~ Author unknown, attributed to a 7-year-old named Bobby
A bit of background on the man in the red suit; he is known by a variety of names around the world. Whether you call him Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus or Sinterklaas, may you feel the magic he brings to the season and surrounded by those you love.
- In Holland, Santa Claus is known as Sinterklaas tradition.
- In Spain, every year Santa Claus comes by steamboat.
- In the United States Santa Claus is described as a plump, cheerful, white-bearded man wearing a red coat with white collar and cuffs, red trousers and white-cuffed, and a black leather belt and boots (picture of himself rarely has a beard with no mustache)
- Santa Claus as we know him in the United States and Canada became popular in the 19th century.
- In the UK and Europe, he is usually called Father Christmas.
- The real Santa Claus, also known as St. Nicholas, was born in Turkey and was buried in the city of Bari, Southern Italy.
- It is said he was born at Patara in Lycia, a province of Asia Minor and was known for his extraordinary devoutness, passion and many astonishing miracles. He died at Myra, and was buried in his cathedral.
The above details came from the following website:
http://www.legendsbreakfast.com/the-history-of-santa-claus-and-christmas (This site is no longer in service.)
http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/08/a_gift_from_saint_nicholas.html
A Small Fish Story – Ireland
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/small-fish-story/
The Children’s Book
of Christmas Stories – Thirty-five stories, published in 1913 by Elizabeth Harrison. “In this book you'll find
stories by such well known authors as Charles Dickens and Hans Christian
Anderson. You'll also find stories by author's you've never heard of, but relax
and know that every story represented here has been read and enjoyed by
thousands of children.”
https://archive.org/stream/thechildrensbook05061gut/cbcst10.txt
Christmas in Legend
and Story – Public domain book
published in 1915 by Elva Sophronia Smith containing forty stories of the season.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11014
https://mythologystories.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/the-christmas-cuckoo/
https://kraftmstr.com/christmas/books/gs-christmas_fairy.html
The Christmas Orange – England
https://spellbinders.org/the-christmas-orange/
Elijah the Prophet and St. Nicolas – Russia
https://surlalunefairytales.com/book.php?id=124&tale=4101
The Icon’s Warm Bread – Greece
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/icons-warm-bread/
My Merry
Christmas.com - “Christmas
has ancient roots in many societies. The passage of time has perpetuated tales
of legend surrounding the very icons we treasure these days during the season.”
Enjoy fifteen legends associated with the holiday. Note: Unfortunately, the page is no longer active on the website.
However, it may still be accessed via this link via the Wayback Machine.
https://web.archive.org/web/20060205011209/http://mymerrychristmas.com/2005/christmaslegends.php
https://karenchace.blogspot.com/2009/12/the-silver-cones-christmas-tale.html
Paper Bag Reindeer Puppet – http://tinyurl.com/39yppmg
Paper Plate Poinsettia - http://tinyurl.com/39jmkws
Christmas Crafts and Printables - http://tinyurl.com/yxwong
Holiday Origami - Spice up your holiday stories with two easy to do
origami folds; a star and a Christmas tree:
http://www.planetpals.com/ppcraft2.html
http://www.tammyyee.com/origamitree.html
GAMES
World of Christmas – This link will lead you to a wide variety of
games to entertain the children throughout the holiday.
http://tinyurl.com/ykcoxud
Christmas At Sea – Interesting historical information about how the sea is connected to the season.
https://mymerrychristmas.com/x/christmas-at-sea/
