The Legend of the Man in Red Coat: Is He NAUGHTY or NICE?

Publication Date: November 14, 2013

Note: This article is in lieu of the fast approaching Christmas. And when it's Christmas, there are icons who can't just be out of the celebration, such as the darling of the children whom they anticipate for gifts, and whom parents use to lure their children to stay nice for this season. Like my 1st article (Rise of the Veil), I also made this article informative. I hope you enjoy(as much as I did) discovering this man's origin and his - if you're young at heart - whereabouts. I'd like to ransack his workshop. *winks*

You can’t deny the fact that once in your life, you believed that if you hang socks under the chimney, you’ll get a Christmas present from the man who yearly toured the world to leave his gifts to the children who did nice this year.

You also stayed for the night with the hopes of hearing a tiny scratch – an indication that someone is climbing surreptitiously – on your chimney, and of seeing a silver sleigh flying on the bright moon-lit sky with the man’s tell-tale, flamboyant laugh, Ho! Ho! Ho!

Nothing fuels the anticipation of an innocent child than catching the name of Santa Claus.

Santa has been a part, a symbol of gift-giving tradition during Christmas, all over the globe. He is the bulgy man in red coat with a long white beard, carrying red sack that contains presents for the nice kids this year. Santa’s image as part of Christmas is already fixed that only few would care to ask about the origin of his tale.

Tracing back the history, the tales of Santa are varied and influenced in the cultural context.

The 1st Santa

The legend of Santa started with Nicholas, who was born from wealthy parents in the old village of Patara, in the modern country, Turkey. He was raised as a devout Christian and was orphaned at a young age. Nicholas believed in Jesus’ teachings, and so Nicholas made use of his inheritance to give assistance to the needy, sick, and suffering.

There are three prominent tales for St. Nicholas that accounted his extraordinary personality. These stories are the reason he is so beloved and revered, as protector and helper of those who are in need.

The first story is about the poor man with his three daughters. During those times, the chance of a woman getting married depends on the dowry that her family can offer. Unfortunately, the poor man’s daughters could afford no dowries which binds them to be sold for slavery. Like a miracle, on three different occasions, a bag of gold was tossed through the window and landed in stockings, left before the fireplace to dry, providing the needed dowry.

St. Nicholas is also hailed as the protector of children, when he saved a child named Basilio from slavery and sent him back home with his family.

When he was young, Nicholas made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. During his return trip, the ship sailed past a mighty storm that threatened to destroy the ship. He kneeled in calm prayers in the midst of cataclysm. Sailors were overwhelmed with amazement when they found out that the wind had subsided to tranquility, saving them all.

The Modern Santa Claus

Nothing has immortalized the image of Santa as firmly in the mind of people as a poem entitled a Visit from St. Nicholas written by Clement Moore in 1822. His only intention was to present this to his family for entertainment. The poem recounted the journey of the Saint depicted as a tiny man with a sleigh drawn by 8 reindeers. Together, they flew house to house at each family residence where he comes down using the chimney, leaving gifts inside the stockings hung by the fireplace.

During the 19th Century, the standard image of Santa as a man in a red suit trimmed with white was cemented, and the Coca-cola Company has often been cited for it. There are also published articles on the Physics of Santa, explaining the impossibility of his feat that flying through the atmosphere at 650 miles per second would be met by enormous air resistance that would result in the explosion of the whole sleigh. The article sardonically ends that if Santa is really existing, with all the forces that he would be exposed to during his flight, he would be dead.

Santa in the Philippines

Filipinos are a big fan of Christmas, being a christian-dominated country. The celebration starts as early as the onset of -ber months, the time when people are already preparing their stashed christmas decors together with their newly bought additionals.

And with decoration comes the fact that we can’t just disregard a piece that would render the whole Christmas atmosphere – ALMOST – (if not included) incomplete.

Along the street of Dapitan near España Avenue, Quezon City, comes a stall where you’ll find Santa Clause of all sorts. Anything that Santa might be wearing in your farthest imagination can be seen in this Decoration Shop.

The Store named Dapitan Tiangge is owned by Mrs. Nora Rimando, whose fondness of Santa Claus dates back to her childhood. Inspired to pass on the joy of Santa’s story, she decided to put up the shop in 2008.

There are thousands of items that one can choose, ranging from the smallest up to the 4-feet Santa. You can never go wrong with the designs that the stall can offer because there are also hundreds of different themes that can be seen.

