December 6th is the official day of Saint Nicholas, who lived in the fourth century and died in 342 A.D. St. Nicholas began his religious life in a monastery, and was eventually selected as the Archbishop of the Church of Myra. The patron saint of children and sailors, he is best known for his acts of kindness and charity, and the role he played in many Christmas traditions throughout the world.
He is generally described as a gentle, dignified character and the traditions associated with him usually reflect that. But there was a time when a great deal of tom-foolery was associated with his day, December 6th. This was the election of the "Boy Bishop" on December 6th, a practice that was carried out throughout English cathedrals and in schools. The Boy Bishop acted as a mock bishop throughout the Christmas season, presiding over parodies of various Church functions and ceremonies, through to December 28th. The parodies were ridiculous and funny and the Boy Bishop and his followers traveled about singing songs, spreading cheer and generally leading the festivities of the season. Often, a contribution, which was laughingly referred to as a "Bishop's subsidy" was demanded from their audience.
The Boy Bishop festivities fitted in perfectly with the older traditions of Yuletide festivities, which were characterized by feasts, celebrations, parties and general merry making. The Catholic Church regarded all of this with good humor and the clergy even participated in the silliness.
When the Protestant Church established its influence in England, the Boy Bishop Festivities came to an end save for a few celebrations, and even these disappeared over time. But the older Yuletide traditions persisted, for many of them were not Church related and many predated the existence of the Christian Church in Europe.
Throughout the 15th century, the Protestant Church's influence grew and since Saint Nicholas was a Catholic Bishop, the celebrations and ceremonies related to him were discouraged. Since many of the Christmas traditions in Europe even predated Saint Nicholas, passed down through the generations, people simply were not willing to give them up. From a historical point of view, the problem seems to have been solved by merging the pre-Christian Yule traditions with Saint Nicholas traditions and dressing them up with a non-Catholic appearance, a more protestant appearance or Yule traditions.
One very old Yule tradition was the Lord of Misrule (see image at left), who is the Ghost of Christmas past featured in the Charles Dickens Christmas Carol. A very old Yule tradition was to elect an individual who would preside over the Yule ceremonies with as much ridiculous behavior and merriment as the Boy Bishop did. He was typically dressed in green, and wore a crown of holly, much given to eating and drinking and generally having a whale of a good time.
From all of this, we get the modern Santa Claus appearance and many names and traditions throughout Europe. There is Pere Noel in France, Sinterklaas in Holland, Father Christmas in England, Grandfather Frost in Russia, Kriss Kringle in Germany, Joulupukki in Sweden and many more. They were all fictional characters that engaged in gift giving in one way or another, had saintly and magical qualities, depending on the local lore from which they were drawn, merged with the Saintly and best loved qualities of Saint Nicholas. In most cases, these new saintly Christmas characters no longer dressed in Roman Catholic Church robes, and appeared in various colors and attire. They also arrived by various means - reindeer, goats, donkeys, by horse and horse drawn carriages and by ship.
If you visit our Vintage Santa Claus postcard gallery, featuring illustrations of Santa Claus from the late 19th century and early 20th century, you'll be amazed by the variety ways Santa Claus was portrayed. The postcards come from all over Europe and from America, from the days before Santa Claus was popularized in America as a jolly old soul with a big fat belly and a bright red suit.
Visit the Vintage Santa Claus Gallery
We hope you are enjoying our Christmas Countdown pages. The images on this page are all restored vintage postcards.
We have an entire holiday collection of vintage printable greeting cards available now.
Read more about them at this link:
Printable Greeting Cards
Chop the figs and mix with crumbs. Brown the almonds or walnuts. Mix with remaining ingredients.
Put the mixture into a greased pot and steam 2 1/2 hours or bake in a 3250C oven for 1 hour.
You can add soft grapefruit peel for a flavor variation. Serve with a brandy and cream sauce.
