posted
******Possible spoilers ahead****** ******save your young'uns******
quote:Originally posted by Epictetus: Unless you live in the Netherlands. Santa lives in the south of Spain
Well, I just have to reply to that and set the record straight.
According to the Dutch tradition, children are told that Sinterklaas lives in Spain. He comes over to The Netherlands every year on his big ship (which is said to be powered by steam still). To those children who have behaved themselves over the past year he brings presents and to those who misbehaved he tends to bring a reminder to improve their demeanour. (Usually this is a lump of coal or a bag of salt). It has also been said that he takes the particularly naughty children with him in his bag.
The celebration of this holiday can be traced back until the Middle Ages. Over the years it has been influenced by similar celebrations, for example from Scandinavia. Up until the first part of the 20th century it really was little more than a thinly veiled opportunity for the poorer people to beg for handouts to get through the harsh winter months. Another Dutch tradition, Sint Maarten, essentially has the same purpose. This is celebrated on the 11th day of the 11th month, and children go by the doors asking for treats in exchange for song. As you can see, this is quite similar to Halloween.
The actual person that is revered as Sinterklaas is said to be the bishop of Myra, which is situated somewhere in Turkey.
The origin of Santa Claus is equally tangled, but I'll attempt to be as clear as possible. The Dutch tradition of Sinterklaas was brought over to the new world and perpetuated over there, quickly gaining acceptance with the rest of the settlers. The name Santa Claus is an obvious bastardisation of the Dutch name. Both of them reward the children who have been 'good' and dole out packages. Both of them leave these package by way of the chimney.
But the visual representation of Santa Claus differs somewhat from that of his Dutch colleague. They both prefer the colour red (which might have something to do with visibility on snowy winter nights), but that's about the only thing they have in common regarding their attire. The visual representation of Santa Claus that is used and recognised by almost anyone on this planet (a chubby, jolly man dressed in a warm red suit with white fur trimmings) was actually made up for the Coca Cola company as part of an advertisement.
Now it's not as if I have a very strong antipathy agianst Santa Claus, but I do think that he has come to represent the more commercial aspect of Christmas, which is supposed to a celebration of the birth of Christ. I do hope we all agree that the Christmas spirit is more important than the gifts.
Anyone who feels the need to elaborate the above, or point out some error I might have made, please feel free to do so.
And a merry Christmas to all of you... or a happy Chanukah...
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posted
Ed, you mention many of the legends surrounding St. Nick but you don't get to the source. Here is the real tale.
Santa Claus is the Dutch pronunciation of Saint Nicholas. St. Nick was a real person, a bishop in the 4th Century near Constantinople.
He lived during the transition from Roman persecution of Christians to their acceptance in the Empire. He was even a member (disputed by some) of the Council of Nicea, in 325 AD, called by Constantine that forged Christianity into the form we have today. His feast day is December 6th (his death day).
According to legend there was a poor family living in the area. To help out St. Nicholas tossed several bags of gold down the chimmey, and some of the goodies fell into the stockings of the family that were drying by the fire.
posted
Thanks for adding that to my ramblings Telperion. Since I had to put it down from memory I was pretty certain that I'd left some things out. But I did mention the bishop of Myra, which is probably the guy you're referring to. Also, the main point of my text was to emphasize the fact that modern day Santa Claus is just Sinterklaas with some extra trimmings. No doubt the American version of the legend has been influenced by the various nationalities that make up the US of A.
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