Grandma and Santa

 

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid.

I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" she norted...."Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything.

As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me $10.00. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping.

For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.

I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church.

I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat.

I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!

I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.

"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby."

The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in in Christmas paper and ribbons. While we were folding the coat a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible. When we were done wrapping, Grandma wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on Bobby's present.

Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa's helpers.

Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going."

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.

Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.

Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were -- ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95.

May you always have LOVE to share,
HEALTH to spare and FRIENDS that care...
And may you always believe in the magic of Santa Claus!

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Happy National Poinsettia Day

Selecting Poinsettias

Poinsettias are traditional Christmas plants that will last through the Christmas season and beyond. It is important to select the best plant for your home environment.

The following are a few select pointers on choosing your Christmas Plant:

• Choose a plant with dark green foliage down to the soil line.
• Choose bracts (modified leaves) that are completely colored.
• Do not purchase poinsettias with a lot of green around the bract edges.
• Do not choose plants with fallen or yellowed leaves
• The poinsettia should look full, balanced and attractive from all sides
• The plant should be 2 1/2 times taller than the diameter of the container
• Choose plants that are not drooping or wilting.
• Do not purchase plants that are displayed in paper or plastic sleeves. Plants held in sleeves will deteriorate quickly
• Do not purchase plants that have been displayed or crowded close together. Crowding can cause premature bract loss
• Check the plant’s soil. If it’s wet and the plant is wilted, this could be an indication of root rot
• Check the poinsettia’s maturity. Check the true flowers which are located at the base of the colored bracts. If the flowers are green or red-tipped and fresh looking the bloom will "hold" longer than if yellow pollen is covering the flowers
• When you take the poinsettia home, be sure to have it sleeved or covered when outdoor temperatures are below 50°F.

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Let's have a sing-a-long : Traditional Christmas Tunes

LYRICS

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Yes, Timmy, there really is a Santa Claus

If you said 'no' to a little one who happens to come to you and ask if Santa is real, would that be lying? Not really, but it would not be the truth.  

 
 

Santa Claus is real. He was a real man who was born in the Lycea region of Turkey, in the 3rd century. Nicholas' parents died when he was a young boy and Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. A devout Christian, he dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man and he became a saint in the 9th Century. 

St.Nicholas became known throughout the world for gift-giving, which led to the tradition of hanging up our stockings over the fireplace.

How St. Nicholas is celebrated throughout the world

St. Nicholas is the patron saint of nearly everyone: 
Archers
Apothecaries (pharmacists)
Armed forces police
Bakers - which makes Dec 6th a perfect day to start your Christmas cookies!
Bankers
Bargemen
Barrel makers
Boatmen
Boot blacks
Bottlers
Boys
Brewers
Brides
Businessmen
Butchers
Button-makers
Candle makers
Captives
Chandlers (suppliers of ships)
Children
Choristers
Citizens
Clergy
Clerks
Cloth trade & merchants
Coopers (barrelmakers)
Corn measurers & merchants
Court recorders, registrars, clerks
Dock workers
Drapers
Druggists
Embalmers
Falsely accused
Ferrymen
Firefighters
Fishermen
Florists
Grain dealers & merchants
Grocers
Grooms
Haberdashers
Infants
Infertile
Judges
Lace makers & sellers
Lawsuits lost unjustly
Lawyers
Lemko people, Ukraine
Linen merchants
Longshoremen
Lovers
Maidens
Mariners
Merchants
Military intelligence Millers
Murderers
Navigators
Newlyweds
Notaries
Oil merchants
Orphans
Packers
Parish clerks
Paupers
Pawnbrokers
Pedlars
Perfumeries
Perfumers
Pharmacists
Pilgrims
Pirates
Poets
Poor people
Preachers
Prisoners
Prostitutes
Pupils
Rag pickers
Ribbon weavers
Robbers & thieves
Schoolchildren
Sailors
Scholars
Sealers
Seed merchants
Shearmen
Shipwreck victims
Shipwrights & gaugers
Ships carpenters
Shoemakers
Shoe shiners
Shopkeepers
Skippers
Soldiers
Spice-dealers
Spinsters
Students
Tanners
Teachers
Thieves
Timber merchants
Travelers
Unjustly condemned
Unmarried men
Unmarried women
Virgins
Watermen
Weavers
Wine porters, merchants & vendors
Women, desirous of marrying
Woodturners  

Here's a children's poem by Father Victor Hoagland

THE STORY OF SAINT NICHOLAS


Once there was a little boy who lived by the shore of the sea.
He watched the ships go sailing by all wrapped in mystery.

