History of Christmas Part 2: Santa Claus

1810 by Alexander Anderson
commissioned by New York Historical Society

Although many of us believe that the idea of "Saint Nicholas" originated in the New World in New Amsterdam or during the British occupation, this is not true according to modern scholars. A preeminent scholar of Saint Nicholas, Charles W. Jones, states that "nobody has ever found any contemporaneous evidence of such a Saint Nicholas cult in New York during the colonial period" (63). The claim that Dutch settlers, in 1626 introduced Sinter Claes to New Amsterdam (to be New York) is an invention of Washington Irving (A History of New York, started in 1809).

• One of author Washington Irving's most lasting contributions to American culture is in the way Americans perceive and celebrate Christmas. In his 1812 revisions to A History of New York, Irving inserted a dream sequence featuring Saint Nicholas soaring over treetops in a flying wagon—a creation others would later dress up as Santa Claus.

• The New York Historical Society influenced Washington Irving, who helped promote the "new tradition" of Saint Nicholas and Christmas. Further emphasis was brought by Clement Moore with his publication of A Visit from St. Nicholas [or ''Twas the Night Before Christmas]. It was composed for Christmas 1822 in New York and published 1823.

• The image of Saint Nicholas changed from a patron saint of the New York Historical Society to an elf-sized person dressed in fur with miniature sleigh and reindeer in the first two decades of the 19th century. He also changed from a judgmental figure who left good things for good children and a switch for bad ones to someone who gave presents to all (74-78).This illustration appeared in the first book-length edition

of "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" by Clement Moore in 1848.

• In the United States in 1819 and 1820, Washington Irving published a successful book of short stories entitled The Sketch Book, which contained two stories that were destined to become classics: "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." This book also included five stories about Christmas, which were set in a big estate in modern day England called Bracebridge Hall. Old customs of Christmas are presented as the norm, even though it was "'the invention of tradition,' as the historian Eric Hobsbawm has dubbed this kind of self-conscious re-creation of ostensibly old-time customs" (58).

• The Bracebridge Hall stories were very popular. They combined with the stories of Charles Dickens to create "the enduring imagery of Christmas" which we still see on Christmas cards and advertisements, where "jovial squires entertain friends and retainers by roaring fires, and stout coachmen, swathed in greatcoats, urge horses down snow-covered lanes as they bring" forth guests (60).

• Until about 1830, Christmas celebrations were celebrated with one's own social class. Slowly this changed to become a child-centered event. This was definitely new, because before the 19th century, "children were merely dependents--miniature adults who occupied the bottom of the hierarchy within the family, along with the servants" (62).

Nissenbaum, Stephen. The Battle for Christmas. NY: Vintage Books, 1996.

History of Christmas Part 1

I just finished reading the book The Battle for Christmas by Stephen Nissenbaum, which is a history of how our present American yuletide traditions came about. Published in 1996, this was a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

I was intrigued to find that worries and preoccupation with excesses in consumption and other forms of behavior have troubled (some) people for centuries.

• "It was only in the fourth century that the Church officially decided to observe Christmas on December 25. And this date was chosen not for religious reasons but simply because it happened to mark the approximate arrival of the winter solstice, an event that was celebrated long before the advent of Christianity (4)."

• "In early modern Europe, roughly the years between 1500 and 1800, the Christmas season was a time to let off steam--and to gorge. . . .Excess took many forms. Reveling could easily become rowdiness, lubricated by alcohol, making merry could edge into making trouble. Christmas was a season of 'misrule,' a time when ordinary behavioral restraints could be violated with impunity. It was part of what one historian has called 'the world of carnival' (5-6)."
  

• The tradition of drunkenness and riot in Great Britain during Christmas time occurred when poor "wassailers" extorted food and drink from the well-do-do. This reversal in roles was permitted at this one time of year, which helped to perpetuate the class system.

• The Puritans came to the New World in opposition to such excess. "In New England, for the first two centuries of white settlement most people did not celebrate Christmas. In fact, the holiday was systematically suppressed by Puritans during the colonial period and largely ignored by their descendants (3)."

• In America, during the years 1730-1800, general opinion was opening to the idea that observing Christmas could be "less obnoxious if the holiday were celebrated with piety and moderation, purged of its seasonal excesses (26)."

• Around 1800, some churches were calling for the public observance of Christmas. For the first time in 1818, five churches in Boston held services on Christmas Day (47). (Previously, none had.)

I will post more tomorrow about the growth of Christmas to include the Christmas tree and Santa Claus.

Joy

CARDS BY ANNE

For more selections of Cards by Anne, go here.

