All Things Christmas (8 page)

Known for
His Charitable Acts

Nicholas
was a friend to the poor and helpless
while serving as Bishop.
Foll
o
wing the
admonition of Christ that
“
when you give
alms
, do not let your
left
hand
know what your right
hand
is doing
, so that your alms may be in secret;…” (Matthew 6:3), he moved about the city aiding the poor and n
eedy without anyone knowing it.

The story is told of three young girls whose father couldn’t afford their dowry and
so
they weren’t able to marry. Nicholas t
ossed a bag of coins down their chimney so that they would have the necessary dowry without knowing where it came from. By coincidence the girls had hung their stockings from the mantel to dry and Nicholas’s sack ended up in one of the stockings. This legend led to children in many European countries leaving their shoes on the hearth or hanging stockings on the mantle on the eve of St. Nicholas’ Feast Day, December 6
th
.

In addition to aiding children in need or distress, Nicholas is also said to have rescued innocent men who were falsely imprisoned.
He
became
known as the friend and protector of all in trouble or need.
He was
said to
have been
able to calm raging seas and rescue sailors in peril, causing his fame to spread thr
oughout the Mediterranean area.

Centuries after his death
, his
remain
s were transported by sailors to Bari, a port in Italy
. A monument was constructed over his grave and the town became a destination for those
pilgrims
intent on
honor
ing
him. His fame eventually
spread around to the Atlantic Coast of Europe and the North Sea
making St. Nicholas day part of the European Christmas
holiday tradition.
The Protestant Reformation of the 16
th
Century slowed, but never completely eradicated St. Nicholas traditions and observances of his comings and goings.

Coming to America

He traveled to America with Dutch colonists who settled in New York and called him
Sinterklaas
. In 1809 American author, Washington
Irving,
took the first step that eventually morphed the saintly Bishop into the blatant marketing tool known as Santa Claus. Irving’s satirical
Knickerbocker’s
History of New York
made frequent reference to a jolly St. Nicholas-type character who was an elfin
Dutch burgher with a clay pipe.

More damage was done in 1823 when a poem called,
A Visit from St. Nicholas
, was published. Better known by its first line,
Twas
the Night
b
efore Christmas
, it tells the story of
a man
who
awakens to noises outside his ho
m
e
and sees
St. Nicholas
arrive
in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer
…all with names
.
Interestingly, the stockings had been hung by the chimney with care in the hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be there…not on December 6
th
, but on December 25
th
! He was dressed all in fur, no doubt to protect him from wind chill while flying about in an open sleigh.
His eyes
how they twinkled
,
h
is dimples how merry
…
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry
. H
is droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
a
nd the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly
pipe-smoking
old elf
.

Thomas Nast
’s
Image
of St Nicholas

D
uring the Civil War, political cartoonist Thomas Nast
did a series of
drawings
for
Harper's Weekly
magazine
based on the descriptions found in the poem and Washington Irving's work.
For the first time, Santa moved into the arena of public opinion
by
letting it
be
known that he
supported the Union
cause.
Nast
continued drawing
Santas
until 1886
. More than St. Nicholas’ appearance changed during the 20 odd years that Nast did his drawings. His name, which had been the Dutch
Sinterklaas
or
German
Sankt
Niklaus
,
changed into the Americanized phone
tic approximation, Santa Claus.

It didn’t take long for this new Santa Claus to become decidedly commercial. Dozens of artists competed with each other producing
Santas
in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. By the 1920s the
standard American Santa
had emerged. A rotund, normal-sized man, instead of an elf, he had a flowing white beard, wore a fur-trimmed red suit, and though seldom seen with his pipe, continued to travel from his North Pole residence
in a sleigh pulled by reindeer.

In short order this new Santa became a shameless shill. He willingly hustled any and all products no matter how silly or mundane. If you want Marilyn Monroe, James Dean or Elvis Presley in your ad, even though they’re dead, it’ll cost you an arm and a leg. Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck aren’t even real people, but you’ll still have to pay t
he Disney Studios
a royalty
for them
. Meanwhile Santa Claus, who retains just enough of a saintly persona to make him ma
rketable, comes free of charge.

Devoid of scruples and free for the taking, Santa Claus became the ultimate pitchman. Not even a saint can compete with that
,
as if St. Nicholas cares. The latest word is he’s decided to give up the wrestling circuit and enjoy a leisurely retirement spent occasionally visiting churches or answering prayers when
and if he’s invited to do so.

Chapter Nine

A TALE OF TWO MOTHERS

Elizabeth Greets Mary

“
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us
…”

Rather than
A Tale of Two Cities
, this is A Tale of Two
Mothers
— Hannah of the Old Testament and Mary of the New Testament. Interestingly enough, the words Charles Dickens wrote about the French Revolution describe the circumstances of
these earlier times quite well.

Hannah lived at a time of uncertainty and transition. The children of Abraham left Egypt and wandered in the desert forty years before Joshua led them into the Promised Land. There they established themselves as a nation, a nation ruled not by Kings, but by Judges. Now, after 350 or more years of life under Judges, the Israelites
had
begun
grow
ing
restive. They look around and see Kings at the head of every other nation and say, “Give us a king to govern us.”

Mary, a virgin in Nazareth betrothed to a man named Joseph, lived a thousand years after Hannah. But she, too, lived in an era of uncertainty and transition. The remnant had come back from Babylon and rebuilt their nation only to see it fall under the control of the Seleucids. A revolt by the Maccabees established an independent Jewish nation for a time, but now the Romans and their client king, Herod, ruled the Jews. Despite these dire circumstances a feeling of expectancy bubbled beneath the surface, animating the nation. The time in Daniel’s prophecy of the 70 weeks was nearing fulfillment; the day of restoration would soon be at hand.

Appointing
a King
for the Jews

It was the Judge Samuel who anointed Saul the first King of the Jews and later, when Saul faltered, he anointed a young shepherd boy, David, to replace him. Clearly Samuel had a special place in God’s plan for Israel. Samuel, son of Hannah, instituted great changes that affected the lives of all Jews.

We meet
Elka’nah
and his two wives,
Penin'nah
and Hannah in 1 Samuel.
Penin'nah
had borne him many children and Hannah had none. Consequently, when they went to Shiloh
Elka’nah
gave
Penin'nah
many portions to make offerings for herself and all her children. Hannah, meanwhile, got only a single portion. To add to Hannah’s pain,
Penin'nah
ridiculed her becaus
e of her inability to conceive.

Desperate, Hannah offers the Lord a deal: Give me a son and I will give him back to you for all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.
(A reference to the
Nazarite
vow.)
Eli the priest promises the Lord will answer her prayer. Sure enough, Hannah’s prayer
is
answered and she names the boy Samuel —
I have asked him of the Lord
.

Hannah Prepares Samuel for the Temple

When Samuel is weaned, she takes him to the Temple as promised and gives him to Eli to raise and mentor. It is at this point, 2 Samuel 2:1, that we hear her prayer of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord.

HANNAH’S SONG

My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in thy salvation.

There is none holy like the Lord, there is
none
besides thee; there is no rock like our God.