#st. nick

[melaninpov]

Trevante Rhodes aka Daddy in Candy Cane Lane (2023)

[chernobog13]

Time to fire up the ole VCR and re-watch the holiday classic Santa Claus vs. Megalon (1975)!

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[misforgotten2]

Vintage Christmas card

[rosalie-starfall]

Mrs. Claus

Miranda Richardson - Fred Claus

Bonnie Hunt - Red one

Elizabeth Mitchell - The Santa Clauses

Goldie Hawn - The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two

[stone-cold-groove]

Ho, ho, ho! Just kidding, Joanie, you weren’t really on the naughty list... here you go.

[schweizercomics]

Companions of Christmas, Dec 1: Santa Claus

Santa or Saint Nicholas (“Santa” means “Saint,” and “Claus” is short for “Niklaus/Nicolas) was born to wealthy parents in a small port city in Asia Minor. Nicholas became a gift-giver at a young age when, upon learning that three sisters who wished to wed their loves could not do so because they had no dowry with which to pay their future husband’s family, he tossed coins through their window in the dead of night. Finding that he could so easily change lives for the better and bring hope to those who had little through these small acts of generosity, he sold his property and belongings and used the money to continue helping those he found in need. As he was already following his god Jesus’s order “sell what you possess and give the money to the poor,” it was only natural that he would adhere to the next dictate “then come, follow me,” which he did, becoming first a Christian priest, and, soon after, the bishop of Myra.

Nicholas, a noted brawler even during his bishophood, never backed down from a fight in service to others. He frequently found himself rescuing the innocent from execution, saving children from those who would exploit them, and battling monsters and creatures long viewed by the Christians as servants of evil. But instead of killing these foes, Nick would recruit them. Using both force and Christian magic, he would make them accompany him on his errands and missions of mercy, and the exposure to his generosity and kindness changed their perception and their hearts, turning them from forces of destruction to forces of good, though few lost any of their wildness.

Nicholas was born a mortal man, and died one, at the age of seventy-three, on December 6, 343. His devotion to his faith and service to his neighbors ensured his place in heaven, but heaven was no paradise for Nick, who fretted constantly for the children of the world. He petitioned the three aspects of God for a charter, to return to earth and bring joy and comfort to its children through acts of charity and joy. His charter was granted, and he returned to earth one year later, and he has done his good works each December since.

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Happy December, friends! Each year around this time I post up drawings of Christmas and other winter holiday figures, along with narratives to explain the practices with which folklorists and holiday buffs might be familiar. When stories exist, I use them; when they don't, I do what I can to piece together what folklore surrounds them to fill in the gaps (or, in some instances, defer to the theories of my friend and fellow narrative reconcilianist Benito Cereno). I hope you enjoy them!

[pagan-stitches]

Late St. Nicholas Eve pic!!! 🤪

[nocternalrandomness]

"Here comes Santa Clause"

[sixminutestoriesblog]

the yule cat

For most of us with cats, the worst thing we worry about come Christmastime is keeping them from utterly trashing our Christmas trees.

Iceland however has a whole other thing to be worried about when it comes to cats and Christmas.

To quote the title of an article by Danny Lewis in the Smithsonian Magazine (because it is far too perfect to not):

Each Christmas, Iceland’s Yule Cat Takes Fashion Policing to the Extreme

So, what is the Yule Cat and why is he in critiquing Iceland's Christmas clothes?

Freyja's cats aren't the only felines in town. The Yule Cat, the Jólakötturinn, also known as the Christmas Cat, is a gigantic cat the size of a house that roams the darkness of Iceland in the nights leading up to Christmas eve, peering with glowing eyes in through windows. What is he looking for? The Yule Cat is checking everyone's Christmas presents. Not for cans of tuna or kitty snacks. Oh no, the Yule Cat is looking to see who hasn't gotten any new clothes wrapped up and waiting for them.

No new clothes?

The Yule Cat will hunt the unfortunate victim down and tear them apart before eating them. (in other, gentler tales, he simple eats their Christmas 'portion' of dinner)

Still, seems a bit extreme a response to grandma forgetting to knit you yet another one of those hats with the pom-poms on top, doesn't it?

Still, that's the deal. Adults and children alike better be grateful for those packs of new underwear under the tree. Those socks are going to do more than keep their feet warm - those socks are going to save their life!

So, we've got to ask ourselves - why would new clothes be so important that folklore would come up with a monster enforcing them? Is it all a ploy just to make sure Johannes is grateful when he gets that ugly sweater instead of the toy train he was gunning for when he unwraps his presents?