Advent

by Roger Hutchison
Advent
November 2005

Roger writes of Advent: "This painting, for me, came out of a sense of waiting--of expectation. Mary is soon to give birth to Jesus. She is searching, watching, waiting. The star in the sky is also watching - waiting. . . . The world is also in a place of waiting--a place of fear and war. We await the Christ-child. We are hungry for peace and understanding."

Little Avery

Avery holding MJ's finger
Nov. 24, 2010
Avery is 2 days old.

Traditions?

Traditions can be aids to living or rigid boundaries, maybe both. Since getting married in 1971, I have always served almost identical meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas. . . .because that is what my mother always did. I liked what she served and after her death 18 years ago, I started keeping her memory alive by doing the same.

The last two Thanksgiving dinners (not this one though) have been spent at DC and AA's house in Austin, where two families' traditions were melded together. I can see that AA is more generous than I was in that she included her husband's family's recipes, which I never even thought of doing!

With the birth of our first grandchild Avery, I knew we would have a quiet Thanksgiving at home with four of us (CB, son BJ, daughter MJ, and me). I asked the three ahead of time if they wanted the traditional jello salad (lime with grated apples and carrots, celery and pineapple chunks, sometimes with nuts). BJ said he didn't like it; MJ told me to make "a small one" (MJ is always diplomatic); CB said he didn't care.

So this time I made no jello salad, which gave me the extra time to try to make a homemade pie crust. That was definitely a break in (my) tradition, as I have used frozen pre-made pie crusts since I had children (or for the past 31 years). That was definitely time-intensive, with chilling the pie dough before rolling it and chilling the prepared pie crust before baking it. But the result was markedly better, and here for years I had thought the pre-made ones were the same as those homemade! (This despite the fact that I've always made the top crusts for meat pies. . . .)

The resulting meal had no jello salad and two vegetables instead of one. I am pleased with the beets I bought last week at the Farmer's Market, which I tried with an orange sauce. We also had our usual steamed broccoli with cheese.

Doubting my ability to make the pie crust, I bought frozen ones to have in reserve. After making the homemade one, I also used one of the pre-made crusts with the regular pumpkin pie filling. So in an unusual turn of events, we had two pumpkin pies, which we compared last night after we saw the new Harry Potter movie. (Homemade crust won, but so did the regular old pie filling with concentrated milk and not cream.) There was a break in tradition in that the second pie was not pecan, which oldest son DC always wants.

These minor alterations in our menu brought me to the realization that I can be freer about holiday meals. It was fun to experiment with the pie crust and the beets. Perhaps I have been too rigid, trying to be the "plastic" version of my mother. . . . All I want is to serve good food that people like! I know the freedom is to choose, whether the traditional or the new and accept it all as a celebration of family. . . .and I am still open to fixing jello salad if the two older kids want it!

Friday Five: Pie-ola!

Songbird brings today's Friday Five for RevGalBlogPals after telling us a good story about a pie-filled Thanksgiving.

Please answer these five questions about pies:

1. Are pies an important part of a holiday meal?
Pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, though the men in my family like pecan pie for any occasion.

I have not paid much attention to pies over the years and succumbed to buying frozen pie shells until this year. For this Thanksgiving, I was inspired by the recent purchase of (a used copy of) The Art and Soul of Baking and made a pie crust from scratch. It did taste much better, so I'll have to do that from now on.

2. Men prefer pie; women prefer cake. Discuss.
I don't think that is true of my family, although my dad mainly liked pecan pie. One son BJ does not like desserts of any kind, which makes him an anomaly in our family. Oldest son DC likes both, but probably prefers pecan or apple pies. Husband CB likes any dessert, especially ice cream (or whatever with ice cream). I like cookies more than both cake and pies.

3. Cherries--do they belong in pie?
I am indifferent, so sure they do.

4. Meringue--if you have to choose, is it best on lemon or chocolate?
I do not like meringue that much, but I'd put it on lemon before chocolate.

5. In a chicken pie, what are the most compatible vegetables? Anything you don't like to find in a chicken pie?
For chicken or turkey pot pie, I always include carrots, onions, celery, potatoes, and peas. I don't think that peppers or green beans go in it.

Name Calling

Blessings Abound

Photo: Keith Syvinski, Autumn Colors
Design: Patricia Carlson
www.gratefulness.org

Grandparents in love!

Avery (2 hours old) and Jan

Avery (16 hours old) and CB

Baby pictures!!

Tired new mommy AA with Avery two hours after delivery.

AA had a long, long day of labor before Avery decided to be born last night at 6:28. Avery weighed 7 lb. 11 oz at birth. She has lots of black hair!

Avery, today--about 16 hours old

I am overwhelmed with love for baby Avery Elizabeth and her parents, who are warmly and lovingly caring for her.

