WARM WISHES THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
As we come to the end of the year and the weather turns cold, it is a good time to reflect on where we are and what has transpired. There are habits we all develop, good and bad. It is a time to be aware of the bad ones and limit themwhere possible. Leave the cellphone outside of the bedroom, limit the amount of snack foods in the house, the usual. Most importantly, though, it is a time to take a moment
and tell the people you care about that you love them. Do something nice for your neighbor. Reach out and remember that, despite all the ugliness in Washington, we are a community and a country of fundamentally good people.
Warmest wishes for a merry Christmas, a happy
Hanukkah, and a happy New Year.
From Simon Law Firm
Santa Claus wasn’t always a husky, omniscient gift-giver who circumnavigates the world once a year, propelled by flying caribou and backed by an army of friendly elves. Though the historical St. Nicholas had many of the same generous tendencies as our contemporary “King in the North,” he lacked a high-tech sleigh that could exceed the speed of light. To be exact, St. Nicholas was a renowned Bishop of Myra — an old Roman town near modern-day Demre, Turkey — way back around A.D. 300. Even before he became the bishop, St. Nicholas was known for his generosity. The most famous tale of his charity involved a poor man who could not afford a proper dowry to marry off his three daughters. In those days, this generally meant the daughters would remain unmarried, making it likely that they’d fall into prostitution. THE ORIGIN OF SANTA CLAUS
Wanting to help, but also wanting to spare the family embarrassment, St. Nicholas traveled to the house at night and threw three purses packed with gold coins through the window. After his death, St. Nicholas became a beloved patron saint, but during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, the respect that many Catholic saints received diminished, and his popularity dwindled across Europe. One area where he remained popular was the Netherlands. There, he lived on as “Sinterklaas,” a mythical figure who went house to house on the eve of St. Nicholas’s nameday, December 5, leaving treats and gifts for children. Sinterklaas traditionally wore red bishop’s clothes and employed elves, and he traveled with horses that could walk across rooftops.
they brought this kindly icon to the new colonies. Over time, notably through Clement Moore’s 1822 poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” and a famous 1930s depiction by Coca-Cola ad illustrator Haddon Sundblom, Santa evolved into the figure we see today.
When the Dutch emigrated in droves to America during the 17th and 18th centuries,
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