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Having just turned five years old, I was a little young (at least back then) to question the “Holiday” law-of-the-land. Of course five-year-olds believed in Santa Claus! But it was back in the day when several ages of neighborhood kids used to hang around together, and I was running with some seven and eight-year-olds who were feeding me some pretty good reasons not to believe in that benign big man. Most of you are at least vaguely familiar with the various Protestant Reformation (and later secular) traditions that transformed Saint Nicholas into Santa Claus, so it is not necessary to...

December 6, 2006 Wednesday of the First Week of Advent Psalm: Wednesday 48 Reading 1Is 25:6-10a On this mountain the LORD of hostswill provide for all peoplesA feast of rich food and choice wines,juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.On this mountain he will destroythe veil that veils all peoples,The web that is woven over all nations;he will destroy death forever.The Lord GOD will wipe awaythe tears from all faces;The reproach of his people he will removefrom the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken. On that day it will be said:“Behold our God, to whom we looked to save...

The institution of Santa Claus has its roots in stories about St Nicholas's generosity and love toward children. But St Nicholas, 4th-century bishop of Myra, had another side. While attending the Council of Nicea in AD 325, he defended orthodox Christology in particularly vigorous fashion:During the Council of Nicea, jolly old St. Nicholas got so fed up with Arius, who taught that Jesus was just a man, that he walked up and slapped him! That unbishoplike behavior got him in trouble. The council almost stripped him of his office, but Nicholas said he was sorry, so he was forgiven.Maybe Santa...

Jeremy Seal on an Epic History BATH, England, DEC. 20, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The modern persona of Santa Claus is a far cry from its origins: St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra. So how did he go from a charitable saint to an icon of Christmas consumerism? Travel writer Jeremy Seal embarked on an international search to answer that question and recorded his findings in "Nicholas: The Epic Journey from Saint to Santa Claus" (Bloomsbury". Seal told ZENIT what he discovered tracking the cult of Santa Claus across the globe and why he thinks St. Nicholas and his charism of charity still...

December 6, 2005Tuesday of the Second Week in Advent Psalm: Tuesday 52 Reading IIs 40:1-11 Comfort, give comfort to my people,says your God.Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to herthat her service is at an end,her guilt is expiated;Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORDdouble for all her sins. A voice cries out:In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!Every valley shall be filled in,every mountain and hill shall be made low;The rugged land shall be made a plain,the rough country, a broad valley.Then the glory of...

    No more lap sitting for kids Banned From Santa's Lap Updated: 14:55, Tuesday November 15, 2005 Santas in Switzerland have been banned from sitting children on their laps amid concerns about paedophilia.Calls from worried parents prompted the country's Society of St Nicholases to tell their members not to sit youngsters on their knees in the traditional manner.In Switzerland it is St Nicholas rather than Father Christmas who delivers presents to children.It is customary for men dressed as "Samiklaus" to put children on their knees before asking them whether they have been good.However, the society said it had taken...

MIDLAND, TX- After a final worship service at St. Nicholas' Episcopal Church on Sunday, May 29 at 7:00 pm, almost the entire congregation will leave their prominent church building and start a new church called Christ Church Midland. "At this last gathering of our congregational family, there will be grief, but also hope and confidence as we move forward to share Christ's love as a new church, Christ Church Midland," Rev. Jon Stasney, rector (senior pastor) of St. Nicholas', said. Earlier this month, the Episcopal Bishop of Northwest Texas, Wallis Ohl, told the vast majority of the St. Nicholas' congregation...

Foreign Ministry proposed putting back the Santa Claus statue to its original place in Demre town of southern Antalya city in respect of maintaining good relations with Russia. The bronze statue which stood in front of St. Nicholas church in Demre was removed last February by Demre municipality. Gregory Pototsky, the Russian artist who sculpted the statue and a group of Russian intellectuals, had called President Ahmet Necdet Sezer by publishing an open letter in a Russian newspaper to take action on the issue. President Sezer had informed Foreign Ministry about the issue. Upon this development, Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary...

DEMRE, Turkey -- In the 4th century, a bishop named Nicholas was a local hero in this seaside town, living the kind of life that eventually led to sainthood. For most of the 16 centuries that followed, Saint Nicholas was known chiefly as the patron of sailors, barrel-makers, small children and Russians. And though it's not entirely clear just when the historical Saint Nicholas began to meld into the image of the jolly man in the red suit, historians can now say precisely when the transformation was complete. On Feb. 3, the Demre City Council voted unanimously to erect a...

December 6, 2004Monday of the Second Week of Advent Reading IIs 35:1-10 The desert and the parched land will exult;the steppe will rejoice and bloom.They will bloom with abundant flowers,and rejoice with joyful song.The glory of Lebanon will be given to them,the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;They will see the glory of the LORD,the splendor of our God.Strengthen the hands that are feeble,make firm the knees that are weak,Say to those whose hearts are frightened:Be strong, fear not!Here is your God,he comes with vindication;With divine recompensehe comes to save you.Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,the ears of...

