Christmas Eve every year in my house is one of the craziest days of the year. When I was a kid, my two brothers and I would be bouncing off the walls with excitement and anticipation because we knew who would be stopping by to see us later that evening. For years when I was a small kid, I claimed to have seen Santa Claus one Christmas morning. It wasn’t that I was lying. I truly believed that I had.
The story of Santa Claus is probably one of the most repeated stories in history. Generations of parents have been tucking their children into beds at night telling them to be good because Santa Claus knows when you are naughty and when you are nice. I know personally, this was a huge motivator for me to be good. I always had a long list of presents that I would ask Santa Claus for every year.
Every year, my brothers and I would lie awake late into the night waiting until we knew that our parents would be asleep. As soon as we were sure that they were, we would sneak into the living room to see if Santa had been there yet. Many Christmas mornings, we woke our parents with our excitement around 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning because we couldn’t contain ourselves. The legend of Santa Claus is one that I am sure to pass on to my children.
Most people know that our Santa Claus today originated from St. Nicholas, but the derivation of the Santa Claus story comes from many sources. In fact, since the Catholic church in 1969 demoted St. Nicholas from his official saintly status (as there were no records of his having been canonized), the original legend of this third century Turkish bishop is not widely recognized as part of our Christmas celebration.
Nicholas was born into a wealthy family living in Patera, in the south of Turkey. Legend claims that on the church's fast days, Wednesdays and Fridays, the infant Nicholas nursed only after sundown. Just one of many stories demonstrating his holy reputation is about an angel who appeared to the cardinal appointing a new bishop for the Turkish town of Mira, with a face bright like the Sun, who told the cardinal to ordain the 30-year old Nicholas.
Through his priesthood in the early Christian faith, even while alive he came to be recognized for his generosity to all those in trouble. In his good-doing role as priest, one story tells of Nicholas, who took pity on a girl in his parish whose family had no dowry. Had Nicholas...
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...can Revolution, the new American culture embraced most all that was not British, and so took on the Dutch Christmas celebration honoring their beloved St. Nick. Washington Irving gave the Dutch culture prominence in his "Knickerbocker Tales," which he wrote for the New York newspaper press. He mentions St. Nicholas over two dozen times in his chronicle, and it is from these writings that the original story "A Visit from St. Nicholas," better known as "The Night Before Christmas," was conceived. The poem came to Clement Clark one night before Christmas when he was riding in a horse and carriage through the snowy streets of New York City, and so went home and wrote it for his children.
St. Nick came to be depicted as a jolly man in the more familiar red suit and white beard, and Harper's Weekly publisher Thomas Nast printed drawings that brought these images to the public. By this time, St. Nicholas' bishop's staff had become the more pagan candy cane. Other popular writers in the 1800s also published variations of the Santa Claus story, and by the 1890s, the first department store Santa’s had emerged. By the 20th century, Santa Claus was here to stay!
Evidently, myths have become the culprit of traditions. That being said, the contemporary and ancient myths of Santa Claus and Krampus can only be understood by determining the elements that devise their entireties. Both narratives involve elements of opposition, trickery, mythemes, repetition, symbols, and ritualistic processes all of which support the structure of each holiday myth and tradition. Overall, the individual elements facilitate a valid, detailed compare and contrast analysis when examining the myths of Santa Claus and Krampus in a North American culture.
In The Santa Clause when Charlie and Scott first go to the North Pole, Abby the elf talks about the North Pole to Scott saying, “Kids don’t have to see this place to know that it’s real. They just know.” This strikes home for children under the age of six, as the book states in chapter 6, “They believe that effective wishing takes a great deal of skill, and perhaps magic, but that it can be done. In related fashion, many believe that getting in good with Santa Clause can make their hopes come true.” Which correlates perfectly with a study which concluded that the average kid stops believing in Santa around six and a half, and seven-years’-old (Madrigal, 2012). Anyways, Charlie experiences a lot of stress and happiness throughout the movie because of the bioecological model, whether the stress or happiness is due to the microsystem or chronosystem.
Is Santa truly a secular figure or is he a religious one? This has been a long-standing argument. However, instead of viewing Saint Nick as either secular or religious, it would be more beneficial to examine him as a figure consisting of both religious and secular elements. It is true that the contemporary Santa Claus may be more associated with secular concepts, such as consumerism, but it is also crucial to emphasize the origins of the jolly old man. He is the product of Western Christianization. It is thought that he was created from a combination of the historical figure of Saint Nicholas, a Christian saint, who was known for giving gifts, and the fictional character of Father Christmas from British folklore (CITE). Santa Claus can be viewed
Christmas has consumed itself. At its conception, it was a fine idea, and I imagine that at one point its execution worked very much as it was intended to. These days, however, its meaning has been perverted; its true purpose ignored and replaced with a purpose imagined by those who merely go through the motions, without actually knowing why they do so.
Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that affects cognitive function in the elderly population. The exact cause of the disease is unknown but may include genetic as well as environmental factors. A progression of specific neurological changes allows the progression of the disease. Short-term memory losses along with dementia are typical symptoms of the disease. A definite diagnosis of the disease currently can only be confirmed by an autopsy. The disease progresses in five stages that will vary with every patient. There is no current acceptable treatment to reverse or stop the progression of the disease.
