Christmas Is Coming!

Christmas is coming! Today is the shortest day of the year, the mid-winter solstice. Everything has been done to ensure that the sun comes back again. Each house is filled with lights and greenery. The tree is up and the turkey has been ordered.  Neighbours call round to consume mince pies - eat one in a friend's house for a happy month next year. Cards on red ribbon festoon the house like strings of Tibetan prayer flags.
Cards at Christmas are a good tradition, albeit a relatively new one. They only date from Victorian times - after all, they presume a postal service and high literacy rates. The first commercial Christmas cards were produced in 1846: they were condemned by temperance enthusiasts because they showed a family drinking wine.
Christmas cards perform a very different  function from e-mail or Facebook: each envelope is a small gift, representing a quantifiable investment of writing time and money. Of course, card etiquette is fraught with difficulty. Is a hand-written note preferable to a round-robin letter? How many years should you continue sending if there is no reply? Why do people always send you a card the year when you finally cross them off your list? What does my choice of charitable cause say about me? (Oxfam this year: caring & interesting). But this is as naught compared with the problems of presents, especially the annual potlatch* festivities with the relatives.... Seasons Greetings! May you have a joyous and peaceful holidaytime this year.
(*Potlatch:  Native American celebration where big chiefs distributed status goods; compared here with modern ritual of gift-giving involving conspicuous consumption).

‘LifeWorks’ by Jane Bailey Bain is a practical handbook which contains insights from psychology and anthropology. Using myths from around the world, it helps you to develop your own life story. These tools can also be used by novelists and scriptwriters. For more information, and the full version of this post, visit the main ‘LifeWorks’ website on http://janebaileybain.wordpress.com/

 

St Nicholas Day

 

In northern Europe, children put their shoes neatly by the door last night. If they have been good this year, 

St Nicholas fills them with sweets and toys; if not, they will find a lump of coal and a hard stick. For others, he will come on Christmas Eve, soaring through the night sky in a flying sledge. Many centuries ago Nicholas lived in Patara, in modern Anatolia. His father was a rich merchant and left a fortune to his only son. But why did he start leaving gifts in this way?...

... It had been a good night. The wine was sweet and the barmaids obliging. Nick staggered slightly as he stepped into the street. A full moon hung low above the rooftops. The cool air was welcomely refreshing. Nick waved away the servant who stood waiting and set off alone through the quiet streets.

His way passed through a poorer part of town. He stumbled on the rough ground and bumped against a wall. 

As he steadied himself, he heard a girl’s voice from the window high above.

“That’s all I really want.”

Without thinking, Nick paused to listen. What women really want: that would be good for a young man to know!

Another girl answered, speaking low.

“Three gold coins! Father will never find so much for each of us.”

“Without a dowry, his family will never let him marry me.”

A third voice chimed in.

“There’s only one way for girls like us to make money.”

“And he would never want me after that...” The girl’s voice dissolved in tears.

Nick bowed his head in confusion. Three gold coins:  he had three times that in his purse at the end of a night out. To these sisters, it was the difference between life and despair. He pulled the little bag of money from his belt. Should he call up to them, throw it through the window? But they might be scared, ashamed at having been overheard. 
Better to leave it secretly, where they would find it in the morning. He only had one purse: how to show their father that this was for his girls to share? Nick stood on one foot: wobbling, he pulled off one silk slipper, then the other. Swiftly he filled them with coins, twisted each into a ball, threw the three little sacks over the courtyard wall. He heard them land with soft jingling sounds. Then he ran down the street, his bare feet thudding on the ground, laughing like a schoolboy.

From that night onwards, Nick was a changed man. He still liked the good life: he could drink and sing with the best of them. But he seemed gentler, more interested in other people. When he heard a story of hardship, there was often another tale next night of unexpected generosity, an unseen benefactor who had helped in hidden ways. No-one knew who gave these gifts: they were always left in secret, without the expectation of thanks.

Nicholas joined the Christian Church and rose to become Bishop of Myra, in south-west Turkey. He was eventually canonized, although his full title sounds a little formal: the children whom he loved shorten Santa Nikolaus to Santa Claus. The three bags of gold are echoed in the three gold balls found outside a pawnbroker’s shop, giving people another chance in life. To this day, millions of people around the world help Nicholas in his work. At Christmas time they give gifts to children just to make them smile. Forget about magical flying reindeer: now that’s what I call a real miracle.

See full version of this post with pictures at http://janebaileybain.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/st-nicholas-day/ 

‘LifeWorks’ by Jane Bailey Bain is a practical handbook which contains insights from psychology and anthropology. Using myths from around the world, it helps you to develop your own life story. These tools can also be used by novelists and scriptwriters. For more information, see my Author page http://www.facebook.com/LifeWorks1and visit the main ‘LifeWorks’ website at http://janebaileybain.wordpress.com/books/