by admin | Dec 6, 2023 | Uncategorized
I adopted the phrase “A Collection of Santas” to illustrate the extraordinary diversity and simultaneous commonality of “Santa,” a term I use to identify the Winter Solstice gift-givers that evolved in the northern hemisphere over thousands of years. While few would...
by admin | Dec 6, 2023 | Uncategorized
The Roman God Saturn presided over Saturnalia, the first of three midwinter festivals—a harvest celebration, the birth of the sun god, and a new year’s observance—that collectively formed the Roman celebration of midwinter. Saturn’s preferred mode of...
by admin | Dec 6, 2023 | Santa Through History, Uncategorized
For those of you to whom the title of this post sounds vaguely familiar, it’s a variation of “How Can You Be in Two Places at Once Where You’re Not Anywhere at All,” the title of a 1969 album by an improvisational comedy troupe, The Firesign Theatre. It fits St....
by admin | Dec 6, 2023 | Uncategorized
In the Story of Belsnickle, Part I, I explained how Belsnickle could be the American version of the German gift-giver Pelsnickel, a seasonal activity patterned after guising, mumming and caroling, or a person (a “Belsnickler”) engaged in the seasonal fun of...
by admin | Nov 22, 2023 | Uncategorized
I’m pleased to announce the upcoming release of my new book, “The Fight For The Night: Resolving the Authorship Dispute of The Night Before Christmas.” Originally published anonymously in 1823, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” as it’s often referred to, was credited...
