[00:00.00]St. Nicholas was an
[00:02.62]early Christian Bishop of Patara
[00:04.91]of the Lycian seaport
[00:06.88](in present day Turkey)
[00:09.40]in the 4th century A.D.
[00:11.26]The Roman Emperor Diocletian,
[00:14.43]who persecuted Christians,
[00:16.73]imprisoned him because the practice
[00:18.70]of Christianity was illegal.
[00:21.54]The first Christian Emperor of Rome,
[00:24.71]Constantine, later released him.
[00:27.77]Nicholas’reputation for generosity,
[00:31.06]kindness and miracles earned him
[00:34.45]a widespread reputation
[00:35.98]and eventually sainthood.
[00:37.73]He is said to have brought back
[00:41.23]life to the children
[00:42.87]who had been chopped into
[00:44.30]pieces by their butcher father.
[00:46.05]He is reputed to
[00:49.00]have placed some gold coins
[00:50.75]in stockings, hung by a fire
[00:53.16]to dry by three poor girls.
[00:54.91]He had hoped that the girls
[00:58.52]would be able to use
[01:00.06]the money to marry to
[01:01.26]avoid living on prostitution,
[01:03.45]the common destiny of such girls
[01:05.63]at that time. From this gesture
[01:09.46]came the tradition of empty oversize
[01:11.10]stockings hanging on fireplaces
[01:14.38]at Christmas time for Santa
[01:16.24]to fill with little gifts.
[01:18.43]From these roots, the presentday
[01:21.06]Santa Claus seems to have emerged.
[01:23.36]In some European countries,
[01:27.19]the image of Father Christmas
[01:29.15]is identified more closely
[01:31.45]with Saint Nicholas than
[01:33.53]with Santa Claus. The red and white suit
[01:36.16]Santa wears, is said
[01:37.91]to have come from
[01:39.87]the traditional colour of
[01:41.40]early Christian Bishops’ robes.
[01:42.94]Santa, flying in a sleigh
[01:45.57]pulled by reindeer, and
[01:48.52]going down chimneys, originated
[01:50.60]from an American poem
[01:52.57]written in the 1820’s
[01:54.20]by Clement Moore entitled
[01:56.06]“The Night before Christmas”.
[01:59.35]In the 1860’s, another American
[02:03.40] made an engraving called
[02:04.82]“Santa’s Workshop” in which Santa,
[02:07.00]is portrayed in a lovely sunset,
[02:09.20]scratching his chin, reading letters
[02:12.37]and checking a list activities
[02:14.55]which was revived every year
[02:16.53]in music and stories
[02:18.27]told to children
[02:19.81]during the yuletide(Christmas) season.
[02:21.99] Every year children write letters
[02:25.72]to Santa Claus before Christmas,
[02:28.12]asking him to bring favourite toys.
[02:30.86]Santa traditionally navigates
[02:35.78]the frosty night skies December 24th
[02:38.74]without using a compass
[02:41.36]or a chart to plot his course.
[02:43.76]He, in his sleigh pulled
[02:46.61]by nine reindeer, usually lands
[02:49.02]on slippery sloped roofs. Clumsily,
[02:52.74]with his big bag heaped
[02:55.04]with toys and slung over his shoulder,
[02:57.55]he jumps down chimneys and
[02:59.85]dumps toys under Christmas trees.
[03:01.60]Gifts often include a doll
[03:04.77]for a little girl or
[03:06.63]a train for a little boy.
[03:08.93]He does all of this
[03:10.90]without disturbing the inhabitants.
[03:12.76]Santa then crawls vertically
[03:16.48]back up the chimney and,
[03:18.34]without a trace, flies off,
[03:21.07]exclaiming the resounding phrase,
[03:23.37]“Merry Christmas to all, good night”.
[03:26.98]He is back at his home
[03:30.26]at the North Pole
[03:31.57]before dawn on Christmas morning,
[03:33.44]tired but very happy
[03:35.63]after his very speedy sweep
[03:37.81]around the world. After a
[03:40.33]big yawn, Santa falls asleep |