Well, friends, December 6th has come again!
What's that, you ask? December 6th? What could that be?
Why it's the feast day of St. Nicholas, of course!
Yes, it's true, I believe in "Santa Claus." No reindeer or north pole or any of that hokey stuff though! St. Nick was the bishop of Myra (in present day Turkey), and died on December 6, 326. (The lives of Christian saints have traditionally been celebrated on the day of their death, or, rather, the day of their entrance into glory.)
During the Reformation, when a number of new Christmas traditions were invented (in order to liberate good Lutherans from papist rituals), some of these new festivities were conflated with centuries-old St. Nicholas' Day traditions, resulting in the the present confusion regarding "Santa Claus" and December 25th.
Many in Europe still remember and celebrate St. Nicholas' life in distinction from Christmas, however. St. Nicholas of Myra was widely acclaimed as a saintly Christian during his life and after, leading to the telling (and creation!) of many stories about his good deeds. He is most well known for secretly giving dowry-money to an impoverished man with three daughters (allowing them to marry and avoid being sold into slavery) and interceding on behalf of innocents condemned to die, the former story being the inspiration for secret gift-giving on St. Nicholas' Day.
Alissa and I, having considered that we will be away from home on Christmas, decided to celebrate St. Nicholas' Day together (on the eve of the day). Our "secret" gifts for each other were exchanged (I luckily procured the last of which the evening before!), and we had a light Mediterranean meal (as St. Nicholas and Bible figures likely would have had): pita dipped in olive oil and za'atar (a mixture of thyme, sesame seeds, salt, and other spices). The olive oil and za'atar were produced by Christian Arabs in the West Bank (having come to me via the fair trade table at presbytery).
Some reasons for celebrating St. Nicholas Day:
1) Allows one to focus on Christmas when December 25th rolls around.
2) Celebrates the life and example of a Christian who has gone before.
3) Don't have to wait until the 25th for presents! (*insert wink here).
4) Helps clear up some of our culture's St. Nicholas confusion.
The wee, secret gift exchange:
Lucy, dreaming of St. Nick:
2 comments:
That's a nice tradition. We may have to try it sometime.
Happy 6 month anniversary! We had our Christmas party for the neighborhood last night, so we didn't see your latest blog until today. That is a great idea to celebrate St. Nicholas day. Your Christmas tree looks beautiful, too.
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