The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1957-12-23, Page 11...Atieforlfrrtotilitty
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*Also known as Saint Nicholas, Sinterklaas, PeltznickeL Kriss Kringle, Knecht Rupert, 'Father Chriotmas, Pere Noel, Grandpa Frost" ete•':
is generally accepted that. Santa Claus de-
rives from St, Nicholas, Bishop of Myra,
Lyda in the 3rti century, who became patron
saint of Russia and of merchants, clerks and
children, Pew are aware that as a legenclar.y
tore Santa also had other antecedents.
His physical figure, As ,eviterally recognized
today, deive rn arge part from Jan Puy,
a •Citlitett,' a NeW Yorker of Netherlands ancestry.
Duyeltinck -was a neighbor and frequent visitor
In the 1.820s to the home of Clement Clarke
Moore, Moore was a professor in General Theo-
logical Seminary who gave scholarly attention
to folklore,- Through ' Duyekinck he improved
his acquaintanceship with the usages of the old
Dutch families of New York, the descendants
of the original settlers of the Hudson Valley.
Moore was naturally interested particularly in
- the Dutch costonis surrounding $t. Nicholas'
Pay, Dec. 6, and• the Manner in which they
Melded: with old English.' Christmas traditions
after the British took ssession a New
Netherland.
An explanatory digression is in Order at this
point. The concept ,of a special guardian or
watchman over children, Who,bestowed rewards
or Pnriisliments on, the "good" or the i'bad"
Ones, on some seasonal -or annittil occasion, is a
Very old one Parallels existed in ail early Alvin,
mations. louring the Roman Saturnalia, which
'Ives observed next to the last week of Decem-
. ber, schools had holidaYS, treei were decorated,
_Mite wore bestowed. and' there wag, .general
merriment,. These olieervinces , went to Prance
and Bitten with the -Boman , cOnquerore. They
`Vahehlr had become a part Of the customs of
• ' thOse, regienis whenthe-conversiona of the West
to .Chrlitianity began. Missionaries under whom
the ltingdOins of Clovis and Ethelbert, in France
and England, became Christian rere under in-
structions • to adept pOpular regional customs
Cbriatian Usages.
When the Pilgrims and Puritans from Eng -
lend settled in A.merica, the festive observance
iof Chrietthai was .forbidden because it was still
deenled pagan. But when New Netherland was
'turned ,,into .New• York, there were English
famillee. less strict in their adherence .to orthodox canon. Among these, Fither Christmas was
an annual; visitor to children; on Christmas. or
New Year's Eve. • '•' ' '
Por if,104:tirtie thereafter, in York and
inIrrounding .Colonies, in 'consequenceof the
thielditit.Of the two customs, children awaited
with mingled dread and delightful expectancy
two 'different visitors during the Christmas sea-
son: $t Nicholas and Father Christmas, for
Whom ;there., were ,.various .narties.
StNicholas—whOse name was contracted to
Sinterkleae•by the Dutch, Pelteniekel or Bels -
Wale Oerinans,—was the fur -clad, bearded
Nicholas, who on the eve of lillefeast day (Dec,
6) visited homes with gifts for "good children'.
and left switches for bad ones. ,Pathe* Christ-
- mas, Pere Noel (arrieng the,French) or Kriss
Kringle, was the lolly good fellow in red robe
who later brought joy for all,
Prof. Moore is credited with. effecting the
amalgamation of the two characters through
the popular chord he struck ;with the rousing
' versea, A Visit ft'ern St, Nicholas, The poem's
description of Santa Clays (see the quotation
M the box at right) became the one generallyaccepted,
accepted, with the assistance of a German,born
cartoonist, Thomas Nast, A. historian, 14, H,.
Robbins, wrote, "Looking back today, we see
that Nast's drawings were only caricatures,
Plallolanne ' I '
their details harrowed mostly from Moore*
poem Still, he gave the world the best likeness
ot Sante, Claus up to that,time."
Eventually, :artists of various eountriee who
had pictured Father cbristmas, rore Noe,
Kriss Kringie, et al., as tall, OVA, thin, round,
clad in sealskin, dressed like a bishop, etc., did
get together on a representation of the 014 f01.4
10W somewhat similar to Nest's.
From Where did the description of Santa
Claus in A Visit frorn,St. Nicholas come? From
Jan. Duyckinelt, Members of the Moore }muse -
hold said it was Jan, their Dutch • neighbor, •
whom Prof. Moore described in the poem writ-
ten at Christmas •tiMer 182% for the children'
amusement.
(t) Sinterklifas as he appeared to children
in New Netherland—from an 'old drawing
preserved in New York. Right, an illustra-
,tion, in Harper's' Magazine, 1857, when the
roem, A Visit to St. Nicolas; ,had revised
Vi frgi, t,•7
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traditional concepts of Santa Mll. See the
description of Santa in a verse of it quoted
here. _The poesw also established reindeer —
Daher,Prancer, Dancer, . Vixen, Cotnet,
CupidDonde!, Btitzen as Santa's steeds.
A: VISIT F1OIVI7'SAINT NICITOLAS; • H
CLFZIENT C 310011E.
WAS•tha nigIt before. Christmas., when all thrOugk tho'lkin4ec..
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-ot a creature wa Stirring • cen a inou4;,.
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AS ; drew in my head and.was turning aroUnd •
Down, the chimney St Nicholas canto with a bound.
He was dreised all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A butisile of toys he had, flung on' his back, - - • <
And he looked like a pecUar just opening his pack.
His 'eyes-Zhowthey twinkled! his dimples how merry! •
His cheeks were like roses, his nose -like a cherry! •
Hs droU little raouth•tvas &tuba -up like a bow
And the beard of his chin was white as the snow a: a
He was chubby and plump„ a right jolly old elf;
And 1 laughed when 1 saw him in spite of myself.
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Legencidry • representation Of St. Nicholas,
' • 1 • from a titss.,in the Bodleian Library, i.n, ng -
16 ziand..:-Eastern drawings of lafer•idates, also •
ilepitted. a..., thin 'ascetic, but added. a beard
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.' Santa ,Claus as /int/tee/ bY Thomas Nast in, Harper' s
V,eekZy in the /87O's, minus the ,furs in which. Santa
• tivas Pittured by earlier artiSts. "Peitznickel", a German
tlante for the beloved gift -bearer; means "Fur Nicholas,'''
A VOnt
The Mat Saturdagtn Nooember, Sinterldlatts, Seated
on his traditional white horse, arrives by steamer in,
Anisterdam ti1 °that port title* itt the,Netherlatitts.
liges ashore, anttid cheers of thotitaticiS, b0
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greeted by ,the burgomaster, .(Photograph bycourtesy
Of Netherlands Inforfnation Seroite). At right; Sinter,-
.1ciaas represented ittOrt 1848 printing of A Visit
Pont j4NiehOtat, before Nastdrito Any Ilditta tart0OrtS,
ell,9$`4 )C!ttg
4.
kimbles gnome -like toitceptitift Of Santa
elates vied with Wastt Dersidtt in the /880s, when
thiS keinbte eartoaa was. pubiisheci in a Neu)
York newepaper. The caption wrote /or it•was)
Ye:Owes Synclitite,
°There The* where 1 ehoulei WY; and It
lor the trip; but a Saint tny tz esn't be,eximeted
to squeeze (town theee triodes thiii***W Ores%
,print collettion of New Yok Addle tAbitlf),
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