Jesus and Santa Claus consciously and subconsciously play an enormous role in society. They are seen nearly everywhere, in movies, on billboards, and in ads nearly all year round at any given time. But where did they all come from, and why do they continue to have such a massive impact on people worldwide.
Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, England. He was the second of eight children, and his father, John drove them into poverty. John was sent to prison for debt in 1824 when Dickens was twelve years of age. Dickens worked in an unsanitary boot-blacking factory to provide money to his family, leaving school entirely. Although he started earning a fair amount of money at his factory job, he strived for educational
Just like Dracula, Santa Claus is based on a real person. Santa Claus' story came from St. Nicholas. “St. Nicholas was a Bishop who lived in the fourth century in a place called Myra in Asia Minor (now called Turkey). He was a very rich man because his parents died when he was young and left him a lot of money. He was also a very kind man and had a reputation for helping the poor and giving secret gifts to people who needed it” (Cooper). Santa Claus also gives people gifts to this day. Now his name has changed over generations and in certain countries. “In some countries including parts of Austria and Germany, present giver became the ‘Christkind’... In the early USA his name was ‘Kris Kringle’ (from the Christkind). Later, Dutch settlers in
So you don’t believe in Santa Claus. It’s understandable. We find ourselves in an age of pure skepticism. We question everything. Science has taken hold of our lives, providing answers for all questions and dismissing anything that cannot be explained as either myth or fiction. So it’s quite understandable why you don’t believe, with no physical proof of his existence. It’s indeed understandable to lose sight of Father Christmas with the transformation of this holiday into one that, as of late, is used commercially as a lucrative crutch solely to make profit. It’s understandable to abandon Santa Claus after hearing countless people deny his very physical or even spiritual existence. After all, one tends to believe something if it is repeatedly reported as true. But, let me tell you something, something that may lead you to quite a spectacular, fulfilling life.
Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, is a disease that afflicts more than 4 million older citizens in the US. Alzheimer's is a degenerative neurological disorder that leads to impairments in memory, thinking and reasoning. AD is the most common cause of dementia in older people, and mainly affects people 65 and over. Within the last few years, there have been drugs that can temporarily treat the patients, but it remains a form of dementia that is irreversible. The disease is very hard on both the person who receives the diagnosis and on his or her family and friends. Aside from medical help, those affected by the diagnosis may want to consider counseling and support groups to help them cope.
Alzheimer’s disease was found more than a century ago but still there is little known and understood about the disease. AD attacks the medial temporal lobes which interferes with memory and the ability to reason and pay attention. (Wierenga and Bondi, 2011). People with AD also have increased atrophy of brain tissue and the brain is clogged with neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques which are both believed to produce Alzheimer’s symptoms by disrupting the impulses between neurons (Sue et al. 2013). A look into what it feels like to have AD may give a better representation of how the person feels and how their loved ones feel.
One might ask, where did the tradition Santa Claus come from? The answer to this question unfortunately is not quite as straight forward. Somehow this tradition wove itself into the holiday season during the 4th century from Turkey, where a wealthy bishop, by the name of Nicholas habitually gave gifts to children. Following the death of Nicholas, he was honored as a saint, Sinter Nikolass, and a holiday was established in honor of him on December 6th. Dutch people in the Netherlands later shortened the saint's name to Sinter Klaas, which eventually evolved into Santa Claus in the US following Dutch i...
Carols, snow, mistletoe, cookies and milk. These are all synonymous with the Christmas season. However, for many, the true staple of Christmas is Santa Claus. Every child has felt the joy of Christmas Eve, spending time with family, leaving treats out for Santa, tossing and turning in their beds in anticipation for old St. Nick’s arrival. Although what Santa does is well known, his origins are slightly less familiar to most. The man we identify with Christmas has developed over a long time and has encountered many changes. “The original St. Nicholas is for the most part a shadowy figure, lost in historical mists and religious myths. (Myers 318).
Alzheimer’s Disease is formed in the brain but yet, has no known cure or treatment. Alzheimer’s Disease has many symptoms. Memory is the biggest symptom along with mood swings and having a hard time with keeping a conversation. A patient with Alzheimer’s goes through 7 stages; The first stage, which is misplacing things or forgetting what something is used for, second stage, they start losing more of their memory and they begin to forget where they are or what they are doing, the third, fourth and fifth begin to mentally decline and need someone to take care of them and worsen over time.The sixth stage they begin to have an even more difficult time going to the bathroom and cleaning themselves or using electronic devices such as phones or televisions. The final stage, at which the long goodbye comes to an end, they now are mentally and physically gone. Some doctors prescribe medication to the patients to help deal with some of the symptoms.
Dutch children would put shoes by the fireplace for St. Nicholas or "Sinter Klaas" and leave food out for his horse. He'd gallop on his horse between the rooftops and drop candy down the chimneys into the children's shoes. Meanwhile, his assistant, Black Peter, was the one who popped down the chimneys to leave gifts behind. Dutch settlers brought the legend of Sinter Klaas to North America -- where we came to know him as Santa Claus. Clement Clarke Moore first described the “jolly old elf” with his sleigh drawn by reindeer, in the poem "The Night Before Christmas.