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Friday, December 25, 2009


Uicpoints & Opinions


Madison Enterprise-Recorder 3A


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Courtesy of
northpolesantaclaus.com
 Santa Claus hasn't al-
ways looked like the jolly
old fellow we know today
Like so many other Ameri-
can traditions, he's a prod-
uct of the great American
melting pot a blend of
many different cultures
and customs. His earliest
ancestors date back to pre-
Christian days, when sky-
riding gods ruled the earth.
The mythological charac-
ters Odin, Thor, and Saturn
gave us the basis for many
of Santa's distinctive char-
acteristics.
 But the most influen-
tial figure in the shaping of
today's generous as loving
Santa Claus was a real
man. St. Nicholas of Myra
(now Turkey), a fourth cen-
tury bishop. As a champion
of children and the needy,
he was legendary for his
kindness and generosity.
 A Tradition Of
 Benevolence
 In a well known story
illustrating St, Nicholas'
benevolence, we find two of
the basic principles of the
holiday spirit giving to
others and helping the less
fortunate as well as the
tradition of hanging stock-
ings by the fireplace.
 According to this leg-
end, there were three Ital-
ian maidens whose
families had fallen on hard
times. Because their father
could not afford the
dowries necessary for them
to marry he was consider-
ing selling one of his
daughters into slavery to
get dowries for the other
two. When the good saint
heard of the family's plight,
he went to their home late
one night and anonymous-
ly tossed three bags of gold
down the chimney Miracu-
lously a bag fell into each of
the sisters stockings, were
hanging by the fire to dry
His kindhearted gift made
it possible for all three sis-
ters to marry.
 A variation of this sto-
ry is that as each girl was
ready to wed, St. Nicholas
came in the middle of the
night when no one could
see him and tossed a bag of
gold through an open win-
dow into her stocking. The
idea of gifts being delivered
through an open window
may have begun as a way to
explain how Santa enters
homes that have no chim-
ney
 Patron Saint
 Because of his wisdom
and sensitivity many
groups claimed St.
Nicholas as their patron
saint. Children, orphans,
sailors, and even thieves of-
ten prayed to the compas-
sionate saint for guidance
and protection. Entire
countries, including Russia
and Greece, also adopted
him as their patron saint,
as well as students and
pawnbrokers.
 Throughout his life, St.
Nicholas tried to help oth-


ers while inspiring the to
imitate his virtues. Leg-
ends of his unselfish giving
spread all over Northern
Europe, and accounts of
his heroic deeds blended
with regional folklore.
Eventually, the image of
the stately saint was trans-
formed onto an almost
mystical being, one known
for rewarding the good and
punishing the bad.
 The date of his death,
December 6th, was com-
memorated with an annual
feast, which gradually
came to mark the begin-
ning of the medieval
Christmas season. On St.
Nicholas' Eve, youngsters
would set out food for the
saint, straw for his horses
and schnapps for his atten-
dant. The next morning,
obedient children awoke to
find their gifts replaced
with sweets and toys, found
their offering untouched ,
along with a rod or a bun-
dle of switched. St.
Nicholas' Day is still ob-
served in many countries,
and gifts are exchanged in
honor of the spirit of
brotherhood and charity
that he embodied.
 The Making Of Santa
 Claus
 After the Protestant
Reformation in the six-
teenth century the feasting
and veneration of Catholic
saints were banned. But
people had become accus-
tomed to the annual visit
from their gift-giving saint
and didn't want to forget
the purpose of the holiday.
So in some countries, the
festivities of St. Nicholas'
Day were merged with
Christmas celebrations,
and although the gift-bear-
er took on new, non-reli-
gious forms, he still
reflected the saints gener-
ous spirit.
 In Germany he ap-
peared as Weihnachts-
mann, in England as
Father Christmas, and in
France, as Pere Noel, who
left small gifts in the chil-
dren's shoes.
 In the areas where St.
Nicholas was still por-
trayed as the gift-bearer, a
host of other characters de-
veloped to be his assistants.
Two of his most well-
known helpers were
Knecht Ruprecht and the
Belsnickle. Depending on
the local tradition, they
were either attendants to
St. Nicholas or gift-bears
themselves, but in all cases,
both were fearsome charac-
ters, brandishing rods and
switches. It was not only
their dusty to reward good
children but also to reprove
children who were naughty
and couldn't recite their
prayers.
 Knecht Ruprecht
(meaning Servant Rupert)
was also by other names
such as Black Peter (so
called because he delivered
the presents down the
chimney for St. Nicholas
and became blackened


