Newspaper Page Text
Visions and
versions of
Santa Claus
I WAS LOOKING for “vin
tage” artwork of Santa Claus
to use with the feature on this
page about holiday memories.
Interestingly, but I guess not sur
prisingly, Santa Claus has undergone
quite a few image changes through
the years.
In some of
the clip art,
Santa is on a
rooftop and is
surrounded by
TV antennas.
That is remi
niscent of my
childhood, as I
clearly remem
ber “turning”
the antenna
from its pole
base along our chimney to get bet
ter reception. Today Santa would be
skipping alongside cable dishes.
An older Santa is discernible
from the toys he is holding. An old-
fashioned “dolly,” a wooden rocking
horse, a sled with metal runners.
Then there is Father Christmas.
Kris Kringle.
Old St. Nick.
And so it goes, back in time to the
start of “Santa.”
Truly it is difficult as a parent to
balance out the Christmas images of
Baby Jesus and Santa Claus, giving
and getting, and moderation in our
world of excesses. But at one time it
was more intermingled.
St. Nicholas, bom in the third cen
tury in what was once a part of
Greece and is now a part of Turkey,
used his inheritance to aid the sick
and needy as a means of following
Jesus’ urging of giving to others.
Through various stories, he became
known as a protector of children and
a gift-giver — there is a story of him
leaving three bags or balls of gold
as dowry gifts for three young girls
otherwise destined for slavery — and
thus became known as a gift-giver.
Children began the custom of
hanging stockings or putting out their
shoes “in the hopes that St. Nicholas
soon would be there.” (Of course
those words didn’t come until much
later!) Unlike today’s gifts and more
gifts, these small treasures were more
likely to be sweets and nuts. Three
balls of gold translated into oranges
in the stocking, as well. In Dutch folk
lore he was referred to as Sinterklaas.
In artwork, St. Nicholas is portrayed
as the more iconic saint.
When Europeans arrived in
the “New World,” now America,
they brought their traditions of St.
Nicholas and Sinterklaas with them.
During Martin Luther’s Protestant
Reformation, when saints were
frowned upon, Luther encouraged
the idea of Christkind instead.
Kris Kringle is the Americanized
version of Das Christkind or
Christkindel — the Christ Child — a
gift bringer in some parts of Europe
and South America.
In later years, the New York state
historical society began celebrating
its Dutch heritage and promoted St.
Nicholas (Sinterklaas from Dutch
folklore) in 1804 as a patron saint
of the society and city. Washington
Irving, however, wrote satirically of
an elfish St. Nicholas who bounded
down chimneys to leave gifts.
In an effort to “tame” the holi
days — which in the 19th century
were known more for drunken mobs
celebrating the harvest and less for
families around a cozy fire — and
to reflect changing attitudes about
children and childhood, writers began
turning their attention to a different
sort of Christmas.
In 1821, “Sante Claus” made an
appearance in the first lithographed
book in America, “The Children’s
Friend.” In an anonymous poem, the
jolly elf arrived on Christmas Eve,
rather than on St. Nicholas’ date of
December 6, leaving rewards for the
well-behaved and birch switches for
the naughty.
In 1823, “A Visit from St.
Nicholas,” better known today as
“The Night Before Christmas” was
published. The reindeer landed on the
roof and Santa had arrived. No more
the European bishop turned saint,
Sankt Niklaus, Santa took on a fife
and character of his own.
Completely separate was the
English Father Christmas, a visitor
for Christmas and Yuletide, rather
than a gift giver. He appeared as Sir
Christemas in a 15th century carol
jana. a.
mitcham
Inside: Learn to square dance in 2010 — page 2C
December 23,
2009
0 The Jackson Herald
Jana Adams Mitcham,
Features Editor 706-367-8760
jana@mainstreetnews. com
Section C
Memories of Christmas
Countians share their stories of best holidays
BY JANA MITCHAM
HAT’S YOUR best
Christmas memory?
Is there one particular
year that stands out as an unusually
happy holiday season, or are there
traditions your family has or had
when you were growing up that mean
“Christmas” to you?
