A PLEA FOR SANTA CLAUS.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 December 1921, Page 11

A PLEA FOR SANTA CLAUS.

We usually call St. Nicholas Santa Claus or Father Christmas. He is a mysterious person, generally pictured with a long white beard and wearing a red furred robe. On Christmas Eye he comes down the chimney carrying a large sack full of toys, with a selection of which he fills the children’s stockings hanging up in readiness. This is the legend on which we have all been brought up, and no matter how prosaic the future generations may be it is a tradition that will be probably handed down for all time.

The original St. Nicholas was a famous bishop of Myra, a town in lesser Asia, and is therefore not of yerman origin, as is so often imagine . He lived as far back as the fourth cen ' tury, and spent his life doing good deeds, usually bv stealth, which is pro bably why the Father Christmas ot today distributes his gifts when everyone is in the land of dreams Santa Claus is the Flemiffh and Dutch contractions for St. Nicholas, and the idea of hanging up a Christmas stocking said to have originated in Belgium. It is always sad when children find out for the first time that Santa Claus is only a camouflage for their father. 01 some other member of (be but there are other illusions ot babyhood, such as Sand Man and Bogey Man (MU which no wise mother will make her children acquainted), as well as fairies, elves, and mermaids, and all the my™ 4 creations of the realm of nnagmat on, and when we were young we loved them all Children should not become rea ists too soon; the longer they lieve in fairy tales the better for them and the hapjiier they are. So, long live Santa Claus'