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Saint Nicholas

The Story of the Christmas Saint

(By Imviaﬁaeune) _

1E1 8t. Rinholll. the Santa

Clnu of childhood, b deacrbed as “the patron taint of Christmas," itialnmeduznlybywey ofcoun- esyJorbiadaylnt-hecnlendar in actualy the Sixth of December. and iv. isonlyinvirtueofhlsstatus as the patron saint of children that he appears w have connection with the festival of Chriatnus.

The sources from whizh we learn or the events in the life of this Sdllil, who seems to have actually 0Kl5l€d and to have been a bishop of the early Christian Church of Asia Minor, are few and tbscure. but the story of St. Nicholas, as it his come down to in traditiouady, l5 curltained in the Golden Legend. thnt curious collection of meduteval llllglOlOgy to which we Ire indebt- vd ior all we know of s0 many les- sl-r ligures of the early Church.

Nicholas, Bishop oi Myra, in Ly- cm, was born at Patara in the same country towards the end of the ae-coud century. His family 0c- cupied a. high social position and ‘were of the Christian faith. from early infancy ha ls said to have evinced a peculiar piety, and legend says that on the very day of his birth he stood upright in hi: bath, and with his‘ hands joined together gave thanks to God that he had entered the world without anathe- M he grew up he was distinguished from the other children by his gravity and attention to his studies. Whrle yet comparatively young, he entered the mono-ﬁery of the Holy Sion, near Myra, and was appointed its abbot by the A.- hblshop who had founded it. Not many years afterwards his parents died and left him heir to the whole o! their vast wealth. ,

In the city of Patna-n thee dwelt a nobleman who had three daugh- ters. He fall on evil times. and ix-came so poor that he and hm children arrived at a state of utter starvation, and at last he resolved w sell his daughters in the market- place. Nicholas learned of their condition, and one night when the maidens were asleep he took a handful o! gold and. tying 1t into a handkerchief, can it throw}! an open window in-w the chamber where the unfortunate nobleman lay. with the means thus procured the eldest daughter was pcrtloned and suitauly married. Again and yet again did Nichols; resort to this stratagem to relieve the difficulties of the family, until at last he was <l~ vered. by the father of the

' who asured him of his itrarlzude. It is chiafly for the ben- oﬁcence he showed on this occasion that the saint is regarded as the purron of children.

Shorilv afterwards Nicholas un- dertook a. journey to the Holy Land and on the voyage thence miracu- lously calmed a storm and restored a drowned scaman to life. 0n his return he was elected Bishop of Mira, of which. indeed, he became a kind of supernatural protector. On one occasion he caved the city and the entire province from fam- ine. After a life spent in welldo- ins, he died in the year 3M, and was buried in his old cathedral at Myra.

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GROWING UP QUICKLY

Christmas Day was Jack’; birth- day.

"How old are you, now. old chap?“ risked Uncle. i

“Thirteen, Uncle." was the reply.

"Thirteen?" queried the grown. up. "But you were only nix last Christmas!"

“Well, six last Christal i Ieven this: that makes thirteen."

In m. nu-rl! a cantor! alter Nicholads Justinian church to be built in his boner at Constantinople. M revealing his popularity in Iingllnd. no fewer than 376 churches bear hi: unme- Fonnerly his feast-day was amoe- iated at York. Salli“?! I114 3"‘ erley, and in Scotland at Aberdeen. with the curious ceremony of choosing a boy-bishop, who pre- aioed over his fellow-choristers until the following Innocents’ Day arrayed in full episcopal attire. It is further recorded that his relics were translated from Myra to Ban- in Italy during the middle ages. when he is often styled St. Nich- olas of Bari.

Not only is Nicholas the patron saint of youth, but of travellers. sailors und mere-hints, and the protector. par excellence, against thieves. He also is. or was, the nn- tional saint of Russia, and still praides over the fortunes of Venice. Preilburg. and many other cormmner- cial cities. In art he is usually de- picted in the vestments of a bishop and carries three golden balk, the latter being interpreted as the three purses which legend states he gave to tho afflicted riosleman.

