The True Story of Santa Claus

A Holiday Wish:  I dream of a day when the meeting of a black man & a white man, or a Hispanic, Asian, or Indian holds no more regard than that of a blonde meeting someone who is brunette. I hope for a day when men & women across the globe can find a sense of true appreciation for one another & each other’s views, holding a regard of true equality, yet come to respect each other for their differences as well -  for ‘equality’ does not mean “The Same.” I dream of an age in which hard work & focused talent are aptly rewarded, but a time in which the self-created lines of class & position are somewhat blurred - where a sense of compassion, respect, & empathy reign supreme. I have a vision where distrust & fear are overridden by a depth of communication & mutual understanding; a time in which the powerful & strong do not prey on the weak & vulnerable - when anger is generally displaced by love, & frustration gives way to hope. And I actually pray for a time when all may practice their faith in a secure peace while giving at least acceptance to the rights of others to respectfully carry on their own beliefs & philosophies of life. It’s a silly dream I know, but it’s a good dream, & one that’s worthy of a life’s dedication. I can only hope that some will understand & maybe a few will find their way - for the world changes & movements are begun but one life at a time…      - From The Warrior Within (The TeaMaster Trilogy): Richard A.D.

Wishing You a Warm Holiday Season.

            And Yes Virginia, There Really is a Santa Claus. No really…

You know, I had actually written a full page letter updating everyone with how I’ve been. But then it hit me,  why bore you with a bunch of junk about me, I thought I’d send you something much more interesting. And whose more interesting than Santa Claus?

The Story of Santa:

Lets face it, the holidays really aren’t so much about who was born or how long the lamps lasted. It’s not about cultural heritage or when we should take a pilgrimage. Down deep it’s about the spirit of love, kindness, & generosity. And for me at least, that means Santa Claus!  Just a fairy tale you say? :-o  You couldn’t be further from the truth! Yep, that’s right, Santa’s real & man-oh-man what a story he has to tell…

St. Nicholas of Myra was born sometime around 280 A.D. in what is now modern day Turkey. He was an only child to a very wealthy family, but after losing both parents to the plague he was orphaned at a very young age & was subsequently raised in a local monastery. He became one of the youngest priests in the history of the church & eventually was raised to the position of Bishop. But it was his unrelenting virtue, benevolence, & profound compassion that made him a legend.

It is said that he gave away the whole of his inherited fortune to those less fortunate & became known throughout the lands as a devout champion for the needy, especially children & orphans. During long winter nights he would routinely travel the lands dropping bags of gold through the windows of those in need. One famous legend is of a father who had fallen on bad times. He had 3 beautiful daughters but couldn’t afford a dowry for them to marry (in those days, women weren’t allowed to work in profitable ventures & marriages were generally arranged. Since it was left for the husband to fully support the woman, a dowry was paid by the father to offer initial seed money that would be placed into some form of a profitable venture by the husband - the higher the dowry, the higher up one’s socio-economic scale for marriage. Those who were unable to marry were often left to beg in the streets or to be prostitutes). As a result of the plight the father was considering selling off 2 of his daughters to slavery so as to pay the dowry for at least one to marry. But this put the father in an impossible situation & he was tortured by it, almost to the point of suicide. Legend has it that St. Nicholas once hearing of the plight went to the daughters home & anonymously in the middle of the night tossed 3 large bags of gold down the chimney. Each bag fell into the stockings that the girls had hung out to dry. As a result, his benevolence & generosity allowed the girls to marry into well established families.

In fact, his compassionate nature was so profound that in time he became known throughout all of Europe, even rising to the point of mythic folklore. Upon his death on December 6^th he was elevated to Sainthood & was claimed as the Patron Saint of children, orphans, & sailors. His named day was December 6^th (the anniversary of his death & ascension to sainthood) & this was traditionally celebrated with an annual feast, which also marked the beginning of the festival season. Depending on local tradition, on the eve. of St. Nicholas Day, children would leave food for the Saint, schnapps for his attendant, & straw for his horse. The following morning, good children that honored him with such caring & love would find such gifts replaced with toys & sweets. To celebrate the virtuous spirit of his benevolence & charity, gifts were often exchanged as well. 

