By
Bob Cox
Q:
Why did you get started in the business of gift giving?
A:
My story began nearly two millenniums ago with Saint Nicholas. Saint
Nicholas was born on March
15, 270. He was also called Nikolaos
of Myra.
Saint Nicholas was a Christian saint
and Greek
Bishop of Myra,
in Asia
Minor,
which is now in modern-day Turkey.
Q:
Was it Saint Nicholas who inspired you to become such a giver?
A:
Yes. He has an enduring reputation for anonymous gift-giving and I
really admire that quality. He was known to put coins in the shoes of
those who left them out for him, a practice celebrated with a feast
in his honor: St
Nicholas Day,
December 6. Nicholas was also famous for his generous gifts to the
poor. One story in particular stands out: When he presented the three
impoverished daughters of a pious Christian with dowries
so that they would not have to become prostitutes. Saint Nicholas was
also the patron
saint
of sailors, merchants, repentant thieves and children in cities and
countries around Europe.
Q:
Is that why you always say ho,ho, ho?
A:
You really didn’t just go there? Next question.
Q:
How did the legend of Saint Nicholas evolve into the modern day Santa
Claus?
A:
During the Middle Ages, often on the evening before Saint Nicholas
Day, children were bestowed gifts in his remembrance. The custom of
gifting of children at Christmas has been promoted by Martin
Luther,
a prominent German friar and priest during the 15th
and 16th
centuries. His goal was to offer an alternative to the previously
popular gift custom on St. Nicholas Day and refocus the interest of
the children to Christ instead of the veneration of saints. Despite
his efforts, Saint Nicholas remained popular as a bearer of gifts for
the people.
Q: That’s fascinating, but we still seem to be far away from the modern version of who you are. What happened next?
A:
Prior to Christianization and beginning in the 4th
century, the Germanic people celebrated a midwinter event that
stretched from Mid November to early January called Yule.
With the Christianization of Germanic Europe, numerous traditions
were absorbed from Yuletide celebrations into modern Christmas.
Q:
I know you don’t drink Red Bull to stay alert on those long and
cold Christmas eve nights, so how did you get your wings that allow
you to soar through the skies with a sleigh and flying reindeer?
A:
Now
that is a very interesting story! During the Yule celebration,
supernatural and ghostly occurrences were said to increase in
frequency, such as the Wild
Hunt,
a ghostly procession through the sky. The leader of the wild hunt is
frequently affirmed as the Norse god Odin,
aka Jólnir,
which means "yule figure" and Langbarðr,
meaning "long-beard". Odin was also known as the
“Gift-bringer of the North”. He had a long white beard and wore
a blue-hooded cloak as he rode the midwinter sky on his eight-footed
steed Sleipnir,
bringing gifts to his people.
Q:
That all sounds like someone we know! Could it be Jolly Saint Nick?
A:
Busted! You got me there Bob!
Q:
What would you say have been the biggest influences in how we
Americans see you today?
A:
My physical appearance was reshaped back in 1823 when a poem was
written by Clement Clarke Moore titled A
Visit From St. Nicholas
and a generation later, an illustration drawn by John Leech of the
Ghost
of Christmas Present
in Charles
Dickens's
festive classic A
Christmas Carol
had major influences on my appearance. Finally, in 1863, political
cartoonist Thomas
Nast
created a characature of me in Harper’s
Weekly
that has been reinforced through the decades on radio,
television and motion pictures.
Q:
Speaking of reshaping, how are you with your robust body image? The
ladies these days really seem to be going for the hard body, wash
board abs look, which by the way is still on my Christmas list.
A:
No worries. Mrs. Claus appreciates my well rounded physique.
Hopefully, your wife appreciates yours!
Q:
Ouch, I mean touché. Do you have any great gift giving ideas for
shoppers this year?
A:
Yes, shop local and support the businesses that are the
infrastructure of our local economy. When you keep your money local,
great things happen. Businesses expand, they hire more people and the
extra money collected in taxes can go back into community improvement
projects and programs.
Q:
Gee Santa. I didn’t realize that you were an economist too!
A:
Running a successful toy manufacturing and distribution business for
centuries isn’t as easy as it looks.
Q: Do you have any
funny Santa stories that you’re willing to share?
A:
Yes, back in 1955, a Sears store in Colorado Springs, Colorado ran an
ad with a misprinted “Santa Hotline” telephone number. Children
hoping to speak with me called the Continental
Air Defense Command
(CONAD) on Christmas Eve instead. When Colonel Harry Shoup received
the first call, he responded by telling children that there were
signs on the radar that Santa was indeed heading south from the North
Pole. A tradition began, which continued under the name NORAD Tracks
Santa, when in 1958 Canada and the United States jointly created the
North
American Air Defense Command
(NORAD). This tracking can now be done via the Internet and NORAD's
website!
Q:
Any advice for parents?
A:
Yes, for goodness sakes, indulge your children in these two good four
letter words: work and play. Back in my day, very few kids sported
the portly physique I’ve been bestowed by that Nast character.
Physical work and play is wonderful for the body, mind and spirit.
Too much sitting around playing with those high tech contraptions
isn’t healthy for anyone.
Q:
Will I finally make the nice list this year?
A:
With questions like these, keep ho ho, hoping. Just kidding. No more
coal for you Bob!
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