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Original article found HERE
Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus — and Here’s What He Looks Like
Is this the real Santa Claus? By tradition, no one is supposed to see the actual Saint Nick. Come Christmas night, as the song has it — and even the Boss sings it — he sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. So you’d better be snoozing as well as pretty darned good, or else.
Besides, we all know what he looks like. Since the advent of Clement Clark Moore’s “Night Before Christmas” in 1823 and his invention of that “jolly old elf,” we have become so conditioned by the kid-friendly version of the roly-poly guy with dimples and cheeks like roses that we stopped wondering who the real Santa Claus was, much less what he looked like. From movies like “Miracle on 34th Street” to all those Santa stand-ins at the mall — and his visage on every piece of Christmas kitsch you could ever sell — the myth is so widespread and so good there seemed little reason to question it.
Until, that is, the invention of powerful computers and some fancy new software that uses “virtual clay.” The technology makes possible the reconstruction of a face from a skull, even one as old as that of Nicholas of Myra — also known as Saint Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus — who lived and died in the fourth century in what is now Turkey.
So holy was Nicholas that after his death his relics were carefully preserved, and through the vagaries of history — basically a Muslim-Christian war a thousand years ago — the saint’s skull and other bones were relocated (stolen or rescued, depending on your point of view) to Bari, a city on what would be the Achilles’ tendon of the Italian boot.
In the 1950s, the bones were removed while the crypt was spruced up. While they were out, the Vatican asked an anatomy professor at the University of Bari to take thousands of minutely detailed measurements and x-rays of the relics. Flash forward to the present day, and another University of Bari expert, forensic pathologist Francesco Introna, decided to commission an expert facial anthropologist, Caroline Wilkinson of the University of Manchester in England, to reconstruct the saint’s face and head using the new technology and the earlier measurements.
The wizards at Image Foundry in England then took the data, and presto!
Delighted? Disappointed? Arguments for the veracity of the face are strong. Every face has the same 26 muscles but each skull is different, and that underlying bone structure gives a unique form to each person’s face. Which is what happened when Wilkinson began laying the virtual muscles onto the 1,600-year-old skull of Saint Nicholas of Myra.
Moreover, this Nicholas is in many respects not so far removed from the Santa Claus or at least the Saint Nick who was long venerated in icons like the lineup the folks at the St. Nicholas Center have helpfully put together.
To be sure, he’s more olive-skinned than rosy-cheeked, and his eyes are more piercing than twinkly. But the white hair and beard, while a bit of artistic license, make sense: the beard is in the style of the time, and the white hair would fit a man who died in his 70s after a life a sanctity that prefigured the Santa Claus of our time.
Nicholas of Myra (270-346 AD) was born into a patrician family of some wealth, but as a devoted Christian he used what he had to help others (and to intervene on behalf of the falsely accused). The most famous story to come down to us is how Nicholas, hearing of the plight of a father who could not afford dowries for his three daughters, secretly left bags of gold coins at their home to provide a dowry and preserve the ladies from a likely fate as prostitutes. In one version of the story, the father lay in wait the third time the donor was to visit and thus discovered the identity of history’s first secret Santa.
But Nicholas was much more than a kindly, anonymous gift-giver. As a bishop in the fourth century, he was also deeply involved in the raging disputes of the day over core issues of church doctrine that we now take for granted, or ought to.
Back then, even three centuries after the death of Jesus, many beliefs remained unsettled. Chief among these was the true nature of Christ, and hence the nature of the Trinity. Was Jesus both God and man? Or was he just a man, a creation of God, albeit a special one? That was the line taken by followers of Arius, known as the Arians. So fierce was the divide over Christ’s nature that Constantine, the Roman Emperor who had only recently legalized Christianity and ended the persecution of the church, called all leading bishops together for a council at Nicaea in the year 325 to settle the matter.
The Council of Nicaea, which produced the Nicene Creed that believers still recite as the foundational expression of Christian belief, was hardly the somnolent discussion that one might expect of such angels-on-the-head-of-a-pin topics. Instead, there were nasty arguments and periodic fisticuffs, and at one point Bishop Nicolas of Myra — who already had a reputation as a staunch defender of orthodox belief against the heresy of the Arians — popped Arias himself in the face.
