Dressed like a Russian boyar, I found him highly appealing because I love traditional Russian arts, crafts, and architecture. I own two matryoshka or nesting dolls, one which is traditional with the doll-like face, and another which my Russian friend sent as a Christmas present several years ago and which begins with Lenin (he is the baby on the inside) and ends with Putin. Santa here is hand carved, painted in Russia and sold by a company called Lenox.
Boyar Santa is so delightful that if I owned him, I would not want to stash him away all year to only bring him out for display a few weeks at the finale of the year. He is more than an ornament, but a work of art.
Christmas also should not be an exercise or ritual we do which culminates on December 25th. Also the "Christ" in Christmas should not be replaced by some dull, lifeless, generic "X." Christ was the ultimate giver in world history. Also Santa Claus who is really St. Nicholas was a giver, a real person, and a Christian. Cute and sweet as Boyar Santa is, if there must be a Santa at Christmas time, his true story should be known.
St. Nicholas, or as we have reduced him into Santa Claus, was a 3rd century saint who suffered, was imprisoned, and survived the last and one of most ferocious of the Roman persecutions against the early Christian church. Last year, EWTN or Eternal World Television Network aired a cartoon about St. Nicholas which was extremely moving even though it was for children. It showed Nicholas, a man dedicated to Christ, who patiently suffered for it, and eventually triumphed.
I hate to see Christmas progressively and systematically being denigrated by so many. We in America who are Christian whether Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox have helped in our own way either by greed, ignorance, or silence to allow the religious and very Christian message of Christmas and Santa Claus be slowly erased. Nativity scenes are seen by some as politically incorrect and offensive. Now people who really do not know Christianity are assigning meanings to Christmas which are dangerously flawed. Some of these people have good but misguided intentions, and others have intentions which are highly sinister.
I see days approaching when we may have to face what St. Nicholas did in the 3rd century; maybe then will the message of what December 25th originally stood for be recovered and celebrated in our hearts and minds. It may end up being the only two places where it will be celebrated.
The Saint Nicholas Center is a website which contains a wealth of information on Santa Claus/St. Nicholas and the true meaning of Christmas. View it here.
2 comments:
Nice article Sincerae.
Yes, we don't celebrate Santa Claus in the Ntherlands, but ST. Nicolas, on the 5th of December with gifts for everyone. Its a family fest.
Christmas is Christmas and Santa Claus is from Finland and commercialized by Pepsi Cola..))
Christmas and especially the time between Christmas and New Year's day, we celebrate Old Year's Eve also differently, is a time of reflection in the Netherlands. Therefore nobody works, almost nobody..))
Thanks, Hans :))
Also if you check out the Lenox website there is a slim Dutch St. Nicholas (Sinterklaas) on a white horse. Sinterklaas can be seen here: http://www.lenox.com/search/index.cfm?fuseaction=search
The Lenox catalog I saw at work also has a Greek St. Nickolas in traditional costume adorned with an icon around his neck and he holds a small ship. But he is not on the website. Perhaps he sold out very fast.
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