The Secret History of Santa Claus

Santa Claus is one old dude. We all know that. Just look at how white his beard and hair are, right? But did you know that the legend of Santa Claus, and St. Nick, go back nearly to the time of Christ, nearly 2,000 years ago? No? Well then, sit back, pour yourself a hot chocolate, grab yourself a plate of cookies, and get ready for the story of Santa Claus.

It is said that around the year 280 A.D., there was a man born by the name of Nicolas. He was born in the Near East in a town called Patara. To find it today, look on a map or a globe for the country of Turkey, near Greece. It was there that the man who would become Santa Claus was born.

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Nicolas had a big heart, so big that he became a monk and devoted himself to his god and his religion. But Nicolas also was a big fan of his family and his neighbors, and he also devoted himself to them. Word spread in his homeland and far and wide about how kind and generous Nicolas was. Nicolas was born into wealth, and stories soon spread about how Nicolas gave away all of his family's money to the poor, the sick, and anyone else he came across who needed it.

He became so famous that Nicolas was known as the protector of all children (and sailors too). Once, he even saved three young girls, sisters, from being sold into slavery by their father. Their father, you see, needed money, and was going to make a fortune by selling his daughters. Instead, Nicolas came to their rescue by offering the father money for the girls, and then setting them free.

No wonder that Nicolas became Saint Nicolas after his death. For hundreds of years, Europeans celebrated him on the date of his death, December 6. Some even say that Saint Nick was the most popular saint in all of Europe during the end of the Middle Ages. December 6 was always considered a lucky day for this very same reason.

How did Saint Nick go from being the protector of children to Jolly Old Saint Nick, the guy we know as Santa Claus, who not only protects children, but brings them great gifts too? Well, that's one heck of a long story, and it involves a manger, and baby Jesus. We probably all already know that story by heart.

But what you may not know is that the end of December was already a big deal in Europe before Christmas was started. It was during this time of year that many Europeans celebrated that winter was almost over. They would have great feasts, celebrated the harvest of their wine and their beer, and the coming of spring and the sun. So then it made perfect sense that when people also started celebrating the birth of Baby Jesus, that the two traditions would meld.

The notion of feasting and celebrating a holiday of lights, the happiness and giving of Saint Nick, and the hope and love brought by Baby Jesus, all of it merged to form the perfect holiday: Christmas. And who makes sure that it happens every year? None other than Santa Claus.

The Reasons I Love Christmas

Most everyone I know loves Christmas. There is something about the magic and wonder of the season that is unmatched during the rest of the year. There are so many reasons that I love Christmas I can hardly know where to begin.

I guess the biggest reason I love Christmas is because for me, it has always meant the gathering of family and friends. It is only during the Christmas season that we gather from a far and enjoy days filled with laughter, good conversation, good meals and tons of games. My four siblings and I have naturally spread out into our adulthood and usually it is only at Christmas that we get to reunite with each other and with our parents. You could take everything else about Christmas away from me and I would still love it just for this reason.

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With my family and close friends around me, I love the sheer celebration and party that the Christmas season is. I love going from Christmas party to Christmas party and celebrating with the people I care about most. I am quite sure that there is nothing better than enjoying a day of sledding, making snow men, drinking hot chocolate, and then coming inside to watch old movies and eat great snacks by the Christmas tree. Even the smallest parts of Christmas feel like magic. I love the way the Christmas tree glows each year with white twinkle lights on it, and I love the way the house smells after my mom finishes baking her famous Christmas cookies. I love seeing my children sleeping side by side with each of their cousins right in front of the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.

Another reason I love Christmas is because it happens near the end of the year. Many years Christmas becomes my Thanksgiving as well as I realize all of the ways that I have been blessed during the past year. I take time each Christmas to write a letter to each of my parents, siblings, my husband, children, and close friends. It takes me weeks to write them all, but I love sharing with each person in my life the ways that they have blessed my life during the past year. I never give a Christmas gift without a letter attached. I love that Christmas reminds me to be grateful and to cherish the best things and people in my life.

Take a little time and think about the reasons you love Christmas so much. I think you will find that it truly is the greatest time of the year.

The Real Meaning Of Holidays

The holiday season is a wondrous and magical time to bring in good cheers, joyful tidings and fun-filled celebrations.  It is a time when family, friends and loved-ones get together and celebrate the general good feeling and timeless traditions that mark this season.  Sparkling decorations, melodious Christmas songs, delicious meals, delectable cookies, satisfying chocolate and milk concoctions and pretty stockings filled with goodies and gifts seem to fill every household as each welcome the holiday seasons to their midst.  Mistletoes are found in every nook and cranny for sweethearts longing to share a sweet kiss, parents grant their beloved children with tender hugs and wondrous gifts and everybody wears that enchanting, one of a kind smile that welcomes the holiday spirits.