The new facial reconstruction certainly gives credence to Nick’s reputation as a battling bishop who gave as good as he got — just look at that strong jaw and his broken boxer’s nose. “It must have been a very hefty blow because it’s the nasal bones between the eyes that are broken,” Wilkinson, who did the reconstruction, told The Guardian.
In the end, Nicholas and the other orthodox bishops carried the day, vanquishing the Arians and confirming the belief that Jesus was true God and true man — the heart of the mystery of the Incarnation that is observed on December 25. (Ironically, Christmas was not widely observed in Saint Nicholas’ day, nor was there an agreement on a date to mark Jesus’ birth. Easter was the oldest and most important celebration, and its date was one of the other debates settled at Nicaea.)
There is some speculation that Nicholas may actually have had his nose broken during the persecution of Christians under the Emperor Diocletian, who reigned from 284-305 AD.
Yet whatever the source of the broken nose, the reconstructed face of Nicholas of Myra reminds us that the real Santa Claus came from a time before Christmas, and from an era when the meaning of Christ was something worth fighting about.
Nauf: “So, did you do it?”
Boleskine: “Do what?”
Nauf: “You know, did you stick to your resolutions from last year?”
Boleskine: “Ummm, no. I didn’t make any.”
Nauf: “UGH, you’re no fun.”
A moment of silence passes between the friends, then as expected…
Nauf: “So, you making any for this year?”
Boleskine: “I don’t think so, nobody ever sticks to them you know.”
Nauf: “Maybe that should be your resolution.”
Boleskine: “What?”
Nauf: “If you resolve not to stick to the ones you make, then you are sure to follow through!”
Boleskine: “That’s nice, Naufragio. The pretty nurse will be here in a few moments with your medication. Why don’t you just relax into this warm white jacket, it’s a little cool in here…”
Well, once Naufragio escapes, I mean ditches the nurse, I mean…Naufragio has the Romans to thank for her plight.
Although a “New Year” has been celebrated as early 4000 years ago by the Babalonians, often at that time it was held in Spring, near the end of March. Many cultures of that time used a Lunar calendars which did not follow a 365 day cycle. The Chinese calendar is an example that one might be familiar with. The Julian and Gregorian calendars are Solar calendars. Although approved in 153 B.C by the Roman senate, the calendar was tweaked until 46 B.C. when Julius Cesar developed the calendar to accurately reflect the seasons that January first officially became the “New Year” for those that follow it. It was during that time that Janus was put in charge of those festivities.
Janus was the Roman God of beginnings and endings. He was often pictured with two faces, one looking forward and the other backwards. A symbol for change and transitions, he was the perfect deity for looking at those unwanted aspects of your past and planning for a better future. The Romans would give gifts of branches from sacred trees as well as nuts and coins with Janus’ image at midnight on Dec 31 when Janus was looking at the year coming and the year leaving simultaneously. He became a symbol for resolutions throughout the ancient world and the month of January was named after him. (Starting to make sense now, isn’t it?)
P.S.
January 1 has extra special meaning in my family. It is the birthday of not only my father, but his mother as well. My grandmother has passed on but she is always remembered on the day of her birth, the same day (different years, duh) that she gave birth to my father.
How many times have we heard this line? Always it is accompanied by an image of a baby in a manger. AWWWWW, how cute. Also, how wrong. I know that this is a subject written over and over about by Pagans all over the world. Allow me to throw my hat in the ring too. If I bore you, you can always peruse my other posts or click away to something more attention grabbing. You won’t hurt my feelings, honest.
Traditions:
The Date - Where to start? One theory states the Mesopotamians were among the first to celebrate the solstice with a 12-day festival designed to help the god Marduk tame the monsters of chaos for one more year.Solstice celebrations are held by many peoples all over the world and no one really knows how long, we do know it’s been thousands of years. Today we still have evidence of perfect markers of the solstice in Stonehenge; Newgrange, a beautiful megalithic site in Ireland; Maeshowe, on the Orkney Islands north of Scotland; and Sun Dagger of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, built a thousand years ago by the Chacoans, ancestors of the Pueblo people.