Well, like most things in folklore, if you go back far enough, things get blurry. The first written mention we have of the Yule Cat is in a collection of folklore gathered by Jon Árnason in 1862. In it, the Yule Cat gets exactly one paragraph and a footnote. The footnote is the important part. It mentions a colloquial phrase of the time: "to dress the cat". 'To dress the cat' means to wear the same clothes over and over again, the idea being that cats don't change their 'clothes'.

There was also a tradition that household servants and farm workers that helped turn the season's wool into yarn would receive new clothes as a reward for their work. Those who didn't - didn't get new clothes. You can see how the Yule Cat would come in handy as motivation in this case. It also worked as a motivator for children to finish their chores in the same way, with good children getting rewarded with clothes and bad children being left as fair game for the Cat.

In 1932, Jóhannes úr Kötlum published a collection of poems centered around Christmas and one of his poems featured the Yule Cat. The Yule Cat's popularity soared and the monster soon found itself lumped in together with other Christmastime monsters from the book, becoming the pet of the evil troll, Gryla and ridden by one of her mischievous Yule Lad sons, tiny Stufur.

But wait - let's go back a bit further before we wrap this up. Because there's been some speculation that the Christmas Cat isn't just about new clothes. We need to go back, back to early St. Nick stories, when it wasn't so much Santa and his elves and reindeer. When St. Nick was, as so many winter myths are, only part of the story. Because you can't have good without evil, generosity without greed or light without darkness. Santa Claus doesn't come without Krampus in his shadow. Reward doesn't come without the threat of punishment. Krampus is only one Christmas monster but almost every region had their own version of a dark something lurking in Santa's footsteps. Perhaps, so the theory goes, the Yule Cat was once just such a creature, back when stories were still new at Christmas time and winters crept long and cold in the nights of the snow covered lands. For every saint, there must be a devil.

Which brings us to today. Because there are no stories about the Yule Cat skipping a meal because the child's parents were too poor to afford to buy new clothes.

Maybe the best way we can celebrate the Yule Cat stories today is by making sure no children ever have to think of him as anything more than a shadow that peers in their window - and then passes by.

[ghostriderslade]

The 13 Nights of Krampus - Evening 4.

Beer is a mainstay with the Krampus tradition. In many Krampus parades, dark Krampusbier can be found in many beer stalls along the route.

[nfcomics]

BATMAN SANTA CLAUS SILENT KNIGHT no.3 (of 4) • Dan Mora [Dec 2023]

IT'S CHRISTMAS EVIL! The nefarious Krampus unleashes a flock of killer harpies on London and it's time to call in the big guns! Half the Justice League meets a most unusual elf who takes them to Norway to help Santa do battle, but it appears a diabolical trap is being set…

(W) Jeff Parker (A) Michele Bandini, Trevor Hairsine (CA) Dan Mora

[chernobog13]

Santa Claus versus Darkseid.

From Present Tense by Ty Templeton in DCU Holiday Bash #2 (January, 1998).

[larsisfrommars]

Christmas BG3 Playthrough!

For personal reasons I will be honoring the Christmas season by doing a Santa Claus playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3!

I have named my Tav “Nicholas” and based on all the variations of Santa origin material I’ve watched/read (Santa Claus is Coming to Town by Rankin-Bass, The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus by Frank L Baum, and Klaus on Netflix) I have decided Santa is a Circle of the Land (Arctic) Druid with a Guild Artisan background!

Power of the elements (wintery powers and so on), being raised by “elves/fairies/little magic people”, and in pretty much every variation being able to talk to animals. I can keep justifying myself in Santa’s Druidy-ness buuuut, I don’t feel like it.

I am playing as a young-ish pre-legacy Santa because I plan on rizzing Gale for funsies also I think it’d be cute.

Important Side Note: My guardian looks like Krampus :D

I’ve got 3 rules:

All of my hirelings MUST be gnomes, and I will do at least ONE major combat with all “Christmas elf” hirelings. Christmas elves are “immortal” so I don’t have to feel bad when they die unlike my mortal cohorts!

All of my companion’s clothing must be dyed red, white, and green. But mine specifically must be dyed red or ‘scarlet and alabaster’ when I can find it.

This is going to be an EXTREMELY goodie goodie two-shoes run, probably more goodie goodie than I’ve ever done before. Even when I think it’s a stupid thing to do or start getting FOMO I will go “What would Santa do?”

I will be documenting this madness as I go! Enjoy!

[misforgotten2]

There seems to be a carbon monoxide leak at the department store.

Mickey Mouse Goes Christmas Shopping  - 1953

[xeavy]

Feliz Navidad 🎄🎅🏾🫶🏾