His more modern guise and indi- tlonal appearance as "Santa Claus" requires some explanation. In this he ls" usually portrayed u wearing a red turned mantle and can. along with top boots, and he rides in a sledge drawn by reindeer. In this respect he Probably Xﬂifesenis the Russian traveling merchant of the seventeenth century, who at Yuletide truelled through Finland with a cargo of presents loaded on a rein- deer sleigh. 0r it may be that he becama confused with the idea of one of the old Teutonic present- glvlng deities who dwelt in the Arc- llc, the tradltonkl land of glittering treasure. of golden light and silver ice. Some authorities have identi- fied him with the gnomes o»! the underworld, the guardians of all precious things, and the rvwarders of good children, and his general physical appearance as well as his attirg lends considerable force to such o. theory, the ruddy garments and long white beard being char- acterstic of the d/warfish race dwell- ing in oavema and mountain fut- noses.

But i1 is through his Russian and Teutonic associations that he has become identified with the hyper- boreal figure. which is perhaps as unlike the early nt and bishop of Asia. Minor as Arthur. the an- cient British Kin}, is dissimilar from the knightly paladin of Mal- ory or Tennyson, and his develop- merit in this respect well illustrates

the fantastic transformations of which legend and iolktale are cup- able. The patron of children and merchants. these diaracteristlw became outstanding, and were un- ited in the figure of the great ven- dor m- bringer of toys whom count- less generations of little folks in Northern Europe have cherished with a half-fearful admiration. That he may be smiqnoned by calling him "up the chimney" even asnciated hlm to a certain extent with other supernatural beings of a less respectable character, witch- es and the like. and his pamngc across the roofs in his strange equlpigae connects him in some dc- gree with th¢ planetary and atmoiv pheric deties, specially with the present-giving Norse goddess Freya, wife of the sun-god, who rode through the nlr in n chariot drawn: by cats, and who, on one occasion at least. revealed her-self in bearded gum-Scots (Ibserver.

breathes

tread ;

myrrh.

THE SHOPPERS

Along the crowxlcrl street they come and g0 Under the holly boughs and cedar wreaths; Surely some mighty truth has made it so. And wrought this scamn wlu-n the tired world

A richer air, and human hearts arc mmcvl BFYOFN] lhC jOy! and pflvl; Hf gvgry 113v

To old familiar things. And precious things that Hung (hum. ,,\\_,y_

No sclﬁsh urge has set llll- hurrying f”; (if Christmas shoppen “here the thousands

Theirs is an errand trvnmlnus and sweet, Stirred by the song of nngl-ls qyerheml;

Ami laden arms bear gill. [hat sgrangﬂy 1.1m- Tn spice and gold anti frank-incense and

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THE SANTA CLA US WHO LIVED

There are anally legends, but few fact: now in existence concerning the

life of St. Nicholas, Bishop of ilfyra, whose corrupted name, Sonia Claus, i: nfrriullv llrur In childrrrg

llv nuts Irorn in the city of Parura in Lycia towards the cnd of the third l-cnzury. [Ir dim! on Dcrcntbrr 61h, 352 n! lllyra. In the courre of Iii: 6o or 70 mirr of life In: earned an inferno/fond! reputation a: the ntast rentarkable man of

hi: fimr.

Hr was rvrrir-rd into rhr Clzurrh at a very early age and uvltile still a young friitrl hr slurllrd hir limifrd world by restoring a dead railor i0 life. About this film‘, 1011, he brramc fmnaur for his generosity, the aulrfanding example bring the rust’ of lhc ﬂoor noblvman of Pararo, uiho was so ponnilzsr and proud that hi: three beautiful daughter: u-cr: starving. Th: problem roar I0 give arrirfartcc rviihorlt giving oﬁcurr. The young Ivicholar, rvha was rirh, took a purse of gold on l/lrcv xurrrrxirv trig/ll: and llrnffnl earh one through a grating info the

mllilwiualzir 11mm‘. from Hlir kindly uri i; derived the cilrlom giving prcsmtf: at Lhririnuir and the idra of the arrival of Santa Claus a! dead of nigh! with gifts. The original grilling has now become the chimney. Gifts tuercblwcry: arrociaied mill the immr af St. Nicholas because of hi: many chariiier.

