Origin of Santa begins in the 3rd Century after the death of Christ, in present day Southwest Turkey. Today at a Church in Dembre, Turkey known in the time of Nicholas as “Myra” and Nicholas’ empty tomb which weeps a fluid known as manna and once a year on the day of December 6th when Nicholas died pilgrims partake in the manna. He became the Patron Saint of children after resurrecting (3) boys who had been slaughtered by a butcher during a period of famine. He is also the Patron Saint of Sailors. Nicholas threw bags of coins which as the mythful legend goes they fell down a chimney but actually they were thrown through a window for a father who had prayed for coins to pay for a dowry so his daughters could marry. Later in the 11th Century the Muslims ruled South West Turkey and then some Sailors from Bari, Italy, succeeded in spiriting away his bones and an extraordinary church was built over his shrine. Yet even today the Muslim inhabitants of Dembre still hold a ceremony on St. Nicholas Day. Pope Gregory 1st decreed we replace Pagan traditions (in example the Roman tradition of Saturnalia = Feast commemorating the dedication of the temple of the god Saturn, the god of agriculture and harvest in mid-december. Saturn was the father of great Jupiter. There was a giving of gifts. The Puritans banned Christmas. In Italy it’s not Santa Claus but a witch called “Befana” = woman who is old and ugly with a broom and a pointy black hat. Legend = The (3) Wise Men approached an old woman asking directions as to where the Christ was born. She didn’t know but provided them with shelter for the night and declined their invitation to them but later had a change of heart yet she couldn’t catch up to them. So instead she gave the gifts to children she met along the way. Similar characters exist in other countries. In Russia a babooska and in Germany a Frau Holde. Frau Holde comes down a chimney. Today or nowadays in Italy, Befana has to share the limelight with the red suited Santa. America and the export of the American Santa Claus to the world due to the commercial success of America. Start first with the point that Santa = Saint so that’s just a language translation issue. Yet the word Saint = Holy and is a reference from the Bible in the New Testament wherein for example the Apostle Paul would refer to all of the Christian brothers and sisters of a given Church he was writing to in an epistle as Saints. Protestants believe that all born again Christian believers are Saints yet the Roman Catholic Church headquartered in Rome follow a strict procedure before pronouncing someone a Saint. As for Claus vs. Nicholas by way of tradition with the founding of America by Europeans the name became for example Sinterklass and Anglicized to Claus. “The Night Before Xmas” = “A Visit from Saint Nicholoas” By 1840 all Americans knew of Santa Claus and is the same as today. In 1841 a merchant in Philadelphia hired an actor friend to dress up in a fur suit and go down a chimney. Then a German immigrant named Thomas Nast created a visual image of Santa in 1863 for Harper’s Magazine which became the image we know today. Nast himself had a beard and moustache. He also put in Harper’s Weekly a picture of Santa overlooking a ledger of who was good and bad. (Reference maybe to the the book of life as reflected in the book of Revelations being the last book of the Bible.) Nast changed the appearance of Santa from an Elf to a robust fat man as he was also stocky. The American Santa though exported should be put into perspective with many cultural traditions to celebrate the earthly birth of Christ who came from the expanse of Heaven as sent down to straighten things out a bit here on earth by Creator Father in heaven as Jesus is referred to as the Son. Things were not as Creator God the Father intended them to be but He did all of this in a way not to kill His gift of Freewill to the being human. So this physical birth to the Spanish was not celebrated by the Americana Santa but rather by mock imitations of the 3 Wise men. In Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Czech they have a figure who is a woman called the Christkind. As the traditions changed the Germans came up with the Christmas tree which they exported to America. Sticking with the American tradition though as noted previously they started to call Santa Sinterklass and in English that would translate to be literally Saint Sir Klaus and if you pronounce it real quickly it sounds out phonetically as Santa Claus. During the Protestant reformation in Western Europe which broke away from the Roman Catholic Church the Protestants originally banned the custom of street feasts but later changed to the practice of saying it would be ok to have celebrations but they had to be in the homes and not out in the street. Again as noted New York being the commercial hub in the USA in the 1800s was also originally of mostly people of English or British stock of people. Dietrick Knickerbocker referred to the Dutch tradition in a writing that was picked up by Clement Clarke Moore, an extremely wealthy man in the Chelsea district. He wrote the previously mentioned poem: “The Night Before Christmas”. It featured stockings, a sleigh with reindeer, down the chimney, no threats of punishment for those bad or fear for badness = sinfulness but just the coming and bringing of Christmas gifts as was published in 1822. Saint Nicholas though the Bishop lost his Bishop’s outfit and authority.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 15:46:01 +0000
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