A post-script to Santa
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
We left the Christmas season several weeks ago, but I am purposely keeping close to my heart that warmth, that peace, that joy, holding on to the pleasant feeling of the most wonderful time of the year, in this loud world.
So goes my post-script to Santa:
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads…”
I love this cheerful beloved poem, mentioning St. Nicholas, the good-hearted saint, delivering for the last seven hundred years goodies and a message to European children.
In his visits, the little ones are advised by this Saint to be kind and not naughty, honest and helpful, diligent and curious, humble and helpful, and always respectful. To honor him, every child recites for St. Nick a poem, sings a song or plays an instrument! It all happens every year on December 6, and it makes for quite a fabulous merry visit!
And, to everyone's surprise, he finds a way to European children living over the vast wide ocean in America, and here he comes to San Diego!
But first, before we meet him, here is something fabulous you may or may not know!
This European Saint from the third century actually became the beloved American Santa Claus!
Dutch people, calling St. Nicholas “Sinterklaas”, brought him with them in 1600’s when Peter Minuit in 1626 skillfully bought the island of Manhattan for a couple of dollars from Indians.
It took about 200 years for St Nicholas to be shifted into our jolly, bearded, red-clad, round-bellied, kind and generous Santa Claus.
First introduced to Americans in an 1809 book A History of New York by Irving Washington, St. Nicholas appears there in a Dutchman Oloffe's dream as “good St. Nicholas riding over the tops of the trees, in that self-same wagon wherein he brings his yearly presents to children.”
But the most important event for Santa Claus' American jolly life comes with the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, better known by its first line, “Twas the night before Christmas,” I quoted above. It is a poem by an American professor of oriental studies, Clement Moore.
He scribbled it on a piece of paper after his sleight ride from his Christmas shopping. His poem described St. Nicholas aka Santa as a plump and “jolly old elf” who “dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,” carried a bundle of toys on his back, had twinkling eyes, merry dimples, rosy cheeks, a snow white beard, a pipe between his teeth, and “ a little round belly that shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.”
On Christmas Day of 1822, Moore's Chelsea estate in Manhattan (still standing today) was wonderfully merry and cozy and busy. Moore called everyone to the living room by the fireplace, and started reading the
poem as a Christmas present to his children.
Everyone was enchanted and the poem was published the next year, in December 1823, and thus "Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen!" is the story spreading the good word about this merry Saint who found a beautiful home in America. The author Moore gave Santa his looks a little different to St. Nicholas who was rather a “stick” figure, kind, but stern and dressed in dark humble clothes.
The celebrated cartoonist Thomas Nast makes in 1863 Moore's descriptions alive in his Harper's Weekly drawings of Santa: a round belly, kind smile, outfits in various colors, thick beard, simply — a close image of Santa we know today.
The journey of American looking Santa was completed in 1931 by Haddon Sundblom who created a Coca-Cola ad for The Saturday Evening Post with "grandpa-like" jolly Santa, based on a real person, Lou Prentis, a retired Coca-cola salesman! Sundblom's drawing goes in detail to Moore's poem, but he dresses him exclusively in quintessential bright red, keeps his prominent thick white beard, round belly, and twinkles in his eyes. This “Coca-cola” Santa became the standardized final beloved picture of Santa whom we await the whole year!
Finally! You are invited to a St. Nicholas party right here in San Diego!
Come in and behold a jolly picture of about forty lively Czech, Slovak, American children with their parents, grandparents, and friends in a Christmassy garden! A tall beautifully trimmed Christmas tree at the edge of the stage sets the atmosphere along with the red, green, silver and gold Christmas decorations all around the garden and one thousand and one lights strung as a beautiful lush canopy!
The atmosphere is busy and merry, Christmas carols, playing in the background, set in a festive tone, children are making crafts, guests are crowding at a makeshift tiny kitchen where a busy crew of moms and dads are frying delicious potato pancakes and mull the best wine and apple juice. A table with homemade Christmas cookies and charcuteries is the envy of any elegant party, and what is it here? Wow! A huge table is surrounded by children and adults eyeing the fancy twenty five large baskets full of unique gifts wrapped in cellophane and tied with a bright red ribbon. It seems that everyone cannot wait for the raffle time!