“What do you carry, where do you go?”he said as he saw them there.
I hope you bring many good things to girls and boys everywhere.

Nicholas was the little boy’s name, in case you’d like to know.
He loved surprising others with gifts and seeing their faces glow.

Then he would hide and no one would know,
the one who loved them, who loved them so.

Once a father had grown so poor as to sell his daughters three.
Three nights to his window Nicholas came with gold to keep them free.

Nicholas went to church one day and all the people stood:
“You have a heart like God’s,”they said, “A heart that is so good.
Will you be our bishop And lead us as God would?”

When Nicholas died God welcomed him to heaven with great applause:
“Well done, well done, good Nicholas, for serving well my cause.”

Now every Christmas Nicholas comes with gifts for girls and boys.
You know his name as Nicholas, but it’s also Santa Claus.

O Good St. Nicholas, children’s friend, Friend of girls and boys,
through the clouds come again, And fill your bag with toys.

Give me too a giving heart, for loving others too,
I want to know how good it is to give good gifts like you.

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The Story of Saint Nicholas
Once
there was a little boy
who lived by the shore of the sea.
He watched the ships go sailing by
all wrapped in mystery.

"What do you carry,
where do you go?"
he said as he saw them there.
I hope you bring many good things
to girls and boys everywhere."
Nicholas
was the little boy's name,
in case you'd like to know.
He loved surprising others with gifts
and seeing their faces glow.
Then he would hide
and no one would know
the one who loved them,
who loved them so.

Once a father
had grown so poor
as to sell his daughters three.
Three nights
to his window Nicholas came
with gold to keep them free.
Nicholas
went to church one day
and all the people stood:
"You have a heart like God's,"
they said,
"A heart that is so good.
Will you be our bishop
And lead us as God would?"


When Nicholas died
God welcomed him
to heaven's great applause:
"Well done, well done,
good Nicholas,
for serving well my cause."
Now every Christmas
Nicholas comes with gifts
for girls and boys.
You know his name as Nicholas,
But it's also Santa Claus.

O Good St. Nicholas, children's friend,
friend of girls and boys,
through the clouds come again,
and fill your bag with toys.
Give me too a giving heart,
for loving others too,
I want to know how good it is
to give good gifts like you.

Victor Hoagland, C.P.

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St. Nicholas is the Saint better known as "Santa Claus" (Sinterklaas in the Dutch whence "Santa Claus" comes). His image in America has been mixed up with a lot of traits and imagery from sources as disparate as the poetry of Clement Moore, pagan Norse mythology, and American advertising. 

In real life, though, St. Nicholas was a beloved and wonderful Bishop of Myra (in modern-day Turkey). He was born in Asia Minor in A.D. 260 and orphaned at an early age.

As a young man, he made a pilgrimage to Palestine and Egypt, becoming a Bishop upon his return. He was imprisoned during the persecutions of Diocletian, but was released after Constantine came to rule. According to legend, he was present at the Council of Nicaea and became so incensed at Arius -- the heretical Bishop whose denial of the two natures of Christ spread through the Church -- that he slapped him across the face. He intervened twice in cases in which innocent men were accused of crimes they did not commit, once appearing to Constantine and the local prefect in a dream, encouraging them to do the right thing in their regard.


Many stories about his life indicate his kindness and reveal miracles. The Golden Legend, written in A.D. 1275 by Jacobus de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, tells us how the Saint threw bags of gold coins to a man in order to provide dowries for the man's daughters and save them from lives of lechery:

 
And it was so that one, his neighbour, had then three daughters, virgins, and he was a nobleman: but for the poverty of them together, they were constrained, and in very purpose to abandon them to the sin of lechery, so that by the gain and winning of their infamy they might be sustained. And when the holy man Nicholas knew hereof he had great horror of this villainy, and threw by night secretly into the house of the man a mass of gold wrapped in a cloth. And when the man arose in the morning, he found this mass of gold, and rendered to God therefor great thankings, and therewith he married his oldest daughter.