Stressful Holidays:

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There are more to the holidays than meets the eye, though.  With the number of gifts being exchanged during the holiday seasons, it is no wonder that although holidays can be fun and cheerful, stress is something you cannot avoid completely.  The holiday season prompts the retail sector to seek various methods of increasing their sales and this account for a lot of people to mill about the stores, malls and shopping depots all over the country.  Too much people moving about and the lack of parking space when going out shopping can really dampen the holiday spirits and put some people in a bad mood, much like Scrooge, a Christmas character (whom we can talk about in another article!) feels during this time.  Peak season for retail stores usually start at the beginning of each winter season and ends with a much publicized winter sale or clearance sale at the start of January.  Stress becomes a regular visitor during the holidays, indeed!  And what about the various preparations needed to celebrate the holidays?  You go out and buy the Christmas tree, decorate your whole house with Christmas ornaments, prepare the food for your family and guests and of course do the cleaning up after.  Sometimes, if you really think hard, Christmas season is as tiring and as stressful as all the other holidays put together!

The Real Meaning:

But is the holiday season really a time for celebration or stress, or is it more than just a mere season?  If you really look at it, the holiday season is not just for celebrations, decorations and gift giving.  Christmas is a time for giving the best gift in the whole world and that is love.  This powerful and stirring emotion has been pushed so much into the background of the celebration even though this very much is the reason why we celebrate Christmas in the first place.  During Christmas, we celebrate the birth of our Savior, the one who sacrificed his life because of his love for us.  Wouldn’t it be more significant if we learn to live our lives like He did and share our love with others too especially during the holiday seasons?  Helping those in need and sharing your love to the unfortunate persons would surely make your holiday more meaningful than ever.

The holidays are upon us

Do difficult relatives ruin your holidays year after year? I had a colleague, Traci, who proclaimed a few weeks before Thanksgiving that the family gathering would be ruined as usual because of her sister-in-law, husband, and meddlesome nephew. She had a defeatist attitude plus she figuratively put on full battle gear ready to go to war with these despicable in-laws.

I reminded her from previous conversations that you can’t change the other person, but by changing how you approach this person, you could get a more favorable response. I explained that the minute they walked in the door they would sense her hostility and react accordingly. I suggested that she pretend this is the first time they are meeting. Welcome them into her home and as the hostess, keep the conversation light.

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At the same time, she can make wise decisions based on their experience with the misbehaving nephew. She has a right to set boundaries and enforce them if the parents don’t. What could she do differently this time since he didn’t listen previously to not touch the computer? Traci decided to remove the keyboard from the computer. She also denied him access to the hot tub, which he had damaged the previous year.

I asked Traci why she went along with the suggestion that she have Thanksgiving at her house each year when both she and her husband had to work the day before and after the holiday. Her explanation was that her relatives expected it. Does that mean she is stuck in a rut forever? No! I asked if she had considered going out to dinner. There are plenty of places now where you can have a tasty turkey dinner and more. Traci agreed that the concept sounded like a great solution.

Well, Traci did succeed in letting go of her battle gear and having a good time. The in-laws responded favorably to her relaxed body language, and having to control the obnoxious nephew was much easier because both Traci and her husband enforced the boundaries. They turned a deaf ear to his constant whining.

However, the next year, Traci and her husband decided to recapture the pleasure of the holiday by announcing to the family that they were not going to have Thanksgiving dinner at their house. They were going out to eat. Eventually someone else volunteered—the in-laws she disliked! All she had to do was bring a dessert. The nephew was happy because he was in his own house and everyone had a good time.

Here are specific examples of how hot buttons are pushed based on the four perceptual styles: Audio, Feeler, Visual, and Wholistic. In each instance the person is operating through his or her Limiting Tendencies rather than Empowering Tendencies. Therefore they are reactive and hope to get a reaction from you. Following each example is a remedy for defusing the situation.

Audio: Uncle Bob is always argumentative. He claims he is just playing the Devil’s Advocate. But eventually it triggers a shouting match because he is also sarcastic. Uncle Bob wants to evoke a reaction because simmering beneath the surface is anger and he’s looking for a way to vent. Once you react, he’s won! He now has an excuse to shout to intimidate you. He uses his temper to control others.