Si, Xirholn: ir the patron saint of all children, rcholarr, parish clerks, nlizr/Jvri". lhiccwxv, mrrc/tavitr, suflorr and paumbrokcrr, having rendered some . "rrwc In rurh rlars, If liar Ivrrn suggested that the curiour trad: sign of

:/l.~ fHfHIl/‘fllkfl’ i; symbolic of the three purses Si. Nicholar gave fo the nobleman l/ lhrur-n, bu! r! ilr nnw fairly rrrll criablirhrd that llrr three golden ball: are ‘ i . ,1‘ m. lluyv Iv/lvn Lonlbards munopolired the muncylrndirug profession.

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%\JOUOUUOO'OUOUUOUCYOOD'UO

When Grandmamma Was Little

Lola Llntens ln wonderment "Oh, I don't know. Yes, 1 do. too, Mother; it is out in the kitchen." Loin wu nnswerinl her mother who had called in to know where ahe had put the big hammer.

Suddenly Grandmother laughed gully. “Your answer to your mother brought back to my mind a scene of yearn ago. I can still lee Grl-nfr, ll we celled Grandfather Miller, as he stood Mini by the brook below Lhl churn house. There h; bu! met old man Tlﬂdle, the achoe man. who wnlmhlIWavuDi-bebllltoaur hﬂll. It was a warm d1] HI RG7- ember, and Mr. T1ridle Ill ‘MIG down his hrnrvy park 0f I001] lhd was mopping his forehead with n 111$ led handkerchief. Grant’:- I'll prondlytellinlhlm tnenowloftbe plaenferitwuaredlettirdnyh hill when some outsider came along to IL he could lint live the lo-

count of happenings on the farm. “He had evidently been telllnl Tindle about the trouble he had trying w mend the hi; uandfvher clock in the kitchen. m. ‘Ilnlle wu quite deaf, and thonlht GrI-nfr was, too; no ha wu ahouting bin ques- tlan: “In November? You It! you went fee-e-e-nblngi" ‘"110,’ shouted Grant‘: nllln. ‘I

"Phatwu reﬂlyihe lnilk houle. Abrottr-andownfrcntbewoodl uburtbehillmdrnnﬂtbtlllml‘ thhlittlemnebmldinqﬂtbe Inter ofthelittlebtobkwuﬂwulcool. andtbebmue wan no builtthet there wuanopenplaoeover the brooknoi-blttbellllnfkcannand

i "a aha. Grandmother!" '

“um-m...- .. ____ __ _____ ___

CONTENTMENT

‘hue tentmant depends not on who; we have. A tub wan large enough for Diogenes; but a world too little for Alenndern-Charlea Caleb Oolton.

ed container-was shaken and churned about until the butter formed from the butter-fat in the milk."

“Wasn't it very hard on the doa?"

"No, only that dogs, like k beinil. would rather play than Icrk, ha was very proud when hi: work wudone and be got netted and praised and given ufutra bcnc."

“Dad that little brook come t0 your borne with Inter for the mig- otnThntiathewayMnrnr-yll- lary’: grandmother has their farm house fixed."

Grandmother lhook her bend. "No one in our days dreamed of having water piped right to the house. We built our homes up on a hllltobesafeanddrynndoooLBut the water that rm down the hill al- ways found its way out ta acme spring down in n hollow. Bo the apringwouidbequiteewnkdown bﬂltromthehouaeandwehndto godownwithpailnandcnrryupnll the water we used."

"That must have been hard in hot weather."

"Or in cold. slippery weather. Yen, it was not any: but work wn not made easy in In! In! in those days.

"What a lot of places 'ou had to play," liIhGd Lois envuouuy. “There wutbabigredbarmandthewqon hour. and the churn boule.”

“And the bake boule.“

“A bake hnuce, Grandmother? Didonernanbakelornll the folks on farms about there, like our baker."

