Free Republic

Liverpool, England, Dec 11, 2016 / 03:43 pm (CNA).- Scientists at a university in Liverpool recently unveiled what they say is the most realistic portrait ever created of St. Nicholas of Myra, the popular 4th Century bishop best known as the inspiration for the modern-day figure of Santa Claus.Researchers at Liverpool John Moores University's Face Lab used a facial reconstruction system and 3D interactive technology to create the portrait, which was unveiled on Dec. 6, the feast day of St. Nicholas. It's #StNicholas day. Check out the facial depiction of St Nicholas we produced @LJMU @LSAD_2016 https://t.co/EQfjjHmRis #stnicholasday pic.twitter.com/MW1GpWhBWW...

"You better watch out. You better not lie." Wait. What?! If you're a Christian parent, perhaps you too question whether you should conform to the holiday tradition of Santa Claus celebrated across the world. Logically speaking, your concerns are warranted. If we lie to our kids about Santa, then perhaps we lied to them about Jesus as well. Then again, some of my greatest childhood memories were baking cookies and putting out milk for Santa. It wasn't until I was in second grade that one of my best friends, a Jehovah's witness, broke the news. Sitting across the lunch table,...

What was supposed to be a happy visit with Santa left a bad taste in the mouth of a 9-year-old boy in North Carolina. That’s because the jolly old fat man reportedly shamed the child by telling him to “lay off the hamburgers and french fries,” local station WLOS TV reports. On Saturday, Anthony Mayse of Rutherfordton went to a Christmas event in nearby Forest City. The family enjoyed a carriage ride and ice skating before ending the night with a visit to Santa.

HILLSBORO, Ore. (WTVD) -- A school district in Oregon is joining many others around the country in a controversial decision to ban holiday symbols and decorations from the classroom. KATU reports Santa Claus is no longer welcome in Hillsboro Schools, outside Portland. The district told staff who wished to decorate offices or doors to refrain from religious-themed decorations or images, including Santa. The students are not allowed to wear anything Santa-themed, either. "It really went out as a notification to staff, not even parents, just to make sure they are being sensitive and thoughtful as they enter the holiday season,"...

Merry (Western) Christmas from Siberia (where Santa is not always red!) By The Siberian Times reporter 24 December 2015 Seasonal greetings from the east of Russia where there are no less than seven different Father Christmas figures to bring joy to children in winter.  Best known across Russia is Grandfather Frost - or Ded Moroz - often carries a magical staff. Picture: Anna Permyakova All of them look old, with flowing white beards, and mostly have long histories, possibly reaching back to pagan times, but each is distinct, covering their own territory. Intriguingly, most are accompanied by glamorous snow maidens. Quite...

....The legend behind Santa Claus is Saint Nicholas, the fourth-century bishop of Myra. His hat was the bishop’s mitre. Nicholas was born in modern day Turkey to a rather wealthy family. Losing his parents at a young age, Nicholas dedicated both his fortune and his life to the Christian church. Very quickly he was appointed the bishop of Myra, on the southern coast of modern day Turkey.

Here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas from out west, and I hope you enjoy Cowboy Santa Claus by the Prairie Ramblers....https://youtu.be/bvZPUxLNSTs

CBS NEWS December 18, 2015 School Cancels Santa Field Trip After Mom Objects SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Parents of San Jose school kids confronted a school board Thursday night after a decision to cancel a field trip to see Santa Claus followed a complaint by a Jewish mother who objected to the school-sponsored outing, CBS San Francisco station KPIX-TV reports. The visit to Santa, along with a "Dear Santa" assignment, was a decade-long tradition at Sartorette Elementary School, part of San Jose's Cambrian School District. Last week, the Sartorette staff informed parents the school would suspend the outing to see...

ST. PAUL — The Cruz campaign is making a list. As attendees packed a reception hall in Minnesota on the first night of Senator Ted Cruz’s seven-day, 12-city tour, they were greeted by an uncommon supporter: a costumed Santa Claus, posing with children and more than a few adults beside a fireplace.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pledges that if elected, he restore the phrase “Merry Christmas” in every U.S. store. While the presidential candidate has not unveiled how he would do this, his declaration was met with cheers among evangelical supporters. Video below. Trump touted his Christian beliefs at an Oct. 21 campaign rally in Burlington, Iowa, CNN reports. “I will tell you I’m a good Christian,” says Trump. “I guarantee, if I become president, we’re gonna [sic] be saying Merry Christmas in every store… you can leave happy holidays at the corner.” The business mogul was met with rapturous applause...

