sailors took the remains of Saint Nicholas from Myra to the town of Bari in southern Italy, then part of the Byzantine empire. His spread his fame throughout western Europe. Hundreds of churches in England adopted his name and Nicholas became massively popular in Russia.

So how did Saint Nicholas become Santa Claus? The majority opinion seems to be the origin of the transformation was in the Low Countries, the modern Netherlands. In early December, the feast of Sinterklaas – Saint Nicholas – took shape. Rooted in the story of the saint’s generosity to the father of the three girls destined for prostitution, came the idea of a saint who gave presents without restraint.

However, some see an attempt by the church to Christianize the northern European pagan god Odin who also rode through the sky though on a horse (not a reindeer!). And where Odin had raven helpers, Sinterklaas had helpers with blackened faces. What is certain is that Dutch migrants took Sinterklaas to America and it’s there that he underwent the biggest changes. The green coat became red. The black faced helpers (rather politically incorrect) were replaced by little elves. Reindeer multiplied drawing a sparkling sleigh.

I’m told, incidentally, that it’s a bit of a myth that Coca-Cola invented the current image of Santa Claus in the early 20th century as an advertising character. The image had already been established by the end of the 19th century.

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* Mr. Binger has also recently self-published his weird and visceral horror stories Unction and Our Lord Weathercock. Pocketbooks available at LULU.

I hope readers enjoy the free ebook version of Manifestation – the first installment of the trilogy. And I’d like them to tell everyone they know and buy the second and third book. Manifestation is mostly background. It’s where I introduce the consequences of a godless world. Emergence is when the narrative grows teeth and nails. Here is where Pazuzu is revealed and my alien gods find this feckless demon.

Pazuzu (pahzoo’zoo) – king of demons in Assyrian mythology.

Manifestation (manufe’steyshun) – indication of the presence of a person or thing.

PAZUZU – MANIFESTATION is the first book in the Pazuzu Trilogy. This book introduces the godless world of the Shur desert and the sorrowful sinners therein. Readers follow a pair of UnChosen wretches as they flee for their lives from a crime lord in the city of Gomorrah. A stranger joins the Cortras brothers, but he doesn’t tell them about the voice following him. The wanderer doesn’t know the voice is Pazuzu. In fact, the demon reminds him his name is Ben. This man suffering amnesia carries salvation and damnation from the desert.

Download a free ebook version of Pazuzu – Manifestation (The Wasted Revision), the first book in the Pazuzu Trilogy by Matthew Sawyer. Get it from Smashwords!

Emergence (i’merjuns) – gradual coming out as a result of something.

PAZUZU – EMERGENCE is the second book in Matthew Sawyer’s Pazuzu Trilogy. This book continues the bleak tale begun in Pazuzu – Manifestation.

Horror comes to the battered squatters at Saint Erasmus once the demon, Pazuzu, finds a host. Lost in the chaos, Hen Cortras is taken prisoner and followed into the Shur desert, where he meets heathens – nomadic terrorists who crusade against the Chosen’s Church and military.

Ebook Sample from Smashwords

Abeyance (u’beyuns) – suspension.

PAZUZU – ABEYANCE is the last book in Matthew Sawyer’s Pazuzu Trilogy. The last book follows the demon, Pazuzu, in the shadow of the Promised Land’s destruction.

Achieving its goal, Pazuzu has claimed a human body. The demon steals the frame of a boy and makes the mother a missionary. Before the old mother dies, she proclaims her demon-possessed son is the messiah – the reincarnation of the Chosen’s eviscerated Mortal God. Meanwhile, the younger Cortras brother is arrested and beaten by the Chosen’s military and sent to a detention camp outside Capital.

At the camp, Hen Cortras meets real-life heathens. The prisoners escape the Chosen’s military and Hen joins their march against the Chosen’s Promised Land. The heathen attack has already begun behind the monumental Wall and Khetam burns. Pazuzu and Benedict Gage, his heathen minister, now cross the fires of Capital in search of the flock gathered by the mother of the possessed boy. The alien gods are now aware of the demon moving through the world and they send monsters.

