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Page 18 The Antique Shoppe December, 2018
With exceptionally good aim,
“SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE” he tossed the three bags of gold
he’d brought along through
Design Trends of the Mid-20th Century an open window. They
conveniently landed in three
By Donald-Brian Johnson stockings left hanging to
dry before a roaring fire.
This Month’s Feature— The result: dowries for
each daughter. Thanks to
“Here Comes Santa Claus!” some sleuthing on the part
of the happy nobleman,
his mysterious
“Here comes Santa Claus, benefactor was
Here comes Santa Claus, identified, and
Right down Santa Claus lane!” tales of the
Gene Autry & Oakley Haldeman, 1947
generosity of St.
Nicholas soon
Santa. St. Nick. Father Christmas. Standing Santa,
No matter what they call him in your became legend. red velvet and
Early helpers of
neck of the woods, it’s Christmas St. Nicholas (i.e., white plastic
time again, and. . .he’s baaaack! costume, papier-
Although the custom of Christmas parents), stayed with maché head.
the stuffed-stocking
gift-giving originates with the Three theme, although bags 131/2” h., $20-25.
Kings, the legend of Santa Claus dates to
the fourth century. Stories of his origin of gold were quickly
replaced by apples,
vary, but here’s one favorite:
The setting was Asia Minor, where oranges, candies, and small,
a down-on-his luck nobleman found homemade toys. Other cultures offered their own variations.
Children in the Netherlands filled wooden shoes with hay, for
himself unable to cough up dowries for
his three daughters. Enter St. Nicholas, Gift-toting “Mr. & Mrs. Santa” the horses accompanying “Sinter Klaas” (that’s Dutch for “St.
Nicholas”). The next morning, delightful goodies
a kindly (and well-to-do) bishop, who salt-and-peppers.
crept to the man’s home one wintry Marked “Lipper & Mann had miraculously taken
eve. Creations (Japan)”. the place of the hay.
Italian children waited
53/4” h., $10-15/pr. until January 6 ,
th
the “Feast of the
Three Kings”, for the
arrival of “La Befana”,
who filled their empty
shoes with treats.
For Puerto Rican
boys and girls, the
Epiphany was also
eagerly anticipated.
Tiny boxes filled with
munchies for the
Wise Men’s camels
— leaves and
other vegetation —
were replaced by
“Mr. & Mrs. Santa” morning, with the
spaghettiware sort of munchies
salt-and-peppers. human children
Japan, 4” h., $20-25/pr. enjoy.
St. Nicholas
made his way to America with Dutch immigrants in the 1600s.
Mispronunciations of “Sinter Klaas” by those unfamiliar with the
language eventually resulted in the name we now know and love:
He comes “Santa Claus”!
bearing gifts: Initial depictions of Santa offer us a thin man with a long, scraggly white
spaghettiware beard, clad in what appears to be a hooded, floor-length red bathrobe.
Santa planter Even Clement Clarke Moore’s 1822 poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas”,
with gold accents, which cemented in the popular consciousness such images as “stockings
by Johanna. 7” h., $35-40. hung by the chimney with care”, “eight tiny reindeer”, and unannounced
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