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In several states there is a law against interfering
with a child's belief in Santa Claus. |
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Children and grown-ups who can't wait until Christmas
should live in Holland and Belgium where they get their presents
on December 6th, St. Nicholas day, instead of December 25th. |
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In Hawaii, Christmas trees are painted white. |
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In Norway, it is the custom for farmers to serve
their cattle a tub of home-brewed ale on Christmas Eve. |
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St. Nicholas was an actual personage—Nicholas,
Bishop of Myra, in Asia Minor, who lived during the fourth century.
Until the advent of Communism, he was venerated especially by
the Russians as patron saint of their country. He has always
been known as the guardian saint of children. |
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When he first came to this country with the Dutch,
Santa Claus was a thin, dour-looking man in the robes of a bishop,
and he rode a white horse, not a sleigh and reindeer. The Dutch
were the first to decide that Santa Claus lives at the North
Pole and, also, to costume him in red. |
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Mistletoe was considered a sacred symbol in medieval
Scandinavia. Enemies who met under it by chance were obliged
to observe a truce until the next day. |
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When children are first told the story of Santa
Claus, it is usually done with the poem "A Visit From St.
Nicholas," commonly called "'Twas the Night Before
Christmas," written by Dr. Clement C. Moore to amuse his
children. It was published in the Troy (N.Y.) Sentinel in 1823 |