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Matthew Sawyer’s Bio: A few words concerning myself.

About me … I don’t have any awards – not even an honorable mention. Heck, I didn’t even go to school to become a Writer – I was going to be a Fine Art Painter. Yet I had to pay my student loans. After college, I worked in Mental Health – as in schizophrenics and other assortment of severe mental disorders. All the while, I painted and sketched – and wrote stories. In that time, I speculated the story I really wanted to conjure – years of drawing monsters had spun my own mythology and I hoped for something comparable and real.

The narrative I wanted to create would fulfill a fading desire and breathe life into the chimeras I had drawn in my notebooks. That visual mythology had been collectively called “The Mortui Philosophies.” I tried animation, but the repetitive work only produced frustration. So much in fact, I joined the ‘sane’ world and switched careers into Internet Technology. Secure, I had stopped painting and focused on a very rewarding career. After a few years lacking expression from my creative self, my Pazuzu Trilogy took its first breath.

Purchase Pazuzu Trilogy Pocket books and Hardcovers at LULU.

Leo the Great is right to call the Nativity a mystery. The virgin birth, the shining star, the visiting magi, the announcing angels, the murderous ruler, and the supreme king converge in a moment that, truly understood, should bring us a joy that transcends gifts and feasts and winter ambiance and even that laudatory idol of familial affection.

The things which are connected with the mystery of today’s solemn feast are well known to you, dearly-beloved, and have frequently been heard: but as yonder visible light affords pleasure to eyes that are unimpaired, so to sound hearts does the Saviour’s nativity give eternal joy; and we must not keep silent about it, though we cannot treat of it as we ought.

For Leo’s listeners, the Nativity was a familiar remembrance, one so familiar that they needed to be reminded how eternal were its joys. Now, I fear, we don’t think about it at all.

Francis Street Parish – Dublin

Saint Nicholas also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and GreekBishop of Myra (part of modern-day Turkey). Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker. He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, and thus became the model for Santa Claus. (Wikipedia)

SANTA CLAUS!

This pretty much used to be Santa. Awesome.

First of all Odin has the great advantage of watching all the worlds from his throne, a handy way to see who’s naughty or nice. This is quite relevant because Odin, according to myth, rode his flying horse, Sleipnir (a precursor to Santa’s reindeer), who had eight legs, and in the winter, Odin gave out both gifts and punishments. As Odin went around children would also fill their boots or stockings with treats for Sleipnir, something that was later reversed in the tradition of Christmas. Odin also had two ravens named Huginn and Muninn (Thought and Memory) who would fly around all day and report the happenings of the world to Odin. Another help in knowing the naughty and the nice.

Sinterklaas working his Pantene beard.

Sinterklaas (the Dutch name for Saint Nicholas) is a mythical figure (thought originally thought to be real) based upon the God Odin and a Greek bishop Saint Nicholas (hence the name). As far as appearance goes, Sinterklaas (pictured above) would have to take the cake. He also has quite a few actions that relate quite closely to Santa, but these are thought to have originally come from Odin. He also has hints of the good deeds of Saint Nicholas.

Saint Nicholas was introduced to the Dutch during the transition from Pagan to Christianity, and during this time he was merged with Odin from the previous Norse beliefs of a subset of Germanic paganism that was predominant amongst the Dutch people. Thus Sinterklaas became a more mythical version of the original Saint Nicolas. This was a common occurrence during the transition from Paganism to Christianity. During this time many changes were also purposely made to Christianity to make it more like the previous Pagan beliefs to make the transition smoother, and thus others happened by accident, such as this one. This was predominantly done with the festivals, and holidays.

Sinterklaas’ celebration (named Sinterklaasavond or Pakjesavond) still occurs in Dutch countries like Belgium, the Netherlands, and Northern France in central Europe. Saint Nicholas’ eve is celebrated annually on the 5^th or 6^th of December and is the predecessor to our modern day Christmas Eve. As Sinterklaas is the Saint of Children, it is predominantly a holiday for the giving of presents to children, very much the same as our Christmas, but without the relation to Jesus.

