Copyright © 2005 Jonathan Dee The essence of Xmas is the giving and receiving of gifts, but in the popular imagination, it is the fat, jolly figure of Father Xmas that performs this function, sweeping around the sky, dropping down chimneys and eating far too many mince pies than is good for him. Originally, father Xmas was none other than St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus, as he is still known. Even though this saint provides the basic character of the fat, jolly philanthropist, his image has changed a lot over the years. Its got to be said that the Santa of today bears very little relation to the 3rd century Greek saint, who was noted for immense generosity. It is said, though, that St. Nicholas saved three young girls from a fate worse than death by dropping three bags of gold down their chimneys for dowries. Conveniently, the golden gifts fell into the girl’s stockings, which had been hung up to dry. This is also the origin of the pawnbroker’s sign, or three golden balls. It goes without saying the St. Nicholas is the patron saint of pawnbrokers. Apart from that, he is a bit of an all rounder, having responsibility for schoolboys, children in general, thieves and sailors. In Greece today, there is always a church dedicated to St. Nicholas on the quay of every port. Santa only got his familiar clothing just over a hundred years ago. Thomas Nast provided an illustration for Harper’s magazine, and that was the image that caught on. However, Santa didn’t exclusively wear red and white until Coca-Cola came along. It still isn’t clear where his reindeer come in, though. Traditionally, Santa used to ride a white horse; even in Scandinavian countries, his sleigh is usually drawn by goats. Charles Dickens must get some credit for the creation of Santa, though, because in “A Christmas Carol”, the ghost of Xmas Present is a vast, jolly, red cloaked figure with holly and ivy in his hair. There is one poignant point to this, because beneath this spirit’s cloak, there were two wretched children called ignorance and want, and I’m afraid that these two are still with us. |
