Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

Today, two Christmas firsts in one hit!   Warning: You may not want your children or grandchildren to read this post - it may shatter Christmas beliefs....  The firsts featured today are the FIRST store Santa Claus or if you want to be really brutal, the first Santa Impersonator and the first store to employ a Santa impersonator .  Logically, this would be the one and the same story, but this, like many other claims to Christmas firsts, is contentious. The first “Santa” - Many sources, verify that James Edgar, in  Brockton, Massachusetts, commonly known as “Colonel Jim was  the first department store Santa Claus in 1890 .   Edgar, the store owner, had a Santa costume tailored especially for him ( he was certainly the right build for a Santa figure) and a few weeks before Christmas 1890 he made his first appearance. Many years later a man who’d been a boy that day reminisced: “ My parents had taken me over to the Boston store [Edgar’s] on Main S...

In Australia, the idea of six white boomers (kangaroos) pulling Santa’s sleigh is popular, but reindeer have always been associated with Christmas and Santa Claus. Or have they? When did reindeer FIRST become part of the Christmas story?  It was 1822 when reindeer were first featured in a poem “A Visit from St Nicholas” by Clement Moor. We know this poem, published in 1823, by its more common title, “The Night Before Christmas” where eight reindeer with superpowers fly across the sky, pulling Santa’s sleigh full of gifts for good children. The reindeer are even mentioned by name… When what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer, With a little old driver, so lively and quick I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick. More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled and shouted and called them by name; "Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Dunder and Blixem! To the top...

Merry Christmas... and here is the last for this Advent blog.  Z is for Zurline    Zurline  is the ruler of the Wood Nymphs. She and her subjects live in the Forest of  Burzee . Queen Zurline first appeared in  the  children's story classic, " The Life and  Adventures of Santa Claus" , first published in 1902 by L. Frank Baum and then later in the graphic novels and an animated version.  In this story,  Queen  Zurline was a member  of the  Council of the Immortals  which bestowed  immortality on  Santa Claus. . So, it is appropriate that  Zurline  completes the A-Z of Christmas celebrities as she and her colleagues were responsible for Santa Claus continuing to visit children on Christmas eve in the 21st century.... or at least, I think I have interpreted that correctly.  The story  begins with baby Santa Claus being found in the Forest of Burzee. As he gets older, h...

As we come close to the end of the alphabet, and only a day from Christmas, it is also becoming obvious that the research for this year's Advent blog has uncovered some unusual, and dare I say, weird Christmas celebrities.  Y is for Yani (the Kitten Angel )  Y is also for Yamal Iri.   Let's tackle the heavenly Yani first.  Yani is a kitten angel who narrates "The True Story of Critter Angels"  and  explains the reasons for the existence of animal angels.  Perhaps cat lovers will relate to this? While Yani has a rather tentative link to Christmas, she is an angel whose existence is based on spreading love and peace in the world in the truest spirit of Christmas. While this book sounds very sweet and comforting, Yani could be classified as being a little too sentimental and at times, even schmaltzy, but never without the capacity to bring joy!  i f you’ve ever loved an animal, this book for adults and children alike will touch your heart. ...

Curiouser and curiouser. ..strange name, strange story! Olentzero - watercolour, pencil & pen sketch - Wilma Simmons O is for Olentzero ...   I admit I had not heard of this well loved but strange Christmas character before researching for this blog This big fellow is well loved at least by Basques -  Who?  Where? The Basques are indigenous to and mostly live in an area traditionally known as Basque country, a region which is located around the west of the Pyrenees on the coast of Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north -central Spain and south western France.    But who is Olentzero?   There are  quite a few versions of his story and how he is related to Christmas, but I like this one....   Olentzero is a humble man with a heart filled with love. As a new born he was left alone in the woods where a fairy adopted him, gave him the name Olentzero and raised him. He turned into a strong man and worked as a charcoal maker....

It was just too difficult to decide on the Christmas celebrity for today's letter N , so I settled on two - one most people know, and another less connected.  St Nicholas and Nestor - watercolour, pencil  and ink sketch  - Wilma Simmons  N is for St Nicholas and Nestor.  Let's start with St. Nick.... Santa Claus is a fictional character based on multiple figures.  The person most closely connected with the Santa Claus legend is Saint Nicholas, a Greek Christian bishop who helped the poor and left presents for children. I suppose most people know about the story of how St. Nick saved three daughters whose poverty stricken family were being forced to sell them. As they slept, St Nick placed bags of money into their stockings hanging out to dry. Familiar with any Christmas practices we know?  We remember this saint , such a holy, good man. Be like him in charity, do all that you can. Many miracles Nicholas hastened to do, Helping peopl...

Jingle Belle - watercolour, pencil and ink sketch - Wilma Simmons  J is for Jingle Belle  These Christmas celebrities are becoming more curious as the month progresses. Jingle Belle is a very modern creation of comic  book writer Paul Dini. Jingle Belle is the teenage daughter of Santa Claus. Jingle Belle has a a strangely elfin look, and is forever a teenager - well, Santa and Mrs Claus don't seem to age, do they?  The Jingle Belle comics were first published in 1999 and the stories mostly relate the antics of a rebel teenager and her contentious relationship with her famous father.  There are constant complaints of a non existent social scene - just a few elves and Eskimos to hang out with and practically the only excitement she claims  is to sneak a joyride in the old man's sleigh. In spite of all that teenage angst, there appears to be a "Christmas" side to Jingle Belle. Here is an extract from a story she tells about a time when her father, Sant...

Fascinated by the name of   this Christmas celebrity,  I have chosen a Slavic version of Santa Claus for today's Christmas Countdown Character. D is for Ded Moroz ... Ded Moroz  can be translated as "Old Man Frost"  or Father Frost who is like a Russian Santa Claus. Traditionally shown as a tall and slender older gentleman, Ded Moroz  has a long  white beard, and is usually dressed in winter colours, red or icy blue. Most images also show him carrying a long staff. Ded Moroz delivers gifts on New Year's Eve rather than on Christmas Eve due to the shifting of this tradition to the more secular holiday during Soviet times. While both tundra and forest reindeer are plentiful in Russia and Siberia, his  preferred mode of transport is " troika", drawn by three powerful white horses, representing the three months of Winter.   And no rosy cheeked matronly Mrs Claus for Ded Moroz, he is accompanied by his  ...

Christmas Countdown ...2... Santa by any other name: The original Santa was Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra (Turkey) who became known for his generosity and kindness, especially to the poor and children. After his death in 350AD, stories about the good St Nicholas became legends associated with Christmas in many other parts of the world.  In some countries, children still receive gifts on the feast day of St Nicholas, 6 December and in most countries, a mythical character, with the virtues of St. Nicholas, is a symbol of Christmas giving. In USA, Canada , Australia and other western countries, he is Santa Claus. (from the Dutch SinterKlaas) He is also called   Kris Kringle   - which comes from the   German   term “the   Christ Child”. In England, he is also known as Father Christmas and in France, Pere Noel. In   Germany, children get presents from   Christindl , the Christ Child. In Morocco   he is known as   Black Peter.  In...