Remedy: When you start seeing red, take a deep breath and assess the situation. If you can leave the room, do so to calm down. There is always a reason to go into the kitchen, whether it’s to check on the food or to get a glass of water. If you feel you would be deserting the guests if you got up and went into the kitchen, change the subject. If appropriate, tell a joke—getting everyone laughing is a great way to defuse the situation.

Feeler: Aunt Jane enjoys being the martyr. The driving force behind her indignation is, “After all I’ve done for you and this is all the appreciation I get?” So she will tell you her tale of woe or all of her worries. Her subconscious goal is for you to feel sorry for her and maybe even wallow with her in her self-pity—misery does love company!

Remedy: Sometimes just quietly listening to her is all she needs. She wants to pour out all her problems and worries. Then steer the conversation to things she has been doing. Sincerely compliment her on her accomplishments, no matter how small. She just wants to feel needed and appreciated. If she offers to help, by all means accept it!

Visual: John is frustrated with his life. It’s just not turning out the way he had envisioned it. Subconsciously he wants you to feel as frustrated as he is. He might attack ideas with “No, it’ll never work.” Or he might slip into a funk and use the silent treatment: “If you don’t know what’s bothering me, I’m not going to tell you.” Either of those actions can frustrate you!

Remedy: Realize it’s a game to control you. Keep that smile on your face when you say, “I’m really sorry, John, that you aren’t having a good day. Hope you feel better soon.” Then walk away. If it’s at the dinner table, change the subject or turn your attention to someone else.

Wholistic: For years Chris has expressed resentment that she hasn’t gotten her just rewards. She should have gotten that promotion, but then what do you expect? There is a glass ceiling for women! This resentment triggers irritability and moodiness. So sometimes Chris goes off and sulks. With a sour look on her face she withdraws from the others. She secretly likes the thought that others might be wondering what’s her problem. “Good, let them wonder.” When she joins the others for the holiday dinner, she manipulates the conversation so she can impose her opinion about why life isn’t fair.

Remedy: Let her sulk. It’s not your problem! Otherwise when she becomes negatively opinionated, you can quickly defuse the situation by saying, “You are entitled to your opinion. You brought up some points that I will have to think about.” End of conversation! Even though you disagree, don’t get into an argument with her. You will not win!

If you believe certain relatives will ruin the holiday again because they always do, you’re setting yourself up for failure. You’ll get what you anticipate. So throw away the battle gear and bring out the good cheer. It is possible to have "Happy Holidays."

The Holidays: An Emotional Feast

Every year, I swear that I will be thin enough to wear my smallest dress to the office party. And every year, I don’t quite make it. Oh, I can usually get into it by the beginning of February after a diet-obsessed, guilt-ridden January, but it doesn’t mean as much then.

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Why are November and December so toxic to our weight control efforts? Certainly there is abundant food available during the month long celebration from Thanksgiving to New Year. It is the season for non-stop parties and gifts of food from colleagues, friends, family, and customers.

But more than just the food, there is a special atmosphere that descends on the Western World at the end of November. Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzai – whatever the celebration involved – evoke the onset of primitive emotions. We wax nostalgic over the holidays we recall from childhood. We turn towards family and traditions that have been absent from our thoughts for the rest of the year. We indulge ourselves in the joy of giving and receiving.

Cookies, and chocolates, and gift baskets bursting with preservatives, which we would politely refuse during any other time of the year, are now gratefully accepted in the spirit of the season. Food we would normally avoid – creamed soups, fruit glazes, gravy, fruit breads, honeyed hams – appear as comfort foods, warming and welcoming. Our sophisticated and world-weary veneer fades in the face of traditions that make us feel whole and contented again.

The goodwill we feel demands a context and a continuity that was established many years ago. Each December, we trot out the same old carols, enjoying the familiarity of tunes we learned to love sitting next to a glittering tree and a roaring fire. For a month, we emotionally step back in time to reconnect who we are with who we were. Despite its current crass commercialism, we need the holidays to remind us of our roots, our values, and our beginnings.

So this year, I am going to throw myself into the fray, eat whatever I want, and let the chips fall where they may. I can always wear something else to the office party and there will be innumerable occasions in the New Year when I can attain caloric virtue through deprivation and denial.

This year, I’m going to have guilt-free, unalloyed, and omnivorous fun.

Bon Appetit!

The History of the Christmas Card

The Christmas card, as we know it, originated in England in the year 1843.  An artist named John Calcott Horsley was commissioned by Sir Henry Cole, a wealthy and successful London businessman, to create a card that could be sent out to his friends and clients to wish them a merry Christmas.

