December is a crowded month in Alsace. There are lots of folks to meet and greet. I'll keep it short here... but you'd better take notes as it gets kinda confusing.
So, the first guy is Saint Nicolas. That starts well: Jack's afraid of him. So afraid that he refused to go up and collect the biscuit St Nicolas wanted to give him during our local Christmas market. Yesterday, randomnly at the table, he said 'I'm Saint Nicolas and you, Maman,you afraid.' Hmm, recognising I had work to do, I told him, No,Saint Nicolas is the good man. Père Fouettard was the bad man.
Who? The incarnation of the bad Father Christmas. His history is troubled as he's reputed to be an incarnation of the devil...but all you really need to know is that you don't ever want to be 'the bad kid' when he's around. Translate Père Fouettard and you get 'the whipping father'. Need I say more? Jack definitely din't think so. He got it!
Thankfully, bringing light to such dark tales, Saint Lucy (sainte lucie) also floats about these parts. As Wikipedia nicely tells us: As her brief day brings the longest night of the year by the old reckoning, John Donne's poem, "A Nocturnal upon St. Lucie's Day, being the shortest day", begins with: "'Tis the year's midnight, and it is the day's," and expresses, in a mourning piece, the withdrawal of the world-spirit into sterility and darkness, where "The world's whole sap is sunk." This timing, and her name meaning light, is a factor in the particular devotion to St. Lucy in Scandinavian countries, where young girls dress as the saint in honor of the feast."
Jack doesn't care about all that for he's scared of her, too!
Then, of course, there's Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. We know they exist because they had a little stand at the back of the Christmas maket and were accompanied by a petting market to attract the kids. I tried to explain who they were but, as I haven't yet got onto God and as they were accompanied by lamas, it all got a bit complicated.
JosephComplicated, yes because, if you're following the plot, we also celebrate Saint Martin and so have only just tucked away our lanterns!
And Santa Claus... and the reindeer.. and all that?
Well, hopefully we'll get onto them before them before they start flying across the midnight sky, before Santa comes down our chimney, and long before the presents appear magically under the Christmas tree.
For, heck now, we wouldn't want Jack to be afraid of him too now... would we?
love n hugs n Christmas stories,
Robynxxxx
1 comment:
a lot to think about here. I like the sound of that book very much - now to ask the library. Having children's comments is what makes Christmas magic time. Hugs to all.
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