TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS # 43

 

Twas the night before Christmas

And all thru the pub

The air was scented with cinnamon

From all the festive grub

From spiced Christmas Ale

Or Gluwein served from a tub

RUSH AND SCURRY

 

Hurry, hurry shopping in Surrey

Hurry, hurry, rush and scurry

Worry, worry, fresh snow flurry

Hurry Murray rush and scurry

Let’s get home and have a curry

SOAP TRADITION

 

Christmas is all about traditions

But they evolve across the years

Some fall from favour all together

Then new ones seem to appear

 

This is certainly the case

Of one of the more recent traditions

To the familiar Christmas fare

The TV soaps festive additions

 

This is when the tired old plot line

That’s simmered away since June

Suddenly explodes in your face

And not a moment too soon

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS (2006)

When Norbert and Madeline Bridges (Matt McCoy and Jane Sibbett) and their children move to a small town, the first thing they do is have a mixer to meet the neighbours.

Amongst others they meet the Manning’s, Donnie and Irene (Adam Ferrara and Carol Alt) and an inebriated Donnie starts boasting about the upcoming annual Christmas Decoration contest, and Psychologist Norbert see an opportunity to gather important material for the book he is writing on human behaviour, and throws down the gauntlet.

As a result it very quickly gets out of hand, involving lies, manipulation and spying and when it reaches its peak there is only one solution and that is to ban Christmas.

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS # 42

 

Twas the night before Christmas

And all thru the City

Peoples were alone for the season

Which was such a pity

The Church was the one place

Where they never felt alone

As they were welcomed

And made to feel at home

THE LEGEND OF ST NICHOLAS THE RED SUITED SANTA Part three – The literal St Nicholas

 

After the demise of the puritans in Europe and America the St Nicholas legend went from strength to strength.

He has over recent centuries become known by different names for example in Holland he is known as Sinter Klaas and when the Dutch arrived in New York or New Amsterdam as it was then the red suited Sinter Klaas arrived with them but the name has since become Americanized into Santa Claus.

 

The first time the Name Santa Claus appeared in print was in 1773 but the first description of the most traditional image of Santa Claus was by popular author Washington Irving In his History of New York, published in 1809.

 

But he was finally immortalized along with his eight reindeer in 1823 in the poem “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” more commonly known to all of us as “The Night Before Christmas” written by Clement Clarke Moore an Episcopal minister.

Moore, who wrote the poem for his three daughters, depicted Santa Claus as a "right jolly old elf" with a supernatural ability to ascend up a chimney with a simple nod of his head.

 

The familiar round jolly white bearded image of Santa Claus was definitively illustrated by the political cartoonist Thomas Nast for Christmas issues of Harper's Weekly magazine in 1881.

It was Nast who revealed the details of Santa's workshop at the North Pole and alerted the world to the existence of what have become known as the naughty and nice lists.

 

Haddon Sundblom further reinforced Santa’s image when, in 1931, he drew a representation of the jolly red faced Saint for the Coca-Cola Company as part of their advertising campaign which was so successful that he has been used every year since.

 

Through literary references and descriptions of Christmas the legend of St Nicholas spread and became ingrained in all of us and Along the way the legend of the gift giver became intertwined with other country’s myths and folk lore figures and St Nicholas became known by a wide variety of names.

As well as Santa Claus or Sinter Klaas he is named Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Père Noël, der Weinachtsmann and Papa Noel to name but a few.

 

So I can say to you all with hand on heart to young and old wherever you might live there is most definitely a Santa Claus.

SHOPS IN THE HIGH STREET

Shops in the high street

Are full to overflowing

With irate customers

Franticly to-ing and fro-ing

 
The shopkeeper delights

While prices are rocketing

Happy in the knowledge

Of the profits he’s pocketing

 

And in his smug contentment

He rubs his hands with glee

“Merry Christmas you mugs

And a prosperous new year, for me”