with soot).
 In some places, the im-
ages, of Knecht Ruprecht
and St. Nicholas merged to
form Ru Klaus (meaning
Rough Nicholas so named
because of his rugged ap-
pearance), Aschen Klaus
(meaning Ash Nicholas -
because he carried a sack
of ashes as well as a bundle
of switches), and Pelznick-
le (meaning Furry
Nicholas referring to his
fur clad appearance).
 Not all of St. Nicholas'
companions were frighten-
ing. In fact, the Christkindl
(meaning Christ Child)
was thought to accompany
him in many countries. Of-
ten portrayed by a fair-
haired young girl, this
angelic figure was some-
times the gift-bearer too.
 Santa In America
 Immigrants to the
New World brought along
their various beliefs when
they crossed the Atlantic.
The Scandinavians intro-
duced gift-giving elves, the
Germans brought not only
their Belsnickle and
Chistkindle but also their
decorated trees and the
Irish contributed the an-
cient Gaelic custom of plac-
ing a lighted candle in the
window.
 In the 1600's, the Dutch
presented Sinterklaas
(meaning St. Nicholas) to
the colonies. In their excite-
ment, many English-speak-
ing children uttered the
name so quickly that Sin-
terklaas sounded like Santy
Claus. After years of mis-
pronunciation, the name
evolved into Santa Claus.
 In 1808, American au-
thor Washington Irving
created a new version of
old St. Nick. This one rode
over the treetops in a horse
drawn wagon "dropping
gifts down the chimneys of
his favorites." In his satire,
Diedrich Knickerbocker's
History of New York from
the Beginning of the World
to the End of the Dutch Dy-
nasty Irving described San-
ta as a jolly Dutchman who
smoked a long stemmed
clay pipe and wore baggy
breeches and a broad
brimmed hat. Also, the fa-
miliar phrase, "...laying his
finger beside his nose...,"
first appeared in Irving's
story.
 That phrase was used
again in 1822 in the now-
classic poem by Dr.
Clement Clarke Moore, "A
Visit from St. Nicholas,"
more commonly know as
"The Night Before Christ-
mas." His verse gave an
Arctic flavor to Santa's im-
age when he substituted
eight tiny reindeer and a
sleigh for Irving's horse
and wagon. It is Moore's de-
scription of Santa that we
most often think of today:
"He had a broad face, and a
little round belly that
shook, when he laughed,
like a bowl full of jelly"
 Up to this point, San-
ta's physical appearance


and the color of his suit
were open to individual in-
terpretation. Then in 1863,
Thomas Nast, a German
immigrant, gave us a visu-
al image of the cheerful
giver that was to later be-
come widely accepted.
 When Nast was asked
to illustrate Moore's
charming verse for a book
of children's poems, he
gave us a softer, kinder San-
ta who was still old but ap-
peared less stern than the
ecclesiastical St. Nicholas.
He dressed his elfin figure
in red and endowed him
with human characteris-
tics. Most important of all,
Nast gave Santa a home at
the North Pole. For twenty-
three years, his annual
drawings in Harpers Week-
ly magazine allowed Amer-
icans to peek into the
magical world of Santa
Claus and set the stage for
the shaping of today's mer-
ry gentleman.
 Artist Haddon Sund-
blom added the final touch-
es to Santa's modern image.
Beginning in 1931, his bill-
board and other advertise-
ments for Coca Cola-Cola
featured a portly grandfa-
therly Santa with human
proportions and a ruddy
complexion. Sunblom's ex-
uberant, twinkle-eyed San-
ta firmly fixed the
gift-giver's image in the
public mind.
 St. Nicholas' evolution
into today's happy larger-
than-life Santa Claus is a
wonderful example of the
blending of countless be-
liefs and practices from
around the world. This
benevolent figure encom-
passes all the goodness and
innocence of childhood.
And because goodness is
his very essence, in every
kindness we do, Santa will
always be remembered.


Merry Christmas
 Before I offer glad tidings today, I must break my
patience of not writing Lee News and offer condo-
lences, to both the Greene and the Bembry families
on the loss of their loved ones recently.
 I have been associated with the Greene family
professionally since Tommy put me on staff many
years ago and know they are a loving, close-knit
family and to lose one so young is very hard.
 With the Bembry family, I'm more closely con-
nected. Jacob's grandfather Gene was my stepfa-
ther's brother and Bobby was named for him. Also
Carlton was a close personal friend of my family. He
and my children grew up as pals and he and his wife
Brenda always spent time with us when they were in
town and were guests at daughter Joan's in Atlanta
often, especially when we were there.
 And now I will simply say, 'Make sure Santa can
make it down your chimney' and have a safe but
Merry Christmas!
r -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ----- n

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