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Sir Henry Cole was very well known at the time, for a number of reasons.  He had a helping hand in helping to modernize the British postal system.  He played a prominent role in the creation of the Royal Albert Hall, and acted as the construction manager on this massive project.  He also arranged for the Great Exhibition of 1851, and he oversaw the inauguration of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

One of Sir Henry Cole’s greatest aspirations in life was to beautify the world around him.  He owned and operated a wonderful art shop on Bond Street, which specialized in decorative objects for the home.  His shop was hugely popular with the British upper class, and he earned a tidy sum from his business.

The Christmas card he commissioned was fashioned in the form of a triptych, which is a three-paneled design that allows for the two outer panels to be folded in towards the middle one.  Each of the two side panels depicted a good deed.  The first showed an image of people clothing the poor, and the other side panel showed an image of people feeding the hungry.  The center piece had an image of a well-to-do family making a toast and surrounded by an enormous feast.

The inscription on the inside of the card read "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you."  Of the one thousand cards printed for Sir Henry Cole, only twelve exist today in private collections.  The printed card became highly fashionable in England during the years that followed.  They also became very popular in Germany.  It took quite a long time for the idea to catch on in America, then popularized by a German expatriate named Louis Prang in 1875.  Today, more than 2 billion Christmas cards are exchanged each year.  Merry Christmas, all!

The Christmas Story

The idea of celebrating Jesus' birth was done to counteract pagan holidays  celebrated in Rome during the Winter Solstice. Church leaders thought Christmas  celebrations were more likely to be popular if they coincided with the  traditional festivals and merrymaking during the Winter Solstice. 

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Although some Christmas celebrations are secular, the religious aspect of  Christmas remains central to celebrations. This is evident in church services  such as Midnight Mass and primarily in the many forms of the Nativity, or  Christmas Story, presented wherever people celebrate Christmas. 

That story started in Nazareth in Galilee about two thousand years ago.  Mary, a young woman, was engaged to a carpenter named Joseph. An angel appeared  to her one day and told her she was with child. She couldn't understand how that  could happen because due to her circumspect nature, she had not laid in bed with Joseph. The angel explained however, that the child would be special as he would be the Son of God and his name was to be Jesus. Mary and Joseph then got married 

soon after the angel's appearance.. But about the time when Mary was to have the baby, the couple had to travel far away to Bethlehem, Joseph's birthplace, to 

pay a special tax.

It was difficult for them to find a place to stay because many other people were in Bethlehem to pay their taxes. After many rejections, one innkeeper offered a room in his stable where they could spend the night. That's where Jesus, the Holy Child and Son of God was born and then wrapped in bundles of cloth and placed in a manger for a cradle.

In the same hours that Mary was giving birth, shepherds who were in a field that overlooked Bethlehem saw an extremely bright star over the sky in Bethlehem. They had never seen anything like it and had feelings of curiosity and scariness. An angel appeared and told them the 'good news' that the Son of God had been born in Bethlehem.

The shepherds left their flocks to go to Bethlehem to find the baby. When they reached the stable, they were filled with immense joy at seeing Jesus. They fell to their knees and worshipped Him. They also told Mary and Joseph about the bright star and the angel appearing to say Jesus would be the Savior of the world.

The bright star was also seen by Wise Men in the east. The Wise Men, who studied the stars, learned that a new and great ruler would appear whenever an extraordinarily bright star appeared in the sky. Three of them therefore set out to find the new ruler. They first visited King Herod in Jerusalem because they thought the child would be born in the palace. But when they asked to see the child who would be the new ruler, King Herod was very worried as he thought he would be removed from the throne. King Herod told the Wise Men that when they found the baby, they should return and tell him so that he could also worship the baby. 

The Wise Men used the star as a guide to go to Bethlehem where they found Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus who they worshipped and offered gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The Wise Men are celebrated in some Christmas celebrations on Jan. 6, known as the Epiphany to mark the date when they found Jesus. Later in the night the three Wise Men had a dream in which an angel told 

them that King Herod wanted to kill Baby Jesus. They left Bethlehem to return to the East but didn't return to Jerusalem to tell King Herod where they had found the child. Joseph also had a dream soon after the Wise Men left in which an angel appeared and told him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt because Herod had ordered that Jesus be killed. In an effort to kill Jesus after the Wise Men did 

not return to inform him of the baby's whereabouts, Herod later ordered that all baby boys in Bethlehem should be killed. But by then Mary and Joseph had left with Baby Jesus.