Portland Observer, December 15. 1982 Section II Page 5
The Gift-Givers
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(Continued from page 4 column 6)
f t ls r a e l. O n the way a great n o r m
\c a m e but Nicholas prayed and the
'tea becam e calm . A n o th e r ito r y
says a soldier fell and was killed, but
Nicholas brought him back to life.
A r riv in g in the H o ly L a n d , the
doors o f the church a t G o lg o th a
opened when Nicholas approached.
He was so impressed w ith the H oly
Land that he decided to give up the
church and live in the wilderness.
But God commanded him to return
to Patras. O n the way he heard he
was to be sold in to slavery so he
caused a great storm w hich drove
the ship to Patras.
N icholas travelled to M y ra and
before he arrived the A rchbishop
d ied. A fte r fa ilin g to elect a new
Archbishop the people decided to let
God make the choice. A dream told
the eld er th at the firs t m an to go
into the cathedral should be the new
archbishop. That morning Nicholas
arrived in the city and went to the
cathedral. As the archbishop he was
well-known for his kindness to all.
There are many stories about how
Nicholas used miracles to help his
people and how he opposed the op
pression o f the Rom ans. Nicholas
died on Decem ber 6 , ab o u t 343
A .D .
M o re than 600 years a fte r N ic h
olas' d e a th , V la d im ir o f Russia
jo u rn e y e d to C o n s ta n tin o p le fo r
baptism and heard about Nicholas.
Nicholas became (he patron saint o f
Russian and from Russia his fam e
spread to the Lapps and Samoyeds,
the people o f (he N o rth w ho use
rein d eer sleds. U n d o u b te d ly , the
story that Santa uses reindeer came
from here.
Saint Nicholas visits Holland each
year at Christmas tim e. Since H o l
land is a seafaring land. Saint Nich
olas arrives in a ship fro m Spain—
an echo o f the Spanish occupation.
He is accompanied by Black Peter—
a M o o r— costumed in the manner o f
the days o f the Spanish A rm a d a .
S ain t
N ic h o la s , w ea rin g
red
b ish o p 's robes and in long w h ite
b eard , d isem barks and rides his
w hite hourse to the city center ac
companied by dignitaries and brass
bands. In some areas the bubog •
way is cleared by ghosts b earing
whips, follow ed by a horned crea
ture w ho carries a b irc h — a clear
thowback to ancient days.
In B avaria Saint N ich o las visits
homes during the first week o f A d
vent, accompanied by a boy dressed
as a girl and 12 young men dressed
as an im a ls w ith co w bells a ro u n d
their necks. Elsewhere in central and
northern Europe Saint Nicholas is
accom panied by S ain t P ete r, G a
briel or Knich Rupprecht.
I
R u p p rech t som etim es travels
alone, bringing gifts. He wears skins
or straw . Some places he is called
ru -K la s . o r rough N ic h o la s . By
some he is called O d in , the Norse
god who rode through the world on
his e ig h t-fo o te d horse, S leip n er,
bringing reward or punishment.
In Germany the gift-giver became
the Christ C hild, a messenger o f the
newly born Jesus, and is thought o f
as a g irl. In Switzerland the Christ
C h ild som etim es rode in a sleigh
d raw n by tin y d eer. T h is m ay be
the representation o f the wood spirit
o f the Germ an forests, a spirit now
represented by the fairy or angel at
the top o f the C h ristm as tree. In
Sweden the g ift-g iver is a gnomish
Father Christm as figu re— Jultom -
ten.
ìf
Santa Claus
It was in the U n ited States that
the jolly Santa Claus evolved. When
the D utch settled in New A m ster
d a m — now
New
Y o r k — they
brought along their Saint Nicholas.
In the new environment he changed
from the Saint in bishop’ s robes to a
tubby character in short pants. The
D u tch paraded his statue through
the city on his feast day, but under
the in flu e n c e o f the English they
merged th eir holiday w ith C h ris t
mas.
A p o p u la r poem , A V isit F ro m
Si. Nicholas ( ’ ’ ’Twas the night be
fore Christmas, and all through the
h ou se.. . ” ) , was written by D r. Cle
ment C . M o o r. It gave the present
description. It is said that M oore de
scribed a D utch frie n d — a chubby
man w ith a long w hite beard. The
modern Santa Claus was further de
veloped by T ho m as Nast in
H arp er's Illustrated Weekly in 1863
with a red, fur-trim m ed suit. Santa
C lau s was p ic tu red by this a rtis t,
riding in a sleigh with reindeer, visit
ing the C ivil W ar soldiers and bring
ing them presents.
Special
While they la s t. . .
Hanging thair stockings w ith cara-----
Christmas stocking
Balia
The custom o f hanging up stock
ings is said to come fro m a legend
th at when Bishop N icholas threw
bags o f gold dow n the chimney to
fo rm a dow ery fo r poor m aidens,
the gold landed in stockings hung by
the fireplace.
Chriatmaa carda
In e a rly E n g lan d ch ild re n p re
pared specimens o f th eir h a n d
w ritin g , w ith ela b o ra te borders.
Some were scripture verses.
The first modern Christmas card
was reported to have been sent by
W .C . Dobson, a painter, who sent
lith o grap h copies to his friends in
1845. The following year John Cal-
cott Horsley designed a card for Sir
H e n ry C o le , w ho was too busy to
write his usual Christmas letters.
The L . Pranz Co. began printing
cards in 1874, sometimes using up to
20 colors. Prizes were given for the
best design submitted.
Children’s split cowhide vest
A rou n d the w orld the bells peal
on Christmas Day.
Bells have long been used for reli
gious services. They were rung in
Egypt fo r the Feast o f O siris, the
Jewish high priests w ore bells on
th eir robes; the R o m an E m p ero r
Augustus had a bell hung before the
Sherpa lined
Young Child
•11“
Older Child
‘ 1 4 ’'
Temple o f Jupiter.
The first bells used by Christians
on churches are believed to be in the
Campanin, Italy in about 400 A .D .,
to call the people to worship.
By the middle ages the pealing of
bells had been closely associated
with Christmas.
Oregon Leather Co.
110 N.W Second Ave — 228 4105
In Old Town Portland
’TIS THE SEASON FOR
SCHWEPPERVESCENCE.
•
n»».
It
. t ^ i n g out, ye bells!
A ll Nature swells
W ith gladness o f the wondrous story,—
The world was lorn,
But Christ is born
T o change our sadness into glory.
Sing, earthlings, singl
To-night a King
H ath come from heaven’s high throne to bless us.
The outstretched hand
O ’er all the land
Is raised in pity to caress us.
Jcftrepp«
Come at his call;
Be joyful all;
Aw ay with mourning and with sadness!
The heavenly choir
W ith holy fire
Their voices raise in songs o f gladness.
The darkness breaks
And Dawn awakes,
Her cheeks suffused with youthful blushes.
The rocks and stones
In holy tones
Are singing sweeter than the thrushes.
•i
♦f
V
-
*
Then why should we
In silence be.
When Nature lends her voice to praises;
When heaven and earth
Proclaim the truth
O f H im for whom that lone star blazes?
Lemon
N o , be not still.
But with a will
Strike all your harps and set them ringing;
On hill and heath
Let every breath
Throw all its power into singing!
—Paul Laurence Dunbar
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