Avery, AA and son DC

This is the last time I saw them today; it was hard to leave them all and return home to Corpus Christi. AA's parents, brother, and grandmother are staying with the newly enlarged family for Thanksgiving. Although we were invited, it seems best for their gathering to remain thus, better for the new mother and baby. We'll have a nice and quiet Thanksgiving in Corpus Christi with our two youngest children, BJ and MJ.

Today?

"For the Sake of Our Children"

This afternoon the All Saints Episcopal Church Choir gave a musical offering "In Remembrance." It was profoundly beautiful, so much that I have no words to describe the exquisite music and how it all created a holy experience. The second song was "For the Sake of the Children" by Jeffery Ames and was stunning. Here it is:



Buy the music here for your choir or group.

If you write, will they come??

Thanks to Monkey Mind and the meditation about "koans" and life. Go and read!

Getting old is no fun

Baillie by the new couch

Baillie is 14+ years old. She is blind and deaf and gets confused at times. In the past few days she has gotten lost in our backyard. One day she was wandering around in a corner, bumping into a tree stump. I finally had to pull her back to the deck, where she realized her location and could navigate herself to the backdoor. However, today she went in the wrong direction from the backdoor and fell off the (low) deck. I had to guide her back.

Usually Baillie walks tentatively and slowly around. She also sleeps a great deal of each day. She still seems happy, unlike our last cocker spaniel Bagel who whimpered in one place all day in the kitchen, because she could not see or hear. Bagel was put to sleep as she could not cope with her blindness and deafness. I am glad that Baillie is more cheerful.

A BIG Mistake!

Today the sectional couch we ordered on Sept. 24 was delivered.
Look at it!

We needed it to fit 68 inches of wall space, and it was 10 inches too long! The images we were given to fit into our space on paper indicated that those two pieces would be 26 + 42 inches. We were never told that those were the inside measurements.

Much waiting and many phone calls ensued, with the two delivery men standing around, chatting amiably with us, for 1 1/2 hours. It was finally determined that the end piece would be returned and a new long piece equaling 68 inches in total will be manufactured. We just hope it will not take another two months. . . .

This is what we have now, which looks much better than it did.

Cisco and Maisie sniffing the new couch

The dogs have been sniffing the couch and the various cushions. We hope that Maisie will not climb up on the sofa, as she did with the old love seat.

Here is guilty looking Maisie, who is trying to get down before I see her.

My mother helped me pick out that love seat when we moved into this house in 1987. It is now sitting in BJ's old room, awaiting MJ having her own apartment in fall 2011. (Trinity University requires its students to live on-campus for the first three years of college.)

We also hope that Maisie will not chew and rip the new couch as she did with the above pictured love seat. Go here if you want to see what damage she inflicted upon it.

Friday Five: Unexpected Thanks

With the American holiday of Thanksgiving being less than a week away, I tried to think of some questions for Friday Five that could be connected to this, but in a new way. So here is my one try:

Name five things that were unexpected in your life that you are now grateful for.

1. Our fourth child MJ, who is now 21 years old. She was a big surprise and is 4 1/2 years younger than her closest sibling (BJ). God blessed us with her, and we have never ever thought of her as a "mistake."

2. The arrival of a little flea-ridden yellow puppy on Dec. 26, 2009. Maisie is a wonderful and energetic member of our family.

MJ and Maisie
December 2009

3. Hydroplaning on I-37 about eight years ago, returning from a class at Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio. The car skidded off the highway onto the grassy median, but did not collide or turn over. I was very lucky. That taught me not to use cruise control on wet pavement and/or while it is raining.

4. Writing weekly to my sister-in-law Chris brought an unanticipated and an unusually strong connection between us, even though she lives in WA State and I live in TX (and have lived away from WA since 1972).

5. My mother's sudden death from pancreatic cancer in 1992 brought me to an awareness of and yearning for God. There was also grief and depression in ensuing years, which eventually drew me closer to God.

"Plastic State of Mind" LOOK!!

Thanks to Blue Avocado, seller of wonderful cloth bags, who pointed me to this video from here.

Prayer for Friendship

May you be blessed with good friends,
And learn to be a good friend to yourself,
Journeying to that place in your soul where
There is love, warmth, and feeling.
May this change you.

May it transfigure what is negative, distant,
Or cold within your heart.

May you be brought into real passion, kindness,
And belonging.

May you treasure your friends.
May you be good to them, be there for them
And receive all the challenges, truth and light you need.

May you never be isolated but know the embrace
Of your anam cara.

~~John O' Donohue

O'Donohue, John. To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings. NY: Doubleday, 2008. 43.

This prayer is also posted at A Place for Prayer today. Please visit this ministry blog of RevGalBlogPals.

What difference does it make?

by Judy Horacek

Thanks to Thomas at Living Next Door to Alice and to Sherry who pointed me to Thomas' blog.