Well, tomorrow, Christmas will be here. I\u2019ve always liked Christmas and the Christmas \u201cseason.\u201d Seems like this time every year, people are just a little nicer and most people are generally in a better frame of mind.<\/p>\n
I hadn\u2019t thought much about Santa Claus for a number of years, but in the last few, with the arrival of grandkids, he\u2019s come up more often. I know Santa Claus is from the North Pole, but I wonder how he chose a place like that to live? You\u2019d think he\u2019d opt for Miami Beach or someplace warm. And his name \u2014 Santa Claus \u2014 I wonder if Claus is his last name or middle name? I\u2019ve never known anyone named Santa besides, well, Santa.<\/p>\n
Turns out that the legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. He was born and lived a couple of hundred years after the birth of Christ in what is now modern-day Turkey. St. Nicholas was quite a guy and became the patron of lots and lots of groups, ranging from sailors to entire nations.
\nBut he became a legend when he became known as a patron of children and a magical gift bringer. A number of stories detail his devotion to children and his kindness shown by delivering gifts to them.
\nFor hundreds of years St. Nicholas was the unchallenged bringer of gifts and the toast of celebrations centered around St. Nicholas Day, on December 6.<\/p>\n
In 1821 an illustrated poem (The Children\u2019s Friend) was instrumental in shaping the modern Santa and associating him with Christmas. The poem took the magical gift-bringing of St. Nicholas, and handed this duty to Santa. The poem indicated that Santa brought gifts to good girls and boys, but he also carried a birch rod for those not so good. The poem\u2019s Santa rode in a thin wagon and was pulled by a single reindeer.
\nThen in 1822, Clement Clark Moore wrote \u201cThe Night Before Christmas\u201d \u2014 it went \u201cviral\u201d and the modern Santa was born.<\/p>\n
Some people think Santa Clause detracts from the real meaning of Christmas \u2014 I don\u2019t agree. Santa Clause isn\u2019t just someone that knows when you\u2019re naughty or nice and brings presents. Santa Clause represents goodness, generosity, kindness and brings along that \u201cChristmas Spirit\u201d we all wish could stick around all year. But it\u2019s good that that spirit gets renewed every year. As I mentioned a little while back when discussing the Polar Express adventure we took with Emily, it\u2019s mostly about believing\u2026 and every year about this time we all seem to believe a little more in good and a little less in evil. So thanks, Santa.
\nMerry Christmas to all.
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Well, tomorrow, Christmas will be here. I\u2019ve always liked Christmas and the Christmas \u201cseason.\u201d Seems like this time every year, people are just a little nicer and most people are generally in a better frame of mind. I hadn\u2019t thought … Continue reading