You thought it was bad when overweight, middle-aged nuns in leotards gyrated through the church doing liturgical dance. But are you ready for the celebrant doing his imitation of the whirling Dervishes carrying the Book of the Gospels to the ambo? Someone put some lead weights in Father's shoes. This was part of a church architecture firm's paean to all that is new and modern. Read the language in the description of the "wreck-ovation": The original design's focus "was on the the Tabernacle and the holy places were protected from the people by the Communion railing." It makes it sound...

This is a research project which began on another thread. Those of us contributing to the thread believed the information being gathered might be useful to other Freepers and Lurkers and thus ought to be a research thread to facilitate the collection of observations and research and to solicit contributions from other posters, whether from the Religion forum or the General forum’s science threads. More specifically, we are gathering information which we Freepers have observed in nature that declares that God is or that shows His handiwork. The scope includes observations in Scripture which point to God as its...

<p>ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Santa Claus is coming to town -- in an unlikely country.</p> <p>Many cities across Turkey, home to 70 million Muslims, are erecting sparkling displays of lights on their main boulevards. Decorated trees glitter everywhere. Statues of the jolly old man grace the entrances of major stores. Most know Santa by the local moniker, Noel Baba, or literally, Father Christmas.</p>

The Real Saint Nicholas Jerry Falwell Thursday, Dec. 18, 2003 When Christmas displays are erected on public grounds across the nation, they typically must include a secular element in order to achieve legal requirements. In effect, a manger scene must include a depiction of Santa Claus or Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer before it passes constitutional muster. While I believe this is a nonsensical requirement, it is where the seemingly unending ACLU lawsuits against public religious displays have brought us in terms of social policy. However, Christians can utilize this regulation to bring about a positive result. I encourage parents...

St. Nicholas belongs in any reclamation of Christmas By Terry Mattingly, Scripps Howard News Service December 6, 2003 The bureaucrats charged with turning Russia into a godless utopia had a December dilemma and a big part of their problem was St. Nicholas. The early Communists needed to purge Christmas of its savior, sacraments and beloved symbols, including this patron saint of widows and children. What they needed was a faith-free icon for a safe, secular New Year's season. Digging into pre-Christian Slavic legends, they found their superman - Father Frost. "It's so ironic," said the Rev. James Parker III of...

December 6, 2003Saturday of the First Week of Advent Psalm: Saturday 51 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Gospel Reading IIs 30:19-21, 23-26 Thus says the Lord God,the Holy One of Israel:O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem,no more will you weep;He will be gracious to you when you cry out,as soon as he hears he will answer you.The Lord will give you the bread you needand the water for which you thirst.No longer will your Teacher hide himself,but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears:"This is the way; walk...

A popular Russian legend tells how St. Nicolas and St. Cassian were upon a visit to the earth. On their journey they met a poor peasant who had got his wagon, with a load of hay upon it, stuck in the mud and was making fruitless efforts to get his horses on. 'Let's go and give the good fellow a hand,' said St. Nicolas. 'Not I; I'm keeping out of it,' replied St. Cassian, 'I don't want to get my coat dirty.' 'Well, wait for me,' said St. Nicolas, 'or go on without me if you like,' and plunging without...

HoustonChronicle.com -- http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: The News Bizarre Dec. 12, 2002, 2:53PM Santa Claus gets icy reception in Austria Associated Press Associated Press Margit Hammerl and Horst Strauss, members of the Pro-Christkind (Pro-Christ Child) Society, pose in front of a nativity scene at a Vienna Christmas market with Pro-Christkind stickers on their jackets. VIENNA, Austria -- Ho, ho, ho? No, no, no! Santa Claus is coming to town -- and many Austrians wish he'd just stay home. The jolly old elf is getting an icy reception in this alpine country that gave the world "Silent Night" and clings to beloved Christmas...

Life of Saint Nicholas the Bishop, from The Golden Legend compiled by Jacobus de Voragine "icon of Saint Nicholas of Myra" Nicholas is said of Nichos, which is to say victory, and of laos, people, so Nicholas is as much as to say as victory of people, that is, victory of sins, which be foul people. Or else he is said, victory of people, because he enseigned and taught much people by his doctrine to overcome vices and sins. Or Nicholas is said of Nichor, that is the resplendour or shining of the people, for he had in him things...

December 6, 2002Friday of the First Week in Advent Psalm: Friday Week 51 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Gospel Families Schools Adults Reading IIs 29:17-24 Thus says the Lord God:But a very little while,and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,and the orchard be regarded as a forest!On that day the deaf shall hearthe words of a book;And out of gloom and darkness,the eyes of the blind shall see.The lowly will ever find joy in the Lord,and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.For the tyrant will be no moreand the arrogant will have gone;All who are alert to...