“No, Lola; but we had to nuke such loaves and loaves and leave: o! bread forall the farm hands and the family and then there were plea and cook! and sometimes caku to bemndetbntweoouldnotdoltl-ll in the little oven of the kitchen stove. 8o there wan a huge cuinlde oven.

"This oven was made of clay. I suppose there wu n piece of iron to hold it up over the hollow centre.

more was a ltove pipe at the book to make it draw. A bl; opening in the front Ill covered by a board when it wal not lined.”

"Where didycrubulldtheﬂrein t, Grandmother?"

"We took the board away from the lnrgeholatntbefrcntoftheoven and reached inside. There was a smooth oven bottom of clw over stones. Onthil side we laid wood and burned tt. Pine wood wu the but. for it made the hottest. fire. We built n nre twice of this wood. When the second ﬁr! had died down to ccall, we quickly scraped the asb- eaoutuidputinthothlnptohake and abut up the opening to hold in the heat."

"Would thing really bake with no nre in under than?"

“may baked beautifully. And such aﬂnvurasthatclnyovenlnveto the loavel of rye bread! 1 with." lighed Grandmother, “I could talte a piece of that breed now."

"But rye bread ll knobby and hard." said lain. "You could not chew it now,

"Phil Ill not. It wan made from the ﬂnelt rye ﬂour and mixed with tblek sour milk and our home-mad; yuut. We bad little ﬂat basket: of

“HOLY NIGHT, SILENT NIGHT"

The non: entitled “Holy Night, Silent Night" was written by a Oar- rnnn composer named Father Joa- eph Mohr. This pretty little carol was written for Christmas in lulu, while Mohr was an ulna‘ r clergy- man at Lauren, on the Balm near Bnlzburg, and was act to music by Franz Gruher, stroolmuter at. the neizhborhu Vill-llc or Arnsdorf.

own where it was hottest. 'I‘hen in fruit I put the pie: and the ginger bread or cake.

“Father was no thoughtful of M,» the: that he hnd built a little shed over the front of the oven; so that aha could be covered from the run or from the sudden shower that rnizht come up while the things were being put inside the oven or token out."

"Grandmother, I guess when you baked that first time. you got the ﬁrst slice of cake in eat,

"No, I did not. When I was a lit- tle girl, we children had to wait until the older folks were finished or often-ifwente at the name time-w lf-lnd up to eat our meals."

“But why?" '

“Became guests came l0 often (Mother was l0 hospitable that folks got into the habit of briniini their trip: to town to such n time that they would land at our house about meal time), or we had extra help in the flelda or house, we children had to wait, unless we were willing to stand up to eat."

“Were you no poor that. you had no chairs?"

"I believe that Blather was con- sidered one of the most prosperous of our farmers; but furniture was not easy to buy since stoma were at a great distance, and factories did not turn out the cheaply priced places they do now. Our furniture was hand made, and that meant runny hours‘ work on one chair or

"Anyhow. I think you should have had the ﬁrst piece of pie and the biggest piece of cake."

"1 was content. Like Rover, my work done and the praise given me meant much. Father would come by when 1 was busy at the oven and would stop to any the verse ‘Seest thou a manilligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not ltand before mean men‘. 0r Grandmother Miller would say. ‘Well, Sara-b, when God‘: son was on earth, He fed the thousands; you are 1 tting Him use you to feed this hi; h gry family.’ This was reward enoulh for

“You were a darling little girl,‘ and loin gave her a kiss. "I wish I could have known you and played with you when you were my age."- S. B. Times.

orywire

Christmas Aprons

Continued from page“:

“Exactly,” screed Dan. "I Iuesa we are all given our daily portion ofjoyifotrrhenrtenretunedto receive it. A cue of ndjulting the wave lezqth to our capacity."

“And now, about your wife?" I QIIGIIIIIQM bravely. l-le should never know my pain.

"I Inuit see i! her aprons fit," he laid. puttln: one about me and drawing up the airing: till we atood under the mistletoe.

"You mung, darling ldlotf’! nabbed when 1 got my breath.

“lune Christmas." exulted Dan "and bimed be oprcna.”

Elm‘?

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