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THE DAILY TIMES-GAZETTE PAGE NINETEEN By CLARK KINNAIRD Yes, Virginia, and any other doubters, there was a Santa Claus. Originally, his nome was Nich- olas. He was the son of a mer- chant named Epiphanes who lived in the town of Patara, near the port of Myra, on the shore of the Mediterranean, north of Syria. Nicholas entered the church and became bishop of Myra, in the 4th entury. . EY ood works were of a differ- ent character than most of those identified with -other saints of the early Church. He was not a stern ascetic. "He liked youths to be happy. Once, he saved three girls from spinsterhood and worse, by dropping three bags of gold through the window of their poor father who was unable to provide them with dowries. A girl just didn't get married in those days without a dowry. And this is but one of many legends of benefactions, particular- y to youths, by the good Nicholas. ILC. MW ( hishugseGune - £-- = ws rn == mia wai il el Wi PE Fn 4 Wrm---- He personified the Christian in- junction, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" to an unusual ex- tent in an age when the biggest robber was king and 'Robin Hood was a hero because he gave back to the poor some of the loot. The fame of such a man was bound to endure and grow. By the 11th cen- tury, there was rivalry among towns for the right to possess St. Nicholas' relics, and a group of his admirers seized 'his remains by force in Myra and carried them in state to Bari, Italy. As he became established in European hearts as special protec- tor of children, travellers' and mer- chants, it was accepted that he pre- sented gifts to good persons while they slept. 'The belief led, by the 14th century, to the general custom in Holland of presenting gifts to persons of good cheer on the eve of St. Nicholas' day in the calendar of saints: December 6. The first Dutch colonists in America brought the custom to New Netherlands (New York), and there the tradi- tion of St. Nicholas was to undergo vast change. Settlérs who followed the Dutch into the Hudson River valley were infected by the jolly times in December in which they were invited to join by their hos- pitable Dutch neighbors. = They adopted the traditions as their own. But they could not pronounce the Dutch Sant Nikolaas as the Dutch did: it came out Santa Claus. Also, early concepts of St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus, made him lean and ascetic, as the saints were. In some regions in Europe he was elf-like. In the American mind he came to resemble the good Dutch burghers. Then settlers from Scandinavia made the steeds which drew his sled reindeer, instead of the horses of the Dutch tradition. These and other new impressions grew and became an established permanent concept through draw- ings of Thomas Nast, the German immigrant who was the most fa- mous cartoonist in the United States in the 1860's and 1870's. Nast did a great deal to make Santa Claus, accepted nationally for the first time. As indicated here yesterday, the Puritans of New England and the Scotch Covenanters of the Southern colonies refused to recognize Christ- mas as a festival, and their de- scendants held out agaimst its cus- toms and, of course, Santa Claus, till long after the Revolution. The Quakers and Germans of Pennsyl- vania likewise ignored Sknta Claus, although the latter did set up Christmas trees, as was the custom, in their homeland. Coincident with his. adoption nationally, Santa Claus' visitations were transferred to Christmas Eve. Nast had much to do with that also. A 20th century historian, L. H. Robbins, wrote, "Looking back to- day, we see that Nast's drawings were only caricatures, their details borrowed mostly from Moore's poem. Still, he gave the world the best likeness of Santa Claus up to that time, and it was years before the spell of his pictures wore off and people began to know Santa Claus as he really is. - We know that Santa Claus is not an elf in a tight-fitting sealskin suit, but a man-size chap who wears loose scarlet pajamas with ermine trim- mings." 4 The American concept of Santa Claus recrossed the Atlantic. He's Father Christmas in Britain. He is popular in Scandipavia. He makes the rounds in South Amer- ica, almost unchanged, despite the lack of climate in December in the South Temperate Zone that is usually associated with Christmas in America of the North. Soviet Russia, in the course of trying to replace God with Lenin and Stalin, abolished Christmas, but there's a "Grandpa Frost" who comes around on December 25 with presents. No Santa Claus, Virginia? In several States in the United States, it's illegal to interfere with a child's belief in Santa Claus. In France, a. teacher recently was sued by a father for deestroying a child's faith in 'Santa. The father won the suit. The poem by Moore referred to in the quotation above was, of course, "A Visit from St. Nicho- las". We'll tell you about it here tomorrow. This is the second of a series of illustrated articles on the traditions of Christmas. The third will appear in The Times- Gazette tomorrow. Liberation Won Lasting Welcome For Canadians By WILLIAM BOSS Canadian Press Staff Writer Dieppe, France -- (OP) -- Cana- dian liberation forces won for Cana- dians a lasting welcome in Europe. Almost to the point of embarrass- ment this is true in Dieppe, scene of the famous 1942 landing opera- tion. : The Channel city's affection for