THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – RANDOM ACTS OF CHRISTMAS

 

The George’s are a modern successful family who seems to have it all, until they don’t, when David George (Kevin Sizemore) loses his job just before Christmas.

When Julie (Claudia Esposito) finds out they decide not to tell children Nick, Natalie and Nina (Barrett Carnahan, Emily Capehart and Siomha Kenney) and enjoy Christmas regardless as everything had already been purchased and David is certain he will find another job in the New Year.

Life doesn’t always work out how you hope it will and the new job never materialises and as the year passes the bills just keep rolling in, eating away at their savings and the kids college funds, until finally the bank repossess the house and they end up living in a motel.

But things go from bad to worse when Julie is forced to get provisions from the food bank and then are evicted from the motel as they can’t pay the bill.

After taking refuge in the church Henry Banks (Terry Kiser) who was on the receiving end of a random act of kindness by David the previous Christmas, offers them a place to live and work on his Christmas tree farm.

But even then they still have a fight on their hands to save the farm from

Senator John Cutter (Michael Guy Allen) who was to develop the land into warehousing in order to get himself re-elected.

This is a warm-hearted Christmas tale to remind us that in the holiday season, the best gifts in life are the simple ones, and that miracles do happen, if you believe.

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS # 41

Twas the night before Christmas

And all thru the Barn

In fact, not a creature was stirring

At all on the farm

They were bedded down warmly

In the fresh laid hay

And slept in quiet harmony

Until the breaking of the day

THE LEGEND OF ST NICHOLAS THE RED SUITED SANTA Part two – Growth and Prohibition

 

In the eyes of the Catholic church, a saint is a person who’s lived such a holy life that even after death and their ascent to heaven they are still able to help the earth bound souls.

It was believed that the white bearded St Nicholas clad in his red bishop’s robes continued to help the less fortunate through his gift giving.

So In the years following his death the St Nicholas legend grew.

 

As Christianity flourished within the Holy Roman Empire so did St Nicholas and by the year 450 many churches in the Eastern provinces of the empire in Asia Minor and Greece were being named to honor him and by the year 800 he was the most popular saint in the Eastern Catholic Church.

 

Such was his growing popularity as a Saint and his high regard amongst Christians that his mortal remains, which had been held in his church in Myra since his death, were stolen by a band of Italian sailors in 1087 A.D. and taken to Italy where they remain to this day, housed in the Basilica de St. Nicola in Bari.

 

The St Nicholas legend spread ever wider around the world and in 13^th century France December sixth became the feast of St Nicholas or Bishop Nicholas Day

And as the his fame spread north his red bishops robe was replaced by more practical suit of clothes, still red, but trimmed with white fur and his bishops mitre was replaced by red fur trimmed hat.

Then By the end of the 15^th century, St Nicholas was with the exception of Jesus and Mary the most popular religious figure in the Christian world.

 

Even after the protestant reformation when the worship of saints and relics was discouraged the people kept faith with Nicholas.

 

When in the 17^th century the puritan Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector of England he banned anything about Christmas the might be construed as enjoyable.

He banned any kind of feasting, drinking or dancing he even banned the hanging of holly.

In America the puritans went further by banning even the mention of St. Nicholas as well as gift-giving, candle-lighting and carol-singing.

But this only served to make people believe in St Nicholas even more

 

SCROOGE LIKE

 

They say the perfect Christmas

Is blessed with family and friends

I say the fewer the better

Otherwise the present buying never ends

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS GRACE

 Christmas Grace is set over several Christmas seasons and tells the tale of rival toy store owners, Gary (Ryan-Iver Klann) and Mr. Tollman (Tim Kaiser) who have very different approaches to their stores and their lives.

Gary walks the path of Christ and lives his life righteously, while Mr. Tollman lives his on a different path of avarice, greed and dishonesty.

But despite their different methodologies they still find God's grace hard at work in both their lives. 

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS # 40

 

Twas the night before Christmas

And all thru the Mill

Nothing was stirring

As the great wheel was still

Only the fire in the hearth moved

As it kept away the chill

THE LEGEND OF ST NICHOLAS THE RED SUITED SANTA Part one – Genesis of the Gift Giver

 

During this narrative I will be answering the eternal question which is all pervading during the festive season namely does Santa Claus really exist?

Obviously the answer we want is a resounding yes and so it will be.

Secondly I will be exploding the popular myth that it was the Coca Cola Company who were responsible for the red suited image of Santa.

 

St Nicholas is known by many different names around the world and he undoubtedly a legend.

The legend began in the 4th century A.D. in what is now Demre in modern Turkey.

Nicholas was a Christian priest and was born in 280 A.D. in the Lycian city of Patara near the ancient city of Myra where he later became Bishop.

 

Nicholas was the son of a wealthy man and when he inherited his father’s wealth he traveled the land helping the poor and sick and he was greatly admired for his piety and kindness.

He became the subject of many legends for example he was said to have brought a dead child back to life and he once saved the life of a prisoner by putting himself between the condemned man and his executioner also he is said to have stopped a storm in order to save three sailors from drowning.

But the most enduring and perhaps the best known of the Nicholas legends was when he secretly left golden dowries at the house of a poor man who was on the verge of selling his three daughters into slavery or prostitution.

The dowries meant the three poor sisters could be married.

This remarkable event has led to a tradition we still celebrate to this day as the sisters had left there stockings by the fire to dry and it was in the stocking where Nicholas placed the gold.

Despite his many secret late night visits to the homes of the poor and needy of the city he is forever known as the gift giver of Myra.

 

In the year 303 A.D., Diocletian the Roman emperor commanded all citizens of the Roman Empire to worship him as a god.

Nicholas and his fellow Christians believed in but one god and in all conscience could not obey the Emperor.

In his Anger Diocletian threatened the Christians with imprisonment if they did not comply.

Many Christians including Nicholas defied The Emperor and were imprisoned.

Nicholas was confined to a small cell for almost ten years and suffered greatly but never wavered in his beliefs.

It was In 313, when Constantine replaced Diocletian to become the first Christian Emperor and Constantine’s first act was the release of the Christians and upon his release Nicholas returned to his post as Bishop of Myra where he continued his good works until his death on December 6, 343.

On his death he was sainted to become St Nicholas the patron saint of Children and sailors.