A 7-year-old boy, who set out to prove Santa Claus is real, borrowed his brother’s GoPro camera and set it up Christmas Eve to record what happened in their living room. When he and his family reviewed the footage the next morning, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Hard to believe that this much time has passed. On Christmas Eve 2004, I shared this editorial with all my FRiends here, while I was icebound in West Virginia heading back from leave to report for mobilization. And then, on Christmas Eve 2005, while downrange in Ramadi, Iraq, I shared this editorial with all of you again. And this year once again, from our new digs in Florida with The Bride and my new family, I offer this beautiful story, a very favorite of mine, for all my FRiends again. Take the time to read it - REALLY read it...

How’s this for an explanation of Santa Claus: Santa and Mrs. Claus have a twelve-thousand square foot mansion at the North Pole, heated by geothermal power.  The North Pole complex boasts an electrical generation system which directly extracts unlimited electricity from the Earth’s magnetic field for lights and equipment.  Santa’s workshop maintains two million square feet of warehouse space (reaching 30 stories underground with a cubic volume well exceeding Amazon.com’s North American 17 million square foot capacity) and an advanced production facility that combines robotics with elf-based manufacturing. The entire facility is hidden beneath the Arctic Ocean, under almost 14,000...

Earlier this week, a woman wrote in to Slate's Dear Prudence advice chat asking whether it's considered lying to allow her daughter, who is three, to continue to believe in Santa Claus. Prudie's take: Nah. "Reality will eventually out," wrote the columnist, Emily Yoffe, "but there’s so much reality in this life, that one of the delights of childhood, and of being a parent, is to spread a little fairy dust occasionally." Later in the chat, though, another person wrote in saying that his or her parents kept the Santa thing going until the writer was nine, at which point...

CAMBRIDGE (CBS) – The Andrew Peabody School in Cambridge snubbed Santa the day before the winter concert. Principal Jennifer Ford sent a letter home to parents on Thursday letting them know of the change. The letter said in part: “I am writing to you today to inform you of a change in our concert series this winter. Our First through Fourth grade concert as well as our Kindergarten concert will not include a visit from Santa Claus this year.” Robert Thompson has two kids in the school. He said the concert traditionally closed with Santa running through the aisle. He...

Fairy tales and believing in Father Christmas could cause children harm.This is according to controversial biologist Richard Dawkins who warned an audience at the Cheltenham Science Festival about the dangers of make-believe. In typically incendiary style, Dawkins suggested it was 'pernicious to instil in a child the view that the world is shaped by supernaturalism.'The 73-year-old acknowledged that the appeal of fairytales lay in their magic but believes they may be causing more harm than we think.He also questioned whether we should let children believe in the myth of Father Christmas at all.'Is it a good thing to go along...

The Turkey-based Santa Claus Peace Council has said it has written a letter to Pope Francis, requesting the return of the bones of Saint Nicholas. Council Chairman Muammer Karabulut said they were expecting Pope Francis to give a positive response to their request to have a meeting on the bones, which are currently in Bari, Italy. “We have been struggling for the return of the bones since 1995. State institutions have also been involved in this struggle,” Karabulut said. “So far, we have not reached a conclusion.” Saint Nicholas, a historic Christian saint, died in 343 at the age of...

Old St Nick has taken a few hits this holiday season. Over at Slate.com, Aisha Harris (part of the racial grievance industry) wrote a cri de coeur titled "Santa Claus Should Not Be a White Man Anymore." Never mind that St. Nicholas, the third century monk who was the source of the legend, was white – as was every visual representation of him over the past 150 years. History is so insensitive. Why can't Santa be a Polynesian surfer anyway? "America is less and less white, but a melanin-deficient Santa remains the default in commercials, mall casting calls, and movies,"...

For centuries Christians have been taught that wise men from the east brought gifts for the baby Jesus, but according to polling, one in 10 young adults in Britain now believe that Father Christmas also makes an appearance in the Biblical account of the nativity. Significant numbers also think that Mary and Joseph might have brightened up the stable with a Christmas tree. Over a third of the public think that the Bible records December 25 as the date of the Jesus’ birth. …