    And a little while after this holy servant of God threw in another mass of gold, which the man found, and thanked God, and purposed to wake, for to know him that so had aided him in his poverty. And after a few days Nicholas doubled the mass of gold, and cast it into the house of this man. He awoke by the sound of the gold, and followed Nicholas, which fled from him, and he said to him: Sir, flee not away so but that I may see and know thee.

    Then he ran after him more hastily, and knew that it was Nicholas; and anon he kneeled down, and would have kissed his feet, but the holy man would not, but required him not to tell nor discover this thing as long as he lived.

Another tale from the Golden Legend explains how St. Nicholas saved sailors from a tempest:

    It is read in a chronicle that, the blessed Nicholas was at the Council of Nice; and on a day, as a ship with mariners were in perishing on the sea, they prayed and required devoutly Nicholas, servant of God, saying: If those things that we have heard of thee said be true, prove them now.

    And anon a man appeared in his likeness, and said: Lo! see ye me not? ye called me, and then he began to help them in their exploit of the sea, and anon the tempest ceased.

    And when they were come to his church, they knew him without any man to show him to them, and yet they had never seen him. And then they thanked God and him of their deliverance. And he bade them to attribute it to the mercy of God, and to their belief, and nothing to his merits.
      

St. Nicholas Rebuking the Tempest - by Bicci Di Lorenzo, 1375-1452

 
The Golden Legend also gives us the story of a Jewish man who was robbed, and how St. Nicholas used the event imitate Christ, thereby not only bringing the Jewish man to Christ, but causing the thieves to repent:

    Another Jew saw the virtuous miracles of St. Nicholas, and did do make an image of the saint, and set it in his house, and commanded him that he should keep well his house when he went out, and that he should keep well all his goods, saying to him: Nicholas, lo! here be all my goods, I charge thee to keep them, and if thou keep them not well, I shall avenge me on thee in beating and tormenting thee.

    And on a time, when the Jew was out, thieves came and robbed all his goods, and left, unborne away, only the image. And when the Jew came home he found him robbed of all his goods. He areasoned the image saying these words: Sir Nicholas, I had set you in my house for to keep my goods from thieves, wherefore have ye not kept them? Ye shall receive sorrow and torments, and shall have pain for the thieves. I shall avenge my loss, and subdue my madness in beating thee.
 And then took the Jew the image, and beat it, and tormented it cruelly. Then happed a great marvel, for when the thieves departed the goods, the holy saint, like as he had been in his array, appeared to the thieves, and said to them: Wherefore have I been beaten so cruelly for you and have so many torments? See how my body is hewed and broken; see how that the red blood runneth down by my body; go ye fast and restore it again, or else the ire of God Almighty shall make you as to be one out of his wit, and that all men shall know your felony, and that each of you shall be hanged.
 And they said: Who art thou that sayest to us such things? And he said to them: I am Nicholas the servant of Jesu Christ, whom the Jew hath so cruelly beaten for his goods that ye bare away.
Then they were afeard, and came to the Jew, and heard what he had done to the image, and they told him the miracle, and delivered to him again all his goods. And thus came the thieves to the way of truth, and the Jew to the way of Jesu Christ.
Another famous story, this one not contained in the Golden Legend, tells how three children were killed by an innkeeper and put into a tub of brine. St. Nicholas, by the power of God, brought them back to life.
When the great Saint died, he was buried in Myra, but the town was later taken by the Saracens in A.D. 1034. The Italians rallied to gather and preserve his relics from desecration, and in 1097, sailors brought them to Bari, Italy. A lovely church -- the Church of San Niccolo -- was built to house them, and tere they can be found today. A curative Oil of Saints -- "Manna di San Niccolo" -- is said to exude from them to this day.
St. Nicholas is the patron of children, sailors, and bakers, and is represented in art as a bearded, older man -- usually mitred -- holding 3 gold coins or a bag of coins, or three orbs. He is also often shown with children, and/or a ship.

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