There’s the 3-feet tall paper-maché best-seller that they call “Santa Pupu,” (Pupu means Pooping) because of it’s comical style, where Santa is sitting on a chimney with his trousers down as if he’s pooping. Another is the Genie Santa, which obviously is themed after the genie in the Walt Disney movie, Aladdin. If you are a fan of hanging decorations, they also have the hanging Santa.

On the farther side of the stall, they also offer more designs for christmas. Their customers come from different regions in the Philippines, as far as Ilocos Norte who buy their items for retail in their local place. All of the designs, Mrs. Rimando is proud to say, are coming from different manufacturers in the Philippines, making it a good support for our own economy.

At the end of the day, Mrs. Rimando’s intention is to impart happiness to her customers by providing them the designs that would enliven their family’s celebration of christmas.

If you have plans on shopping for your own Santa decorations, you can find Dapitan Tiangge at No. 32 Dapitan St., corner Mayon St., Brgy. Sta. Teresita, Quezon City.

True Spirit of Christmas

At this point in our country, it is hard to celebrate an extravagant Christmas when we know that our countrymen are suffering from the recent devastations the natural calamaties have brought us. It is not that we have to be sad about this year’s christmas but it is the time of the year, the perfect timing to show the real spirit of Christmas that St. Nicholas would like to share us, with his extraordinary tales.

That is to prove, that Santa is existing, that Santa lies within ourselves. Maybe we don’t have the silver sleigh and the reindeer that would pull us skyward. But in our own little way, our care for our countrymen, for our country’s children would be sent through prayers. The true spirit of Christmas lies in giving the things that we have, even how little it may seem, to the the people in dire need.

That way, we can be one with the spirit of Santa.

Rise of the Veil

Publication Date: October 30, 2013

Note: This was obviously published in celebration of the Holloween last. Before this article, all I know was that Holloween isn't usually celebrated here in the Philippines and it's just a recent adaptation in our culture from the West. I enjoyed much of my research here about the history of Holloween, and I hope that you'll be enlightened while you are entertained(as much as I did) in learning the roots of this tradition.

Once a year, during the ancient Gaelic culture, there is a time when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is at its thinnest and the deceased would come back to life, causing havoc such as sickness or damaged crops. They call this the Samhain on the ancient era. This tradition endured up to this day on a different name, Holloween.

Holloween, rooting from the ancient Celtic festival, marks the end of harvest and signals the start of the darker half of the year, the winter. The word is a contraction of All Hallow’s Evening or popularly known as Hallowe’en or All Hallow’s eve.There are few modern adaptations in celebrating Halloween which also originated in this culture, and as well as some ancient traditions which are now also practiced in the celebration.

The Candle-lit pumpkin, or what’s more popularly known as Jack O’lantern that we display during Holloween, can be traced back to Ireland. According to their history, Jack O’lantern was named after Stingy Jack, a mischievous man who loves to play tricks on everyone, even the devil himself. After he died, his soul was not allowed in heaven because he didn’t believe in God. Unfortunately he was also not given passage into hell because of the promise the spiteful devil made. Left with no choice, Jack is now roaming forever on earth without a resting place, with the Pumpkin he carved and the fiery coal that the devil has given him, so he could light his way through the darkness of earth.

Trick or treat and the costume parties, which have become the highlight of holloween not only among children but adults as well, also traces its origin to history. The custom resembles the Medieval practice called souling, when poor folks would go door to door, begging for food in exchange for prayers. The ancient people also believed that wearing mask and costume would appease or beguille the spirits so they won’t harm them. Today, the practice is still done with the children walking door-to-door, in their costumes. They would knock and ask the house owner “trick or treat?” Failure to provide treats would result in practical jokes.

In the Philippines, Halloween is more or less an adaptation of the Western celebration and is usually celebrated in urban areas where people throw parties and adults encourage children to go on Trick or Treating, during the last week of October. However, for the most part of the Philippines, which is comprised of provinces, people prefer to celebrate the Philippine tradition, popularly known as Undas, on November 1. During this holiday, families go to the graves of their loved ones, and stay for the night. Some children huddle in parts of cemetery, trying to spook each other with ghost stories passed down from one generation to another, as well as collecting the remnants of the candles all over the place, so they could mold it to a different shape. Lighting a candle in front of one’s house is also a practice for the Catholics in the belief that the souls of their loved ones will walk on earth, and the flaming candles will light their way back home.