Several Jackson County residents
recall times that were special to them
as children and as adults, along with
traditions and memories of good years
and good Christmases.
A PHONE CALL
TO SANTA
For Nadine Davison of
Nicholson — soon to be a
Commerce resident — the
Christmas she was 5 years
old was a memorable one.
Mrs. Davison grew up
in High Point, N.C., and,
yes, she did enjoy white
Christmases there. She and
her family moved to Jackson County
in 1950 when her father, a detective,
got a job in security at Bell Bomber,
now known as Lockheed.
The Christmas of 1946 was special
for many reasons.
“What we would do, when I was a
little girl, we would call Santa on the
phone and talk to him on the radio,”
Mrs. Davison remembers. “You’d say
something you wanted and then you’d
say ‘Nuts, fruit and candy and take
something to the little girls and boys
who don’t have anything.’ That was
what everyone said.”
“Our family had a party line, so
I called him on that,” she added. “I
always got a Betsy Wetsy. I wanted a
doll and I wanted a tea set. I wanted
to be a mommy. My sister always
wanted a bride doll.”
Mrs. Davison’s mother was a seam
stress for a nearby dance studio, and
she would sew doll clothes from the
costume scraps, with her daughters
sitting beside her, learning to sew.
Mrs. Davison’s mother was also
known for her baking, and took cake
orders each week. She cooked on
a wood stove, and it was from her
and from her grandmother that Mrs.
Davison learned to cook.
She bakes an orange slice
cake for the holidays each
year, like her mother before
her, and remembers having
taffy pulls at the holidays.
That Christmas of 1946
was the year that 5-year-
old Nadine was the “head
angel” in the church play
and she learned scripture to
say aloud.
That was also the holiday when her
cousin, who was in the service, spent
Christmas at her family’s home.
“I had never seen anyone in uni
form before,” Mrs. Davison recalls.
“I think that 5 is the first Christmas I
really remember because there was so
much going on.”
During the holiday season, the fam
ily’s living room was opened up and a
tree was decorated near the fireplace.
“The living room was never opened
— the double doors — in the winter
except for Christmas,” Mrs. Davison
said.
“When the living room was opened
up, it was such a special time,” she
added. “Dad would bring a tree home
DAVISON
in the police car- shhh! - as we didn’t
have a car. He’d make a stand and
we’d put the old-fashioned icicles and
bubble lights on. When the lights had
been on a while, they’d start to bubble
as the got warm. Mama had us put
one icicle on at a time.”
On Christmas, the children would
have nuts, fruit and candy in
their stocking - and the stock
ings were “real” stockings.
“There was one great big
peppermint and it seemed
like it’d take to July to eat it,”
she said. “We’d put the fruit
in the fruit bowl for everyone
to eat. It probably came from
the fruit bowl, but we didn’t
know...Now when you put
nuts, fruit and candy in stock
ings, the kids want to know where the
toys are, but it’s a way to share my
history.”
Mrs. Davison and her husband had
four sons and she is now a great
grandmother, with a home that is
never empty. This year she will cel
ebrate Christmas at a son’s house,
along with about 20 kids there, but
she still remembers the days of her
childhood, when the double doors
were opened up and the Christmas
tree set up.
“When that room was opened up,
it meant fun times were coming,” she
said. “It was such a sweet time, such
an innocent time.”
NEVER DID CATCH HIM
Douglas Ray was also 4 or 5 the
year of the first Christmas he really
remembers.
“The first Christmas I
remember, there were
six of us, and we lived in
the Mtn. Creek commu
nity,” he said. “Serenaders
would come around, want
ing cake, something to eat,
best I can remember...I
can remember moving to
that house. I had to check
out the chimney. It wasn’t
big enough, but Mama said
Santa can adjust sizes, and I guess it
was so.”
That was the year that young
Douglas got a Dick Tracy gun and
badge, along with “a little blackjack
to go with it.”
“That was the number one toy
then,” he said.
Mr. Ray remembers looking for
Santa Claus.
“Mama and Daddy would always
continued on page 2C
3
RAY
Inside:
‘Christmas
with family’
‘Tradition of
decorating’
- page 2C
continued on page 2C