Santa Claus, who is St. Nicholas

Another Christmas has come and gone and as usual the true meaning of Christmas has been nearly totally missed by the people who should most be concerned about its' meaning and also that that meaning be preserved. Each year I shake my head about what has happened to the meaning of Christmas in my country. This Santa which I saw in a catalog at my job over a week before Christmas got me to thinking.
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.

The Romance of It's A Wonderful Life

The Romantic clip above is from the movie It's A Wonderful Life. This 1946 classic was a regular fixture on American television each Christmas season during the 1980s. At Christmas it was not unusual during that decade for the movie to be playing every evening on several TV channels sometimes at once. The showing of the film was eventually reduced because of copyright laws, and today if the the film is shown at all, only NBC is licenced to present it once a year mainly on Christmas eve.

The idea for me to write this post was actually e-mailed to me by Ardent of Ardent Observations which came at a very timely time since this is the Christmas season and little did she know It's A Wonderful Life is one of my all time favorite films and Jimmy Stewart, who plays the main character, is one of my favorite old actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood. During the heyday of its' frequent showings, I actually watched It's Wonderful Life at least 20 times. A few years ago I purchased the the film on VHS, but by that time I had overdosed on so many viewings of it on the tube, I actually have never viewed the video. It lies in storage with some of my other videos and DVDs. However, before New Year's has come and gone I hope to set aside time to watch it. And guess what?! Wonder of wonders, I have actually found the entire full length film online which can be watched here entirely free. But before watching it, get a taste by viewing the clip.

When It's A Wonderful Life was released, it was one of the few Capra films that was a box office flop. It was not until the 1980s that it actually became a Christmas cult favorite. I remember being hardly able to wait for each Christmas season to come so I could watch the movie over and over again. In the 1980s I had passed the age of waiting for Santa to bring me the latest neat toys, so It's Wonderful Life was the treat I anxiously waited to behold. The main character George Bailey stood for everything I believed in and still believe a person should be. He was generous, honest, and selfless. George Bailey grows up and lives his life in the small American town of Bedford Falls. It is a bittersweet tale with a shade of Dickens about a regular goodhearted guy with big dreams, but because of various unforseen circumstances, he cannot live out the life he plans. Nevertheless, his life impacts many people around him in a positive way over the years. It is only when George is about to toss it all alway that an angel from heaven is sent down because of the prayers of family and friends. The angel Clarence who is trying to earn his wings shows George what the world would be like it he had never been born. In the end, George comes to realize that despite the disappointments and setbacks, he is not a failure, but has actually had a "wonderful life."

There are many messages in It's A Wonderful Life which makes it still very relevant even today over 60 years after its' making. The importance of sincerity, family, community, giving, self sacrifice, are all messages that are as timeless as the reason for the season. George Bailey may not be or will ever become a rich man like the vindictive and dishonest Mr. Potter who is the town millionaire and who really cares for no one but himself and his riches, but George has more: a big heart. Today in a world where so many care only for themselves (even when they pretend not to), and when so many lack a word or transparency, It's Wonderful Life's message is one that is more important than ever. The qualities of George Bailey which I cited above is very much a part of the many qualities which I feel define a "Romantic:" uniqueness, uprightness, vision, selflessness, openness, imagination, courage.