By the early fourth century, Church leaders decided they needed a Christian alternative to rival popular solstice celebrations. They chose December 25th as the date of Christ’s birth and held the first recorded Feast of the Nativity in Rome in A.D. 336.
Wassailing – Not just a drink or an obscure lyric in a favorite holiday carol. This was a medieval custom of blessing the apple trees ensure their fertility. Groups would go out into the orchards and give offerings of song (Caroling), decorations (Why do you decorate your tree in December again?) and pouring cider on the trees so that they would be prosperous and “fruitful” (Yes I meant the pun) in the following season. Once a solstice ritual, because it is so linked to the themes of nature’s rebirth and fertility.
Yule Log – First burned at the Winter Solstice in Scandinavia, Ireland, Greece and other countries in celebration of the rebirth of the sun after a
long winter. Due to the proximity to the chosen date of Christmas, it latter became associated with a representation of the light of the Savior rather than the light of the sun.
Holly and Evergreens – Anything Green in this time of flora hybernation and death has been seen as symbols of rebirth and life. Holly, with it’s pointy leaves is especially prized and desired around door and windows as protection, warding off “evil” spirits and unwanted energies.
Mistletoe – The Ancient Greeks and others thought this plant to have mystical properties, able to bestow life, fertility and protect against poison as well as an aphrodisiac. It has long been used for ceremonial purposes. Druids for example would cut a certain rare type off the oak with Golden sickles and sacrifice white bulls for prosperity. It was hung at doorways for protection. The kissing part developed from the fertility belief.
The Tree – First, see my earlier notes on Wassailing and Evergreens, additionally, read on.
Pagan people who had revered the Oak but converted began to see the Fir as “God’s” tree. (whose triangular shape represented the Holy Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) By the 12th century it was hung upside-down from ceilings, undecorated, as a symbol of Christianity.
The first decorated Fir tree was in 1510. Martin Luther is said to have decorated a small Christmas Tree with candles, to show his children how the stars twinkled through the dark night.
Ok, so How is that infant the reason again?
Well, it’s snowing for the first time this season. Large white fluffy flakes slowly drifting to the ground. Time to post my newly re-decorated altar. The wand is birch that I carved myself and although you can’t see it, wood burned my name on. Thank you to Boleskine 93 for the pics and the support in allowing me to “create”.
Soon it shall be the last Thursday of November in America. (OK, in many places but there is a point to this) Thanksgiving shall be held and celebrated for the vast majority. It’s not a religious holiday so I guess I’d call it a political one. Maybe it’s just an excuse to rev up all the sales the following Friday, so maybe it would be a merchant holiday. Anyway, the “holiday season” is upon us and a comment by Boleskine93 got me thinking.
Being Pagan, Boleskine doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. His Thanksgiving was at Mabon. He along with most Pagans also celebrate Yule and not Christmas. So many of us “go with the flow” of the season because we have multitudes of family and friends who do celebrate different major holidays and we join in. This is my situation, plus I’m still not use to not celebrating these holidays yet being so new to my path.
What do you say when in a restaurant, at a store, at work, etc and someone says “Merry Christmas” or “Have a happy Thanksgiving” to you? I just say “and you too.” I don’t bother going into the fact that maybe I don’t celebrate that day. I’ll even wish customers at work a happy holiday not knowing if they are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan or other. I feel it’s a nice gesture, sending good will and 95% of the time they do celebrate them. If someone wished me a happy Hanukkah or Ramadan, I would respond in kind. Would they be assuming I was Jewish or something else? Maybe. They are sending out a good wish, positive vibes to me, why should it matter? Returning that sentiment, since obviously they do celebrate that day, just seems the correct response to me. I really don’t care if they assume I’m Christian on not. They are not harming me, they are being nice.
Would you go into “I’m Pagan, I don’t celebrate ABC Day”? What do others feel about this?
Soon it will be Mabon and Boleskine 93 and I have begun our list of preparations. The first thing that we have completed to date is our home altar.
Now we shall begin in the coming weeks to decorate the house and gather supplies for the ceremonies and rituals.