It is one happy scene with people mingling, talking, eating, sipping and children wide-eyed with expectation. And finally! Here is a bell and we are starting!
The children are seated up front on the grass, so many of them! Each gets a tambourine or triangle or wooden sticks so we can all make music together, and off we go! The guitar and banjo start the music and ”We wish you a merry Christmas” sounds through Point Loma in English and then in Czech! We all play and sing at the top of our lungs several carols, the children are taught how to keep the rhythm and what a super symphonic band we are!
And now, to change the rhythm of the party, ladies and gentlemen, a puppet show starts right away! Get your seat close to the stage! A bell rings, a jester introduces the actors, the puppeteers from my Czech school who do an excellent job performing A Little Red Riding Hood! The children are as quiet as they can be, holding their breath how it all will be! The show brings a happy end as it should be, we sing one more carol with the happy handsome puppets and now, let us get up and dance!
I ask the little guests to join me on the stage, we make two huge circles and
dance several folk dances. I wish you could see how cute these children dance and twirl, learning quickly the steps of czardas, polka, mazurka and waltz! It is heartwarming to see how everyone tries the hardest!
Finally, after a short break for some goodies, here comes the moment! “ Ladies and gentlemen, find your seat! Saint Nicholas is coming in 5 minutes! In 3 minutes! In 2 minutes! HERE HE IS!”
Everyone falls quiet seeing the beautiful angel, St. Nicholas and a rascal with a tail and horns who watches for the naughty kids! Thank heavens, we have none of these here! :)
The most beautiful part of the evening is here. There are three huge bags with forty gifts behind Santa that parents inconspicuously gave us to present the children. BUT! First, our St. Nick, in Czech Mikuláš, has a small talk to children about how important it is to be good and respectful and helpful, and he offers tips how to please parents. Then, the angel chooses a present, reads the nametag and the child comes to the stage to recite a poem, sing or play a piano…and now the magic happens. All of the children are prepared, some have a stage fright, some are confident, some worry about the little rascal who warns the naughty kids, some ask their parent to help with singing, but each of the family performs and it is the most beautiful concert you can imagine, children performing in earnest to show they are good and prepared and worth of the package they are about to own.
The last child sings, the last package is given away, St. Nicholas, angel and rascal are wishing us the best, everyone takes photos with them, and off they go to other children….
We conclude our evening with a boisterous raffle drawing, some more informal singing, people talking, eating, sipping mulled wine or juice, children unpacking and bragging about the amount of sweets they got, and chatting away.
The atmosphere is jolly, just like it should be.
I look around the garden and I am so very happy.
27 years ago I started this tradition of recreating for my own American children Luky, Adélka, their friends and anyone interested, the magic of the St. Nicholas so they can experience what I did decades ago in the heart of Europe.
Today, after all of these years my children, of course, are not little anymore; but somehow naturally they switched the roles from wide-eyed children waiting for the big St. Nicholas surprise to those who make that magic happen for others.
And that circle of life warms my heart.
So, be good, be kind, be tolerant, helpful and humble and great things will come to you ... like a visit from good old wonderful St. Nicholas who gently reminds us that the most beautiful thing in the whole wide world is to be kind.🌺
My love and sincere appreciation goes to all without whom I could not ever make these dreams come true: My wonderful family: Vláďa, Adélka, Luky, my amazing loyal friends, family Moran, Čapek, Pop, Peter Peterka, Pavel Chvistek, girls and families from the Czech school: Kači, Noemi, Emilka, Helenka, and great appreciation and gratitude to Ludka Romero and her Guardian Injury Law firm for a generous sponsorship.
Without you, my dear friends, these fabulous evenings would not happen. ♥️
Marketa, this is a wonderful post, but an even more wonderful picture of your family 🤗. Today’s class was A+++.
Valerie! No, the bishop is my friend. My husband is on the first photo with me and my daughter! Thank you for visiting my blog, also thank you for reading my school blogs!! 🌹
Marketa - What a marvelous tradition! Thanks so much for sharing.
Nancie L
Hi marketa is that your husband as the bishop? I would be the one who is crying. Wishing you well with your health in this new year, love, Valerie s