Canada séems to the visitor to amount t§ a second loyalty, bidding almost to engulf the first. The 1942 raid; in which thousands of Canadian soldiers were taken pri- soner and. more than 900 killed, has left unforgettable memories. The waterfront up which the raiders stormed and streets along which some managed to infiltrate bear countless reminders. There is a monument to Cana- dian troops generally on Canadian Square at the beach. There are memorials to individual regiments. There is the Avenue of the: Cana- dians--lined with = maples -- and there is Canadian Crossroads, farth- er point of the Canadian penetra- tion that August morning. Every week the play of the wat- ers on the sands ' discloses some new memento of the Canuck as- sault: rusted ana corroded rifles and Bren machine-guns, shredded pouches and web belts, and cart- ridge casings. When recently a monument was dedicated at nearby Pourville-sur- Mer three rifles were piled at its foot, a Bren lying before them--all four more decrepit than Waterloo relics, so effectively corrosive is the salt spray. Already the raid is part of Dieppe legend, as well as history. Dieppois tell, with appearances of believing the alleged incidents themselves, of three Canadians who fought their way to the Cafe des Tribunaux on the main square and there paused for a beer each before retiring to the beach for evacua- tion by boat. Even more admiringly they talk of the "Canadien" .who fought his way to the square and disappeared into one of its tall, gabled houses for a few minutes' dalliance with a local belle. 4 Eyewitnesses to both occurrences are said to exist but they defy dis- covery. "Canadien" is a magic word, un- locking welcome and hospitality so abundant as to be embarrassing. Sometimes European cordially is suspect of self-interest but here it is patently open and sincere, Canada has become so much part of the city that it has changed its coat of arms--the city crest is now inset in a maple-leaf background. When a bronze replica recently was presented to Premier T. C. Doug- las of Saskatchewan the mayor said he hoped it would give the premier the feeling that the heart of Dieppe beat as strongly for Canada as for France. . GIFT FOR ROYAL BABY Waterloo, Ont.--(CP)--Waterloo has presented a specially-built tod- dler cart to Princess Elizabeth's baby. An alderman said the toddler is a typically Canadian vehicle not usually found in Britain. Great Yarmouth, Suffolk, Eng- land--(CP) -- No more bungalows will be built on the Marram Hills-- dunes bordering the coast for miles north of here--ruled East Norfolk Catchment Board, The houses set up wind eddies causing Sahd ero- sion and increase the danger of a sea break-through. Salford, Lancashire, England-- (CP)--The city council passed a "no confidence" vote on Mayor John Brentnall--a precedent. By the vote, the mayor--who has been waging a one-man "war" over the management of the school meals service -- was deposed from the chairmanship of the education committee, Children's Shoppe" 42!4 Simcoe N. Phone 1571 L BUY AND USE CHRISTMAS SEALS When you buy Christmas Seals you help to Ju fight tuberculosis. Your donations provide X.ray units, mass examinations, laboratory "search, patient rehabilitation and public € cation. Your purchase of seals provides funds for the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis in your own town or city. Join your community drive to stamp out TB! Buy and use Christmas Seals ; ; : .and shiw your "Good Citizenship". You can help this public service effort. Make a note of some of the little things which, in your opinion, contribute to Good Citizenship. Sponsored by .BRADING?'S ', Capital Brewery Limited, Ottawa a This 00g of advertisements is planned to help make your community the best place to live bie JOE PALOOKA JACK AND JUDY IN BIBLELAND The Star (Read the Bible story of "The Star" ii St. Luke) == = =) 2 AUSUSTUS BID ME FIND YOU! HE WISHES TO SEE YOU \|AT ONCE! . : By Robert Acomb Bon Ld q IW PAINT TEN ' SWELL MORE HOLES, AND | ILLGO GET TEN TO ONE THE HYACINTH {MOUSE WILL TRY GEE WHITH, MYRTLE. IVE IT WAS NICE OF THEM TO LEAVE ME THE PAINT /* T2171 NK | [Cyou ecm. you Loom, FR RR AH GOT LI'L. ABNER ~BUT; AH COULDN'T SAVE PORE. CRITTER~--WHO IS NOW MILES DEEP IN THET HORRIBLE SLIME" ; -- BOSS, YOU VE GOT 'To SQUARE ME WITH TOOTS ! SHE'S FURIOUS ABOUT MY STEPPING OUT WITH BETTY DARBB TO LAND THAT CONTRACT FOR YOU... ~ H 3 EVEN TURNED IN |f WE'LL KEEP YA OUTA SIGiT AN' ILL TRAIN YA SECRUTLY. DAISY MAE LI'L There Goes the Bacon! GOT ABNER, AN' TH' GIRL-SHMOO COMMENCE TH' MARRYIN} i MARRYIN' SAMZ" HE'S DIRTY, AN"MUDDY, AN' COVERED WIF SLIME--BUT, AH IS S ALL SaMoo, yy. HE" TABPY SADIE ' 4 By Jimmy Murphy CASPER WAS SUCH A - ON THIS, TOO, STOP. || MR.PLUNKER 2 HIS EXPENSE SCHOOL NICE, SWEET LITTLE MAN UNTIL HE STARTED WORKING FOR YOU, BUT T TRAITS ARE CATCHING UESS. BAD JUST LIKE THE MEASLES ! «988 ~ Fugitive From the Lawless By Brandon Walsh wy | [HIS CLOTHES IS STILL IN HIS ROOM= [HIS CAR JS STILL IN THE GARAGE = (al < MOON MULLINS T THINK THE GUY MADE A' I DONT SEE HOW || CLEAN GETAWAY =~ DON'T AWAY < WE COULD'VE || FORGET HE STARTED THE INTHE | MISSED HIM ! NO, SIR-I AINT SEEN MY FATHER SINCE SUNDAY~ AN' I DIDN'T GET NO LETTERS FROM HIM~- I GUESS HE MUST BE TERRIBLE BUSY-- had 53X75 Service By C RHI ALEXANDER, COME HELP ME MOVE DADDY WHILE I VACUUM ALL RIGHT, § f ALEXANDER, NE IVE FINISHED-+ NOW COME Ie Thum BU , COME PUT ME ( BACK THE WAY I!