Sinterklaas was thought to ride the rooftops on his white horse (much like Odin’s eight legged grey horse Sleipnir). He also carries a staff and has mischievous helpers with black faces who listen down chimneys to find out whether children are bad or good and report back to him.

The Zwarte Piet, helpers of Saint Nicholas.

Originally the children were Spanish slaves, but political correctness has caused them to just have black faces because of the soot from the chimneys. These children also relate to Odin’s ravens. If the children were good they would receive a present, and if they were bad it would be coal (something that has retained in the Christmas celebration).

The original Saint Nicholas was a Greek Christian bishop of Myra (now Demre) in Lycia, a province of the Byzantine Anatolia, now in Turkey. He is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, thieves, children, pawnbrokers, and students in various cities and countries around Europe. Nicholas was famous for gift giving and would often put coins in the shoes that were left out for him. A tradition that carried through to the Dutch’s celebration with Sinterklaas, were shoes were left out for the presents, which then shifted to stockings for the Christmas celebration.

Managed to relate Batman to Christmas. Sweet.

[On a side note church legend holds that during the proceedings at Nicaea, Saint Nicolas became so angry at the position of Arius – that Jesus Christ was a created being and not fully God – that he walked up to Arius and slapped him in the face.]

Now just before I get to Santa, there’s one more jolly step. Father Christmas. Yes, he is different to Santa Claus, but only slightly (and today they have merged as one). He resides at the North Pole or less commonly, in the mountains of Korvatunturi in Lapland, Finland (Yep, really). Father Christmas dates back to around the 17th century in Britain. Some paintings of him have survived from that era portraying him as a well-nourished bearded man dressed in a long green fur-lined robe (Santa now wears red, white and black). Over time the original day of Christmas celebrating Jesus’ birth was merged with the Dutch celebration and today’s Christmas was born (December 25^th was decided by the Western Christians in the 2^nd century to be the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but the Eastern Christians chose January 6^th, however it eventually moved to December 25^th).

Santa’s Fortress of Solitude.
*Superman.
PS I wish Santa really did live here, that’d be awesome.
PPS Superman isn’t as cool as Santa.
PPPS I managed to get Batman and Superman into one post about Santa. That’s interesting.

According to a tradition which can be traced to America in the 1820s, Santa Claus lives at the North Pole (I preferred Finland), with a large number of magical elves, and nine (originally eight) flying reindeer. I’ve also considered that perhaps Superman living at the north pole was inspired by Santa… Anyway, there we are. Santa’s more complicated than you thought, isn’t he? There’s probably more, but you can look it up yourself.

FURTHER READING ON ODIN:

Odin with Eye Patch

[Odin is a god of war and death, but also the god of poetry and wisdom. Known as the allfather because he was the father of almost every Norse God of Æsir (Æsir being one of two groups of Norse Gods, the other being the Vanir). Odin was the most wise and respected by other Gods. He gained his wisdom from the Well of Wisdom guarded by Mímir, for which he had to give up one of his eyes. During the Æsir-Venir war he gave counsel to Æsir, so the Venir found him and he was decapitated. After this Odin carried around his severed head and used his powers to speak to the dead to still seek his knowledge and counsel. He also hung for nine days, pierced by his own spear, on the world tree. Here he learned nine powerful songs, and eighteen runes.

Odin finds Mímir Decapitated

Odin’s spear is called Gungnir and it never misses its target. He also has an eight legged horse named Sleipnir, and the gold ring Draupnir of which 8 more rings appear every ninth night.

He is also called Othinn, Wodan and Wotan. Some of the aliases he uses to travel icognito (normally in a green cloak) among mortals are Vak and Valtam. His name in Old Norse is Odínn. Wednesday is named after him (Wodan).

On the day of the final battle of Ragnarök, Odin will be killed by the wolf Fenrir, son of Loki.]