When I was a kid and it was around Christmas, my sister would tell me a very odd story. She always said that it was true, although I never believed her but for some reason it was always the same thing, never a Christmasy story.
It went along the lines of this: Once upon a time there very old man who was very much like Santa who knew when you were sleeping and when you were awake and if you were bad or good. The only difference was that he didnβt give out presents. Instead of giving presents to good little boys and girls, he brought a huge empty sack and stole any children who did bad things or were up when he was near their house, The next morning their siblings and parents would wake up to them gone. His name was Caius and nobody knew what happened to the kids he took away.
Now, Iβve lived in neighborhood where people shoot first think second for most of my life and most of my brothers and sisters have been arrested. Two years ago, on Christmas Eve, my youngest sister, Ellen, woke me up late at night and told me that she heard something in the living room. The next day, she was gone and nobody knew where she had gone.
Again with last year. My oldest brother got into deep trouble over the summer and managed to get parole by the fifth of December. We were all excited about having him back. Iβm positive that he was the favorite out of all of us kids. When it was finally Christmas Eve, almost nobody could sleep. It was like we were kids again, we even went to bed before midnight. Heck, I even told my brother that I missed him when he was in trouble, which I would never do on normal circumstances, but it was Christmas and I sort of did miss him. The next day, however, he was gone. I know that he would never skip out on my mother; he knew that she loved him so much.
I donβt get it, my siblings did get into more than their fair share of trouble but they would never run away and the only explanation I can think of is that my sisterβs story is true and that my brother and sister will never come back or be found by the cops.
But thatβs not the only reason that Iβm writing this. In January I got really mad at my family for not being as worried as I was about my siblings. I wasnβt thinking and I passed this stupid looking store. It looked so dumb and happy and I was just so mad. There was a random brick next to the window that was just screaming for me to throw it. And I did. The cops found me a few hours later. I spent a few hours in jaiI had never heard this story, about according to this guy, there's a legend that Nicholas, as a bishop, was at the first ecumenical council, and bitch-slapped (Drive Thru History says "punched", but I like my version better) Arias for his heretical stance on the divinity of Jesus Christπ€£
Not very Christ-like or saintly, but considering how co-opted the entire Christian Christmas tradition is, how can anyone be surprised???
Hope y'all can have as much of a laugh at this as I did.
As an aside, what kinds of new Christmas traditions have y'all adopted, away from the RCC? Personally, I love a lot of the original pagan concepts behind the tree and fire and renewal and all that. Makes my hippie heart happy.π€
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!
Doing some research on good ole St. Nick and the pickling story, and would like to read the poem with my own eyes rather than rely on an academics summary/interpretation. I can make a good rough go, but some things are stumping me!
Can anyone translate these bits for me?
>"Thus was he made bisschop in barnhed.
And Κit in mynde of jatt ilk dede
Men vses in diuers cuntres sere
To chese barn-bisschops ilka Κere"
>He tok his ax al in his hond, and swythe he gan gone
and wente to the clerkes bedde, and slew hem euerichone.
Tho he hadde this dede ido, he soughte in a stounde
here porsis and here sachelis ek, and nought ther in he ne founde.
He cried out and maked del that euer he was ibore.
"For al this dede ich wit the and bothe we beth forlore.
Naddistau icleped the clerk age aslaue nadde hy ibe
for on the hit is ilong and al ich hit wite the."
"Be now stille leue syre, ne darstou the of drede.
For of all that we habbeth idon i can a good rede.
Pastis and pyus we cholleth make, and ther wit moche to winne
and for pork hy cholleth ben solde wit som conueinte ginne."
She him comforted so he nyste what don for care.
"Pyes and pastethis," hy cryden loude, "com biggeth of my ware."
>"ΓΎre clerkys nemyn heryn as hy fram scole wende
homward her owyn contre Κif god hem wolde sende.
At a boucheris hous hy gan all nyΚt dwelle.
That ilke nyΚt wiΓΎ a pol ax he hem gan to quelle
so ΓΎat in a fate with brune sauce he hem dede wel blyve.
Amorwe seint nycolas rerΓΎe hem fram deΓΎ to lyue".
>"A woman ΓΎer was ner p\ΓΎat his [Nicholas's] hostesse hadde ybe
ΓΎat to ΓΎis bishopis sacrament gan hit forto se.
Heo hadde a Κonge child atome in the sulue tonne.
Heo forΚate hit ouer the fur in a caudronne.
ΓΎo ΓΎis woman hadde ysey ΓΎis grete solempnyte
heo bythoΚte on hir childe how hit myΚt be.
Homward wepynge & crynge heo gan for to te.
Her chyld pleynde in the boylynd water what wel mys hem gan se.
Heo Κede to & suste hir child & name hit up of ΓΎe vessel
Seynt nicolas of ΓΎis miracle heo ΓΎonkyd eu"
Source of these quotes, for those interested:
Fredell, Joel. "The Three Clerks and St. Nicholas in Medieval England". Studies in Philology 92, no2(1995): 181-202
I called Nick Folk "Jolly Old Saint Kickolas" and my friend giggled
I'm playing him in fantasy. He was just a free pickup after week 4 and it's been great.
Idk how nicknames start but I was really proud of that and wanted to share "Saint Kickolas" with reddit.
>Did you ever hear the tragedy of Saint Nicholas the Jolly?
No.
>I thought not. It's not a story the Humbugs would tell you. It's a Christmas legend. Saint Nicholas was a Jolly Soul of Christmas so cheerful and so kind he could use Christmas Spirit to influence the presents to create... happiness. He had such a knowledge of the Nice Side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from the naughty list.
He could actually... save people from naughtiness?
>The Nice Side of Christmas Spirit is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be too joyful.
What happened to him?
>He became so jolly, the only thing he was afraid of was... losing his jolliness, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his elves everything he knew... then his elves naughtied him in his sleep. Ironic. He could save others from the naughty list... but not himself.
Is it possible to learn this power?
>Not from a Humbug.