By the Renaissance St. Nicholas had become the most popular of the patron saints. But during the reformation, the Protestant movement banned the celebration of Catholic Saints. This was a problem because people had grown to love their benevolent St. Nick, & the tradition of exchanging gifts brought to life the sense of charity & love that the season was really all about. As a result, the festival of St. Nicholas was merged with Christmas & the two holidays were joined into one celebration of love & life (previously, no gifts were exchanged on Christmas. The day was celebrated by only a trip to church & a festival feast). 

As local folklore & tradition molded the Saint in various ways, different regions developed their own distinct version of St. Nick. Eventually, he was transformed into a purely mythical being, often seen as the bearer of gifts, but sometimes as a formidable agent to punish those who were bad. In Germany he was given a Nordic flair & referred to as Weihnachtsmann (Christmas Man). In England he was known as Father Christmas & wore a green coat with a wreath of holly, ivy, & mistletoe. In France, Pere Noel would leave presents for children in their shoes. The Swiss & Germans gave us Christkindl - translated to mean Christ Child; an angelic figure who was actually attended by St. Nicholas (this would later merge directly into the legends of St. Nicholas & bear him the name Chris Kringle). In dress he commonly wore blue, green, red, & sometimes black. In fact, the only tradition that remained a true constant was his long white beard. But the melting pot of a young America would bring such traditions together & would serve to mold a legend that would in time become a world-wide tradition.

In 1773, a widely distributed paper in New York chronicled the Christmas traditions of early Dutch settlers, & this offered popular appeal to their tradition of ‘SinterKlaas’ (meaning St. Nicholas). In English however, children usually mispronounced his name as Santa Claus. After so many years, the mispronunciation quite simply became an accepted norm.

Further building upon such traditional lore, it was in 1808 that best selling author Washington Irving published a work entitled The History of New York. Here he gave detailed information of the mythical saint as riding over treetops in a horse drawn wagon while dropping gifts down chimneys for good little girls & boys. Then in 1823, an Episcopal Minister named Clement Clark Moore wrote a poem as a bedtime story for his three daughters: A Visit From Saint Nicholas - more commonly known as The Night Before Christmas. Originally hesitant to publish, it was ultimately Moore who gave Santa his first likeness as “the jolly old elf, with a round little belly, that shook when laughed like a bowl full of jelly.” He was also the first to substitute his traditional horse drawn wagon for a sleigh of ‘eight tiny reindeer.’

Then from 1863 until the 1880’s, a German immigrant named Thomas Nast began to illustrate the annual Christmas edition of Harper’s Weekly. His images gave us for the first time a widely accepted version of St. Nick. He created a kinder, more gentle Santa who was more in line with his original lore & less stern than his mid-evil counterpart.

Actually, it was Nast who gave us many of Santa’s current traditions: placing him for the first time at the North Pole, giving him a work shop full of elves, & that list of who’s been naughty or nice. He also was the one to introduce Mrs. Claus.

In fact, his illustrations became so popular that Abraham Lincoln asked if he would do a cover of Santa with the Northern Troops. It is said that this was one of the most demoralizing moments in the Confederate army - Santa was clearly seen as siding with the North…

But in the end, it was an artist named Haddon Sunblom that put on the final touches. Sunblom had been commissioned by Coca Cola to create a version of Santa that would be carried on every means of print media imaginable. As red & white were the corporate colors of Coke, Santa was then dressed a red suite trimmed in white fur. It was also Sunblom that truly featured him as a distinctly human Santa with no elf-like qualities & offered him very grandfather-like characteristics.

From 1931-to-1964, Coca Cola under the artful hand of Sunbolm launched a massive ad campaign that over time evolved into a crusade of truly global proportion. As a result, it was Coca Cola that provided the official & final image of “Santa” that we recognize today. On a global scale, Santa Claus as we know him became permanently etched on the public’s mind. [By the way, Rudolf was created by Montgomery Ward’s for a similar campaign].

So it doesn’t matter what your persuasion is for the holidays. I celebrate Santa - he’s come a long way.  And if anyone asks, you can emphatically say, “Yes my dear, Santa is very real. Trust me, Rick says so…”

I wish you nothing but the best for the holiday season, & I hope the New Year finds you happy, healthy, & prosperous in all that you strive to be.   - Rick D.