Author: gerryadmin
The New Yorker Santa Claus
The figure of Santa Claus has been a prominent feature of the cartoons displayed in the New Yorker magazine over the years. Here are some amusing examples.
The first appearance of St Nick in the magazine came in 1926 with this:
It was followed by others, including a cover illustration.
The Yule Hole
Yule in York
It was the custom in medieval York for a Yuletide peace (called the “Youle-Girth”) to be proclaimed in which certain restrictions were cast aside for the Christmas season.
The sheriffs of the city would ride through the streets and make this proclamation:
“O yes We command of our liege lords behalf the King of England (that God save and keepe), that the peace of the King be well keeped and maynteyned within the citty amid suburbs, by night and by day, &c. Also, that no common woman walke in the streets without a gray hood on her head, and a white wand in her hand, &c. Also the Sheriffes of the citty on St. Thomas Day the Apostle [December 21], before Youle, att tenne of the bell, shall come to All-hallow kirke on the pavement, and ther they shall heare a masse of St. Thomas in the high wheare (quire), and offer at the masse; and when the masse is done, they shall make a proclamation att the pillory of the Youle-Girth (in the forme that followes) by ther serjant: We commaund that the peace of our Lord the King be well keeped and mayntayned by night and by day, &c. Also that no manner of man make no congregations nor assemblyes. Also that all manner of whores and thieves, dice players, carders, and all other unthrifty folke, be welcome to the towne, whether they come late or early, att the reverence of the high feast of Youle, till the twelve clays be passed.
“The proclamation made in forme aforesaid, the fower serjeants shall goe or ride (whether they will); and one of them shall have a horne of brasse, of the toll-bouth; and the other three serjeants shall every one of them have a horne, and so go forth to the fewer barres of the citty, and blow the Youle-Girth.”
By the 1700s the term “Youle-Girth” had come to mean something a little different:
An Epiphany Prank
From William Hone’s The Every-day Book; or, Everlasting Calendar of Popular Amusements, Sports, Pastimes, Ceremonies, Manners, Customs, and Events, Incident to Each of the Three Hundred and Sixty-Five Days, in Past and Present Times (London, 1826):
On Twelfth-night in London, boys assemble round the inviting shops of the pastrycooks, and dexterously nail the coat-tails of spectators, who venture near enough, to the bottoms of the window frames; or pin them together strongly by their clothes. Sometimes eight or ten persons find themselves thus connected. The dexterity and force of the nail driving is so quick and sure, that a single blow seldom fails of doing the business effectually. Withdrawal of the nail without a proper instrument is out of the question; and, consequently, the person nailed must either leave part of his coat, as a cognizance of his attachment, or quit the spot with a hole in it. At every nailing and pinning shouts of laughter arise from the perpetrators and the spectators. Yet it often happens to one who turns and smiles at the duress of another, that he also finds himself nailed. Efforts at extrication increase mirth, nor is the presence of a constable, who is usually employed to attend and preserve free “ingress, egress, and regress,” sufficiently awful to deter the offenders.
Ethic Nativity Scenes
The erection of replicas of the birth of Jesus goes back to Byzantine Empire, both inside the church, in the home, and outdoors. Here are some recent examples from around the world.
A crèche in an ice cave in Tomsk, Siberia.
Ice carvings in St Petersburg, Russia.
An illuminated Russian scene.
In an Iraqi refugee camp.
A 12 Days of Christmas Parody
Fans of the French Revolution may be amused by this parody of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”
On the twelfth day of Thermidor my true love sent to me
Twelve months renaming,
Eleven bonnets rouge-ing,
Ten lords a-fleeing,
Nine Tricoteuses,
Eight papers *Presse*-ing,
Seven sans culotte-ing,
Six priests dismaying,
FIVE JAC-O-BINS,
Four guillotines,
Three French heads,
Two Estates down,
And a cap in a Liberty Tree.
The creator of this ditty was Adam Roberts. Dr. Rachel Gillett performs it in this YouTube video.
Spiders and Christmas
A number of European countries, particularly Germany and the Ukraine, tell folk tales about the role of the humble spider in Christmas. In one story with a number of variations the Christ Child changes the spider webs on the Christmas tree into silver tinsel. In another spiders delight the Christmas Child in the manger by spinning a web above him in the night; in another a poor woman’s family is enchanted by the spider webs on the tree which look silver in the morning sunlight. Because of these tales, it is said, an ornamental spider is often placed on the Ukrainian Christmas tree and the tree is decorated with tinsel.
The Well-Armed Santa
The Three Kings Candle
In Norway, this sort of three-light candelabra is called a helligetrekongerslys: a Three Kings Candle. On January 6, Epiphany, it is lit and when the candles have burnt down to where the arms meet, the Christmas season has come to an end. The illustration is by the Swedish artist Jenny Nyström who was so influential in creating the image of Scandinavian Christmas elves.
